House prices: New build homebuyer demand explodes on England’s south coast and in Wales April 26, 2021 Homebuyer demand for new build homes has climbed 9 per cent in the last year, with coastal towns in the south of England and Wales leading the charge. Across Britain, 38.7 per cent of all new build homes are already sold subject to contract or under offer, a 9 per cent jump on the same [...]
Marcus Rashford and the new player power: it won’t be long until clubs and sponsors put a price on it November 4, 2020 Just when you think that 2020 can’t throw up any more surprises, Marcus Rashford, a 23-year-old footballer, becomes the government’s loudest source of opposition. At the time of writing there’s been no U-turn on extending the provision of free school meals when faced by Rashford’s campaign. But by generating support and sentiment through his 3.7m [...]
Trevor Steven: Transfer talk has hit Manchester United’s form ahead of Barcelona Champions League clash April 9, 2019 After an initial burst of adrenaline and positivity brought about by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replacing Jose Mourinho in the dugout, it feels as though Manchester United have gone backwards lately. A run of three defeats in four games since their heroics against Paris Saint-Germain, including losing twice to Wolves, has punctured the belief that Solskjaer [...]
Queen’s Platinum Jubilee pageant will be bigger and bolder than Victoria’s in 1897 October 9, 2021 About 6,500 performers will turn the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee pageant into the “largest ever put on”, an organiser has revealed. V&A chairman Nicholas Coleridge, who is co-chairing the pageant, said the event on the final day of jubilee celebrations will top those held in 1897 for Queen Victoria. He added that the BBC predicts the [...]
Tottenham v Manchester City: Quadruple talk masks the fact that only Champions League glory will do for City April 8, 2019 Is it possible to enjoy resounding success, to set new standards of achievement not just for your club but for the very competitions in which they play and yet still leave a nagging sense of hopes unfulfilled? It’s a question Bayern Munich must have wrestled with in the last days of Pep Guardiola’s tenure as [...]
City of London to provide schoolchildren with free food vouchers over half term October 23, 2020 The City of London Corporation will provide food vouchers for schoolchildren eligible for free school meals over half term. It is the latest local authority to announce the step after the government elected not to make free meals available over the next six months. Other London councils such as Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth, and Southwark [...]
Steering clear of the cliff edge: Why it makes business sense for sport to put the human first May 11, 2021 We’ve seen a seismic shift in attitudes around athlete welfare but the sentiment ‘it’s only what happens on the pitch that counts’, albeit largely unspoken, is sadly still common in professional sport. With the global sports market expected to reach $600bn by 2025, there is no doubt about the pressure clubs are facing to deliver [...]
We must open up venture capital investment to pension funds to deliver for British savers May 11, 2021 Darktrace’s IPO was a relief to investors and founders considering a float on the London market, doing much to take away the bitter aftertaste left by Deliveroo’s lacklustre debut at the start of April. Yet even this very British success story, founded by expert mathematicians in Cambridge and invested in by some of the UK’s [...]
Sky Sports attracts record viewing figures for second time in two months December 8, 2020 Sky Sports has thrived during the second national lockdown, breaking its audience records for the second time in two months. Sunday 29 November saw an average of 1.17m viewers and a peak of 4m tune in to the Sky Sports portfolio of channels. Drawing the record audience were a triple header of live football that [...]
UK’s finance hubs can work together to power a levelling-up agenda March 8, 2021 The Government last week renewed its commitment to creating a level playing field for the UK’s nations and regions in the Budget. It also announced support for a new independent review by Lord Hill, recommending reforms to UK listing rules to boost growth and our capital markets. The two should not be viewed separately but [...]