City workers slowly beginning to return to office after lockdown September 2, 2020 Commuters are slowly starting to return to London’s business districts after the coronavirus lockdowns, new data from Transport for London has shown. As of last Friday, 17,852 passengers entered and exited Bank tube station in the City, ten times more than the 1,800 who did so at the height of the pandemic. The figure is [...]
Lloyd’s of London opens its doors for the first time since March September 2, 2020 Lloyd’s of London has reopened its doors with enhanced safety measures after nearly six months of remote working. Employees returned to the office on Tuesday after months of insurance contract negotiations taking place online and over the phone. In June the insurer, which is one of the last face-to-face financial markets, announced plans to reopen [...]
Can office workers save the day for local businesses ravaged by Covid-19? September 2, 2020 The sudden shift to remote working put in place by the majority of UK businesses may herald the end of the office, at least as we know it. Five months and multiple government campaigns later, and the shift to the kitchen table continues, seemingly unabated. According to a survey from US bank Morgan Stanley, just [...]
The City View: Linda Plant, The Apprentice interrogator, on why working from home must come to an end September 2, 2020 In this episode Christian talks to entrepreneur and business coach Linda Plant about why she thinks working from home is overrated and unsustainable. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Linda says that in addition to the economic consequences of ghost-town city centres, the lack of human contact and creative sparks is bad for business. She knows not everyone [...]
Labour peer David Blunkett calls for workers to return to office September 1, 2020 Lord David Blunkett has thrown his weight behind calls for workers to return to the office, urging Brits to “be confident” about getting back to normal life. The Labour peer today warned the government’s stay at home messaging was still resonating with many people. “Getting parents to be confident about their children going to school, [...]
Central London dry cleaning firms struggle as workers stay at home September 1, 2020 London’s dry cleaning firms could be the next casualty of the coronavirus crisis as workers continue to stay away from city centres, the industry has warned. A sustained drop in the number of office workers and tourists visiting central London could put many dry cleaning businesses at risk of closure. The government has launched a [...]
Coronavirus: Government begins to wind down furlough scheme September 1, 2020 Companies using the coronavirus furlough scheme will now have to contribute to workers’ wages as the government begins to wind down its emergency support. The job retention scheme, introduced in March, has paid 80 per cent of salaries for workers on temporary leave, capped at £2,500 per month. From today this will be reduced to [...]
How to ease back to the gym: What to avoid and how to set new habits August 29, 2020 August is usually a dead month for the City, with so many people travelling away for the month. But this year it’s a real ghost town. Thankfully, every week I write these articles, it gets a little busier. And now that office life is starting up again, it’s time to get back in the gym. [...]
Back to business: Top Cuvée’s Brodie Meah on how corona has made people value local restaurants August 29, 2020 We talk to London’s top chefs about how they are dealing with the strange ‘new normal’. This week Top Cuvée’s Brodie Meah talks about missing the buzz of service and taking solace in a spot of wine-tasting. Who are you and what do you do? I’m Brodie Meah and, along with Max Venning, I operate Stoke [...]
Where to eat in London: Old favourites reopening and new places to check out August 29, 2020 Coronavirus may have shuttered the food industry for months, but the business is bouncing back, with more of our favourite places to eat and drink reopening every day, and some new ones joining them too. In this regular column, we’ll bring you the latest news from the front-line of the food business, complete with the [...]