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EU LEADERS RACE FOR GAS SUPPLY
MONDAY 25 JULY 2022
ISSUE 3,784
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DOVER AND OUT Delays cleared for now as blame game begins
GOVERNMENTS SHORE UP SUPPLIES AHEAD OF WINTER NICHOLAS EARL EUROPE’s desperate scramble to shore up gas supplies in case Russia turns off the taps became increasingly urgent over the weekend, with the EU seeking support from its allies to meet its energy needs. The National Grid asked for emergency permission yesterday to pump more gas into the troubled continent via its UK-Netherlands pipeline, following requests from the Dutchbased operator. It wants to increase the pressure on the 235km pipeline between both countries, as first reported in The Telegraph, so the pipeline can export 34 per cent more gas than normal. Meanwhile, the EU held talks with Nigeria about boosting liquefied natural gas volumes from the country, to stave off the chilling prospect of rationing and blackouts this winter
when demand is at its peak. Key Russia-Germany pipeline Nord Stream 1 returned to action last week after ten days of maintenance this month, but gas flows have been slashed 60 per cent – in retaliation to Western sanctions following Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. The Kremlin has denied foul play, but state-backed energy giant Gazprom has already cut off gas supplies into 12 EU member states which refused to pay for gas supplies in roubles in line with new laws imposed by President Vladimir Putin. Europe typically relies on Russia for 40 per cent of its gas imports, however the shortfall in recent weeks has triggered emergency plans across the bloc, including in Germany and Austria. The EU is pushing member states to ramp up storage to 80 per cent by Oc-
tober – with storage levels sitting at 65 per cent yesterday. Its executive arm, the European Commission, also called for countries to cut their gas usage 15 per cent from August to March. However, this proposal is being contested by multiple member states – including Spain, Portugal and Greece – concerned about inflicting pain on households to protect countries with larger industrial bases. While the UK only relies on Russia for around four per cent of its gas imports, it is still vulnerable to price spikes with disruptions driving up domestic prices. Natural gas prices remained historically elevated yesterday at £3.11 per therm, compared to 55p this time last year. Soaring wholesale costs have pushed businesses to the brink and seen UK consumers battered by sharply rising bills.
STEFAN BOSCIA UK AND French politicians were last night blaming each other for chaos at Dover over the weekend. The busy port was backed up with thousands of drivers for most of the weekend, although ferry crossings were running trouble-free by yesterday evening. The UK government is blaming the chaos on French authorities for not stationing more border guards in Dover as the summer rush starts.
Paris has said that there is a requirement for more rigorous passport checks post-Brexit and that the UK’s new traffic management system was not working. The UK’s former ambassador to France Lord Peter Ricketts told The Observer that the “shortage of French border force officials is a short-term, tactical problem”. “The long-term, serious issue is that this is the first time we’ve seen the full pressure on the border after Brexit,” he said.
Deal on table for TfL but no sign of improved relations between City Hall and SW1 JAMES SILVER TRANSPORT FOR LONDON (TfL) bosses were this weekend crunching the numbers on a longawaited funding proposal from Whitehall which could give the capital’s network some muchneeded financial certainty.
TfL and the Mayor of London have been at loggerheads with the Department for Transport for more than two years over a series of emergency cash injections to the transit system, with London bosses so far only able to secure short-term capital injections as opposed to long-term funding.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said “sight of the offer” was “welcome” but “it’s in no-one’s interests to have conditions that could damage TfL”. Previous bailouts have had Mayor of London Sadiq Khan welcomed the progress
strict cost reductions written into them, meaning a number of improvement and maintenance projects have already been kicked into the long grass. TfL needs the funding to avoid a
‘managed decline’ scenario including service cuts after its revenues were battered by lockdown restrictions. Transport secretary Grant Shapps said Khan had “failed to provide required info” during the process but the “ball is now firmly in the Mayor’s court”.
INSIDE REVOLUT’S GREAT RESIGNATION P3 LATTES LURE BACK WORKERS P6 SUNAK AND TRUSS SPAR FOR VOTES P7 AVIATION ROW TAKES OFF P8 OPINION P14 SPORT P19
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NEWS
CITYAM.COM
MONDAY 25 JULY 2022
STANDING UP FOR THE CITY
London’s transport funding deal can’t come with strings attached
U
NTIL we see the details of central government’s (eventual) funding offer for Transport for London, it is dangerous to be too cheered by the arrival of the long-awaited and absurdly delayed proposal. For two years, the Mayor and TfL’s commissioner Andy Byford have been making a clear case for a settlement that helps secure London’s economy and global status which, in turn, provides untold benefits to the rest of the
THE CITY VIEW United Kingdom. Yet on each and every occasion so far, the response from Whitehall has been to first ignore, then punish. The scale of the savings programmes which TfL has been forced to embark on have already squeezed the service to the bone –
demands which it is impossible not to see as at least in part based on vindictiveness. They are so harsh that Moody’s even downgraded TfL’s bond rating, suggesting that further cost savings would be “challenging, especially in a high-inflation environment”. In short, the deal that the Mayor and TfL should accept is one that comes with the fewest strings attached. That would be good for London, self-evidently, but it
would also be good for central government. As Grant Shapps sits around the cabinet table, he and the other temporary post-holders should be discussing the economy as the first, second and third item on the agenda. It is madness that as they (presumably) look for ways of boosting the UK’s anaemic economic growth, he is at the same time at war with the leadership of one of the world’s precious few truly global cities.
HOLD ONTO YOUR HAT Thousands donned their sprockets and top hats this weekend and headed to Whitby to celebrate the seaside town’s biannual Steampunk Weekend
What’s good for London is good for the rest of the country. Growth here is good for growth everywhere else. It is a uniquely British viewpoint that having one of the world’s economic powerhouses within our own borders is somehow a bad thing. We will in time see the details of the funding proposal – perhaps only when it is accepted, or otherwise. But further savings would be hard to justify – or indeed to deliver.
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
FRANCE BLOCKS EFFORTS TO UP EUROSTAR SERVICES AS HOLIDAY CHAOS SPREADS
France is resisting efforts to increase daily Eurostar services in a fresh twist to a row between border guards and travel companies that last week tipped millions of summer holidays into chaos.
THE TIMES
INFLATION COULD HIT 15 PER CENT THIS WINTER, WARNS EY
Inflation could surge to 15 per cent in the winter, according to forecasts from the consultancy arm of EY, highlighting the scale of the challenges facing businesses and households in the months ahead.
THE GUARDIAN
RECORD NUMBER OF £10MPLUS LONDON PROPERTIES SOLD AS POUND FALTERS
The collapse in the value of the pound has led the global super-rich to buy up 61 luxury london properties each worth more than £10m in the first six months of 2022, the highest number in a decade.
French satellite firm Eutelsat poised to snap up rival Oneweb CHARLIE CONCHIE FRENCH satellite company Eutelsat is poised to buy British rival Oneweb in a deal which will see the UK brought together with French and Chinese governments as common shareholders. Eutelsat, which already has a 23 per cent stake in Oneweb and is its second-biggest shareholder, could announce the takeover as early as today, according to sources cited by Reuters. The tie-up is likely to come under major political scrutiny as it would bring together Indian billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal – Oneweb’s biggest shareholder – with France, China and Britain as shareholders of the combined firm.
Oneweb was rescued from bankruptcy by the British government and India’s Bharti Globa, and the terms of the takeover will leave the British government with a minority stake in the merged business, sources told Reuters. The deal will reportedly value the UK government’s stake at $600m (£499m), according to courses cited by the Financial Times. Eutelsat’s biggest shareholder is France’s state-owned investment bank Bpifrance with a 20 per cent stake, while its fourth-largest shareholder is China’s sovereign fund China Investment Corporation, according to Refinitiv data. However, the deal will see shareholders on both sides take a diluted stake.
The UK government will retain certain veto rights over Oneweb after the deal, the source told Reuters, including an option to halt sales to clients deemed dangerous for security reasons and an oportunity to stop any change in the location of headquarters. The merger of the two firms will strengthen their position in the race to build a constellation of low-orbit satellites and challenge the likes of Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper. Paris-listed Eutelsat has a market value of €2.4bn (£2.04bn) while Oneweb was valued at $3.4bn (£2.8bn) in its most recent funding round, sources said. Bloomberg first reported the deal.
The deal for the British satellite firm could be announced today
MONDAY 25 JULY 2022
CITYAM.COM
Revolut chiefs quit amid rising regulator tension CHARLIE CONCHIE REVOLUT has been hit by a slew of resignations from its UK risk and compliance chiefs in recent weeks amid heightened tensions with regulators and delays to the firm’s banking licence, City A.M. has learned. Five Revolut executives have handed in their resignations including UK chief risk officer Victoria Stubbs, UK head of regulatory compliance Justine Wootton and UK money laundering reporting officer (MLRO) Mathew Seneviratne, a source close to Revolut told City A.M. on Friday. The UK data protection officer and UK Deputy MLRO have also resigned, City A.M. understands, leaving the UK business – which is currently regulated as an electronic money institution – without a regulated money laundering reporting officer. The resignations strike a major blow to the London-headquartered fintech as it hunts for a UK banking licence and full authorisation to provide crypto services in the UK, raising questions over regulatory processes at the firm.
It comes after a series of executives stepped down in recent months. Global chief compliance officer Harry Gill quit earlier this year while Deirdre Halligan, Revolut’s head of global affairs and wealth & trading also resigned. Tensions between Revolut boss Nik Storonsky and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have spilled out into the open in recent weeks, with Storonsky criticising the pace of movement on Revolut’s banking licence. In an interview with City A.M. Storonsky recommended that certain KPIs be put in place at the regulator, as well as “stricter timelines”, more people or “more efficient people”. At an event last month, the Revolut chief launched further criticism at the “principle-based” approach of UK regulators, saying it slowed processes compared to international counterparts. A Revolut spokesperson told City A.M.: “It’s not uncommon in highly entrepreneurial companies that people join for phases of growth and some decide to move on when the time is right for them.”
CITY STANDS READY Lord Mayor pushes PM candidates for “urgent” economic plan
VINCENT Keaveny, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, has said financial and professional services must have a “pivotal role” in the UK’s economic rebound. Writing in today’s City A.M., he says the City is a “prime example of the UK as a global centre for innovation”.
Barclays takes stake in Hammondadvised digital assets firm Copper CHARLIE CONCHIE BARCLAYS is snapping up a stake in the crypto firm advised by former chancellor Lord Hammond in a fresh funding round, according to reports. Copper, which describes itself as the “institutional gateway to digital asset investing”, is set to get the backing of a group of new investors including Barclays, even as the crypto industry is battered by plunging value of cryptocurrencies and a wave of
bankruptcies, Sky News first reported. City sources told Sky that Barclays was expected to invest a sum in the millions of dollars as part of the round, with the fundraise expected to be finalised in the coming days. The crypto firm was reported to be angling for a valuation of over $3bn in its latest capital raise but has since scaled back the plans after $2 trillion was wiped from the value of the sector. Barclays and Copper were contacted for comment.
NEWS
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Greensill faces insolvency service questions after financial collapse JAMES SILVER THE UK’s insolvency service has written to former directors of Greensill Capital, including founder Lex Greensill, with a series of questions related to the collapse of the invoice discounting firm last year. The questions, first revealed by Sky News’ Mark Kleinman, are part
of a procedural step which can, if the authorities are not satisfied, lead to a fuller probe, and could reignite a political firestorm. Former Prime Minister David Cameron was an advisor to the firm and was reported to have lobbied on behalf of the financier in discussions
with former colleagues. Greensill’s links with controversial steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta are also still under heavy scrutiny, with Greensill the tycoon’s key lender until its collapse. Lex Greensill, founder of Greensill Capital
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MONDAY 25 JULY 2022
CITYAM.COM
German government hands €15bn to energy giant Uniper in bailout deal NICHOLAS EARL THE GERMAN government stepped in to rescue troubled utility giant Uniper last week with a whopping €15bn bailout, after the gas importer suffered sharp losses amid the West’s economic standoff with Russia. In one of the biggest bailouts in German history, the country’s government will take a 30 per cent stake in Uniper, reducing the stake of its Finnish parent Fortum to 56 per cent from 80 per cent.
It will also allow Uniper to start passing on some of the costs of soaring gas prices to consumers in the coming months, which German Chancellor Olaf Scholz revealed would be offset by more welfare support to shield poorer households. This follows weeks of negotiations following severe reductions in Russian gas flows into Europe, exacerbating shortages while also driving up the spot price of gas to near record highs. The Chancellor, Olaf Scholz,
confirmed the government would eventually relinquish its stake. He said: “We will do everything necessary that we can together as a country, as companies, as citizens, to get through this situation so that nobody is put in an impossible situation.” The package still needs approval from both Uniper’s shareholders and the European Commission. Uniper, Fortum and the German government are also working on plans to cut Uniper’s gas dependency.
Uniper has struggled amid soaring gas prices and severe shortages in Russian supplies
Octopus calls for peace with rival over ringfencing EXCLUSIVE
NICHOLAS EARL OCTOPUS Energy wants to work with rival Centrica and market regulator Ofgem to protect households, as it continues to raise doubts over proposals to ringfence consumer credit balances. The UK’s fifth-largest supplier also repeated warnings that ringfencing the entirety of customer credit balances could add as much as £30 per year to household energy bills – which are already at record highs. By contrast, Octopus argues its counter-proposals for a travel insurance model would only add £5 per year to household energy bills. An Octopus spokesperson told City A.M.: “We’re in an energy crisis and everyone should be focused on bringing bills down – so it seems crazy to propose a ‘fix’ that costs six times more than the problem, which is why Octopus urge the regulator and industry to find a better value solution. We’d love to work together with British Gas to find a better way.” Ringfencing refers to Ofgem proposals for energy firms to hold consumer credit balances in a special account, with the funds only spent on securing
energy supplies rather than being used to fund commercial operations. Octopus’ call for unity reflects a change of tone in an escalating dispute between the two rival energy firms, which have been at loggerheads over ringfencing for several months. Centrica, which owns British Gas, reignited calls for ringfencing last week, with the energy firm’s boss Chris O’Shea warning that regulations around ringfencing had to evolve, or the industry risked another crisis. He said: “Regulation on this needs to change or we run the risk of history repeating itself. Despite the many failures, wealthy private energy company owners are still using customer money as free working capital today. If they are successful, they become even wealthier, and if they lose, UK consumers picks up the tab.” Its own research, undertaken by consultancy experts Oxera, argued Octopus’ proposals would “not be appropriate” for fixing the market. British Gas is the UK’s largest energy supplier, home to over nine million customers across the country. It has been ringfencing customer credit balances as a matter of company policy since March earlier this year.
Trading app Shares bags $40m round CHARLIE CONCHIE
Rishi Sunak labelled himself as the “underdog” in the Tory leadership race
Sunak backs insulation over heat pumps as winter crisis looms NICHOLAS EARL TORY LEADERSHIP contender and former chancellor Rishi Sunak has hinted that he will prioritise insulation for low-income households over new technologies such as heat pumps, as the government scrambles to protect vulnerable energy users this winter. Sunak told The Times yesterday he wants to see hundreds of millions of pounds focused on a nationwide insulation programme, rather than heat pumps and decarbonising public
sector buildings. He said: “If we can refocus that money to do these types of interventions, which are quicker and cheaper, that seems like a sensible thing for us to be focusing on.” Prior to his announced departure, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was developing plans to divert over £1bn from existing schemes to focus on insulating poorer households. However ministers were advised earlier this year it was too late to divert funds from the £450m Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
LONDON investment app Shares revealed it had bagged a $40m (£33m) funding round today as it aims to tap into a boom in retail trading brought on by the pandemic. Shares, which offers a ‘social trading’ platform aimed at first-time investors, said it had now earmarked the funding to fuel its expansion across Europe and launch a cryptoasset proposition. he London fintech has now raised $90m since launching in May 2022, with Peter Thiel-founded Valar Ventures leading the latest round. Benjamin Chemla, Shares founder and CEO said the round showed “unwavering confidence” from investors as the firm gears up for growth. “This latest investment from Valar Ventures will only serve to reinforce our growing momentum, supporting the next stage of our expansion into Europe that in turn will act as a springboard into international audiences,” he said. Shares was launched after the pandemic sparked a surge in retail trading and scores of first-time investors took to apps like Robinhood to put spare cash into the stock market. Shares has racked up over 150,000 users since going live in the UK in May, with a user base consisting of 66 per cent Gen Z and 26 per cent Millennials.
EY UK calls in bankers at Rothschild to advise on audit break-up plans CHARLIE CONCHIE
EY will be the first Big Four firm to split its audit and consulting arms
THE UK arm of big four firm EY has called in bankers at Rothschild to advise on the separation of its audit and consulting divisions in a break-up that is set to rock the global accountancy sector. EY’s UK board has asked Rothschild to assess the implications of the move
as it becomes the first of the Big Four firms to explore a break-up, Sky News first reported. City sources told Sky on Friday that Rothschild’s mandate could extend into parts of EY’s European network. The accountancy giant was revealed to be exploring a carve up of its consulting division in May as concerns grow over conflicts of
interest in audit and consulting arms after several high profile audit failures. EY is looking to tap into a potential $10bn stream of business from big tech firms by breaking off the divisions, Carmine Di Sibio, EY’s global chairman, told the Financial Times last week. EY was contacted for comment.
MONDAY 25 JULY 2022
CITYAM.COM
Interest rates in the spotlight as banks update City CITY A.M. STAFF CUSTOMER behaviour and cost control are set to be top of the in-tray for the major banks as they update investors over the next week. Barclays, Lloyds and Natwest are all set to update the markets in a bumper week for the sector. Although priorities will vary slightly, there will be significant focus on whether the banks have felt any impact from rampant inflation and rising interest rates. Last weekend, Natwest chief Alison Rose told the Sunday Times that defaults remained low and the group, which also runs Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), had seen no noticeable rise in the number of people falling behind on payments. Analysts at Jefferies have said they expect the boss to hold the group’s current guidance when it provides half-year figures on Friday July 29. The business previously said it expected to reduce costs by around three per cent over the next two financial years and progress against this target will come under significant scrutiny. Rising costs, amid 9.4 per cent UK inflation last month, will make attempts to maintain savings targets challenging over the year.
The banks will also be hoping to show robust mortgage demand after HMRC revealed house sales were cut by more than half in June against the same month last year. Barclays will be particularly keen to highlight strong prospects in the mortgage sector after agreeing to buy specialist lender Kensington Mortgage Company in a roughly £2.3bn deal last month. Investors casting an eye over Barclays half-year figures on Thursday will also be keen to find out more about the impact of its blunder in March, which saw it issue £12.5bn more securities than it is allowed by Wall Street regulators. The bank said it took a £540m provision to rectify the error in the first quarter. However, analysts at UBS have warned Barclays may have to take a much larger charge – potentially up to £900m – for the second quarter due to the impact of weakness in US markets. The group will hope that higher than predicted revenues will offset any greater costs. Experts said that higher interest rates and the steeper yield curve should be positive for interest margins and profits at all the banks but that will not necessarily result in an immediate improved performance.
NEWS
LV faces backlash over potential payout to outgoing chief Hartigan CHARLIE CONCHIE INSURANCE giant LV is facing backlash from members as it refuses to rule out a further bonus for controversial outgoing chief Mark Hartigan. Hartigan was revealed to be stepping down from the insurer last week after a failed attempt to sell the insurer to private equity
giant Bain Capital. He scooped a £511,000 bonus on top of his £435,000 salary in 2021 in 2021, and LV has declined to rule out handing him another bonus for the current financial year, the Mail on Sunday first reported. Members are now poised
for a rebellion at LV’s annual general meeting as the firm looks for Hartigan was revealed to be stepping down from LV last week approval on last year’s pay reports. LV was contacted for comment.
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London businesses have been struggling to recruit amid severe skills shortages
Hard-line immigration policy will stifle growth, warn London firms CHARLIE CONCHIE A HARD-LINE immigration policy risks tightening the labour market further and choking off economic growth in the capital, a top London business body has warned Tory leadership contenders. In an open letter to Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss urging them to consider the “special needs” of London, the London Chamber of Commerce said the capital creates a “significant amount of wealth generation” for the country “thanks to
immigration”, and urged the two rivals to examine border policy closely. “We cannot have an immigration system which stifles this economic growth especially at a time when we have severe skills shortages in the capital,” Richard Burge, chief executive of the London Chamber, wrote. The warnings come as the chamber’s second quarter survey of businesses in the capital found that firms are struggling to fill gaps in talent and recruit the workers they need.
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MONDAY 25 JULY 2022
CITYAM.COM
Rail union boss Mick Lynch warns train strikes could last for months STEFAN BOSCIA CRIPPLING strikes are likely to last for months longer if rail companies do not make improved pay offers for its workers, rail union boss Mick Lynch said yesterday. Lynch, secretary-general of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), also warned yesterday there likely would be a “rolling campaign of trade union activity” across different sectors this summer.
The UK is facing another day of disruptive train strikes on Wednesday as staff from 14 rail companies and Network Rail walk off the job. It comes after the RMT held a week of strikes last month which are estimated to have cost the UK economy tens of millions of pounds. RMT bosses are asking for pay rises that are close to the current 9.4 per cent inflation after being offered four per cent last month. When asked by LBC yesterday if months of more strikes are likely,
Lynch said: “That is likely to happen because we’re not able to bridge the gap.... I want to work with the industry leaders to get a settlement to this dispute.... but we’re not just going to surrender and meekly give in to something that is impossible for us to accept.” A DfT spokesperson commented: “It’s now clearer than ever that the RMT has no interest in engaging in constructive discussions and is hellbent on creating further misery for passengers across the UK.”
RMT boss Mick Lynch said the union would not “surrender” to impossible terms
Office occupancy up thanks to lure of Pret a Manger AUGUST GRAHAM OFFICE attendance is up by a third compared to January, new data from workplace provider IWG shows. The group also said its data contained evidence that having a branch of Pret a Manger nearby might boost attendance at work. The group said that there had been major hikes in visits to its office and co-working spaces in regional towns and cities with Pret branches in the area. Overall, office attendance across all its sites is up 33 per cent since January when the Omicron variant of Covid-19 was still a major concern, the IWG data shows. But office companies and those who cater to them have moved further out of major city centres in recent years. The pandemic kicked off a boom in home working, which has morphed into a hybrid working pattern as lockdowns lifted. IWG has opened more and more rural and suburban offices over recent months, and said that those locations that were already open have become more popular. Meanwhile, Pret recently revealed
that it had returned to profitability, thanks in large part to its regional sites. IWG chief executive Mark Dixon said: “The shift to more flexible ways of working in the heart of local communities is happening fast and is irreversible. “The data shows that more workers are choosing to base themselves in offices closer to home, and that the era of long daily commutes is well and truly over.” “Gone are the days of having to choose between working locally and having your favourite sandwich for lunch, which only strengthens the allure of working in the heart of your local community.” It comes after flexible office firm Workspace revealed last week that it had suffered a dip in enquiries and a big increase in rent as workers returned to permanent desk jobs. The company’s average enquiries, viewings and lettings were all down in the first quarter of 2022/3 compared to the same period last year, when some pandemic restrictions were still in place. However it said overall leasing activity remained PA strong with 325 lettings in Q1.
Workplace provider IWG said there had been a massive uptick in attendance of offices in towns and cities with nearby Pret branches
Yellen: US economy not in recession but inflation needs to be brought to heel JOEL SCHECTMAN
Yellen was appearing on US television as she offered her thoughts
US TREASURY Secretary Janet Yellen yesterday said US economic growth is slowing and acknowledged there was the risk of a recession, however she said a downturn was not inevitable. Yellen, speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press”, said strong US hiring numbers and consumer spending showed the US economy is not
currently in recession. US hiring remained robust in June, with 372,000 jobs created and the unemployment rate holding at 3.6 per cent. It was the fourth straight month of job gains in excess of 350,000. “This is not an economy that is in recession,” said Yellen, who previously chaired the Federal Reserve.
“But we’re in a period of transition in which growth is slowing and that’s necessary and appropriate.” Still, data last week suggested the labour market was softening with new claims for unemployment benefits hitting their highest point in eight months. Yellen said that inflation, which in the US accelerated to 9.1 per cent in Reuters June, “is way too high”.
MONDAY 25 JULY 2022
CITYAM.COM
Sunak attacks China influence as polls widen STEFAN BOSCIA RISHI Sunak yesterday claimed China is the “largest threat to Britain and the world’s security” in a bid to polish his foreign policy credentials. The Tory leadership candidate said “enough is enough” of Beijing’s efforts to undermine democracy and steal overseas intellectual property, adding “I will stop China taking over our universities, and get British companies and public institutions the cyber-security they need”. This includes plans to ban the 30 Confucius Institutes in the UK, educational organisations that allegedly act as overseas lobbyists for the Chinese government, and to bulk up MI5’s ability to stop cyber attacks. It comes in response to attempts by leadership competitor, and race favourite, Liz Truss to paint Sunak as soft on China as she tries to solidify her
support among the right of the party. The foreign secretary has often spoken out on Beijing’s malign international influence and went after its government’s unfair trade practices when she was trade secretary. “For too long, politicians in Britain and across the West have rolled out the red carpet and turned a blind eye to China’s nefarious activity and ambitions,” Sunak said. Sunak is now the underdog in the race as early polling of the Tory membership puts Truss ahead by 20+ points. The ex-chancellor will want to be seen as in line with the more hawkish instincts of many grassroots Conservative members. Senior Tory MP, and Truss supporter Sir Iain Duncan Smith said Sunak’s announcement was “surprising”. “After all, over the last two years, the Treasury has pushed hard for an economic deal with China,” he said.
KILLER RAIL Cabinet minister says HS2 project will be a “killer whale” for next PM
Capital at risk.
a
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TIME LINE Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will crisscross the entire country over the next six weeks to win the votes of Tory party members.
TONIGHT – BBC DEBATE
Sparks are expected to fly at 9pm in the first head-to-head debate between the final two contenders. Sunak and Truss fired a series of vicious volleys at each other in the five-way debate over the economy, Brexit and China. HS2 WILL be a “killer whale” for the next PM and “could “rip the arm” off their administration, Cabinet Office minister Kit Malthouse told The Telegraph. He urged Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss to properly assess the risks involved in the near £100bn project.
Border policy back in headlines as candidates try to get tough STEFAN BOSCIA RISHI Sunak and Liz Truss vied with each other over immigration policy on the weekend in a bid to win over the right of the Tory party. Sunak vowed in The Sunday Telegraph to introduce a cap on the amount of refugees the UK takes in every year that is decided by
parliament, while promising to “inject a healthy dose of common sense” into the asylum debate. The ex-chancellor said he would withhold aid from countries that do not take back failed asylum seekers and criminals. Truss meanwhile said she would look at more Rwanda-style deals with third countries.
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JULY 28 – LEEDS
This will be the first of 12 hustings that will take place across the country. The events will allow grassroots members to hear the pitches of each candidate and to scrutinise their respective positions.
AUGUST 9 – DARLINGTON
This could be a key event as Sunak and Truss make their pitches to Tory members in the Red Wall. Many members will vote for whoever has the best chance of holding Boris Johnson’s electoral coalition together, which will mean retaining the northern working class constituencies won in 2019.
SEPTEMBER 5 – A NEW PM
The party will announce its new leader – and Britain’s new PM.
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Slow business rates decisions see thousands of businesses go under HENRY SAKER-CLARK THOUSANDS of business sites have foundered in while waiting for rebates over property taxes, according to new data. Research by real estate advisory firm Altus Group has showed that 3,165 business premises, including offices, factories, shops, pubs and restaurants, entered insolvency whilst they were awaiting the result of a business rates challenge. Business rates are the property tax
levied on firms across the UK and have steadily increased despite property valuations tumbling in recent years. Currently, firms have a three-stage process – check, challenge, appeal – for complaints about business rates payments, introduced in 2017. The challenge process allows firms to make a formal dispute their property valuation which is used to calculate the bills paid to councils. Around 60 per cent of all challenges are ultimately agreed,
according to industry experts. The latest researched indicated that the 3,165 business premises which entered insolvency after challenges could have seen a cash injection of £50.76m in rebates, with many dating back five years. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA), an executive agency of HM Revenue & Customs, is expected to resolve 90 per cent of all challenges within 12 months, a target it is yet to meet in any year since the introduction of the PA check, challenge, appeal process.
The Treasury and its agency the Valuation Office Agency will come under fire
Former airport chair takes aim at Willie Walsh
JAMES SILVER
THE WAR of words enveloping the entire aviation industry descended further still this weekend after a former Heathrow chair and City grandee said former British Airways (BA) boss and now trade body chief Willie Walsh had “trashed a great brand and created a company that is a byword for poor service”. Sir Nigel Rudd accused Walsh of “constant jibing at Heathrow” and said the Irishman had an “obsession” with cost-cutting in a letter to the Mail on Sunday published this weekend. Rudd said that at Heathrow he had been “leading unprecedented investment in critical national infrastructure” whilst Walsh’s BA “nosedived from one of the best (carriers) in the world to a laughing stock”. The very public row between Heathrow and Walsh has stemmed from the latter’s criticism of the airport’s preparation for a busy summer season. Walsh, who is now boss of the International Air Transport Association
(IATA), has described some of Heathrow’s decision making as “farcical” and last week wrote in the Mail on Sunday that the airport had a “terrible way of doing business”. Hitting back, Rudd said in his letter: “Willie got on his soapbox... last week about airports being unprepared for the summer, but the irony is that he appears totally oblivious that this is just his cost-cutting legacy coming home to roost.” Elsewhere BA staff called off planned strike Ex-Heathrow chair Sir Nigel Rudd did not mince his words this weekend
action after the airline put together an eight per cent pay rise offer, approved by more than three quarters of unionised workers. BA said it was “delighted” that strike action had been averted, which threatened to wreak havoc on leisure and business passengers alike. Refuelling workers at Heathrow have also reached a pay deal with bosses at Aviation Fuel Services and have called off planned industrial action. They received a 12.5 per cent pay rise.
Airport bosses facing further staff shortages ALAN JONES
East is bullish about the return of air travel to previously high levels
Travel rebound buoying demand at Rolls-Royce, Warren East says CHARLIE CONCHIE OUTGOING boss of Rolls-Royce Warren East said a post-pandemic rebound in air travel was buoying demand at the jet-engine maker as he issued a bullish outlook for aviation in the face of a global recession. The FTSE-100 engineering giant, which counts Boeing and Airbus among its client base, was exposed to a slowdown in air travel through the Covid-19 pandemic. But a rebound in the market amid normalised travel restrictions had
seen demand pick back up, East said. “Over the last three to six months, we’ve seen a step… increase in the level and intensity of commercial discussions with our airline partners, as they think about their future fleet requirements,” he said, as reported in the Times. A looming global recession will not necessarily dampen the aviation sector’s recover, East added, with the pandemic recovery like the “tide coming in” and a recession like “the wind blowing the tide in one direction or another.”
MORE than two in five airport workers are considering leaving the industry, new research suggests. A survey of 1,700 workers by jobs site CV-Library found reasons for wanting to quit included wanting better pay and less stress. Only five per cent of respondents blamed the current situation at UK airports, where there have been long delays in recent months. Two out of three of all those surveyed claimed they haven’t had a pay rise in the last 12 months. Lee This summer has seen airport chaos Biggins, chief executive of CVLibrary, said: “With the industry in such disarray, it comes as no surprise that so many airport workers are considering leaving. Attempts to turn things around have so far missed the mark and, with peak season now upon us, urgent action is required. “Based on our data and the voice of both current and ex-airline and airport workers, if salary levels and benefits were enhanced, the crisis could be severely dampened.” PA
Boom hopes heir to Concorde can put the romance back into air travel JAMES SILVER
The design of the new Overture which Boom hopes will take off by 2029
BUSINESS travellers pining for the return of supersonic air travel may not have long to wait. Colorado-based Boom Supersonic released images of its Overture aircraft at the Farnborough International Airshow, with the craft already described as the spiritual heir
to the much-loved former British Airways and Air France jet. Both United Airlines and Japan Airlines have deals in place to buy the in-development aircraft, with Boom bosses hoping the plane will take to the skies by the end of the decade. Flights between London and New York could be shortened to around 3 hours if Overture delivers, with 65 to
80 passengers aboard. Boss Kathy Savitt said the new refined design is the product of over 25m hours of software simulation and a host of wind tunnel tests. United has ordered 15 jets, whilst Japan Airlines – which invested in Boom in 2017 – has a first option to purchase up to 20 aircraft once it comes into production.
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Investors urged to oust CMC Markets chair over lack of director diversity CHARLIE CONCHIE THE WORLD’s largest shareholder group is urging investors to oust the chair of trading firm CMC Markets over a lack of female representation on its board. Proxy group Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), which advises shareholders on voting, has called for James Richards to be sacked as chairman of the firm at its annual general meeting on Thursday over failures to hire enough women to its
board of directors, The Telegraph first reported. The trading firm, run by Lord Peter Cruddas, will have only two female directors out of eight when Clare Salmon steps down at the annual meeting this week, short of the 33 per cent target set for FTSE 350 companies in a major review of gender diversity on corporate boards. ISS said CMC had made no efforts to hit the target by the next AGM and it was therefore backing a move to oust him.
SNP under fire as Gupta’s £5 deal faces criticism REBECCA MCCURDY SCOTTISH ministers are facing transparency calls after it was revealed a metal tycoon under investigation for fraud paid just £5 towards the acquisition of a Highlands smelting plant – with taxpayers financing the rest of the £330m deal. Entrepreneur Sanjeev Gupta, chief executive of Liberty Steel, acquired the aluminium plant and two adjacent hydro power plants in 2016. The Scottish Government has contributed up to half a billion pounds in guaranteed loans for the smelter and the hydro power plants, worth a total of £586m. The deal has come under fire after the Sunday Times revealed Gupta’s firm contributed £5 to the deal, according to documents filed at Company House. Gupta’s family empire, GFG Alliance, is the subject of alleged fraud and money laundering investigations. The firm has denied any wrongdoing. Now the Scottish Liberal Democrats
“As chair of the nomination committee, it is James Richards’ responsibility to ensure that the board promotes gender diversity in line with emerging good practice,” ISS said. “As such, a vote against James Richards’ re-election is considered warranted at this time.” Proxy groups like ISS carry significant clout among investors and mean the firm could face a bloody nose at its AGM. CMC Markets did not respond to a Sunday comment request.
CMC Markets chairman James Richards is under fire from an advisory body
HE’S NOT GOT A SCOOBY Two-legged competitors take to the waves with four-legged friends in Dorset’s dog surfing competition
economy spokesperson, Willie Rennie, is urging the Scottish Government to “end the secrecy” and announce the details of the deal. It comes as the UK government withdrew guarantees on £400m of loans Greensill Capital made to the tycoon’s companies. The Scottish Government has been urged to follow suit and protect hundreds of millions of pounds of public finances. Rennie said: “The SNP government has been gullible once again. Two thousand jobs were promised by Gupta which have not been delivered. “We knew that the Scottish government’s industrial intervention strategy was a disaster, but this takes it to a new level. “We need a statement from ministers to finally properly explain this deal, the financial exposure for the government and its detailed plan to recover the position and limit the exposure for the taxpayer,” Rennie continued. Gupta struck a deal with the SNP
THE FOURTH annual UK Dog Surfing Championships took place this weekend in Poole, with some competitors adding a degree of difficulty with appropriately canine-themed costumes. Another competitor took to the water dressed as the Queen.
Restaurant closures on the up as operators feel pain of rising costs ALAN JONES
Restaurant insolvencies are increasing after pandemic support was withdrawn
THE NUMBER of restaurant insolvencies has increased sharply in the past year amid staff shortages and rising inflation, according to a new study by an accountancy firm. UHY Hacker said the total jumped from 856 in 2020/21 to 1,406 in the past year.
Peter Kubik, of UHY Hacker Young, said restaurants are facing spiralling inflation, decreased consumer spending and a labour shortage. Previous research by UHY Hacker Young found restaurants have already seen losses rise to more than £800m in the past six months as they felt the effects of major restructuring programmes after the
Covid-19 pandemic. Commenting on the survey, Kubik said that “restaurants that only just managed to survive the pandemic thanks to government support are now facing fresh challenges in the form of rising inflation, a post-Brexit labour shortage and consumers who simply cannot afford to spend PA as much.”
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Japan regulators approve release of Fukushima water into the ocean NICHOLAS EARL JAPAN’s nuclear regulators this weekend approved controversial plans to release contaminated water from the wrecked Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant into the ocean. The water, used to cool reactors in the aftermath of the 2011 nuclear disaster, is currently being stored in huge tanks within the closed plant. Currently, it amounts to more than 1.3m tonnes - enough to fill 500 Olympic swimming pools.
Storage costs $880m (£733m) per year, and space is running out. The water has built up over the past 11 years, after the site was ravaged by an earthquake and tsunami – causing the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. The regulators have deemed it safe to release the water, which will still contain traces of tritium after treatment, the foreign ministry said in a statement to Reuters. The closed plant’s operator Tokyo Power Electric Company is looking to
Greenback to hit US firms as Wall Street feels chill DAVID RANDALL US COMPANIES reporting earnings in coming weeks are likely to mention one common factor gouging their results: the strong dollar. The US currency stands near a 20year high against a basket of its peers and is up 15.1 per cent in the past year, lifted by a hawkish Federal Reserve and investors seeking shelter from turbulent markets. A strong dollar can be a headwind for US companies as it makes exporters’ products less competitive abroad and hurts multinationals that need to convert their foreign profits back into the US currency. Each percentage point of year-on-year increase in the US Dollar Index, which measures the dollar against six other currencies, translates to a 0.5 percentage point hit to S&P 500 earnings growth, analysts at Morgan Stanley estimated. “You seemingly can’t get a break right now,” said Bill Stone, chief investment officer at the Glenview Trust Company. “We’re starting to get some relief from oil prices, but you’ve still got the dollar banging on you,” he continued.
IBM, Netflix and Johnson & Johnson were among the companies that in the past week cited the dollar’s strength as a headwind. Johnson & Johnson joined Microsoft by cutting its guidance due to the impact of the greenback’s rise. This week’s results from Apple, Microsoft, Coca-Cola and a slew of other companies will give investors a better picture of how businesses are holding up in the face of the strong dollar and soaring inflation. Investors are also awaiting what the Fed will have to say on those topics at its monetary policy meeting next week, at which it is widely expected to deliver another jumbo-sized 75 basispoint rate increase. The dollar’s strength threatens to combine with high inflation, supply chain issues and other factors to weigh on earnings, analysts said. “The rate of change on the dollar exhibits a strong negative correlation over time vs S&P 500 earnings revisions,” Morgan Stanley’s analysts said in a note. “USD strength comes at an inopportune time for corporates already facing margin pressure and increasingly Reuters weaker demand.”
filter the contaminated water to remove harmful isotopes (apart from tritium, which is hard to remove). It will then be diluted and released to free up plant space and allow decommissioning to continue. The plan has encountered stiff resistance from fishing unions in the region which fear the release of contaminated water will severely jeopardise their livelihoods. Neighbouring countries China, South Korea, and Taiwan have also voiced concerns.
The storage tanks are close to filling up eleven years after the nuclear disaster
BANNON FOUND GUILTY Trump adviser convicted of Contempt of Congress for dodging Capitol chaos committee’s requests
STEVE Bannon, a key associate of former President Donald Trump and an influential figure on the American right, was convicted on Friday of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the committee probing last year’s attack on the US Capitol, a verdict the panel called a “victory for the rule of law. It was the first such conviction since 1974 and the Watergate scandal.
More woe at Evergrande as developer’s boss quits amid loan diversion probe RIYA SHARMA
The developer is indebted and is seen as a bellwether of economic health in China
CHINESE property giant Evergrande has said its chief executive officer and finance head have resigned after a preliminary probe found their involvement in diverting loans secured by its publicly listed unit to the group. The indebted company was investigating how deposits worth
13.4bn yuan (£1.65bn) belonging to the unit, Evergrande Property Services, were used as collateral for pledge guarantees and seized by banks. The pledges threatened to wipe out most of the cash the unit was holding. The company said the loans secured by the pledges, which involved three sets of deposits, “were
transferred and diverted back to the group via third parties and were used for the general operations of the group”. Global investors have turned their attention to the embattled Chinese developer’s cash flow problems out of worry that a collapse may shake the financial system and slow development in the world’s secondReuters largest economy.
MONDAY 25 JULY 2022
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Reports: China to reform data regime to avoid further Wall Street delistings SNEHA BHOWMIK CHINA plans to sort US-listed Chinese companies based on the sensitivity of the data they hold in an attempt to stop US regulators from delisting hundreds of firms, according to weekend reports. The three-tier system aims to bring Chinese companies into compliance with US rules that would require public companies to let regulators inspect their audit files, the Financial Times reported said, citing four
unnamed people with knowledge of the situation. The three broad categories include companies with non-sensitive data, sensitive data and secretive data, the newspaper said. Reuters could not immediately reach the CSRC for comment during non-business hours on Sunday. Washington has long demanded complete access to the books of USlisted Chinese companies, but Beijing, citing national security concerns, bars foreign inspection of working
Russian attack puts grain trade deal in question NATALIA ZINETS UKRAINE pressed ahead yesterday with efforts to restart grain exports from its Black Sea ports under a deal aimed at easing global food shortages but warned deliveries would suffer if Russia’s strike on Odesa was a sign of more to come. President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced Saturday’s attack as “barbarism” that showed Moscow could not be trusted to implement a deal struck just one day earlier with Turkish and United Nations mediation. Public broadcaster Suspilne quoted the Ukrainian military as saying after the strike that the missiles did not hit the port’s grain storage area or cause significant damage and Kyiv said preparations to resume grain shipments were ongoing. “We continue technical preparations for the launch of exports of agricultural products from our ports,” infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said in a Facebook post over the weekend. Russia yesterday said its forces had hit a Ukrainian warship and a weapons store in Odesa with missiles. The deal signed by Moscow and Kyiv
on Friday was hailed as a diplomatic breakthrough that would help curb soaring global food prices, with UN officials saying it could restore Ukrainian grain shipments to pre-war levels of 5m tonnes a month. But Zelensky’s economic advisor yesterday warned the strike on Odesa signalled that could be out of reach. “Yesterday’s [Saturday’s] strike indicates that it will definitely not work like that,” Oleh Ustenko told Ukrainian television. He said Ukraine did have the capacity to export 60m tonnes of grain over the next nine months, but it would take up to 24 months if its ports could not function properly. As the war entered its sixth month yesterday there was no sign of a let-up in the fighting. The Ukrainian military reported Russian shelling in the north, south and east, and again referred to Russian operations paving the way for an assault on Bakhmut in the eastern Donbas region. Intensified Russian shelling prompted the mayor of Kharkiv to urge residents of Ukraine’s secondlargest city to avoid, if possible, ground transportation, via a message Reuters on the Telegram service.
papers from local accounting firms. Reuters reported in March that Chinese regulators had asked some of the country’s US-listed firms, including Alibaba, Baidu and JD.com to prepare for more audit disclosure. In April, Reuters reported China and US regulators were discussing operational details of an audit deal that Beijing hoped to sign this year to keep Chinese companies listed on US exchanges. A number of Chinese firms have delisted from US markets Reuters recently.
Chinese giant Alibaba is expected to be one of those firms affected
REBUILD BEGINS Ukrainians begin slow process of building back attacked villages
Biden’s Covid-19 symptoms now better, says Doc JEFF MASON
WORKERS from Repair Together, a volunteer initiative to rebuild villages damaged by Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, begin the clean-up process over the weekend. The group has organised ‘raves’ in now-deserted villages as Ukraine looks to rebuild and repair those areas now abandoned by Russian military forces.
US PRESIDENT Joe Biden's Covid-19 symptoms continue to improve and now include “less troublesome” sore throat, runny nose, loose cough and body aches, his physician, Dr Kevin O’Connor, said in a memo over the weekend. Biden’s lungs remain clear and his oxygen saturation “continues to be excellent on room air,” the doctor said. Biden, 79, tested positive for Covid19 on Thursday, when the White House said he was experiencing mild symptoms. His diagnosis came as a highly contagious subvariant of the coronavirus drives a new wave of cases in the United States. Biden most likely has that BA5 variant, O’Connor said. “The President continues to tolerate treatment well. We will continue Paxlovid as planned," he said, referring to the Pfizer antiviral drug the president is taking. The White House has sought to underscore Biden’s ability to work through his illness. On Thursday it released a video of the President reassuring Americans he was doing fine, and on Friday he participated in virtual meetings. Biden’s diagnosis is the latest challenge he has faced amid threats to his policy agenda and high inflation putting the Democrats at risk of losing control of Congress in November midterm elections. Reuters
French put further pressure on Iran in push to deliver 2015 nuclear agreement MATHIEU ROSEMAN
Macron has been pushing for the nuclear deal to move forward
PRESIDENT Emmanuel Macron expressed his disappointment to his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi at the lack of progress over talks on the 2015 nuclear agreement, the Elysee Palace said in a statement. In June, Iran began removing essentially all the agency’s monitoring equipment, installed
under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The French leader urged Raisi to make a “clear choice” to reach a deal and go back to the implementation of Iran’s commitments under the 2015 nuclear agreement, the Elysee said. Macron said he was convinced that such an outcome was still possible but that it should take place “as soon as possible”.
Macron also urged the liberation of four French citizens that he said were “held arbitrarily” in Iran. Meanwhile Iran said on Saturday its security forces had arrested a network of agents working for Israel before they were able to carry out sabotage and “terrorist operations”, state media reported. Israel’s government declined to comment on the report.
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No plan for housing from either PM candidate ‘alarming’, warn critics MICHIEL WILLEMS RISHI Sunak and Liz Truss need to put tackling the housing crisis at “the top of their list” if they become Prime Minister, a major housing association said yesterday. The National Association of Property Buyers said a whole generation of people faced being unable to own or rent a property due to “a chronic lack of supply”. The association also hit out at the fact “we’ve seen 12 different housing
ministers in 12 years” and called for continuity in Whitehall. Spokesman Jonathan Rolande said: “Over the course of the last couple of weeks we’ve heard very little said about how either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak will tackle the housing crisis. “This is deeply alarming because right now a whole generation of young people are facing the reality of not being able to rent a property let alone own one. “This comes down to one issue and one issue alone – supply.”
Last week the average price of UK property hit another record high according to a closely-watched index. Rightmove, the property website, said asking prices had risen by £1,113 in June, leaving the average UK home changing hands for £368,614. The firm did say they had seen some signs of cooling, with further expected interest rate hikes as well as the ongoing squeeze on household incomes expected to dampen activity in the market over the coming months and into winter.
Housing policy has suffered from a lack of ministerial continuity, say campaigners
IT’S ALL HERE EAST Tech campus celebrates ten year anniversary of London’s spectacular 2012 Olympics
HERE EAST, the tech and innovation hub set up in the former home of the London Olympics’ media centre, has released new data suggesting it has created more than 10,000 jobs in the first decade of its existence, and contributed some £700m in gross value add in 2021 alone. The project has been one of the Games’ most significant legacies, outperforming the economic projections put together a decade ago. This Wednesday will mark the tenth anniversary of Danny Boyle’s iconic opening ceremony at the Stratford site, which now houses a host of new businesses, cultural institutions as well as Premier League club West Ham United.
Number of over-50s in work on rise as inflation puts squeeze on wallets ALAN JONES
The rising cost of living has left some older Brits keen to find work again
OLDER people are starting to return to work amid the ongoing cost of living crisis, new research suggests. A study found that economic activity levels among the over-50s are at their highest since the pandemic began in March 2020. Rest Less, which offers advice to
older people, said its analysis of official statistics appears to show the first signs of a return to the longterm trend of more economically active people over the age of 50 – a decades-long trend which it said was reversed by the pandemic. Its analysis shows there was an increase in economic activity (those in work or looking for work) of
116,000 among the over-50s in the past year. More than half of the increase was driven by men over the age of 65, said the report. Rest Less chief executive Stuart Lewis said inflation and volatile markets are seeing many who thought they could retire forced to find work again to “top up their PA pensions whilst they still can”.
CITYAM.COM
MONDAY 25 JULY 2022
CITY DASHBOARD LONDON REPORT
B
ANKS may well dominate much of the City headlines this week but it’s action stateside which may have more of a bearing on where the global economy is set to head. The US Federal Reserve is set to announce its latest interest rate decision this Wednesday, with financial markets already pricing in a one-percentage point increase – although Fed officials have since walked back some of their most hawkish rhetoric. Either way, markets still expect the rate to hit at least 3.5 per cent by the end of the year, the sort of jump that will have a huge knock-on effect for US consumer spending and the global economy. The former has remained robust for some time considering the economic headwinds already present but analysts fear there is only so much walking on
To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com
DOMINO'S PIZZA P
285 280
22 July
283.60
275 270
18 July
the water American households may be able to manage. The Fed will also outline plans to slow the money printer. The central bank has shrunk its balance sheet by $66bn from its peak, with the rate reducing by as much as $95bn from September. However, as AJ Bell analysts point out, the balance sheet remains nearly nine times larger than it was before the financial crisis of 2007-2009. Elsewhere this week we’ve got first-half results from Unilever – another test for embattled boss Alan Jope – and GSK, on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. Later in a busy corporate week, Thursday will see results from Centrica and Anglo American, whilst on Friday pharma giant Astrazeneca headlines another raft of market updates. Keep an eye out for Wizz Air on Wednesday morning, too.
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Peel Hunt brokers have sliced profit forecasts at Domino’s Pizza by two per cent to reflect slower sales growth and rising energy costs ahead of the firm’s interim results on 2nd August. They have cut target price from 475p to 375p to reflect the de-rating in the market, but say they “remain positive” on the pizza company and rate the stock a ‘buy’.
JD SPORTS FASHION 144
P 22 July
142
141.9
140
STARS AND GRIPES FOREVER
Fears of a damaging US recession have also receded a little with Wall Street closing at a threeweek high following some more upbeat earnings reports. Investors are clinging onto positive news but the claws of the bear market have scratched deep. SUSANNAH STREETER HARGREAVES LANSDOWN
138 136 134 132 130
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22 July
The underlying picture at retailer JD Sports is a “very rosy” one according to brokers at Peel Hunt, after a trading update in line with guidance for the full year. The shape of trading has shifted a touch from the 1Q average, brokers said, with the US now only slightly down, the UK in the black and Europe 15 per cent ahead. They set a target a price of 250p and reiterate their rating of the stock as a firm ‘buy’.
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at a 30ITH UK inflation surging year high due to supply energy costs and for inchain issues, the casesaving, vesting, rather than been greater. your money has never still hovering are Interest rates low, meaning that around an all-timesavings account or a money held in eroded in cash ISA will be significantly real terms. ISA season, people As we head into their tax-free aluse to still looking to 5 April will need lowance before of inflation eroding weigh up the risk the risk of investtheir savings versusasset classes such as ing their money in peer-to-peer loans. or stocks and shares tax year, the For the current 2021/22 ISA can save in an inmaximum you not pay tax on any is £20,000. You do gains accrued within terest or capital an ISA wrapper. exempt from payThis means you are which kicks in on tax, ing capital gains than £12,300 from any profit of more an investment. into an ISA by You must put moneyfor it to count toyear the end of the tax allowance. Any unwards this year’s not roll over into used allowance doesuse it or lose it! so the next tax year, of opportunities on With a plethora can be overwhelmoffer, the ISA market the best places ing, so we have analysedmoney. to put your hard-earned
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of the fund as the “You should think in April, investment and indiwill hit six per cent main course of your plates – slightly more better, inflation that investors should be looking fence waiting for vidual shares as side more to sitting on the be the time to lock in meaning above six per cent to avoid risky, but you may consider them The Bank of England of 0.1 per cent to Society, according might for returns low Historic stock mar- fun and interesting to follow. Coventry Building from Moneyfacts. but now from an historic a rate.” eroding their savings. December, and raised sure you first have that this can be data as of 25 Januarymost average rates that best 0.25 per cent last “You should make this year to 0.5 ket performance suggests is riskand then buy “Last year, we saw across the savings it again on 3 February although no investment EQUITIES core plate of investmentsthe edge.” around go to record lows out of the ISA wrap- EYEING UP losing savers money in achieved, per cent. individual shares ISAs or in comparison to that you’ll usually people in a free. example, if you invested in an back With cash However, this pales 30-year high of 5.4 market, within It’s worth noting slowly climbing fi- real terms, it is advisable for “For fees with a the perper, but they are position to coninflation, which hit fund that tracks to pay a few different 2021 and is presays Rachel Springall, comfortable financial ISAs, which give index tracker stock market, on a his- have s ISAs. Th per cent in Decemberthan six per cent up again,” at Moneyfacts. the in- formance of sider stocks and shares nance expert dicted to rise to more2022. steady process them a good chance of outperforming of “It is a slow and rise in during the course left languishing though. There was a base rate in Therefore, any money decrease in value in cash ISAs will
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Climate noise blocking out real solutions
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Bank has raised lift rates a further first time the in a calendar marking the four times TT JACK BARNE borrowing costs– that’s the consensusists. since 2004 econom this year England will since year st of City A.M.’s poll of rate setter THE BANK of fastest rate hike cycle n in foreca ce, a former the Andrew Sentanadviser to Cambridge embark on to tame rampant inflatio 2004 in a bid g at its meeting of rate and now senior expects “three s he said City s, startin exclusive after today’ the UK – Econometric – reveals an rises this year” per cent by setters today economists. further rate rates to 1.25 18 A.M. poll of top -back rate hike in meeting, taking year. and will The first back-to the end of theanalysts agree with certainty today shift near top a l is Capital Severa years intent to rapidly an Sachs andfour rate in signal the Bank’s rting the British Sentance. Goldm suppo are both pricing mic to policy from Economics h the pande 2022. throughout economy throug inflation. set to hikes stamping out Threadneedle Street is After today,
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ARM WRESTLE
BRIT CHIP FIRM TO COME UNDER POLITICAL PRESSURE TO LIST IN LONDON NOT NEW YORK AFTER REGULATORY HURDLES END NVIDIA TAKEOVER PLAN CHARLIE CONCHIE BRITISH chipmaker Arm is set to be the subject of a charm offensive to encourage it to list in London rather than New York. Arm’s Japanese owner Softbank said yesterday it was making preparations to float the Cambridge-based chipmaker after a $40bn (£29.5bn) takeover bid from US giant Nvidia collapsed amid regulatory pressures. Softbank said it was eyeing up New
York as the favoured destination, but political insiders have indicated the government is keen to see the firm go public in London. A Whitehall source said “it shouldn't be a surprise that ministers would like a British success story like Arm to float in London”, while a Treasury spokesperson said it would push ahead with reforms to listing rules to make the capital more attractive to major firms. Arm’s local MP said it was “vital” the
firm listed in the capital. Politicians are reportedly also wooing other soon-tofloat global firms. News of the float came after a bumper takeover bid from US giant Nvidia was finally kiboshed, with a combination of competition watchdog interest and national security concerns too much of a hurdle to overcome. Softbank pushed through a management shakeup at Arm yesterday, with president of the firm’s IP products
division Rene Haas taking over as chief executive from Arm-veteran Simon Segar. Softbank boss Masayoshi Son said: “Rene is the right leader to accelerate Arm’s growth as the company starts making preparations to re-enter the public markets.” Son added that Softbank was aiming to take Arm public before the end of the financial year in March 2023. CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
INSIDE
North Sea gas impact. The Labour Party have been pushing for a one-off levy on energy firms amid spiking household costs. But Looney said “the UK needs more gas, not less gas, right now. That’s going to require more investment, not less investment.” Calls for a tax raid have increased in
BP reported a £9.5bn profit yesterday, its best annual result since 2013
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A PROMINENT former Greenpeace activist and now Stanford University fellow has said “panic” over climate change is blocking debate over the move to a greener future. Danish campaigner Bjorn Lomborg writes in City A.M. today that “fifty years of panic clearly haven’t solved climate change” and that a smarter approach which “focuses on realistic solutions such as adaptation and innovation” is needed. Lomborg’s warning comes the week after McKinsey calculated the cost of moving to net zero by 2050 across the world at a cool $9 trillion a year. The head of the Copenhagen Consensus think-tank called for solutions that emphasise JACK BARN ETT the funding of green energy projects rather than to the gover ECONOMIC politicians “showering growth is the end of nment’s spending spending vital if is bill by the decade. subsidies over expensive vanity able” levels not to reach “unsu state O’Connell The , experts warne projects.” stain- ing report comes as scale envis said state spending a raft of spend A report from pledges set at the ioned by The City has become a hub the think d today. - was out at budge tion Found the of green finance in recent ation publi tank Resolu- the ts have already the last two the “unsustainable” and new report vealed a persis put the size shed today economy state on said growi years. A global ranking by ng of and the enormtently higher NHS re- level since course to reach its Pursuing a was crucial. largest the analysts at Z/Yen put the strategy of bill ous cost of tained econo ing to net The plann 1970s. achieving transitionzero capital at the top of the global ed mic growt suswill swell enue national hike, 1.25 percentage the Britis the size h point desira for the Treas h to raise revtree for the first time in 2021. on top of tions in the state to historic propoof and divide corporation ble than balan ury is more nd The UK government is coming years. tax r- ing of hikes and cing the publi nances throu The cost of the freezincome tax increasingly under fire for caring for perts said. gh further tax hikes c fiing popul thres Britain’s age- raise the tax ation will failing to lay out the costs of , exburden to holds, will level since primarily ramping up “Avoiding the heaviest drive the the transition to ‘net zero’ and relati a period of weak growt to the tune in government spend a John O’Con 1950s. ve amid ongoing rows about the of econo nell, ing £76bn h mic declin chief cial,” the of this decad a year price of energy and the rollout state e, taking the by the end thatTaxpayers’ Alliance, executive of addinthe Resolution Found e is crutold “ministers g that a to the size of electric vehicle facilities. protracted ation said, must refuse City A.M. sluggishne before the same level as Germof the argument period of the tired ss after the Covid-19 crisis. that spend any’s reined has finan Ramping ing canno in. LOMBORG: PAGE 12 t be ernmwiped £200bn a year cial crisis zero target up funding to reach “Instead, they off ent’s spend s will add should go ing war chest.the govDan Tomli £14bn each net by backing for growt nson year taxes. business and cuttin h Foundation said of the Resolution ” g insur ance incre the coming national ase compared was “smal to tax hikes l to come. fry”
They lost billions in 2020, when the pandemic caused prices to plunge. They regained some of this in 2021-22,CHAR LIE CONCHIE when economic activity restarted.” Michael Hewson, chief market TECH analyst at CMC Markets, described thegover leaders have called nment to calls for a tax as “predictable”. shake up on the listings rules UK British chipmafter the owner of RESULTS AND ANALYSIS: PAGE 5 aker Arm eyeing up said it was a for one of New York floatation companiesBritain’s most exciti . ng GOCARDLESS GOES UNICORN P3 GREGGS LAUNCHES FASHION RANGE P7 RENTS REACH RECORD HIGHS P8 BRITS FLOCK BACK TO THE OFFICE P10 WINTER OLYMPICS P27
ECONOMISTS and BP’s boss rejected calls yesterday for a windfall tax on energy firms after the energy giant announced healthy profits. The British firm’s chief Bernard Looney said it would be misguided to limit its ability to invest and reduce
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Windfall tax plans rubbished by economists after oil giant’s losses last year Lo ndon must NICHOLAS EARL
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the week since Shell also revealed chunky profits. BP lost £4.2bn in 2020 amidst a collapse in global demand for oil, similarly to most oil majors. Speaking to City A.M., Andy Mayer from the Institute of Economic Affairs said: “Fossil fuel energy companies have not enjoyed ‘windfall’ profits.
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FREE SCRUM DO enjoy sizabl WN New Zealand set e private equ to ity boost
MATT HARD Y result in a stake PRIVATE equity smaller firm Silver 15 per cent to acquire a anticipated than the stake of aroun Lake is set Lake and NZR when Silver cent in intern ational rugbyd five per of last year. held talks in January All Blacks which outfit could see the the The initial deal commercial was said to arm of the rugby been valued valued at £1.5bn have team at around £1.5bn time and came The deal with . at the acquired a stakea year after Silver Lake (NZR) would New Zealand Rugby in give City Footba Group – who minority shareh the American firm ll champions own Premier League be a new comm olding in what woulda Manchester ercial City. The deal was holding company. originally the of a player rebelli subject According to on, Sky but would repres News’ Mark if Kleinman, the ent the latest finalised transaction biggest – private – and would equity rugby union. move into
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Arm’s Japan said on Tuesd ese owner Softb ay it was looki ank take the chipm ng Nasdaq excha aker public on to bid by Amer nge after a takeothe collapsed. ican rival Nvidia ver Russ Shaw London Advo, founder of Tech cates, told the move showed “ther City A.M. e is a lot
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OPINION
MONDAY 25 JULY 2022
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OPINION EDITED BY SASCHA O’SULLIVAN
Truss and Sunak have gone astray as they fight for the Thatcher’s legacy Eliot Wilson
L
IZ Truss and Rishi Sunak will be glad the hottest day of the heatwave is over, because for the Conservative party it will be a long summer of heavy slog. As the final two candidates battle it out to claim the leadership they will crisscross the UK for hustings in front of party members before the next leader—and the next prime minister— is announced on 5 September. It is 30 years since James Carville coined the phrase “it’s the economy, stupid” to remind candidates for any political office what really drives voters. It remains as true today: while the early campaign was distracted by issues such as gender identity and schooling, Tory members, like the wider electorate, are focused on the cost of living, energy prices, inflation and tax bills. Neither Sunak nor Truss should need the Ragin’ Cajun to remind them what will swing the result: the weight of what’s in their pocket. The economic policies proposed by the two candidates so far are a strange exercise in “same, same but different”. They are currently being distinguished by approaches to taxation: Sunak, who was in charge of the Treasury until a few weeks ago, has (perhaps by necessity) pledged a
Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have six weeks of campaigning to be leader of the Conservatives safety-first stance, arguing against immediate tax cuts for fear of stoking inflation; Truss, meanwhile, wants to “supercharge” the economy and has vowed to reverse the National Insurance increase, abandon plans to raise corporation tax and suspend green levies on energy bills. This presents a stark choice for the party. Sunak is the prudent, cautious candidate who will reassure the country that its current pain will lead to gain if it stays the course, while Truss talks of overturning two decades of economic orthodoxy (for 12 years of which, one might note, the Conservative Party has been in office). She threatens to make a reality of the radicalism in Britannia
Unchained, a right-wing portmanteau published in 2012. Given this divergence, it is interesting that both candidates are seeking to appropriate the mantle of Thatcherism. Sunak sees himself as the “heir to Thatcher”, while Truss has been auditioning for her role in the revival performance for some years, sounding hawkish on foreign policy, sitting atop a tank and cosplaying the Iron Lady at every opportunity. They cannot both be right. Or can they? One of the problems of this leadership contest, and indeed of Conservative politics more widely for the last 30 years, is that Thatcherism is a fondly remembered fever dream for
many modern Tories. After all, anyone now under 40 will have no real memory of the Thatcher years as they happened. Instead, they select a compilation of her greatest hits and skip over the tracks which neither interest nor suit them. Thatcherism (itself a misnomer, as the intellectual heavy lifting was done by others) was never as simple as cutting taxes, or keeping inflation low. In part, yes, it was a response to the specific economic circumstances in which the UK found itself in the mid- to late 1970s, but it was a clearer and loftier mission than that. Nigel Lawson, chancellor from 1983 to 1989, listed its economic characteristics as “free markets,
As Westminster decides on its plan for growth, the City is ready to flex its potential
T
HE initial Conservative leadership debates were scattergun, trying to cover a broad range of social issues. But now we have two candidates, it has boiled down to one single issue: the economy. As we’re plagued with rising inflation and strikes disrupting our day-to-day lives, our future plan for growth is urgent, for the private sector, the public sector and people just trying to pay their bills. At the heart of any plans to grow our economy, there is a pivotal role for our financial and professional services. This is not simply because of the essential role it has in providing support to businesses of all sizes, but because the sector is an economic success story. These businesses contribute nearly £100bn in tax every year – over half of the entire health and social care budget – but importantly, they support the British economy by creating jobs, encouraging investment, and facilitating trade. So the competitiveness of this industry is a critical national interest.
Vincent Keaveny
But how do we ensure that the UK remains competitive? This is the central question in a new report delivered by the City of London Corporation in partnership with the Treasury. Alongside the Financial Services and Markets Bill, the new publication – our “State of the Sector” report – outlines not only the strengths of the UK financial sector, but where we need to improve. Repeated annually, this report will be a mechanism that drives competitiveness year-on-year. It examines how our regulation – which is widely respected around the world – can be appropriately adapted to make our
system more innovative, open and competitive while at the same time maintaining high standards. As I made clear during our annual Financial and Professional Services dinner: strong, agile and transparent regulation is crucial to the UK’s international standing. The sector is not calling for a bonfire of regulation. We need to see a clear commitment to set out how the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority will deliver an increased focus on growth and competitiveness following the changes to their objectives – in a way which cannot be misunderstood as a “race to the bottom” in regulatory standards. Access to talent is critical to our success. The report explains how continuing to improve the visa regime can ensure firms can bring their best people here. Taking action now will only add to the strength of the UK’s integrated financial ecosystem – employing 2.3 million people across the country – two thirds of whom are outside of London.
This is a message equally important for other powerful centres of commerce and financial expertise - Leeds and Birmingham. Leeds has become the host to the UK Infrastructure Bank, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority, as well as some remarkable lawtech businesses, and I will speak with leaders this week about our future plans for growth. The City of London Corporation has a strong relationship with Birmingham. UK cities compete with each other for talent and success, but we also work together. Whoever wins the Conservative leadership election, our priorities remain the same: supporting a strong economy will stimulate growth, encourage innovation, and ease the cost-of-living crisis. Our financial and professional services are a prime example of the UK as a global centre for innovation. £ Vincent Keaveny is the Lord Mayor of the City of London Corporation
financial discipline, firm control over public expenditure, tax cuts”, but these were means to an end. The real ideology of Conservatism— or at least a section of it—is predicated on the moral good of personal freedom. Low taxation is to be promoted because it leaves people in control of more of their money, of which they are the best guardians. A small state allows personal autonomy and promotes communal and voluntary solutions to societal problems. At this stage, we are in a rather crude battle of immediate levels of tax. Sunak and Truss are trading headlines, which in a world with a short attention span is understandable, but neither has yet to commit to any real radicalism. Truss has admitted she is open to the possibility of reviewing the Bank of England’s mandate, but there is little else to suggest that the shape of the British economy will be altered substantially. There are six weeks of campaigning to come. Business will be watching carefully for signs, even hints, of a deeper economic philosophy from either candidate. If, as early polling suggests, Liz Truss becomes prime minister, we will see a reduction in some taxation offset by greater borrowing, which is then paid off more slowly. But fundamental questions remain: how can the age-old problem of low productivity be solved? What kind of economy does the UK want and need? Where are our new trading partners? For answers to those, we may have to wait a little longer. £ Eliot Wilson is co-founder of Pivot Point and a columnist with City A.M.
MARKING TIME As regulators across the world look to understand and pull apart algorithms pushing certain content, Mark Zuckerberg has taken Facebook back to basics. The social media giant will now have a feed in chronological order as well as one with ‘new content’ and ads
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Data-first green plans [Re:ESG faces reckoning after being ‘hijacked’ by marketeers, July 14] ESG faces reputational risk, following several cases of marketers making unsubstantiated claims. But most organisations truly want to do good. The problem isn’t just deceptive markets, it’s companies lacking the data tools. It’s not hijacking, it’s inability. Take third-party ESG ratings. One study shows correlation between the top five ESG data ratings agencies
as 0.6. To contextualise, ice-cream consumption and shark attacks have a higher correlation; most companies are completely in the dark. Internal data is also complicated. For many public companies, the process of collecting ESG data is manual and tedious. UK businesses must look at ESG through a data and AI lens – moving ESG data into one place and using data platforms that enable machine learning. Major cloud providers enable cheap storage of swathes of ESG data. Numerous data platforms enable companies to use ESG data in previously impossible ways. Junta Nakai
TURN TO THE RIGHT Italy’s right looking foward after Mario Draghi’s exit
Italy’s right wing bloc - Matteo Salvini's League and Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy - are gearing up for snap elections. This could impact Italy’s relationship with both Ukraine and Brussells. The League has had close ties to the Kremlin.
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Energy efficiency can combat Putin’s political pull over gas
I
N THE past few weeks, Vladimir Putin has significantly reduced gas supplies to European countries, cementing the fact that Europe should begin preparations for a complete cut off from Russian gas. In response, European countries are taking emergency measures, such as firing up old coal-fired power stations. While some leaders might try to justify these measures due to the scale of the crisis, it would be unforgivable if European governments and businesses fail to acknowledge that there is a faster, greener, cheaper and more secure alternative to fossil fuels. It’s relatively simple: using the energy we already have more efficiently is by far the greenest, cheapest, and most secure way out of the energy crisis. At the beginning of June, the International Energy Agency, IEA, published an analysis demonstrating how, without early action on efficiency, the transition to net zero emissions will be more expensive and almost impossible to achieve. The IEA’s report shows how one third of the reductions needed by 2030 to reach net zero will have to be provided by energy efficiency measures – measures that are already cost effective and can make our economies more competitive and resilient. If this potential in energy savings is realized it would also strengthen energy security immensely. According to the IEA, 650 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year could be avoided if we do a global push on energy efficiency. To put this into perspective, that is approximately four times what the European
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Union imported from Russia in 2021. Still, despite this opportunity, energy is being wasted every day – in industry, in homes, and in transport. In Europe’s industrial sector, for example, 40 per cent of gas is used in low temperature processes below 100 celsius. A large share of this could be reduced simply by reusing heat through rapid installation of higher temperature heat recovery units and the adoption of industrial heat pumps. This could be done quickly and even before the next heating season. In European buildings, it is now possible to reduce the use of gas by 34 per cent in the next 5 years by making sure that all buildings are equipped with
The list of low hanging fruit in industrial energy efficiency is endless
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basic heating infrastructure. Even today, estimates show that around 70 million of European homes do not have a thermostatic radiator valve and yet the IEA has stated that by turning down the thermostat in your home by just 1 degree celsius, you would save around 7 per cent of the energy you use for heating. What are the political leaders waiting for? The solution is literally right at our fingertips. The list of low hanging fruits is endless. Data centers, supermarkets, industries, and wastewater facilities are all producers of vast amounts of energy that is currently wasted on a massive scale. Why don’t we agree that it should be mandatory to reuse excess heat, or that all buildings must be equipped with basic energy monitoring infrastructure? This crisis presents a historical opportunity to accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels by starting to use the energy we already have more effectively. Politicians and business leaders don’t need to await new technology or hope for miracles. They only need to start implementing the technology that is there and that we know already works. The greenest, cheapest, and most secure energy is the energy we don’t use, and it offers a clear route out of this joint energy and security crisis. It is now up to political and business leaders to show the leadership necessary to take this step. £ Martin Rossen, formerly chief of staff to the Danish Prime Minister’s office, is senior vice president at Danfoss.
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16
LIFE&STYLE
CITYAM.COM
MONDAY 25 JULY 2022
TRAVEL How to beat the travel chaos and embark on a hasslefree food odyssey through glorious Basque country, by Steve Dinneen
T
hroughout the confinement of the pandemic we dreamed of the day travel restrictions would finally ease. This year that wish came true – but the monkey’s paw twitched. While we are allowed to fly almost anywhere – even Japan and Korea, some of the strictest countries for Covid restrictions, have welcomed tourists back – but actually getting anywhere… that’s a different story. The combination of pent-up demand, soaring costs, runway-melting heat and chronic staff shortages have turned the world’s biggest airports into endless, angry queues. So what’s a City-worker to do, as those all-important August days approach? London City Airport is your friend – accessible from Bank in less than 25 minutes, it has remained, fairly miraculously, fully staffed all summer. You can glide through security in 20 minutes and you don’t even need to remove liquids and laptops from your bag as you pass through security. With more leisure routes than you’d think, around three quarters of flights from City are run by British Airways CityFlyer, which means you not only get BA service, but also a guaranteed aisle or window seat – the planes are all in the 2-2 configuration – and complimentary alcohol throughout the plane, rather than just in business class. Once seen as a predominantly business venture, CityFlyer had expanded its tourism schedule, including London’s only direct flight to the Basque city of San Sebastian. Nestled on the extreme north east tip of Spain in the Basque region, a 30 minute drive from France and an hour from Bilbao, San Sebastian is a bucket-list destination for anyone serious about the restaurant scene. It’s a gastronomic paradise with more Michelin starred restaurants per capita than anywhere in the world (there are 11 in an area of less than 200,000 people, including a trio of three starred restaurants, compared with London’s 74, five of which have three stars). The most famous are the family dynasty restaurant Arzak and Martin Berasategui’s eponymous restaurant a short drive from town, both as globally respected as Copenhagen’s Noma or Lima’s Central – expect waiting lists of weeks or months if you hope to bag a table. We landed in San Sebastian fairly early and met up with our guide Amaia, who suggested we take a trip up to Monte Igueldo, a peak that overlooks San Sebastian’s graceful curve of perfect sandy beaches, which can be reached via a 100year-old funicular. “No thank you, Amaia,” we said. “Take us to the nearest pintxos bar.” While the peak is no doubt beautiful, San Sebastian is famed for its pintxos, small bar snacks, often skewered and served on bread. While you can find them across northern Spain – Barcelona’s Carrer de Blai in El Poble-Sec is known for its “pinchos” – San Sebastian is their spiritual home. The Old Town is the best place to look for them, its winding streets (which look a bit like those in Barcelona, with a dash of French je ne sais quoi) full of bars that spill out onto the pavement. Amaia led us on a merry tour of some of
SAN SEBASTIAN: THE MICHELIN CAPITAL OF THE WORLD
BASQUE LANGUAGE
Basque is thought to be one of the oldest languages in Europe. Widely spoken throughout the area, it’s virtually indecipherable to Spanish speakers, although most Basque people will know Spanish and English is also common
her favourite haunts, a series of unpronounceable places with altogether too many letter ‘x’s in their names. While I’ve always been disappointed with Carrer de Blai’s pinchos, which manage to feel both stale and sweaty at the same time, the best of San Sebastian’s pintxos are prepared with real care and attention. We had anchovies with pickled peppers, oily curls of chorizo, delicate croquetas, neat stacks of goats’ cheese. The list gets hazier as we moved from bar to bar, each round of pintxos washed down with a caña (just under a half pint of lager). I remember pepper stuffed with… tuna? Something involving eel. As afternoon dragged into evening and the sun swung down over the neo-gothic Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, we continued to wander the Old Town, stopping
off at the impressive Konstituzio Plaza (where the surrounding buildings all bear numbers showing where you could once rent the balcony to watch bullfights below), and ending up at a punk bar, chatting to locals with inexcusable haircuts. “You must visit Real Sociedad while you’re here,” said one of them. So we did, picking up tickets for a friendly against Toulouse the next day. The Reale Arena is a modern, 40,000 seat stadium within walking distance of the town centre. Toulouse won 1-0 in what might have been the worst game of football ever played, but get tickets to a La Liga match and this stadium will be jumping. Having crossed pintxos off my list, I wanted to try some traditional Basque dishes. For this we drove to the nearby town of Hondarribia, which butts up
against the French border; from here you can take a 10-minute ferry and relax on a French beach for the afternoon, or while away the day in the sleepy town centre. Right on the seafront is Arraunlari Berri, a high-end restaurant serving fish fresh from the boat, scarlet prawns that are to die for, and stews that are typical of the region (Basque country has a similar climate to the UK so they love a stew here). Kupela, meanwhile, is a traditional Basque restaurant, which means… well, more grilled fish and stew. This is hearty food rather than haute cuisine, a place where the menu tops out at €22, but it’s a great introduction to the local gastronomy. We tried kokotxas, a stew made with “hake cheeks”, actually a fatty section of the throat located directly behind the gills, cooked in a thick white wine and
MONDAY 25 JULY 2022
CITYAM.COM
THE LONG WEEKEND
LIFE&STYLE
17
NOBU HOTEL IBIZA BAY Nobu’s brand of luxury is a perfect fit for the White Isle, says Jenny Southan
THE WEEKEND: Ibiza is open for the summer season and doing what it does best: wearing two faces. One side of the White Isle is for weekends of hedonism, while the other is about restoration, surrounded by viridian green sea.
salsa verde sauce. Elsewhere on the table were a mountain of monkfish medallions, huge prawns, hake with potato, grilled octopus, squid ink croquetas. This is the life. While you might think locals in the Michelin capital of the world might wash all this down with a crisp sauvignon blanc, the tipple of choice here is cider. There are around 300 cider houses dotted throughout the Basque region, the largest being the Saizar Sidrería, which should be at the top of your San Sebastian to-do list. Here you can take a tour of the cider-making facilities, where 2m bottles are produced each year. Vast barrels run the length of the huge facility and, armed with your own glass, you can try them at will. It’s not as easy as it sounds, though – to pour you have to untap one of the barrels, shouting “txotx” (pronounced “choch”) as you do,
which sends a jet of cider spraying out, which you’re tasked with catching in your glass. Once the stream is loose, you’re not supposed to turn it off until everybody has had their fill, so a conga line of cider drinkers forms, with the locals expertly catching every drop. “Txotx,” I shouted confidently, as a stream of yellow liquid sprayed across my shorts. The cider here isn’t like our English cider – it’s virtually flat and quite bitter, with the cider-makers trying to get the sugar content as low as they can. It’s certainly moreish though and with bottomless topups for less than €10 I’m surprised it’s not packed with rowdy stag dos. In fact the sprawling 300-cover food hall is made up almost exclusively of locals tucking into absurdly large cod omelettes and grilled fish and vast, fatty steaks. After all that food you need a place to rest your head. In San Sebastian itself I stayed in a perfectly respectable NH Collection business hotel but if you want to push the boat out, the Villa Magalean in Hondarribia is stunning. With just eight rooms, it’s a glorious townhouse filled with private terraces and stained glass windows and original artworks. Just make sure you set an alarm if you have an early flight, because after all that food and cider you may find yourself sleeping late.
NEED TO KNOW £ British Airways flies directly from London City Airport on Mondays and Fridays until 2 September – to book go to ba.com/londoncity £ For a guide email info@sansebastianguides.com £ For Saizar Sidrería go to sidrassaizar.com £ To book Villa Magalean: villamagalean.com £ To book NH Collection: nh-hotels.com £ Restaurante Kupela: kupelarestaurante.com £ Arraunlari Berri: arraunlariberri.com
WHERE? I was staying at the Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay, which first launched in 2017 but reopened in April 2022 for the summer season. Located on Talamanca Bay, a quieter corner away from San Antonio, Pacha nightclub and the Old Town are close by. Famous for its chain for high-end sushi restaurants from chef Nobu Matsuhisa, there are now almost 30 Nobu hotels around the world and upcoming openings will include properties in Marrakech, Rome and Toronto. Unlike many of the other outposts, the Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay has more of a Mediterranean vibe than Japanese, but guests can feast on as much black cod and Wagyu beef tacos as they like at the on-site Nobu restaurant (you can even order Nobu room service). THE STAY: The hotel has 152 rooms (90 of which are suites) and most have sea views. Make sure you get one with a terrace. The decor is a little dated already but it’s fresh and minimal. The property also has a Spa by Six Senses, a gym and two large outdoor pools. (Although it’s located on the coast, the beach is covered in seaweed so you probably won’t be swimming in the sea.) New for summer 2022 is a rooftop terrace that hosts events in partnership with electronic dance music specialists SUCO (the Sunshine Collective), and the Nobu Lounge for cocktails and sets from local DJs. Other activities guests can sign up for include sunrise Pilates and open-air movie screenings of Robert De Niro movies (he is a Nobu Hotels co-founder), accompanied by popcorn and Japanese bento boxes. THE FOOD: There are three restaurants at the Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay – casual Chambao for breakfast and lunch, trendy Bibo by Michelin-starred chef Dani Garcia (he also has a restaurant at London’s Mondrian
TOP TIP Plan ahead. This might be a hedonistic island but you don’t want to be all dressed up with no place to go – from beach bars in the afternoon to club nights, you’re always best making a reservation or buying tickets ahead of time
hotel in Shoreditch), and of course, Nobu. Signature dishes include sashimi salad with Matsuhisa dressing (€35), yellowtail tartare with caviar (€35), oysters with Nobu sauce (€28), California sushi Maki (€21) and tuna tataki with Tosazu (€26). You can also order a multi-course “omakase” tasting menu for €90/€130. I enjoyed sitting up at the bar one evening having dish after tasty dish delivered to me while drinking cold champagne. The restaurant was definitely a highlight of my stay (and so easy to get to bed after). WHAT TO DO: Rather than return to London feeling like I’d over-done the nightlife, I decided to chill out for a couple of days and sign up for one of the Nobu Hotel’s new “wellness hikes” that are led by Manuel Ehrensperger, a man who formerly worked in senior roles at companies such as Swarovski and Chopard but gave it all up to commune with nature in Ibiza. As the founder of Ibiza Hike Station, he knows all the most stunning hiking routes across the island (check out the @ibiza.hike.station Instagram page) and has an exclusive partnership with the Nobu Hotel for resident guests. Although I am nervous about heights and cliff edges, the four-hour hike we went on afforded such incredible views of Esphedra island, as well as close-up encounters with local flora, it was absolutely worth it. “I know every corner of the island. I watch the sunset every day,” says Ehrensperger, whose typical clients are female tourists, DJs, models and anyone else who wants to learn about the “real Ibiza”. When the weather is cooler in September and October, the hotel will also launch a series of three-day hiking retreats with free activities such as sound healing classes, rooftop wellness sessions, meditation and two signature spa treatments included in the price. NEED TO KNOW: Low season room rates start at Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay start at €450 a night and high season starts at €850; www.nobuhotelibizabay.com
18
MONDAY 25 JULY 2022
MARKETS
FTSE 100 7276.37 5.86
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FTSE 250 19824.77 115.53
Price Chg High Low
GILTS 1.07 0.40 0.77 0.85 2.12 1.12 1.65 1.78 1.79
379.4 117.4 124.6 140.4 402.3 138.0 148.0 163.4 175.8
358.8 106.8 109.6 121.5 352.1 114.1 115.9 124.8 123.6
Smith (DS) ..................... 270.0 Smiths Gp......................1495.0 Smurfit Kappa Gp...... 2739.0 Vesuvius...........................323.0
-14.7 462.3 -21.0 1629.0 -117.0 4305.0 -0.6 567.0
270.0 1355.5 2623.0 284.6
ELECTRICITY Contour Global.............. 255.0 -0.5 257.0 178.0 Drax Gp ............................742.5 -1.0 831.5 393.8 SSE ...................................1727.5 6.5 1920.0 1445.5
ELECTRONIC & ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
AEROSPACE & DEFENCE BAE Systems .................780.0 -3.2 838.4 528.8 Chemring Gp ..................347.0 3.5 367.5 256.0 Meggitt ............................789.6 -0.2 839.2 444.4 QinetiQ .............................383.8 2.0 384.0 243.0 Rolls-Royce .......................92.6 0.2 147.5 78.2 Ultra Electronics ........3490.0 0.0 3494.0 2824.0 Aston Martin..................483.6 -46.0 2081.0 371.3 TI Fluid Systems ........... 163.0 0.4 323.5 142.0
BANKS -1.1 -8.2 -0.1 -2.0 -14.4 34.0 1.9
Halma ............................2282.0 Morgan Advanced .......294.0 Oxford Instruments ..2220.0 Renishaw ......................4230.0 Spectris ........................2995.0 XP Power..................... 2990.0
35.0 3216.0 1876.5 5.0 412.5 262.5 10.0 2680.0 1760.0 -26.0 5565.0 3568.0 2.0 4083.0 2458.0 -35.0 5630.0 2730.0
EQUITY INVESTMENT INSTRUMENTS
AUTOMOBILES & PARTS
217.1 567.2 55.1 253.5 638.6 1656.0 218.1
140.6 359.8 41.0 192.8 410.0 901.0 124.2
BEVERAGES Britvic...............................851.5 14.0 1006.0 741.0 Coca-Cola HBC AG......1945.5 7.5 2784.0 1460.5 Diageo ...........................3720.0 13.0 4103.5 3343.0
CHEMICALS Croda International ..7050.0 2.010410.0 5908.0 Elementis.........................104.6 1.7 157.3 97.0 Johnson Matt...............2118.0 -3.0 3077.0 1721.0 Synthomer ......................233.0 -3.2 564.0 222.0 Victrex .......................... 1852.0 -15.0 2678.0 1590.0
CONSTRUCTION & MATERIALS Balfour Beatty ................267.2 Barratt Devel .................499.8 Bellway .........................2404.0 CRH ................................2984.0 Genuit Group ..................415.0 Grafton Group................810.0 Ibstock............................. 181.2 Marshalls.........................487.0 Morgan Sindall Gp.....1980.0 Persimmon ....................1857.5 Taylor Wimpey ..............126.2 Vistry Group................... 927.5 Volution ...........................387.0
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Price Chg High Low
DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIALS
Tsy 2.500 24 ............... 376.38 Tsy 5.000 25 ................108.18 Tsy 4.250 27 ................ 112.42 Tsy 6.000 28 ................125.59 Tsy 4.125 30 ................ 363.96 Tsy 4.250 32.................120.75 Tsy 4.250 36 ................122.12 Tsy 4.750 38.................131.38 Tsy 4.250 46 ................131.37
Barclays ............................157.8 HSBC Hldgs.....................515.2 Lloyds Banking ................ 43.2 NatWest Group..............225.1 Standard Chartered.....572.8 TBC Bank Group......... 1248.0 Virgin Money UK ............141.6
CITYAM.COM
5.2 319.0 215.6 -0.4 760.0 448.5 -14.0 3526.0 2070.0 0.5 4002.0 2756.5 2.0 801.0 373.0 -2.0 1412.0 715.0 0.0 239.2 154.0 -0.4 845.0 436.2 -2.0 2685.0 1776.0 13.5 2940.0 1732.0 0.3 182.9 113.0 -5.0 1261.5 760.5 0.0 560.0 336.5
3i Infrastructure...........333.0 Aberforth Smlr Cos ...1242.0 Alliance Trust................958.0 Allianz Tech ....................232.5 AVI Global Trust.............187.6 Baillie Gifford Japan....764.0 Bankers InvTst ..............104.8 Bellevue Healthcare.....165.8 BlackRock Smaller .....1416.0 BlackRock Wld Mining 572.0 BR Throgmorton .......... 630.0 Caledonia Inv ..............3750.0 Chrysalis Inv ..................104.0 City of London IT.........408.5 Edin Inv Trust ................612.0 Edin Wwide ....................194.4 European Opp ................716.0 F&C Investment ............863.0 Fidelity China SPE .......254.0 Fidelity Emg ..................620.3 Fidelity Eur .....................291.5 Fidelity Spec Val ...........272.0 Finsbury G&I Tst.......... 836.0 GCP Infra Inv..................114.6 Global Smaller ...............144.0 Greencoat UK..................153.7 Harbourvest Glb.........2260.0 Henderson Sml Co ........881.0 Herald Inv Trust ......... 1702.0 HICL Infr ..........................173.6 Hipgnosis Songs Fund ..113.8 ICG Enterprise .............1138.0 IMPAX ENVIRO MKTS449.0 JPM American............... 741.0 JPM Emerg Mkt ............109.4 JPM Euro Disc. ..............394.5 JPM Japan IT ................474.5
0.5 366.5 302.0 12.0 1612.0 1144.0 -2.0 1078.0 887.0 -2.5 370.0 200.0 2.2 222.0 172.0 -2.0 1106.0 662.0 -0.4 125.0 95.5 -2.0 208.0 132.4 16.0 2220.0 1254.0 9.0 792.0 502.0 15.0 1042.0 533.0 5.0 4100.0 3230.0 1.6 277.0 90.0 1.0 425.0 377.0 0.0 657.0 578.0 2.0 338.0 160.8 -2.0 891.0 644.0 5.0 946.0 770.0 -6.5 368.5 218.5 0.3 905.0 596.5 0.0 345.0 267.5 4.0 315.0 250.0 3.0 930.0 734.0 0.0 118.6 100.2 0.4 177.0 134.4 0.0 159.9 129.6 -10.0 2940.0 2000.0 21.0 1370.0 778.0 20.0 2630.0 1560.0 -2.0 183.0 161.0 3.2 129.2 102.6 -2.0 1314.0 954.0 3.0 583.0 381.5 4.0 782.0 655.0 0.0 139.0 99.8 0.5 582.0 366.5 1.5 729.0 412.5
FTSE ALL SHARE 4028.28 6.78 Price Jupiter Fund Mngt ....... 142.7 Law Debenture ..............771.0 Mercantile IT .................198.0 Monks Inv Tst ............. 1025.0 Murray Inc Tst..............850.0 Murray Intl Tst ........... 1248.0 Ninety One .....................200.8 Pantheon Intl Partn .... 248.0 Pershing Square.........2620.0 Personal Assets Tst... 48650.0 Polar Cap Tech Tst .....2100.0 Renewables Infra Gp ...135.8 RIT Cap Partners.......2530.0 Schroder Asia ................531.0 Schroder Oriental ........ 262.0 Scot American Inv ...... 494.5 Scottish Mortgage .......831.4 Sequoia Econ Infra ........86.5 Smithson Inv................1349.0 Syncona ............................211.5 Temple Bar.....................220.0 Templeton Em Mkts ..... 151.0 Vietnam Enterprise .....662.0 VinaCapital Vietna ........517.0 Witan Invest ................. 222.0 Wwide Healthcare ....3350.0
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Chg High Low 2.1 289.6 135.2 3.0 830.0 732.0 3.8 291.0 173.8 3.0 1472.0 888.0 14.0 952.0 770.0 2.0 1320.0 1076.0 2.8 277.4 183.7 1.0 351.0 240.5 -45.0 3115.0 2330.0 300.050900.047350.0 0.0 2750.0 1778.0 0.2 139.4 123.2 0.0 2765.0 2250.0 -2.0 614.0 498.0 3.5 276.5 251.5 -2.5 543.0 442.5 -19.4 1543.5 670.6 0.8 114.6 83.3 6.0 2025.0 1140.0 4.0 222.0 157.2 1.5 254.4 203.6 -0.6 192.0 140.6 -3.0 791.0 625.0 14.0 545.0 449.0 0.5 257.0 202.0 30.0 3835.0 2825.0
FIXED LINE TELECOMMUNICATIONS BT Gp .................................177.2 -3.9 200.9 135.2 Telecom Plus ...............2180.0 15.0 2180.0 1010.0
FOOD & DRUG RETAILERS Greggs ............................1979.0 -2.0 3416.0 1808.0 Ocado Gp .........................791.6 38.4 2090.0 727.8 Sainsbury(J)...................220.4 3.8 340.0 203.3 SSP Group.......................255.9 2.1 303.2 207.8 Tesco.................................259.4 -1.7 303.4 231.8
FOOD PRODUCERS Assoc British Foods....1699.0 8.0 2131.0 1526.5 Cranswick ....................3288.0 50.0 4148.0 2918.0 Greencore Gp .................105.2 1.8 146.6 92.6 Hilton Food Gp .............1072.0 16.0 1250.0 971.0 Premier Foods.................113.0 1.2 126.8 98.3 Tate & Lyle ..................... 794.0 4.0 906.5 733.5 Unilever..........................3911.5 22.5 4163.5 3328.0
FORESTRY & PAPER Mondi .............................1416.5 -81.0 2068.0 1309.0
GENERAL FINANCIAL 3i Group ......................... 1237.0 -10.0 1503.5 1059.0 Ashmore Gp....................207.8 1.0 399.2 192.0 Brewin Dolphin ..............510.0 -3.0 517.0 266.0 Bridgepoint Group........ 237.6 2.6 569.0 208.0 Capital Gearing ..........5070.0 30.0 5180.0 4905.0 Close Brothers ............1080.0 7.0 1602.0 987.0 CMC Markets .................312.0 4.5 455.5 219.5
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RISERS
Beazley ........................................ 522.00 JTC ............................................... 754.00 4imprint ..................................... 3115.00 Price Coats Group.......................72.1 Hargreaves Lans...........856.8 IG Gp.................................775.0 Integrafin Holdings......259.6 Intermediate Cap .......1425.5 Intl Public Prtnshps .....162.6 Investec ........................... 427.4 IP Group ............................80.4 JTC ....................................754.0 Liontrust.........................958.0 London Stock Exch ....7852.0 Man Group ......................274.0 OSB Group ......................507.0 Paragon............................516.0 Petershill Partners ...... 226.0 Plus500 ........................1644.0 Provident Financial ......218.0 Quilter ..............................102.8 Rathbone Grp...............1914.0 Ruffer Investment........299.5 Schroders.....................2766.0 SDCL Energy .................. 124.4 TP ICAP ............................119.7
Chg High Low 2.3 81.4 58.2 1.6 1645.5 762.6 -8.0 945.0 648.0 1.8 602.0 213.0 -46.5 2379.0 1284.5 -1.0 174.8 156.0 -5.2 536.8 272.8 1.2 155.2 66.7 44.0 936.0 571.0 20.0 2485.0 854.0 -42.0 8504.0 6370.0 -0.9 274.9 178.8 -1.0 599.0 418.8 -1.5 617.5 427.2 5.0 350.7 194.8 -11.0 1673.0 1255.5 2.2 381.6 187.4 -1.1 197.1 96.4 -20.0 2210.0 1518.0 4.0 325.0 230.0 -20.0 3871.0 2578.0 0.8 124.4 97.8 1.2 208.2 102.5
GENERAL RETAILERS B&M..................................418.9 Currys.................................70.2 Dunelm Gp......................864.0 Frasers Group ............... 942.0 Howden Joinery Gp......673.6 Inchcape..........................793.0 JD Sports Fashion .........141.9 Kingfisher........................265.4 Marks & Spencer ..........144.8 Moonpig.......................... 202.6 Next .............................. 6686.0 Pets at Home Gp ...........321.0 Vivo Energy .....................149.4 Watches of Switz ........884.0 WH Smith......................1454.5
0.2 644.0 355.8 -2.4 141.6 66.5 10.5 1521.0 775.0 -7.5 949.5 562.5 18.0 975.6 581.4 0.5 933.0 647.0 -0.7 234.0 102.9 1.6 375.5 234.8 1.8 256.9 129.5 -0.4 424.6 184.8 58.0 8426.0 5764.0 2.0 519.0 278.0 -1.2 152.8 101.0 21.5 1518.0 746.5 -3.0 1805.5 1311.0
HEALTH CARE EQUIPMENT & SERVICES Convatec......................... 225.0 -1.6 261.8 166.8 Mediclinic Intl ...............479.8 1.0 479.8 275.8 Smith & Neph...............1190.5 -11.0 1563.5 1120.5 Spire Health ...................239.0 -0.5 254.5 206.0
HOUSEHOLD GOODS Berkeley Grp Hldgs ....4173.0 32.0 4943.0 3670.0 Countryside ................... 270.8 5.0 571.5 225.8 Crest Nicholson ............ 266.0 0.8 424.2 233.0 Reckitt Benckiser ......6268.0 -2.0 6458.0 5391.0 Redrow............................. 577.5 -0.5 718.8 470.4
% 9.4 6.2 5.2
Ä
FALLERS
Aston Martin .............................. 483.60 Mondi ......................................... 1416.50 Smith (DS)................................... 270.00
Price Chg High Low
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING Bodycote ........................ 582.5 Hill & Smith ................. 1330.0 IMI ................................. 1285.0 Melrose Ind .................... 163.8 RHI Magnesita ...........2032.0 Rotork ............................. 256.2 Spirax-Sarco...............11335.0 Weir Gp......................... 1496.0
-0.5 984.5 12.0 1902.0 -7.0 1838.0 -0.7 190.8 -2.0 4262.0 0.6 373.4 5.0 17135.0 16.0 1916.5
0.0 646.2 53.1 5.9 495.2 107.0
INDUSTRIAL TRANSPORTATION Clarkson........................3435.0 -85.0 4180.0 2835.0 Redde Northgate ..........376.5 5.0 443.0 333.0 Royal Mail ......................290.8 0.8 527.2 264.6
LEISURE GOODS Games Workshp .........7680.0 100.012220.0 6005.0
LIFE INSURANCE abrdn .................................161.6 0.5 299.0 148.9 Aviva ................................. 391.7 -2.5 602.9 382.3 Just Group ........................69.0 1.5 106.0 63.3 Legal & General.............256.7 -2.5 307.8 233.2 Phoenix Gp.....................606.0 6.0 701.4 568.2 Prudential ....................1002.5 0.5 1553.5 881.0 St James Place ............1185.0 0.0 1731.5 1054.0 155.0 3170.0 2240.0 -1.6 454.4 253.8 -2.8 741.8 499.5 2.0 1466.0 829.0 -23.0 3910.0 1551.0 7.8 624.0 464.4 -0.8 125.8 62.9 3.6 262.0 167.0 4.0 869.4 571.8 6.0 2449.0 2029.0 -1.6 800.4 531.0 1.8 1224.0 761.6
MINING Anglo American .........2665.5 Antofagasta .................1076.0 BHP Group ................... 2156.0 Centamin ........................... 81.2 Endeavour Mining....... 1619.0 Fresnillo .......................... 670.0 Glencore ..........................422.2 Hochschild Mining .......... 76.8 Rio Tinto .......................4772.0
-10.0 3688.0 45.0 522.0 0.7 316.4 14.2 990.2 19.2 675.5
1729.0 370.2 193.7 792.8 346.6
OIL & GAS PRODUCERS BP ......................................383.3 -0.6 451.4 287.8 Capricorn Energy..........216.0 2.0 229.8 125.6 Energean ........................1114.0 8.0 1391.0 620.0 Harbour Energy ............. 331.8 1.4 530.0 298.5 Shell ...............................2039.5 11.0 2440.0 1833.4 Tullow Oil...........................44.9 0.7 62.2 39.7
OIL EQUIPMENT & SERVICES Wood Gp(J) ....................152.3
2.0 256.5 138.1
PERSONAL GOODS Burberry Gp..................1725.5 PZ Cussons.....................206.0
6.0 2182.0 1482.0 2.0 255.5 182.8
PHARMACEUTICALS & BIOTECHNOLOGY AstraZeneca ..............10766.0 Dechra Pharma...........3706.0 Genus.............................2654.0 GSK ................................. 1743.2 Hikma Pharma ............. 1711.0 Indivior ............................310.2
38.0 4170.5 29.0 1781.5 59.0 3019.0 1.9 109.8 21.0 2100.0 15.0 986.8 2.4 541.5 1.1 173.4 79.5 6292.0
2470.5 991.6 1835.2 74.4 1510.0 622.4 307.1 74.0 4375.5
MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS Vodafone Gp ...................129.0 -0.6 139.5 106.9
Assura ................................69.2 Big Yellow Gp ...............1425.0 British Land ....................489.1 Captl & Count Prop ......148.9 CLS Hldgs .......................206.0 Derwent London ........2924.0 Grainger........................... 297.2 Grt Portland Est .............737.0 Hammerson .......................21.4 Land Securities..............732.6 LondonMetric Prop .....250.8 Primary Hlth Prop .........143.5 Safestore Hldgs ........... 1143.0 Savills ..............................1137.0 SEGRO ...........................1080.0 Shaftesbury....................531.5 Supermarket Income ..125.5 Target Healthcare..........115.4 TR Property IT ..............401.5 Tritax Big Box .................197.3 Tritax Eurobox .................95.5 UK Commercial Prop ......79.4 Unite Group ..................1207.0 Urban Logistics ..............173.0 Workspace Gp ..............590.0
£
/€ 1.1753 /$ 1.2021 /¥ 163.64
à à Ä
0.0019
€/$ 1.0227
0.0051
€/£ 0.8508
1.4960
€/¥ 139.22
Price Chg High Low
SOFTWARE & COMPUTER SERVICES
Admiral Gp....................1735.5 Beazley............................ 522.0 Direct Line Ins ...............201.6 Hiscox .............................. 878.8 Lancashire Hldgs.......... 420.8
-28.0 11232.0 8063.0 88.0 5405.0 3110.0 -6.0 6070.0 2234.0 -3.6 1810.4 1380.4 -14.0 2690.0 1482.0 4.4 336.8 148.1
REAL ESTATE
MEDIA 4imprint.........................3115.0 Ascential ........................ 306.6 Auto Trader Gp..............612.4 Euromny Inst Inv....... 1466.0 Future ............................ 1948.0 Informa...........................588.8 ITV ......................................70.2 Moneysupermkt.com ...220.4 Pearson ............................791.2 RELX ..............................2358.0 Rightmove Group ......... 628.8 WPP ..................................871.6
Price Chg High Low
NONLIFE INSURANCE 500.0 1110.0 1150.0 107.6 1823.0 232.8 9130.0 1328.5
INDUSTRIAL METALS Evraz ...................................81.0 Ferrexpo ..........................132.6
% -8.7 -5.4 -5.2
1.3 79.8 59.6 49.0 1724.0 1200.0 12.9 556.4 441.7 1.0 179.3 138.4 3.0 262.0 185.2 108.0 3802.0 2570.0 6.6 335.0 269.8 0.0 803.5 700.5 0.3 39.9 19.0 18.6 813.2 643.6 6.8 285.2 225.6 3.3 169.6 131.1 32.0 1418.0 1015.0 0.0 1450.0 975.5 28.0 1436.5 950.6 9.5 662.0 495.8 0.5 133.0 116.5 3.2 119.2 106.8 8.0 510.0 354.5 4.6 249.0 178.5 1.6 124.0 84.4 2.1 93.4 72.4 35.0 1237.0 990.2 4.0 199.0 118.5 24.0 971.0 537.0
Auction Tech .................989.0 Avast.................................503.0 Aveva Gp....................... 2393.0 Baltic Classifieds........... 149.0 Computacenter...........2526.0 FDM Group......................915.0 Kainos Gp ......................1219.0 Micro Focus Intl ........... 286.5 NCC Grp ..........................200.0 Playtech ...........................475.6 Sage Group .................... 700.4 Softcat ...........................1373.0
-2.0 1642.0 788.0 -8.8 645.4 474.0 34.0 4220.0 1924.0 1.0 255.0 99.8 -2.0 3030.0 2268.0 19.0 1362.0 830.0 -4.0 2084.0 954.5 -0.4 466.1 256.3 -1.0 335.0 167.4 4.6 770.0 370.0 -3.6 853.8 595.6 -14.0 2240.0 1253.0
SUPPORT SERVICES Ashtead Gp .................. 4189.0 Babcock Intl Grp...........332.0 Biffa ..................................361.2 Bunzl ..............................3043.0 DCC ................................5256.0 Diploma..........................2714.0 discoverIE Gp................ 699.0 Essentra........................... 247.0 Experian .......................2834.0 Ferguson .......................9976.0 Hays ...................................127.0 Homeserve .................... 1176.0 Intertek Gp................... 4517.0 IWG...................................194.3 MITIE GROUP.................. 71.8 Network Int.....................191.2 Pagegroup......................466.6 Rentokil Initial............... 515.4 RS Group .......................1014.0 Sanne Group...................914.0 Serco ................................182.4 Travis Perkins..............1050.0
46.0 6450.0 3359.0 1.8 380.2 255.9 0.2 416.0 283.0 52.0 3163.0 2397.0 -14.0 6486.0 4889.0 16.0 3460.0 2158.0 -5.0 1262.0 597.0 -1.5 357.0 227.0 -1.0 3667.0 2285.0 142.013305.0 8680.0 -2.0 175.4 109.0 -3.0 1179.0 608.5 7.0 5782.0 4188.0 2.0 328.0 181.8 0.3 77.3 46.5 -5.8 394.4 171.8 -6.0 680.5 386.0 2.4 636.2 444.5 9.0 1255.0 812.0 7.0 946.0 844.0 -2.7 185.1 121.2 17.5 1830.0 938.4
TECHNOLOGY HARDWARE & EQUIPMENT Spirent Comms..............270.2
2.0 300.2 215.4
TOBACCO Br Am Tob ....................3420.5 -29.5 3628.0 2512.5 Imperial Brands ......... 1855.0 -17.5 1900.5 1486.0
TRAVEL & LEISURE 888 Holdings..................156.2 3.8 478.0 144.0 Carnival........................... 692.0 -15.8 1766.4 619.6 Compass Gp.................1854.0 19.0 1854.0 1436.0 Dominos Pizza................283.6 0.0 465.2 272.6 easyJet .............................379.1 -3.8 888.8 345.5 Entain .............................1180.0 30.5 2377.0 1075.5 FirstGroup........................131.0 -2.0 139.5 81.9 Flutter Ent....................8276.0 252.015890.0 7614.0 Intercontl Htls ............4762.0 18.0 5338.0 4193.0 Intl Cons Airl...................114.8 1.3 188.0 102.9 Mitchells & Butlers .......174.3 2.3 295.0 160.7
Price National Express ...........182.3 TUI AG ..............................136.1 Wetherspoon (JD) .......566.0 Whitbread....................2690.0 Wizz Air Holdings .......1918.0
Ã Ä Ä
0.0027 0.0014 1.5040
Chg High Low -0.1 284.2 169.0 1.5 352.2 124.3 1.0 1167.0 540.0 23.0 3438.0 2431.0 41.0 5398.0 1695.0
AIM 50 Abcam .............................1197.0 Advanced Medical ....... 278.0 Alliance Pharma...............97.0 ASOS................................1157.0 Camellia ........................6225.0 Caretech Holdings ........ 743.0 Central Asia Metals .... 234.0 CVS Group.....................1710.0 Dart Group .....................890.0 Diversified Energy .........114.0 EMIS Group .................1856.0 FD Technologies .........2065.0 Fevertree Drinks ........ 1070.0 Frontier Devs................1458.0 Gamma Comms ...........1140.0 GB Group .........................470.2 Gooch & Housego ........ 936.0 Hurricane Energy............... 7.2 Impax Asset Mgmt .....644.0 Iomart Group .................182.4 IQE........................................39.7 James Halstead .............212.0 Johnson Service Gp ......107.6 Keywords Studios .....2428.0 Learning Tech Gp ..........128.8 M&C Saatchi ..................152.0 M.P. Evans ...................... 824.0 Majestic Wine................165.0 Midwich Group ............. 556.0 Molten Ventures ..........480.6 Mortgage Advice B .....920.0 Next Fifteen Comm ...1056.0 Nichols...........................1260.0 Numis Corporation .......263.0 Polar Capital Hdgs........474.5 Purplebricks Gp................14.5 Renew Holdings.............691.0 RWS Holdings ................ 377.6 Secure Income REIT ...461.0 Serica Energy................. 357.0 Smart Metering Sys....886.0 Telford Homes................349.5 Thorpe (F.W.)...................377.5 Watkin Jones ................ 222.0 Young’s Brew NV...........730.0 Young’s Brew-A............1168.0
11.0 1750.0 1049.0 -2.5 341.0 256.5 -1.7 121.6 95.0 34.0 4080.0 783.5 25.0 6925.0 5850.0 0.0 747.0 530.0 2.5 284.0 200.5 25.0 2770.0 1549.0 -2.6 1423.0 783.8 -0.1 128.8 98.5 -4.0 1890.0 1136.0 30.0 2500.0 1378.0 10.0 2812.0 866.5 -30.0 2840.0 1078.0 -22.0 2335.0 1026.0 5.0 952.5 386.2 9.0 1485.0 816.0 0.0 11.7 2.1 36.0 1482.0 550.0 6.8 265.5 140.0 1.1 53.3 28.2 1.0 580.0 196.0 2.4 162.0 97.6 -2.0 3302.0 1952.0 0.4 235.8 107.1 0.9 216.0 125.0 10.0 1085.0 684.0 9.1 879.0 151.0 0.0 700.0 494.0 -8.0 1180.0 391.8 20.0 1500.0 840.0 32.0 1458.0 874.0 -7.5 1540.0 1105.0 -2.0 383.0 230.0 -5.5 902.0 438.0 0.0 73.0 14.1 -10.0 872.0 594.0 3.6 678.5 331.8 0.0 480.0 394.0 15.5 418.5 145.6 -2.0 1030.0 688.0 0.0 349.5 349.5 -12.5 520.0 371.0 2.5 276.5 205.5 -20.0 982.0 648.0 20.0 1660.0 1120.0
MONDAY 25 JULY 2022
CITYAM.COM
SPORT
19
England hope to exorcise semi-final ghosts
E
NGLAND won’t just be facing Sweden when they take to a sold-out Bramall Lane for their Women’s Euro 2022 semi-final on Tuesday night. The Lionesses will also have to confront some ghosts of major tournaments past, having suffered a sequence of painful defeats in the last four. At the 2015 World Cup in Canada it was an injury-time own goal by Laura Bassett that broke English hearts; at Women’s Euro 2017 they were put to the sword 3-0 by their future coach Sarina Wiegman and the Netherlands; and in 2019 they saw an Ellen White goal ruled out and Steph Houghton miss a late penalty in a narrow 2-1 defeat to eventual winners USA. “It is in the back of the mind of a few of the girls who have been there,” said forward Fran Kirby, who was involved in all three eliminations. “For us it’s about the present and
Lionesses aiming to make it fourth time lucky in Euro 2022 last four clash with Sweden tomorrow, writes Frank Dalleres what we can do to make sure we’re not in that position again. No one has really spoken about it in the camp, the ones who have been through that situation. It’s difficult for me because I was a part of all them but we’re just focusing on the next game and Sweden.” England’s feet have barely touched the ground since beginning the tournament with a 1-0 win over Austria at Old Trafford on 6 July. Since then they have thrashed Norway by a tournament record scoreline of 8-0 and swatted Northern Ireland away 5-0 before overcoming their first serious test against Spain in the quarter-finals. Although they looked vulnerable for the first time at Women’s Euro 2022, the comeback win in extra-time has, if
anything, only added to the national fervour for the Lionesses. It will therefore go down as a major disappointment if, as hosts, they fail to beat a Sweden team who ought to provide a more conventional test than technically accomplished, possessionhogging Spain. “I’m hoping we’ll see more of the ball but they are a quality side,” added Kirby, who plays alongside Sweden defender Magda Eriksson at Chelsea. “They have a wealth of experience, some amazing characters and leaders, and some quality footballers. I think they will come with a very physical game – all of the Swedish players I have played with are very physical in the way that they press and defend. Set
pieces have been massive for them leading into and in this tournament.” Sweden have their own ghosts to exorcise, however. They also lost in the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup, beating England in the third-place match, and have been runners-up at the last two Olympic Games. For England, the difference this time is that they have a proven winner in their dugout in Wiegman, who showed her knockout credentials with match-winning tactical changes that tilted the semi-final in their favour. “She’s been there and done it – got to finals, won finals – so she’s the best person to get us through that,” said Kirby, 29. “For her it’s a case of doing what’s normal to her.”
Kirby and England lost three in a row
The Commonwealth Games’ lack of US represention offers its own positives, writes Neil Hopkins
T
HE COMMONWEALTH Games begin in Birmingham this week. It’s the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, so where better than England’s second city? They should, however, be taking place in Durban, which would have become the first African city to host the Games. The opening day would have been last week – on 18 July, Nelson Mandela’s birthday – in the city where he embarked on the fateful 1962 journey that would see him arrested and imprisoned for 27 years. Due to financial constraints, the South African city had to give up hosting duties five years ago and the bidding process was reopened, with Birmingham successful. Perhaps it’s apt that the Games are heading to the West Midlands. Coventry native Jerry Dammers wrote Free Nelson Mandela, a rallying call for the anti-apartheid movement. His bandmates in The Specials were at the heart of the two-tone movement that fused Jamaican Ska with punk and a new wave sound as a reaction to the racial tension plaguing Britain in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Forty years on and his home city will host its fair share of Commonwealth Games events.
CRITICISM
For many years the success or otherwise of the Commonwealth Games was intertwined with the apartheid debate. The Edinburgh Games in 1986 were particularly acrimonious, with 32 nations boycotting the competition over the Thatcher government’s opposition to economic sanctions against South Africa. By 1994, the apartheid regime had collapsed, Mandela had been released from prison and South Africa had been readmitted to the Commonwealth in time to participate in the Games in Victoria, Australia. Ever since, however, the Games have had to battle suggestions that they are an anachronism. Perhaps more pointedly, criticism has also focused on the perceived lack of genuine top-class sport on display. By their very nature the Games can
THE LOCAL GLOBAL GAMES
never match the Olympics and Paralympics in terms of the quality of sporting performance, but their roots in the British Empire do benefit sports whose global footprint is defined by British colonialism. Consequently, sports including netball and squash have struggled to forge a meaningful relationship with the Olympic movement yet are long-established Commonwealth Games staples with gold medals considered major prizes within those sports. Meanwhile T20 cricket – a one hit Olympic wonder back in 1900 – will make its debut in Birmingham with a women’s competition. The Games are also looking beyond traditional sports to futureproof their appeal. Birmingham will host the inaugural Commonwealth Esports Championships in the hope that this pilot event can act as a forerunner to esports being elevated to the core pro-
gramme at the 2026 competition. This is likely to be the last Commonwealth Games of its kind, with a new roadmap offering host cities greater flexibility on the number and type of sports they include, to help manage costs. Yet for all the forward-thinking at-
The Games can feel more local and representitive of the host city or region and less globalised
tempts to keep the concept of the Games relevant, as well as the genuine attempts by the organisers to reach out to the host city and wider West Midlands region’s incredibly diverse local communities, issues of inclusivity remain a talking point. Homosexuality remains illegal in no fewer than 36 countries participating in Birmingham. England’s Olympic and Commonwealth gold-medal winning diver Tom Daley has regularly urged the Commonwealth to do more to support gay rights. While no major international sporting event is completely immune from politics, being the most visible manifestation of a political entity with very specific entry requirements perhaps limits the appeal of the Games in a way that does not affect other major global sporting events. Put simply, the absence of the United States and any European nations
means the Games simply do not present a significant enough commercial opportunity to attract major global sponsors, nor can they generate substantial sums of broadcast revenue. An upside of this is that the Games can feel more local and representative of the host city or region and less of a globalised juggernaut in the way an Olympics or World Cup can. This presents opportunities for cities that stand little chance of hosting an Olympic Games themselves, which can mean they embrace the chance to host the Commonwealth Games with real enthusiasm. Certainly, the strong ticket sales for this year’s event suggest that by the time the Games open on Thursday, Birmingham will be anything but a ghost town. £ Neil Hopkins is Global Head of Strategy at M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment.
20
SPORT
CITYAM.COM
MONDAY 25 JULY 2022
THE EXORCISM England look to banish semi-final hoodoo PAGE 19
SPORT
SPORT DIGEST
THOMAS TROUBLED Tuchel questions Chelsea commitment after Arsenal thrashing
VINGEGAARD WINS FIRST TOUR DE FRANCE TITLE
£ Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard won his first Tour de France title yesterday as his Jumbo-Visma team rolled over the famous landscape of the Champs-Élysées in Paris behind stage winner Jasper Philipsen. Vingegaard’s winning time of just over 80 hours was three minutes quicker than second placed – and two time defending champion – Tadej Pogacar. Ineos’ Geraint Thomas finished over eight minutes down in third while fellow brit Adam Yates finished in the top 10.
WASHOUT LEAVES ODI SERIES DRAWN AT 1-1
£ The one-day series between England and South Africa finished with a 1-1 draw yesterday after the decider a Headingley was deemed a no result due to the weather. The series is the second under Jos Buttler as captain and it’ll be the last until his team face Australia after autumn’s T20 World Cup.
HENDERSON WINS EVIAN CHAMPIONSHIP BY TWO
£ Brooke Henderson yesterday won the Evian Championship to seal her second major. The Canadian birdied the 18th to win the major by one shot – ahead of Sophia Schubert in second and England’s Charley Hull in joint third. “The saying is majors are won on the back nine on Sunday, so I kept that in mind,” she said.
SCOTTISH CRICKET BOARD RESIGN OVER RACISM
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel yesterday questioned his team’s commitment after the Blues lost 4-0 to London rivals Arsenal in a pre-season friendly in Florida. “The worrying part is that the level of commitment physically and mentally for this match was far higher for Arsenal than for us,” he said. The Todd Boehly-fronted consortium are embarking on their first pre-season since purchasing the club in May ahead of the new Premier League season next month.
£ The entire board of Cricket Scotland resigned yesterday ahead of a report set to be published today which reviews racism in the sport. The findings are expected to show a culture of institutional racism. “We are all truly sorry and have apologised publicly to everyone who has experienced racism, or any other form of discrimination, in cricket in Scotland,” the directors said.
MAX POUNCES ON FERRARI WOES
Leclerc’s crash exposes lack of experience in a title race that’s getting further from reach, writes Matt Hardy
Y
ESTERDAY’S French Grand Prix result saw a top three that could have been from so many races last season: two Mercedes drivers and one from Red Bull. Because at Circuit Paul Ricard the Silver Arrows of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell achieved their team’s first double podium of the season, flanking Drivers’ Championship leader and race winner Max Verstappen. But this wasn’t an example of an exemplary display to stay ahead of the chasing pack from Verstappen, nor was it a stunning Mercedes drive to hold off the Prancing Horses of Ferrari.
It was another Grand Prix where Ferrari and Charles Leclerc blew a lead by crashing out under little pressure. Other than the state of play, whereby the Monegasque youngster who once led the championship and is now watching as Verstappen speeds off into the distance towards his second title, there’s little to suggest just why Leclerc lost control on lap 18 from the lead. In the corner which carries the highest speed around the French track, he looked to have just overdone it after being told to push by his team. After spinning into the barriers Leclerc bellowed an emotionally raw “Noooooo” over the team radio before confirming he was unhurt. It is a bizarre spot around Paul Ricard to lose the back end but that’s exactly what Leclerc did in the latest of a series of mistakes that have hampered his title challenge. From the resulting safety car Verstappen was able to take the lead. He
stayed there, and despite some smart manoeuvring from Russell on Sergio Perez after a late vertical safety car, the Red Bulls – as did the Mercedes – looked comfortable. Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz showed the pace and strength of the Ferrari with his rise to fifth place from 19th – a drive that gave the team valuable points in the Constructors’ Championship after the Silver Arrows secured 32 of their own and closed the gap to second. “Mistake, mistake,” Leclerc said of the incident. “I think I’m performing at my highest level in my career but if I keep doing those mistakes then it’s pointless. “I’m losing too many points – seven I think in Imola, 25 here – because honestly we were the strongest car. “So if we lose the championship by 32 points at the end of the season I will know where they’re coming from. It’s unacceptable. “I need to get on top of those things.”
The number of mistakes Leclerc has made is unacceptable – combined with various issues as a result of engine failures and electronic problems – and he’s just seven points clear of Perez in third and 27 clear of Russell in fifth. This was the first Grand Prix after the half-way point in this 22-race season, and there’s a long way to go – including a summer break in which teams can work on their cars. But it seems Ferrari and Leclerc need to look inward at existing problems before they go about trying to solve ones that don’t yet exist. The 24-year-old sounded pained at the thought he’d made yet another mistake, and there’s no doubt throwing away such a good opportunity hasn’t helped. “It was a genuine driver error,” Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto said. But the reality is it’s another one that’s further distanced Ferrari from a potential first driver title since Finnish racer Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.
Verstappen won after Leclerc crashed