CBI: Apprentice levy won’t fix skills crisis July 12, 2015 Britain’s top business group will lash out at the government’s new apprenticeships plan today, arguing that the move is “unlikely” to help fix the UK’s skills shortage. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) publishes a survey this morning showing that over half of firms are afraid that they will not be able to find staff [...]
Private equity firm 3i in €250m packaging company investment June 4, 2015 PRIVATE equity firm 3i announced it had agreed to invest around €250m (£183m) in Weener Plastic Packaging Group (WPPG) yesterday. WPPG, which specialises in the design of packaging products for the personal care, food and beverage markets operates in 15 countries, employing 2,000 people. 3i is expected to support management at the German-based firm, which generated [...]
The Shard just let another 20,000 sq ft of office space to a recruiter May 15, 2015 The Shard may be one of the most recognisable buildings in London, but since its official opening in 2012, office rentals at the building have come in more of a trickle than a gush. But today the building's owners announced its latest letting: 20,200 sq ft of space on the 10th storey will go to [...]
Landscape supplier Marshalls in first half sales jump as building booms July 6, 2015 Hard landscaping manufacturer Marshalls had an 11 per cent rise in revenue for the sixth months to 30 June, up to £199m, the firm said yesterday. Sales to the public sector and commercial market were up 15 per cent compared with 2014, and represented 64 per cent of Marshalls’ total sales. Sales in the domestic [...]
Labour leadership election: Key business policies from Jeremy Corbyn, Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall September 9, 2015 With three days until the new Labour leader is announced, we've looked at the business policies from each of the four candidates. Read more: Candidates clash over business as Kendall urges party to back "wealth creation" Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn has argued for a fundamental shift in economic policy. Corbyn is considered the most left-wing candidate [...]
Why we should mobilise public land to tackle London’s housing crisis June 28, 2015 A starter for ten. How much of the land in the London Borough of Southwark is owned by Southwark Council? 10 per cent? 20 per cent? More? Answer: 43 per cent, including, astonishingly, 10,000 garages, most of them part of council housing estates built in the 1960s and 1970s. Southwark Council is not exceptional. London’s [...]
Rescued banks are not out of the woods yet: New FCA rules to improve account transparency for customers July 23, 2015 The City watchdog put more pressure on the financial sector yesterday with new rules that could see banks and building societies named and shamed for paying poor interest rates to longstanding customers. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that from next year, firms will have to provide clear information on how much interest savers are paid [...]
NHS orthodoxy is dying: Here’s how to put patients at the heart of healthcare September 1, 2015 Surveys often suffer from what is known as “social desirability bias”: when people sense that an opinion they hold, or a habit they engage in, is unfashionable, they are unlikely to be entirely honest about it in a survey. Instead, they may simply tell the interviewer what they think they are socially expected to [...]
Tony Blair’s obsession with “going to uni” is to blame for the UK’s apprentice problem – but we can’t afford to be sniffy July 23, 2015 Let’s face it, the UK has an apprentice problem. Whether we’re dissecting Lord Sugar’s latest line-up of hopefuls or wringing hands at the thought of our kids becoming one, as a nation we look down on apprentices. How far the government’s commitment to creating three million new apprenticeships by 2020 will change things, is [...]
Why zero hours contracts are good news for both workers and businesses September 2, 2015 One in 40 British workers is now employed on a zero hours contract. Depending on your point of view, this is either a blight on the state of modern Britain, a sign of capitalism in dysfunction, or it is the jewel in Britain’s flexible labour market crown and proof that one in 40 people who [...]