Archie Norman granted £1.75m ‘singing-on’ fee to join board of Bridgepoint July 22, 2021 Chairman of M&S Archie Norman has been offered a rare signing-on fee of £1.75m to join the board of newly floated buyout group Bridgepoint as the senior independent director. As Bridgepoint took the unusual step of listing on the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday, Norman’s onboarding fee was buried in registration documents detailing the terms [...]
Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid review: bang on the zeitgeist June 29, 2021 The new Toyota Yaris Cross takes an award-winning small car and makes it larger. Tim Pitt is among the first to drive it.
Services sector expanded at fastest rate in 24 years in May June 3, 2021 The UK’s service industry saw business activity grow at its fastest rate in 24 years last month as the reopening of the country’s economy after the pandemic continued apace. The UK Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for services rose to 62.9 in May, up from 61 in April. Any score above 50 indicates growth. It [...]
Regulating the robots – unpacking the EU’s new AI Regulation May 11, 2021 The European Commission recently publish a first draft of its new Artificial Intelligence Regulation (AI Regulation). The AI Regulation covers both Providers (i.e. developers) and business Users of AI systems. Providers have a broad set of obligations owed to Users. Under the AI Regulation, AI systems are categorised as: – Prohibited: certain “manipulative” and “exploitative” uses of AI are outlawed [...]
UK PMIs: Service sector grew at fastest rate since 2013 in April May 6, 2021 The UK service sector grew at the fastest rate since 2013 in April as the economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic continues apace. The UK Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for services rose to 61 in April, up from 56.3 in March. Any score above 50 indicates growth. It beat flash estimates of a reading [...]
UK PMIs: Service sector returns to growth as lockdown end nears April 7, 2021 The UK’s services industry returned to growth in March, with business activity, new orders and unemployment all rebounding from the previous month. New data released this morning shows that the UK’s impressive vaccine rollout had seen the economy recover at a faster rate than initially expected. The IHS Markit/Cips purchasing managers (PMI) index for services registered 56.3 [...]
Shakespeare: Spoons set to enjoy post-lockdown rush April 7, 2021 Tim Martin, the founder and chairman of the pub chain JD Wetherspoon, has outlined the company’s plans to invest £145 million in expanding and upgrading its pub estate. Over the next 12 to 18 months the 75 planned projects would establish 18 new pubs, upgrade and extend 57 of its existing pubs, and create 2,000 [...]
Wetherspoon to invest £145m in new pubs and upgrades March 30, 2021 Wetherspoon is set to invest £145 million opening new pubs and upgrading existing ones, creating 2,000 new jobs, the pub chain announced this morning. The ambitious plans will start within weeks of its pubs reopening fully as the lockdown eases. A total of 18 new pubs will open and “significant extensions and upgrades” will be [...]
BBC to shift news jobs out of London in bid to win over regions March 18, 2021 The BBC will shift major parts of its news operation out of London as the broadcaster looks to stave off criticism of metropolitan bias. A number of major programmes and scores of journalists will be relocated from the capital to regional bases across the country over the next six years. “Our mission must be to [...]
UK PMIs: Construction activity bounces back as paused projects get green light March 4, 2021 UK construction activity bounced back in February as businesses gave the go ahead to projects that had been forced to be suspended due to the pandemic. The IHS Markit/Cips purchasing managers (PMI) index for construction scored 53.2 in February, with any score above the 50-mark indicating growth. That’s markedly ahead of analyst expectations of a score of [...]