Britain hasn’t lost Arm: Its acquisition is the start of a new Great British tech story July 19, 2016 A week ago, many were wondering whether the UK’s tech sector would become less relevant in a post-Brexit world. The news of Arm’s acquisition by SoftBank for £24bn means many things for UK tech – but irrelevance is not one of them. This acquisition is positive and timely news. Following the referendum, it’s an immediate vote [...]
Why we’re backing Britain’s resilient and optimistic small businesses September 8, 2016 In the run up to June’s referendum vote, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) became a focal point for both Leave and Remain camps, with each side claiming the support of small business owners for their different visions of Britain’s future. This focus on SMEs was unsurprising – these businesses are the nuts and bolts of British [...]
How to get over your aversion to video-conferencing July 28, 2016 Meetings are a fact of business life, and their frequency seems to be increasing daily. In an international survey of businesses by Ovum Consulting, executives reported an average of 17 meetings a week. Half claimed that the number of meetings they attend every week is growing. This increase can be explained partly by the wide adoption [...]
Total number of female execs, at 14 per cent, is far less than the number of women at board level June 13, 2016 FEMALE executive committee members at UK financial services firms typically number just 14 per cent of the total according to research by think tank New Financial. This compares to female representation of 23 per cent among board directors at the same companies. The findings, out today, show the scale of the task in fostering more [...]
Robo-advice can democratise finance by making investing easy and convenient June 2, 2016 The robots are here! But not in the Terminator sense. Think, rather, of Asimov’s creations. Or, for the less nerdy, Rosie from The Jetsons: benevolent machines, doing our hard work but better, faster and more reliably. Across almost all sectors, automation and digitisation are transforming daily lives. The world of investment is no exception. Robo-investing [...]
London house prices: Solving the capital’s housing crisis needs more than just cynical promises from mayoral hopefuls March 24, 2016 Tottenham’s resurgence near the top of the Premier League seems to have dovetailed with its housing market, which has shot up 10 per cent in a year. Massive investment across north east London from long term investors such as Grainger, Argent and Legal & General is transforming the area, with a high focus on build to rent. Crucially, many [...]
Sadiq Khan won’t improve life for London’s renters by wrapping buy-to-let landlords in red tape June 8, 2016 A “referendum on housing.” That was how Sadiq Khan described the London mayoral contest. Access to housing that Londoners can afford is certainly critical to the future success of the capital, and at the heart of the mayor’s plans are substantial reforms to private rented property. As the voice of private landlords, we welcome debate about [...]
City Moves for 23 May 2016 | Who’s switching jobs May 23, 2016 Together Specialist lender Together has appointed Colin Kersley to its retail board. As an independent non-executive director, Colin will also chair the retail audit committee. Colin was previously chief executive officer of M&S Bank (a wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC) where he worked closely with the independent board to convert the card company to a bank, [...]
One million workers in the UK will be trained to tackle terrorism April 20, 2016 People working in built up areas will be trained how to respond to terrorist threats with police seeking to get more than one million workers ready to know what to do in the event of such an attack. The National Police Chief's Council on Wednesday announced the plan to extend the police's anti-terror scheme Project Griffin which already advises [...]
Property of the Week: Sanctum is a rare floating home in Putney and it’s full of bespoke furniture and antiques May 25, 2016 Finding a property that meets all your requirements in London is no easy task. In fact, it’s such a bother that Charles Nicholson decided it would be easier to build one himself from scratch – on the Thames. Admittedly, Nicholson had a little help from his friends as he’s the managing director of The Contract [...]