Farewell London, hello Edinburgh? Financial services will find a new home if we leave the Single Market June 28, 2016 So we know London didn’t vote to leave the EU and nor did Scotland or Northern Ireland. But we know England did. For many Scots – like me – who have built global businesses out of London as Europe’s financial capital, there is a real sense that this vote and therefore Brexit is “not in my name”. [...]
The City needs to talk about mental health to combat this silent plague May 16, 2016 Today marks the start of World Mental Health Awareness Week, during which the spotlight will be turned on an important issue that for too long has been relegated to the shadows. Across the world, hundreds of millions of people are affected by mental health conditions. Here in the UK, for example, one in four people [...]
Shot in the Arm for the City as £24bn mega-deal is agreed July 19, 2016 British tech giant Arm Holdings yesterday agreed to a £24.3bn takeover by telecoms group Softbank, in a move that would go down as the second largest outbound Japanese deal on record. Softbank has pounced for the Cambridge-based chip-maker following a sharp drop in the value of the pound, largely prompted by last month’s vote to leave [...]
Virgin Active is shredding for summer June 14, 2016 Gym operator Virgin Active is trimming the fat and selling 35 of its UK clubs to rival Nuffield Health as part of plans to refocus on its more exclusive locations. The deal is expected to complete this summer, with the clubs, their members and staff moving across to Nuffield. Virgin Active will have 61 clubs left [...]
Energy minister Andrea Leadsom has vowed to banish pessimism as questions continue over her time in the City July 7, 2016 Supporters of energy minister Andrea Leadsom have staged a march on parliament after the energy minister promised to “banish the pessimists” on Brexit. Leadsom backers walked for half a mile between her speech at Millbank Tower and Houses of Parliament. Along the way, they chanted in support of the energy minister. https://twitter.com/jimwaterson/status/750979473277943808 https://twitter.com/MichaelPDeacon/status/750977498998079488 The march came [...]
Businesses in war of words over Britain’s potential EU exit October 6, 2015 Businesses did battle over Britain’s potential EU exit yesterday, with a war of words erupting about the repercussions of a Brexit or staying put. Gina Miller, founding partner of SCMDirect.com, kicked off the exchange by warning that the City faces “disaster” if the UK is forced to renegotiate. She said: “It will take years of negotiations, [...]
City Moves for 17 June 2016 | Who’s switching jobs June 17, 2016 PwC Andrew Kail has been appointed as leader of PwC’s UK financial services practice, succeeding Kevin Burrowes who is joining PwC’s executive board as head of clients & markets. Andrew has over 25 years of experience with PwC, having operated in a variety of financial services roles, most recently as head of the FS Assurance [...]
How landlords are softening the blow of buy to let tax changes June 10, 2016 The government's tax changes on second homes has produced a record demand for mortgages through companies in the first quarter of 2016, according to a report released today. Buy to let lending to limited companies surged to nearly 38,000 in the first quarter, which is more than for the whole of 2014, as landlords incorporate to [...]
New Women’s Business Council chief Cilla Snowball says more needs to be done for female empowerment in UK firms July 8, 2016 Female representation on FTSE100 boards has risen from 12.5 per cent to 26 per cent in a year according to a report released yesterday. The latest Female FTSE Board Report by Cranfield University, City University London and Queen Mary University London also shows that, overall, the percentage of women on all FTSE boards has increased since [...]
Amazon is going on a pre-Christmas hiring spree as it gears up for another bumper festive period July 6, 2016 Amazon, the US online retailer that has been ruffling feathers with its aggressive expansion plans, is upping its UK staff head count by a further 1,000 this year. It today announced plans to add 1,000 permanent jobs across the UK, on top of 2,500 permanent roles previously announced in January. The latest increase means it will [...]