Five moments we’ll always cherish from Gavin WIlliamson’s time as defence secretary May 2, 2019 Historians will look back on former defence secretary Gavin Williamson as one of the more colourful figures in Theresa May's Cabinet. Read more: Defence secretary Gavin Williamson ousted from cabinet over Huawei leak Williamson, who was last night sacked over allegations he leaked information from a top secret security meeting, experienced a series of gaffes [...]
Uber’s regulatory wild ride: Meet the man behind the wheel September 30, 2019 Uber UK and Europe boss Jamie Heywood may have only been in the job for 18 months, but he already personifies what the company has become since its angry confrontation with London mayor Sadiq Khan. That spat over Uber’s London operations has seen the previously cavalier company grow into a firm that is careful and [...]
Thames Water revises five-year business plan following criticism from regulator Ofwat over cost-efficiency | City A.M. April 1, 2019 Thames Water has submitted its revised five-year business plan after regulator Ofwat slammed the company for failing to meet cost-efficiency standards. The utility firm said it today handed over an improved plan, which includes commitments to reduce combined bills by 1.3 per cent an increase base cost efficiency by 22.5 per cent per customer. Read [...]
Bangkok 2049: What do the next three decades hold for this neon metropolis? December 11, 2019 It looked like volleyball from afar. Up close, I realised the players were only using their feet. And the ball was hollow; a spherical rattan of bamboo. Sepak Takraw (or “Muzzle”) was being played with brio by a group of local boys on Phutharet Square, a Thai time capsule in Old City Bangkok. They invited [...]
Brexit showdown: What to expect when you’re expecting (a General Election)… September 3, 2019 MPs return to parliament today for what is expected to be the start of a seismic couple of days in the Brexit debate. But what is actually going to happen? And will you have time to break away from the TV? Here’s everything you can expect to unfold in Westminster today… Read more: Putney MP [...]
VAR in our time: A bluffer’s guide to how video assistant referees will and won’t be used in the Premier League August 8, 2019 A quiet business estate built on the site of a former rubbish tip in the furthermost fringes of west London could hardly feel more removed from the hustle, bustle and stardust of Premier League football. But it is here, at Stockley Park in Harlington, where the outcome of a new top-flight season will be shaped [...]
‘Let us charge more for energy’, companies urge as they are forced to bail out a string of small suppliers February 19, 2019 The government must let energy suppliers charge more as they are left picking up the pieces from a string of failed rivals, two major players have said. Big Six energy firm Eon and Britain's largest challenger Ovo today called on the the competition regulator to change the way the price cap for prepayment metres works. They [...]
Defence contractor Cobham reinstates dividend as recovery from 2017 rights issue continues March 7, 2019 Engineering firm Cobham has announced plans to reinstate a progressive dividend after it shored up its balance sheet and settled a dispute with aerospace giant Boeing. The FTSE 250 defence and engineering group forecast more progress in 2019, expecting strong demand for its products in markets such as the US, but tightening budgets would place [...]
Fed up with bureaucracy? Might be time to reform your meetings March 21, 2019 Every organisation is either struggling with bureaucracy or terrified of becoming one as they grow. But when companies reach a certain size, it’s not uncommon for them to have countless policies, practices, and structures in place that have accumulated over time. Business leaders should think of this as an operating system. And just as a [...]
Just what the doctor ordered: The tech that is freeing NHS staff from pagers, landlines and WhatsApp September 10, 2019 When Lydia Yarlott started working as a junior doctor in 2015, she was handed a pager. With this retro piece of technology, she was expected to communicate with her colleagues in the hospital. For anyone unfamiliar with (or too young to know) how a pager works, the device beeps when someone wants to contact you, [...]