Rapha co-founder and chief executive Simon Mottram on why the cycling company split from Team Sky April 4, 2017 Four years ago niche cycling sportswear firm Rapha beat German behemoth Adidas to supply the kit to the world’s best known cycling club, Team Sky. At the time, Simon Mottram, its chief executive and co-founder, felt this was the just the platform the retailer needed to take things up a gear. “We sold a lot [...]
British Airways will start flying from Stansted in May 2016 – as BA boss Willie Walsh admits grudging admiration for Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary February 9, 2016 British Airways is adding a fourth London airport to its network and will start flying out of Stansted from 28 May onwards. The company's subsidiary BA CityFlyer will operate routes to Faro, Malaga, Palma and Ibiza out of the airport, located in Essex, which is a massive base to budget airline Ryanair. "Stansted is a growing airport [...]
How to get into the world’s top airport lounges, from Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong to Qatar Airways’s Al Safwa lounge in Doha January 16, 2017 When flying long-haul, I tend to get to the airport early. Not because I’m one of those anxious flyers who likes to sit around in departures for three hours staring at the flight status screens, but because some airlines have upped their lounge game to such a point that it’s essential to allow enough time [...]
Stock market winners and losers after Autumn Statement: Estate agents hit after chancellor scraps letting fees November 23, 2016 Estate agents Foxtons, appear to have been the biggest losers from the Autumn Statement on the stock exchange today after chancellor Philip Hammond announced plans to scrap letting agents’ fees. Estate agents: losers Foxtons' share price fell 14 per cent to 105pon the day of the Autumn Statement. The estate agent’s shares were already down [...]
Scandal-hit Francois Fillon could gift Marine Le Pen the French presidency February 9, 2017 His campaign is in serious crisis, but Francois Fillon – candidate of the centre-right after a convincing victory in the primaries – said on Monday that he will continue to fight to become the next President of France despite a scandal engulfing him and his family. Trying to save his campaign, he apologised to the French [...]
The editor of the Daily Mail has resigned from a press committee in the most Daily Mail way possible December 1, 2016 Paul Dacre, the editor of the Daily Mail, has announced he is stepping down from a committee that sets out regulatory rules for the press. And, being the editor of the Daily Mail, he has refused to go quietly – taking a swipe at a challenger press regulator, Max Mosley, the government and… the internet. Read [...]
Falling ratios are far from critical according to Fitch August 23, 2016 A top ratings agency has given the UK's life insurance firms a vote of confidence, despite recent tough market conditions. The fall in bond yields over the first half of 2016 may be squeezing solvency ratios at Britain's leading life insurance companies but the decline is not enough to worry ratings agency Fitch, which said they "remain strong". Under Solvency II, insurers [...]
Sam Brazel’s surprise win in Hong Kong is a heart-warming tale but defeat will hurt for Rafa Cabrera Bello December 12, 2016 For an illustration of the vagaries of golf you need look no further than the Hong Kong Open, where unheralded Australian Sam Brazel saw off some illustrious rivals to land the biggest win of his career on Sunday. Brazel, a 37-year-old journeyman who started the week ranked 480th in the world and had never finished [...]
Last surviving WWI submarine hunter looks doomed for scrap after failing to secure Autumn Statement funding November 24, 2016 The HMS President's fate is looking uncertain, after a bid for Libor funding was turned down in Philip Hammond's Autumn Statement. Now she faces the prospect of being scrapped in the coming weeks. A parliamentary motion was submitted in an effort to signpost its value as a heritage site as one of the UK's last three [...]
Long Weekend review: If all they want for Christmas this year is a trip to Lapland, why not try out this winter wonderland in the UK first? December 9, 2016 The trip: Embrace festive fever and head to an immersive elfin experience near Ascot for an exciting encounter with Mother and Father Christmas. This is something for the whole family to enjoy, following a trail through an enchanted forest to sample a day in the life of elf apprentices, preparing food and toys for the [...]