The Kingdom is secure: Two new ravens join Tower of London conspiracy May 4, 2021 Should the ravens leave the Tower, so the Kingdom will fall – that’s the legend, at any rate. But reassuringly it appears both the realm and indeed the City of London will endure at least a little longer with the arrival of two baby ravens at the Tower of London. Read more: The £18 million [...]
Revolut and the race – or not – to superapp status November 17, 2022 What on earth is a superapp and do we really want one, asks Charlie Conchie
Learning the hard way: Why do things keep going wrong for Pearson? October 14, 2020 John Fallon, longstanding chief executive of Pearson, will step down next week after nearly eight years at the helm. The education boss today signed off with a mixed set of results for the first nine months of the year, as a surge in demand for online learning helped to offset sliding sales. The figures summed [...]
Standard Life Aberdeen remains optimistic despite 2020 profit slump March 9, 2021 Standard Life Aberdeen suffered a drop in profits in 2020, the fund manager announced today. Operating profit fell 27 per cent to £219m last year, while adjusted pre-tax profit dropped 16 per cent to £487m. The firm finished the year with a strong surplus capital position of £2.3bn, compared to £1.7bn in 2019, benefitting from [...]
First test trains run on Crossrail ahead of 2022 opening May 13, 2021 Initial testing on Crossrail’s Elizabeth Line has now kicked off, with four trains an hour now running on the line. It is the first phase in a series of major trials that must be completed before the much-delayed line opens in the first half of 2022. The firm also said it had handed over the [...]
Tory central London MP calls for fresh package to support the West End June 22, 2021 A Conservative central London Tory MP is today calling for a fresh package of economic support to help the capital’s post-Covid economic recovery, with specific measures for the West End. Cities of London and Westminster MP Nickie Aiken today used a 30-minute parliamentary debate today to call for a removal of the £2m business rates [...]
Night of The Kings is an inventive, hard-hitting prison drama July 22, 2021 The prison movie is an inexhaustible inspiration for filmmakers. Just when you think you’ve seen every permutation, a film comes along and shows you something different. Ivorian filmmaker Philippe Lacôte (2014’s Run) goes into the heart of an infamous location for his new story, Night of The Kings. We find ourselves The Ivory Coast’s notorious [...]
Why the Twisted Defender is the Land Rover we really need January 8, 2023 In 2016, after 67 continuous years of production, Land Rover ceased production of its iconic Defender causing CAMRA members to wail into their beer as though they’d lost a childhood pet. Men with beards and rubber shoes will tell you the car’s likeness should have gone straight onto a banknote. Land Rover recently launched a [...]
Ex-Greene King boss buys 42 pubs including London venues from Stonegate March 30, 2021 Redcat Pub Company, the firm led by former Greene King boss Rooney Anand, has bought 42 venues from Stonegate. The company announced today that 50 per cent of the managed pubs are in prime London areas, in a vote of confidence in the capital’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. It said the estate consists of [...]
Standard Life Aberdeen set for name change after deal with Phoenix Group February 11, 2021 Standard Life Aberdeen is set to sell its flagship brand to Phoenix Group, a significant revamp of one of the City’s biggest asset managers. The fund manager’s new chief executive Stephen Bird, who joined last year, is on the brink of agreeing a deal to sell the Standard Life name, according to Sky News. The [...]