Ben Hardy on EastEnders and his new LGBTQ film Unicorns: We’re all multi-faceted. Why stick to one label?
Ex-minister: Billions lost in Covid fraud ‘one of biggest cock-ups’ in recent history March 15, 2022 Billions of taxpayer money lost through Covid loan fraud is “one of the most colossal cock-ups in recent government management”, the ex-fraud minister has said. Lord Theodore Agnew told MPs on Westminster’s business committee that he was told to “butt out” by Treasury officials when he tried to crack down on fraudsters taking out Covid [...]
Starling Bank: Five things that defined Anne Boden’s time at the top June 30, 2023 The chief and founder of digital lender Starling Bank Anne Boden will hand over the reins to her number two today as she steps back from the top job after nine years. Boden has undoubtedly blazed a trail in British banking. The Swansea native remains the only woman to have launched a bank in the [...]
Fast growth tech firms won’t wait for the glacial pace of British politics September 22, 2023 Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini budget was a disaster, but he was right about the sluggish way government deals with tech.
Alison Rose: How the first woman to lead a major British bank ran Natwest July 26, 2023 Dame Alison – or just Ms Rose as she was at the time – made history in 2019 when she became the first woman to take the top job at one of the UK’s big four banks. She took over a bank from New Zealander Ross McEwan, which had stabilised after the financial crisis nearly [...]
Investment group backed by ex-Tesco boss probed over allegations of £2m Covid loan misuse May 11, 2022 We Are Nova, a start-up investment group with support from ex-Tesco chief Sir Terry Leahy, is being probed over claims it misused Covid loans. According to The Times newspaper, companies associated with We Are Nova netted almost £2m through the government’s bounce back loan scheme. However, the firms did not seem to be eligible for [...]
UK watchdog slams government failures to tackle Covid loan fraud December 3, 2021 The National Audit Office has chastised the government for failing to crack down on an estimated £5bn of loan fraud during the pandemic. The government’s department for business, energy and industrial strategy handed out far more in Covid Bounce Back Loans than it was expecting during the pandemic with a total of £47bn dished out [...]
Starling boss Boden marks quadrupling of bank’s profits with barbs at fintech peers January 6, 2023 Digital bank Starling said it expects to more than quadruple its profits to £120m and ramp up a hiring spree this year as it becomes the latest lender to be buoyed by rising interest rates and a surge in borrowing.
Treasury’s £4.3bn fraud write-off likely to be eclipsed by £20bn Covid loan defaults as CBILs and BBLs are not repaid February 8, 2022 The £4.3bn of Covid loans that may have to be written-off by The Treasury due to fraud and highlighted by the recent resignation of Lord Agnew, could be eclipsed by businesses failing to repay their CBILs and BBLs Covid support loans, an industry expert warns. £73.8bn has been loaned under the above schemes to around [...]
Treasury minister quits over government’s ‘lamentable’ Covid fraud record January 24, 2022 A Treasury minister resigned today over the government’s “lamentable” record on Covid fraud, after billions were stolen from Covid support schemes. Lord Theodore Agnew – previously responsible for government efficiency – said oversight of the Covid loan schemes by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) and the British Business Bank had been [...]
Mark Kleinman: This licence to print money may soon run out of road April 6, 2023 How’s that licence to print money going? Not so well if you’re a long-standing investor in De La Rue, the authentication and currency specialist which has managed to squander a market-leading position and hundreds of millions of pounds in shareholder value. Oberthur Technologies, its French-based peer, tabled an indicative offer in 2010 worth 905p-a-share, or [...]