This week’s Budget: An overview of the £30bn of investments announced so far October 25, 2021 More than £30bn of investment has already been revealed by the Treasury ahead of Wednesday’s Budget. Chancellor Rishi Sunak said on Sunday that “(over) the last year, I’ve been focused on delivering our plan for jobs, protecting people’s livelihoods, their incomes, their jobs”. But he said he would now be “looking to the future and [...]
Retail giants urge Sunak to U-turn on abolishing VAT refund for tourists October 19, 2020 A group of 16 UK retail giants has urged Rishi Sunak to U-turn on his plan to abolish the VAT refund for international visitors from next year. The group – which includes the heads of Paul Smith, Ted Baker, The White Company, Fortnum and Mason and Charles Tyrwhitt – said abolishing the VAT refund would [...]
Boris Johnson must throw his support behind London to ensure an economic recovery May 20, 2021 Many people are overjoyed to return to central London and the streets are slowly coming back to life as colleagues, friends and families meet in outdoor cafes, restaurants and bars. Talk to any cabbie or shopkeeper and they’ll tell you that business and footfall is a long way from pre-pandemic levels. Hopes are pinned on [...]
Carphone Warehouse, Currys PC World and Dixons Carphone to disappear in huge Currys rebrand May 13, 2021 Electricals retailer Dixons Carphone has revealed plans to rename all its UK and Ireland shops as Currys as part of a major rebrand. The group said Currys PC World, Carphone Warehouse, Team Knowhow and Dixons Carphone will all become Currys by October, with a new Currys website also set to be launched. It will see [...]
Transport for London to face funding squeeze as journey numbers will ‘never hit pre-Covid peak’ March 29, 2021 Transport for London to face funding squeeze as journey numbers will never hit pre-Covid peak
A three-step recovery plan for London’s West End September 4, 2020 Six months since the government first urged employees to work from home, they are now being asked to return. Given their track record of obedience, the government expected workers to be returning to the office in high numbers, but that is not what we have seen this week, with potentially disastrous and well-publicised consequences for [...]
Sadiq Khan rules out driverless trains as a part of next TfL bailout March 4, 2021 Sadiq Khan has said today that the government will not try to force Transport for London (TfL) to implement driverless trains as a part of current bailout negotiations. Khan told a group of reporters at his re-election campaign launch that the government had dropped any request to bring in driverless trains, after initially asking for [...]
It will need all hands to the pump to get London back where it should be January 5, 2021 Last year was for many the most challenging year in living memory. Repeated lockdowns, the loss of loved ones, business closures, job losses and a complete shift in how we live our lives. Our great capital city has also undergone sudden and dramatic changes. As the pandemic took hold in March it was eerily empty, [...]
London Mayoral elections: Whoever wins, scratchy relations with Downing Street must be mended to fight for the capital April 22, 2021 The Covid crisis has laid bare some of the UK’s harshest inequalities, nowhere more starklythan in London. East London boroughs have seen some of the highest death rates in thecountry, and London’s unemployment rate has soared. But other boroughs have some ofthe country’s lowest death rates, and the city that has lost most jobs has [...]
The City is the global gateway for financial flows post-Brexit, says Africa’s rising finance star May 13, 2021 With the focus of Brexit being on the relationship between the UK and EU, some in the City and beyond argue that not enough attention is given to the international impact of Brexit, specifically on Africa. With the removal of European market caps, there has been an increase in trade between the UK and Africa, [...]