Square Mile and Me: Allica Bank’s Kate Valdar on start-ups, long lunches and Costa Rica June 29, 2023 Each week we ask the City's movers and shakers to take us through their Square Mile journey. This week it's Kate Valdar - general counsel at SME-focussed Allica Bank - on her musical past, her time at PwC and why Costa Rica is on her bucket list
Exclusive: Businesses call for bank-by-bank breakdown of coronavirus lending April 21, 2020 British businesses have called on industry body UK Finance to publish a bank-by-bank breakdown of lending through the coronavirus support scheme, as it emerges that Natwest has so far made roughly half of all loans through the programme. Data from Natwest today showed that as of Sunday evening the group (formerly called RBS) had approved [...]
What to watch this Christmas: Top TV shows of 2022, from Severance to 1899 December 25, 2022 That we’re living in a golden age of TV has become something of a truism, but even against that backdrop 2022 has been an excellent year for new shows. Here are just a few of our favourites, from top comedies to steampunk science fiction and crime noir. Bad Sisters – Apple TV The latest show [...]
Snakes and Ladders: Who is moving jobs in the City this week? October 28, 2020 Snakes and Ladders provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. City firms are continuing to adapt to the challenges and opportunities presented by the pandemic as they vie to be in prime position to recover from the economic fallout of the crisis. This [...]
Treasury set to overhaul coronavirus loan scheme to avoid insolvencies April 1, 2020 The chancellor Rishi Sunak is reportedly set to overhaul the government’s emergency coronavirus loan scheme over concerns that small and medium sized businesses may go bust before they can access the funds. Sky News reported Sunak is set to announce that the requirement for banks to assess whether companies are eligible for other funding products [...]
Businesses urge Treasury to incentivise private investors to protect SMEs from collapse June 8, 2020 British businesses have called on the Treasury to incentivise private investors to invest in SMEs that have been badly affected by the coronavirus crisis. In a letter to the Chancellor, law firm Buckworths has asked the government to incentivise so-called angel investors to invest in startups to help them repay the debt that has mounted [...]
Don’t hate us if you ain’t us: anyone can be a Londoner and that’s how it should be November 3, 2022 Like many Londoners, this city is central to my identity. I am a proud Londoner before I am British, English, or European. It is the “go-to” self-description for many of us – but what does it mean to be a real Londoner? Let’s clear one thing up straight away. Many cities and regions require you [...]
Rishi Sunak under fire for ‘flip-flopping’ on tax after promising to cut VAT on energy bills July 27, 2022 Tory leadership hopeful Rishi Sunak has been accused of “flip-flopping” on tax after pledging to cut VAT on energy bills and interrupting his rival Liz Truss in two debates in recent days. It came after the Tory leadership hopeful unveiled plans to remove VAT from domestic energy bills for a year if the price cap [...]
Metro Bank shares fall despite rise in customer deposits May 6, 2020 Metro Bank experienced a lull in lending over its first quarter but customer deposits jumped by £77m since the end of December, it told investors today. Customers ignored lower interest rates on deposits to store more money with Metro Bank to bring deposits to £14.55bn over the first three months of 2020. Meanwhile, net lending [...]
Government announces £617m grants for small businesses in shared spaces May 3, 2020 The government today announced a further £617m in grants for small companies that work in shared spaces and are not eligible for business rates relief. The departner for business, energy and industrial strategy (Beis) said the fund is aimed at small businesses with ongoing fixed property-related costs. Beis said it was asking local authorities to [...]