These never-before-seen pictures show the Barbican as it was being built March 4, 2016 Love it or hate it, the Barbican is one of the Square Mile's most iconic buildings, as well as being one of London's best known examples of brutalist architecture. Now a new book celebrates the building, with never-before-seen photos of the building's construction. Photographer Peter Bloomfield was commissioned by the Barbican Centre's first managing director, [...]
It takes a village: How Simon Rogan transformed a Cumbrian town into an international culinary destination July 6, 2017 The village of Cartmel lies just beyond the boundaries of the Lake District. It’s quietly beautiful, with squat stone buildings, rows of shops selling postcards and tourist knick-knacks, and a 12th century priory that dominates the town square. You can find lazy, bucolic idylls like this dotted across this part of the world; it’s the [...]
National Apprenticeship Week starts today, but City big-guns have been investing in young talent for years March 14, 2016 Today marks the start of National Apprenticeship Week, when London’s businesses raise awareness of the opportunities open to aspiring financiers and school-leavers. Apprentice programmes may be making headlines this week but the founder of one City-based charity says that the Square Mile’s top dogs have been investing in youngsters for years. David Pinchin, who founded [...]
The City’s secret Brexiteers are more numerous than you think June 17, 2016 Being a City Brexiteer might be assumed to be a lonely life. After all, aren’t we told repeatedly that “the City backs Remain” as though this were, like Newton’s laws, an immutable fact of physics? In fact, life isn’t lonely. Daily, people from the City sidle up to me much like Cold War dissidents. Carefully [...]
City boys go overboard on their whisky order and rack up an £11,000 bill in West End restaurant April 4, 2016 The Capitalist once thought, naively, that five-figure bills can only be racked up by ordering multiple bottles of Dom Perignon from bars in Mayfair or the Square Mile. Our doubts were first raised when, we brought you the news that a group of wealthy tourists managed to spend over £10,000 celebrating the Russian Orthodox new [...]
IMF head Christine Lagarde backs up Mark Carney in battle over a Brexit recession May 13, 2016 Brexit could push the UK into recession, hit wages, lead to higher prices and shatter London's status as the financial capital of the world, Christine Lagarde, head of International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said today, in the second high-profile Brexit warning in as many days. With less than six weeks to go until the EU referendum, – described [...]
Letter: The City of London Corporation should remain neutral in Brexit debate February 22, 2016 We, the undersigned, understand that the City of London Corporation is to decide this week whether or not to adopt a corporate position on British membership of the EU. We write to urge the Corporation to continue its neutrality on the issue. Such a decision would effectively be the Corporation adopting a partisan political stance [...]
EU referendum: City of London Corporation chief in Brexit warning to the capital’s fintech sector April 8, 2016 London's multi-billion pound fintech sector is being urged by the City of London Corporation to speak up in favour of Britain staying in the European Union. In a speech to be delivered on Monday, the Corporation's policy chairman Mark Boleat will say: “It is far better to have ‘entrepreneurs for Europe’ than ‘bankers for Brussels’ [...]
It’ll take blood, sweat and toil, but Brexit can work for the City June 29, 2016 I cannot pretend otherwise: it was with dismay that I watched Thursday night’s EU referendum results unfold. My view that Britain should remain an EU member was less a tactical position than an authentic, passionate and long-held belief, as well as something I felt was firmly in the City of London’s interests. As I watched my [...]
The Blockchain Brothers: BTL’s Guy and Hugh Halford-Thompson on running the world’s first public blockchain firm July 10, 2017 Based on Fenchurch Street, it’s not so often I mosey down to Canary Wharf. I suffer a terrible contradiction of mind when I do. Its Dubai-lite pastiche is soulless and underwhelming, yet as a location, its essence is one of unassailable purpose: a financial powerhouse, driving upwards of £100bn into the UK economy every year. [...]