Row erupts over multi-million-pound bill for Farringdon floods as Network Rail and Thames Water fight over who is to blame January 29, 2015 A row has erupted over who is to blame for the floods that have disrupted train services across London on the Thameslink line for the past six days – and which look likely to last into next week. Yesterday Network Rail issued a statement saying Thames Water faced “a multi-million pound bill” for the [...]
Asos boss Nick Robertson sells £20m-worth of shares January 28, 2015 Asos boss Nick Robertson has had a lucrative afternoon. The founder and chief executive of the hugely succesful etailer has sold nearly 750,000 shares, worth more than £20.2m. The shares were sold at an average price of just over 2,716p each. It puts January pay day into perspective for the rest of us. [...]
City Hall to examine London’s ability to withstand Paris-style terror attack, if Jewish communities need police protection January 28, 2015 London's ability to withstand a Paris-style terror attack will come under the microscope at City Hall tomorrow. Metropolitan police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe and deputy mayor for policing and crime Stephen Greenhalgh will answer questions from the London Assembly's Police and Crime Committee to see whether the capital's police force could cope with the [...]
De ja pleut: Thameslink services disrupted because of another #Farringdontrains flood January 28, 2015 As Morrisey once warbled, stop me if you think that you've heard this one before. Thameslink is warning of severe disruption to services because of a flood. No, no, a different one. And heaven knows commuters are miserable now. The leak that caused chaos on Monday, has been plugged. But there [...]
Tesco reveals locations of 43 stores being shut January 28, 2015 Tesco has revealed the locations of the 43 stores it plans to shut, resulting in around 2,000 job losses, as new chief executive Dave Lewis attempts to turn the struggling supermarket around. Of the stores going, 18 are Expresses and 12 are Metros. Just seven are superstores, with a further six the homeplus format. The [...]
Snow and sleet expected in London tonight as temperatures hit zero – but the rest of the country has it much worse January 28, 2015 Get cosy tonight: snow and sleet is forecast to reach London in the small hours as temperatures drop to zero. The capital will miss out on much of the bad weather that has prompted the Met Office to issue a weather warning for Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England, where blizzards and up to [...]
A polar bear on the loose in London – or is it? Animatronic animal promotes new Sky Atlantic series Fortitude January 27, 2015 We know it's cold in London, but we didn't think it was Arctic. Why else would a polar bear be wandering the capital's streets? For a major publicity stunt perhaps? Sky Atlantic has gone all out to promote its new big-budget series Fortitude, sending an eight-foot long semi-animatronic polar bear around the city centre. [...]
Boris Johnson gives revised Crossrail for Bikes the green light – now it’s just up to Transport for London January 27, 2015 A revised version of the heavily anticipated 'Crossrail for Bikes' has been given the green-light by London mayor Boris Johnson, as part of a £913m policy to get more Londoners cycling. The latest version of the plans for Europe's longest “substantially segregated” cycle path, which cut delays by 60 per cent on the route previously [...]
Mortgage lending drops again – but BBA sees light at the end of the tunnel January 27, 2015 Mortgage lending in the UK fell in December for the six month in a row, with gross borrowing levels 12 per cent lower than they were a year ago. Figures published by the British Bankers Association this morning show that the total figure for mortgages stood at £10bn last month. House purchase approvals dropped [...]
Is 2015 the year digital disruption goes physical? January 26, 2015 Now that our environments are increasingly embedded with sensors and overlaid with software, digital is extending its reach beyond the domain of ones and zeroes and into the physical world. This shift is bolstered by a new breed of startups with broad visions for how to mix digital and physical services for the first [...]