Retailers rocked by sales shocker May 6, 2016 The high street has suffered its sharpest drop in sales since the credit crunch as retailers battle erratic weather, increasing competition from online rivals and jittery consumer confidence. Like-for-like sales fell by 6.1 per cent in April compared with the same month last year, according to BDO’s latest monthly tracker, published this morning. The accountancy [...]
Lessons from New York: Bigger is no longer better in the new world of ambitious scaleups May 17, 2016 Every business is a hypothesis based on a bet. And if you want to bet big, grow small. That’s the lesson I learned on a recent visit to New York to meet the scaleup businesses aiming to become tomorrow’s titans. Of course, think New York and you think big. The Big Apple, big business and [...]
10 tips for healthy eating in the New Year December 28, 2015 Feeling the bloat of a heavy Christmas, you'd be forgiven for ranting about how your New Year's resolution is to cut back on excesses and have a healthier 2016. Read more: Eating lunch at your desk again? Here's how the City does delivery So we've done a bit of research, drawing on sources including prominent [...]
History suggests robots won’t cause mass unemployment: But is this time different? May 19, 2016 Martin Ford’s book, The Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of Mass Unemployment, makes for scary reading. Ford argues that any job that is in some way routine will eventually be automated. In Ford’s new world, intelligent algorithms will eat their way through white collar employment, making legions of occupations obsolete. And this [...]
From BHS to Brexit and the banks we love to hate: Here’s what got us talking April 29, 2016 We learned what makes Sadiq Khan and Zac Goldsmith crumble. Halifax was in the dog house over Top Cat. And the pot called the kettle black when Cameron took Farage to task over his “poncey” surname. Here’s what got us talking… The billionaire has faced calls for his knighthood to be taken away (Source: Getty) [...]
The UK’s latest unicorn: Sophos prices its $1bn IPO June 26, 2015 Shares in Sophos, one of the UK's few tech "unicorns", launched its IPO today, valuing it at £1.01bn. Read more: The hunt for London's unicorn tech startups Shares in the cyber security giant began conditional trading at 225p each this morning, raising $125m (£79.3m), with an over-allotment option that could net it another £52.8m. The [...]
Five surprising facts about London’s shoppers March 31, 2016 As the spring sun slowly crawls up the Thames and warms up London’s cold streets, people are emerging from their winter cocoons to embark on some springtime shopping. The longer, brighter and warmer days all make for happier and more comfortable trips to Oxford Street, Brick Lane and Westfield. But who is really making their flexible friend work [...]
It’s not just coffee: Chocolate makes you smarter and may protect against age-related decline March 8, 2016 If you're looking for a reason to break your Lent pledge and scoff a load of Easter eggs a few weeks early, look no further. Scientists claim that chocolate is not just good for your health – it also makes you smarter. A new study, published in the journal Appetite, claims eating chocolate on a [...]
West End hostage: Police arrest 39-year-old man after taking waitress, two diners hostage in Bella Italia, Leicester Square February 25, 2016 Police have arrested a man after a two-hour hostage standoff at a West End restaurant last night. Dozens of Met officers surrounded the Bella Italia on Irving Street, just off Leicester Square at around 8:50pm last night after a man took a waitress hostage. The suspect is believed to have armed himself with a knife from [...]
Food is the megatrend of the future and investing in meat, pork, health foods and grains is making investors money May 26, 2016 Doom-mongers often talk of the impending explosion in the human population. There will be 9bn people on the planet by 2050, and one of the big problems will be how to feed so many mouths. “Global supply and demand is out of balance, and in a state of flux,” says Hugo Rogers of the Liontrust [...]