Former LSE boss Rolet joins Shore Capital as non-exec chairman May 17, 2020 The former boss of the London Stock Exchange Xavier Rolet has joined brokerage firm Shore Capital as the chairman of its capital markets business. In his decade at the head of London’s bourse, Rolet transformed the LSE into one of the world’s largest indices by market capitalization. When he joined, its valuation stood at £800m, [...]
Shakespeare: Enforced working from home takes away key customers for commuter reliant brands July 8, 2020 In my previous column I discussed how Pret A Manger’s COVID-19 response earned them admiration from the British public by carefully planning store openings, abiding with social distancing measures and offering free NHS worker perks. Unfortunately it appears that this hasn’t been enough to ensure the brand survives coronavirus completely intact. This week Pret A [...]
Just Eat boss Peter Duffy moves to Moneysupermarket May 15, 2020 Just Eat boss Peter Duffy has been appointed as chief executive of price comparison website Moneysupermarket. Duffy, who was chief commercial operator at Easyjet before he joined takeaway giant Just Eat, will take the reins at Moneysupermarket from 1 September. He will replace Mark Lewis who announced he would step down as chief executive in [...]
Charity begins at home — which makes foreign aid more important than ever November 26, 2020 No one can have envied Rishi Sunak yesterday, for it was the chancellor’s task to unveil the Spending Review to the House of Commons, facing (we were told by the Treasury) the worst economic landscape since the Great Frost of 1709. Sunak strove for sombre and minatory, but he has not yet gained enough political [...]
Metro Bank agrees £12m deal for Ratesetter in lending push August 3, 2020 Metro Bank will snap up peer-to-peer lender Ratesetter after agreeing a £12m sale it hopes will push it into more profitable banking avenues. The challenger bank will pay an initial £2.5m, it said today, and another £9.5m over the three years following the completion of the deal, based on performance criteria. Daniel Frumkin, Metro Bank’s [...]
Sketch: The tech giants dance to their own tune in Zoom parliament April 30, 2020 “Have you ever met Mark Zuckerberg?” the culture select committee asks, wasting no time in getting to the real issues about the spread of fake news during the coronavirus crisis. Facebook’s UK public policy manager, a bespectacled millennial sat predictably next to a potted plant, looks nonplussed via webcam. “I have seen him,” he says [...]
As the show turns 40 we live the Magnum P.I. dream in a vintage Ferrari 308 GTS November 12, 2020 TV detective Magnum P.I. first skidded onto our screens 40 years ago – and did so in a red Ferrari 308 GTS.
We live in interesting times, but kindness matters too June 7, 2020 There is hardly a day goes by that I don’t think of the old curse: ‘May you live in interesting times.’ The saying comes – appropriately enough, you might say – from China. But whatever one’s suspicions about the Xi Jinping administration and its role in the current crisis, I have always liked the saying. [...]
A Scottish expedition: Falling in love with the Hebrides November 2, 2020 “Do you want to head for the shark or the dolphins?” As questions go, it’s not a bad one. In the distance to the right of us, the two fins of an 8-metre basking shark wobble gently from side to side as the extraordinary creature gorges on krill. To the left, coming closer, the tell-tale [...]
WH Smith revenue dives 85 per cent during coronavirus lockdown May 14, 2020 WH Smith reported an 85 per cent drop in revenue for last month after the coronavirus lockdown forced the retailer to close high street and transport hub stores. The newsagent chain said travel revenue plunged 91 per cent due to travel bans around the world, and high street revenue was down 74 per cent. WH [...]