Three new driverless cars hitting UK roads: A Range Rover Evoque, Ford Fusion and Mondeo unveiled by Oxbotica and Transport for London group Driven September 5, 2017 Three fresh prototypes for driverless cars have been unveiled by a top group with ambitious goals of getting the vehicles onto Britain’s roads by 2019. A self-driving Range Rover Evoque and two Ford – a Fusion and a Mondeo – will be part of a fleet of six vehicles that will form part of trials [...]
Oxford Street, Blackwall Tunnel, Southwark and Holborn teams win Transport for London funding to build streets for the future February 18, 2016 London's streets might not be paved with gold but they are about to become home to something arguably more interesting. Four schemes have been awarded funding by Transport for London, including an "intelligent" energy-generating side-street in the West End and a "noise-absorbing barrier" near the Blackwall Tunnel. The four grants have been awarded as part of its future [...]
In our rush to solve the housing crisis, we’re forgetting about one thing February 3, 2017 Greenwich Peninsula has never been thought of fondly. Once desolate marshland, by the turn of the 20th century it was best known for the difficult-to-love Blackwall Tunnel. A century later, the controversial Millennium Dome had joined it, along with the fiscally-questionable Emirates Air Line cable car. So yesterday’s high-profile launch of 600 shiny apartments on the [...]
French Connection boss signals two non-executive directors will step down January 26, 2017 The boss of French Connection has signalled two non-executive directors will be stepping down from the board after an intervention by a group of activist investors. Three investors wrote to French Connection's chief executive and chairman Stephen Marks last Thursday to demand non-executive directors Dean Murray and Claire Kent leave the board after presiding over "a tremendous decline [...]
We’re going to build Crossrail 2 and the private sector is going to pay for it April 3, 2017 Passengers crammed on to the Central, District, Circle and Piccadilly Lines are gasping for the opening of the Elizabeth Line, running from west to east, from Heathrow to Canary Wharf and beyond, late next year. But what about Londoners packed on to the north-south Northern, Victoria, Bakerloo and Jubilee Lines who suffer from similar over-crowding [...]
Uniqlo owner cuts outlook after warm winter sees operating profit fall 30 per cent – but company confident new Oxford Street store will “serve as a beacon for new London culture” April 7, 2016 A warm winter has been bad news for Uniqlo globally. But things are going okay in Europe. And its Japanese owner, Fast Retailing, is especially hopeful for the brand's future in the UK. The results noted that a new store opening on Oxford Street in London has "attracted a great deal of attention, with the store poised [...]
UK artificial intelligence startup FiveAI lands £14m series B from Lakestar Capital, an early Facebook and Spotify backer September 6, 2017 The venture fund set up by an early backer of Facebook, Spotify and Skype has invested millions in a UK artificial intelligence startup that is planning on getting driverless cars on the road. Lakestar Capital has led the £14m series B round into FiveAI, the company working with Mclaren technologies and Transport for London on [...]
Five days in to 2017, London exceeded its air pollution limit January 6, 2017 Finding the city smoggier than usual today? It's no wonder. Five days into the year, London has already broken air pollution limits set for the whole of 2017. Brixton Road is to blame. The road exceeded the hourly limit of 200 micrograms of nitrogen dioxide per cubic metre of air for the 19th time last night. Under EU pollution [...]
Global M&A activity to hit cycle high of $3.2 trillion next year November 13, 2017 Worldwide mergers and acquisition activity will hit $3.2 trillion (£2.4 trillion) in 2018, as dealmaking is lifted on a rising global economic tide, according to forecasts to be published today. Investors are feeling “increasingly confident” because of a pick-up in global trade and GDP growth across most of the world, according to analysis by law [...]
John Lewis has hired a new boss to replace Andy Street October 25, 2016 John Lewis has appointed Paula Nickolds as its new managing director to replace Andy Street. Street, who has run the retailer since 2007, is running as Conservative candidate for mayor of the West Midlands. Like Street, Nickolds – who will step up to the role in January – is a John Lewis veteran, having joined in [...]