ENERGY GIANTS IN ROUNDTABLE
brunt of market prices with long term contracts agreed withThesuppliers.openletter also pushes for VAT cuts, business rate rebates and greater forbearance from HMRC in agreeing repayment plans. Many restaurants supported by the British Takeaway Campaign, including some owned by the Campaign’s board members, have had to shut down in recent weeks.
NICHOLAS EARL HUNDREDS of independent takeaway owners have urged the government and both Conservative leadership candidates to offer more support to tackle skyrocketing energy bills. In an open letter, they have urged Westminster to act immediately to ensure they survive the winter, arguing that the restaurants are more than just businesses, but are also culturally important. It warned that losing more fish and chip shops and curry houses would be “losing part of what makes usTheBritish”.open letter was signed by over 750 takeaway restaurants, and was backed by the British Takeaway Campaign – which represents the nation’s independent takeaway industry. It has called for grants for thebusinessessmalltocoverimmediatecost of energy bills which could increase as much as eightfold in the coming months.Unlikecap,anbusinesseshouseholds,arenotprotectedfromwholesalecostsbyenergypriceandbearthe
FIRMS’ CRISIS TALKS WITH TRUSS BACKER
JAMES SILVER NOTTING HILL carnival returned to the streets of west London this weekend for the first time since 2019. London mayor Sadiq Khan said he was “really pleased” that carnival was back but warned that even the festival was not immune to cost of living“Weissues.areseeing those who want to have floats, who want to have sound systems, pulling out because they can’t afford to pay their bills.”
Kebab shops skewered by rising energy bills warns UK’s takeaway association
INSIDE UNIPER BAILOUT FUND GROWS P3 UNIONS STRATEGISE JOINT STRIKES P5 FTSE RESHUFFLE P6 SAVE THE PUB P9 CEMENTING THE GREEN REVOLUTION P12 OPINION P14 LONDON’S BUSINESS NEWSPAPER SILVER BULLET PORSCHE’S STYLE STILL A WINNER YEARS LATER P17 RORY ROARS SAM TORRANCE ON WHY MCILROY’S CLASS WILL ALWAYS SHINE P19 TUESDAY 30 AUGUST 2022 ISSUE 3,808 FREECITYAM.COM
SENIOR minister and Liz Truss backer Jacob Rees-Mogg has been meeting with oil and gas companies in a bid to boost North Sea supplies amid an ongoing energy crisis. City A.M. understands the Brexit opportunities minister held talks with energy giants including Shell over recent days, ahead of a looming winter crisis that will see energy bills spike to new record levels amid fears of supply shortages andThereblackouts.isconfusion over whether Rees-Mogg (right) met oil and gas companies in his role as a minister or as a supporter of Liz Truss – with multiple government departments refusing to comment. Liz Truss’ team has claimed the meetings were set up by civil servants, and were not linked to her campaign, however it is unclear why the Brexit opportunities minister would be holding the meeting instead of energy secretary Kwasi Kwarteng or the Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi. City A.M. also understands Liz Truss –who is expected to be named Prime Minister next month – is keen to ramp up domestic energy generation as quickly as possible to secure the UK’s energy independence.Thereareescalating concerns of supply shortages this winter, with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) factoring in potentially four days of blackouts this winter as an extreme worstcaseRees-Moggscenario.is also believed to be looking to seal deals with energyrich allies like Norway. Wholesale prices have spiked in recent weeks to new records across Europe, with Russia squeezing supplies into the troubled continent, cutting Nord Stream 1 gas flows to 20 per cent of Meanwhile,capacity.Ofgem has finally unveiled the energy price cap for October, announcing that average energy bills will soar 80 per cent to £3,549 per year in just five weeks’ time. Energy specialist Cornwall Insight predicted the cap will climb over £6,000 next year, peaking at £6,616 next April. Offshore Energies UK described the ongoing talks with ministers as a “responsible action by what could be an incoming administration to consult with the energy industry at a time ofThecrisis”.industry body will publish a new economic report next week revealing that the UK continental shelf still contains as much as 15bn barrels of oil –enough for 15 years of domestic consumption, more than previous forecasts suggesting there were eight years of suppliesHowever,left. further North Sea oil and gas exploration requires a fresh licensing round, which is dependent on defining new climate regulations. It was expected this winter, but has been delayed amid the Conservative leadership election. TALKS WITH REES-MOGG CARNIVAL RETURNS Revellers return to Notting Hill’s streets
NICHOLASEXCLUSIVEEARL
THE MAJORGUARDIANSEA-LEVEL RISE FROM MELTING OF GEEENLAND ICE CAP IS NOW ‘INEVITABLE’ Major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now inevitable, scientists have found, even if the fossil fuel burning that is driving the climate crisis were to end overnight.
ASDA is set for a push into the UK’s convenience store market with a £450m bid for Coop Group’s petrol forecourt business, according to reports from Sky News’ Mark Kleinman. Sources told Sky that a deal could be struck as soon as this week.
WHAT MORNINGSAYPAPERSOTHERTHETHIS
CO-OP IN ASDA SIGHTS? Supermarket a contender for Co-op’s petrol forecourts
BINNED OFF Edinburgh set for relief from refuse workers’ strike as first phase comes to an end but unions vote for more action north of the border over the coming months
THE FINANCIAL TIMES STANDING UP FOR THE CITY THE CITY VIEW
The ECB’s chief economist has said it should increase borrowing costs at a “steady pace”, casting doubt over if he will support calls to raise interest rates by 0.75 percentage points next week.
DHARA RANASINGHE WORLD stocks slumped yesterday as the growing risk of more aggressive interest rate hikes in the United States and Europe inflicted more pain on bond markets and pushed the dollar to new 20-year highs, just as recession fearsFederalmount.Reserve chair Jay Powell, speaking at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday, said the Fed would raise rates as high as needed to restrict growth, and keep them there “for some time” to bring down inflation running well above its two per centEuropeantarget.
City needs regulatory framework that will allow it to compete
THE TELEGRAPH NHS TOLD TO CUT SPEND ON MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS BY UP TO 80 PER CENT Steve Barclay has told NHS bosses to free up money for front-line services by cutting down the amount they spend on management consultants by as much as 80 per cent.
Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel added to market unease. She warned on Saturday that central banks risk losing public trust and must act forcefully to curb inflation, even if that drags their economies into a recession. As investors woke up to the reality that rates would stay higher for longer even as recession risk grows, two-year US Treasury yields rose to their highest since 2007. The US S&P 500 index fell 0.2 per cent to its lowest in a month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.46 per cent, and the Nasdaq dropped 0.25 per cent in afternoon trading. European stocks fell 0.6 per cent after hitting their lowest level in almost six weeks earlier, and Japan’s blue-chip Nikkei slid over 2.5 per cent. “The message from Jackson Hole was loud and clear and not what markets were expecting,” said Nordea chief analyst Jan von Gerich. “Central banks need convincing evidence that inflation is coming down. That is bad news for the economy and risk appetite and raises the risk of a deeper recession if we get more rapid rate hikes.”
Reuters CITYAM.COM02 TUESDAY 30 AUGUST 2022NEWS
TO paraphrase the former US President Gerald Ford, we are approaching the end of our national nightmare. The Conservative leadership election finally comes to an end this time next week, when the new Prime Minister will travel to Buckingham Palace to inherit an in-tray of what would no doubt be described by Whitehall mandarins as “challenges”. The energy cost spike will inevitably be first on the list –but there are others lurking in that Prime Ministerial red box. Should it be Liz Truss, as expected, her Chancellor is likely to be Kwasi Kwarteng. He will be faced with another pressing problem: giving the City the freedom it needs to remain at the very top table of global finance. The chairman of the London Stock Exchange certainly feels concerned enough to warn of the capital’s equity markets becoming only a ‘regional’ player. There are certainly threats all about the place –both external from foreign competition and more systematically from the propensity of investors to underprice (at least in relation to other countries) British equities. It doesn’t help that a series of highly-touted IPOs, as a result of both market weakness and individual company issues, have not exactly been without their hitches in the last couple of years. Some commentators have suggested that a smart Truss premiership would need to focus in on four or five core issues, and solve them in time for the next election. They may well be right, but her colleagues around the Cabinet table must start the hard work of preparing the UK economy for medium and longerterm prosperity. That means working with existing regulators, not merging them, as some have suggested Truss is keen to do, to create a reliable post-Brexit framework for financial services. Just because it is technical does not mean it can be kicked into the long grass. The UK needs a world-class finances hub –and the City’s historical role is no guarantee of what the future may hold. ECB CHIEF ECONOMIST SEES BENEFITS OF RAISING RATES IN ‘SMALLER INCREMENTS’
Powell’s Jackson Hole signals send stock markets world over into another slump
NICHOLAS EARL THE EUROPEAN Union could suffer a decade of painful winters if nothing is done to reduce natural gas prices, warned Belgium’s energy minister. Tinne Van der Straeten wrote on Twitter yesterday that gas prices in Europe needed to be frozen urgently, and that the link between gas and electricity prices needed to be reformed to prevent future crises. She said: “The next five to 10 winters will be terrible if we don’t do anything. We must act at source, at European level, and work to freeze gasCallsprices.”are mounting across the bloc for an EU-wide cap on the price of gas and its decoupling from the price of electricity.Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer said: “We have to stop this madness that is happening right now on energy markets. We cannot let Putin determine the European electricity price every day.” This comes as German power prices for next year broke through a €1,000 benchmark for the first time last week, with prices surging 25 per cent across both Germany and France –the EU’s two biggest economies.
THE GOVERNMENT should help households cut their energy consumption to ease demand and drive down soaring energy bills this winter, argued So Energy co-founder Simon Oscroft. Oscroft told City A.M that “every marginal megawatt hour that is saved is going to be a benefit for everyone.”Oscroft believed Downing Street should consider ramping up insulation and provide meaningful advice to households on how to make changes that could lower their bills.“We are in a full crisis. Anything to alleviate demand is helpful,” he said. This follows Ofgem’s announcement last week that the energy price cap will rise to £3,549 per year from October –an 80 per cent hike on current rates, which are already an all-time high. Anti-poverty charity National Energy Action has warned that, without more support, nearly nine million households will be dragged into fuel poverty this October- rising from 4.3m last year to 8.9m.Oscroft suggested that while the crisis was chiefly a supply problem exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, reducing demand could have an effect on rising bills.He was in favour of boosting the energy company obligation scheme, which is overseen by Ofgem, that aims to reduce fuel poverty and cut carbon emissions through energy efficiency measures such as insulation. “Insulating homes better, targeting more energy efficiency, and reducing demand is going to help here.” for energy get a Sky Glass TV. 0333 759 5176Visit a Sky store (£10 upfront TV fee. Cancel content anytime at 31 days’ notice) £39 from Sky Entertainment and Netflix included
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The German government acquired a 30 per cent stake in Uniper as part of a rescue Uniper asks Berlin for more funds, raising total bailout cost to £16bn
Belgium’s energy minister Tinne Van der Straeten said gas prices needed to be frozen
“We are working at full speed with the German government on a permanent solution to this emergency as otherwise Uniper will no longer be able to fulfil its systemcritical function for Germany and Europe,” CEO Klaus-Dieter Maubach said.“As long as energy prices rise in Europe, the need for liquid funds will also increase,” he continued.
JAMES SILVER A SERIES of emergency tax cuts would “completely crash the public finances,” warned the boss of one of the UK’s foremost economic think-tanks.Prospective new Prime Minister Liz Truss is expected to announce an emergency budget early on in her administration if she, as expected, is made leader of the Tory party next week. But the Institute of Fiscal Studies’ director Paul Johnson said Truss had adopted a “simplistic” mantra that cutting taxes would grow the economy in an interview with The Times.Truss allies have argued that a failed ‘economic orthodoxy’ needs to be changed to deliver economic growth.Thecurrent foreign secretary is expected to reverse planned increases to corporation tax as well as reversing the rise in national insurance brought in earlier this year in order to help Brits with the rising cost of living. Johnson also warned the tax cuts could be inflationary. Truss’ rival Sunak said they would do little for lower earners.
Truss VAT plan would ‘crash’ public finances
03TUESDAY 30 AUGUST 2022 NEWSCITYAM.COM
Europe faces winters of discontent without gas price cuts, warns Belgium
NICHOLASEXCLUSIVEEARL
So Energy calls
ILARIA GRASSO MACOLA GERMAN energy giant Uniper has asked Berlin for additional funding, raising the bill for bailing out the firm to €19bn (£16bn). The company yesterday said its current liquidity was impacted by reduced Russian gas deliveries and the associated significant price increases for gas and electricity.
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insulation to cut
MILLIE TURNER COMPUTER chip investors are reportedly drawing up plans for a rescue bid of Newport Wafer Fab, should its £63m takeover by Nexperia be blocked by the government.Theco-founder of Headlight Technology Partners, which focuses on semiconductor investments, Alex Stewart, told the Telegraph that the newly established fund wants to “try and be part of helping Newport Wafer Fab” should the bid fallFoundersthrough.of the fund are also in discussions with former Imagination Technologies boss Ron Black, who is reported to have set aside £300m to buy and grow Britain’s largest chip manufacturer.
victor Allwyn still enjoying fortune
Vaping soars as over four million Brits turn to tobacco alternative
Allwyn also took the opportunity to express confidence in its upcoming legal battle with Camelot over the National Lottery licence, which was awarded to the firm by the Gambling Commission back in Camelot,March.which is owned by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, has run the lottery since its inception in 1994 and has questioned the process behind the competition, as well as Allwyn’s ambitious plans for the lottery moving forward. Allwyn has said it will slash ticket prices from £2 to £1 and has vowed to hike the amount of money going towards good causes and UK sporting activities.Chiefexecutive Robert Chvatal said on the upcoming battle: “We look forward to the Court of Appeal hearing in September of the current operator’s appeal of the High Court’s decision to allow the licence award to proceed and the formal transition period to begin.”
The handover of the licence is due to take place in February 2024.
the end of March. Camelot warned in June that the cost of living crunch had “slowed down retail recovery as consumers tighten their belts”.
LEAH MONTEBELLO ALLWYN, the winner of the fourth National Lottery licence, posted strong quarterly results yesterday despite weak consumer confidence and an ongoing tussle with Camelot for the lucrative contract.Thegambling company said gross gaming revenue hit €902m (£770m) for the second quarter, up 23 per cent year on year, and reflected the “continued organic growth and a more normalised operational environment in certain geographies”.TheCzechfirm, previously known as Sazka, said that despite the testing macroeconomic backdrop, where inflationary pressure is cutting into consumer spend, “the impact on demand for our products has been limited”.
Karel Komarek, the Czech billionaire behind Allwyn’s successful lottery bid
LEAH MONTEBELLO
Europe’s largest lottery operator added that this resilience was due to the “low price point and low average spend per customer”, as well as a large number of regular players for Allwyn. The results notably sit in contrast to Camelot’s recent update, where the company saw sales drop £283.2m, or three per cent, to £8.1bn in the year to
“Headlight is pulling together a significant fund and as we have the same passion for helping the UK to excel in semiconductors, we have been in discussions as to the best way to collaborate,” said Black. Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is expected to publish his decision on the deal on September 5 following a 45-day extension, a delay the industry has called disappointing.
Lottery contract
Hazel Cheeseman, deputy chief of ASH, said that while vaping is a useful alternative for smokers, allowing them to inhale nicotine rather than smoke, she said the government still needs to put forward a comprehensive plan to help all smokers.
CITYAM.COM04 TUESDAY 30 AUGUST 2022NEWS
THERE are now five times as many vapers in the UK than there were in 2012, new data has revealed. According to a report published by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) yesterday, 4.3m Brits are now actively vaping, up from 800,000 people ten yearsASHago.found 2.4m people who vape are former smokers, 1.5m are still smokers, and 350,000 have never had a cigarette.
Investors drawing up plans for chip firm if Whitehall vetoes takeover
One in five reformed smokers said vaping products had helped them stop. Top cigarette firms like British American Tobacco and Phillip Morris have also started to develop their own alternative products.
The motion, which was put forward by Unite, calls on the General Council to “facilitate and encourage industrial coordination between unions so that workers in dispute can most effectively harness their union power to win”.
The motion will be voted on at the TUC Congress that will take place at the Brighton Centre from 11-14 September.
OVER 100 staff at Baker Hughes operations in Scotland began a two week strike yesterday over the firm’s use of ‘fire and rehire’ tactics. Unite estimates that the contractual changes put forward by Baker Hughes – one of the world's largest oil field services companies –would wipe 29 per cent off workers’ annual wages.
“The proposal to cut our members’ pay by over £10,000 through fire and rehire tactics is a new low for an industry plagued by corporate greed,” Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said.
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LEAH MONTEBELLO STORE closures are at the lowest rate in seven years, despite the increasing pressure on the high street. According to data from accountancy giant PwC and Local Data Company (LDC), shop closures in the first half of 2022 dropped by a third compared to last year, as the pandemic shock “eased” for town centres.
now putting together a coordinated plan to stop workers from protecting their pay and conditions – and working people are on the brink,” a TUC spokesperson said over the weekend.
CITY A.M. REPORTER
05TUESDAY 30 AUGUST 2022 NEWSCITYAM.COM
“If strikes coincide, it reflects this broad attack on working people and their living standards coming from this government,” they said. “The TUC has always helped to coordinate strike action when asked by our unions and we are ready to do so again.”
– 31/12/2022 and claim a Samsung Note pack by redemption. No cash alternative. Participants must visit https://samsungpromotions.claims/2022-note-pack upload proof of purchase and provide all other required information (Claim).. Claim period closes on 01/03/2023. Maximum 1 Claim per Promotion Product purchased (maximum 4 Claims per household) and a maximum of 250 Claims per company participant. See https://samsungpromotions.claims/2022-note-pack for full Promotion terms. UK’S BEST NETWORK 9 YEARS IN A ROW: Rankings based on the RootMetrics® UK RootScore® Report: From H2 2013 to H1 2022. Tested with best commercially available smartphones on 4 national mobile networks across all available network types. Your experiences may vary. The RootMetrics award is not an endorsement of EE. Visit ee.co.uk/claims for more details. Other terms apply, please see the EE Pay Monthly Terms for Small Businesses and the EE Price Guide for Small Businesses at ee.co.uk/businessterms. S Pen Fold Edition sold separately and is only compatible with Z Fold4 and Z Fold3. The high street is facing a difficult winter ahead as inflationary pressures bite
A motion has been drafted for the upcoming TUC Congress that calls for a more joined-up approach to industrial action.
A spokesman for Baker Hughes said: “We are disappointed to have reached this stage, having consulted extensively on an outcome which addresses both the business challenges and financial impact on employees.”Thestrike will last until the morning of 14 September, with a series of 48-hour stoppages taking place after that until 16 November. The firm employs some 250 workers that develop manufacturing and engineering processes, such as industrial 3D printing and VR tools, for the oil and gas industry.
While closures were at the lowest level since 2017, the number of shop openings remained below prepandemic levels. PwC UK’s leader of industry for consumer markets Lisa Hooker also warned utility, input and labour costs will significantly impact the viability of the high street. While the findings give “some reason for optimism”, Hooker said they must “be viewed alongside the significant concerns over the rising cost of living and how it will impact people’s ability to spend”. Lucy Stainton, LDC commercial director, said train strikes and airport disruption also hurt the high street.
A spokesperson for Unison added: “Workers don’t take the decision to strike lightly, but they feel they have no other choice to get a decent wage increase. It makes sense for unions to ensure any industrial action is as effective and meaningful as possible.” 10/08/2022
Baker inworkersHughesstrikeScotland
The fresh data found a trend away from clothing stores closing, with more bookies and charity shops shutting up instead.
TRADE unions are working on plans to coordinate strike action over the coming months, as workers from all sectors across the country go on strike in search of inflation-busting pay rises.
Store closures at lowest rate in seven years as pandemic retail shock eases
The AIM-listed company registered a loss of £42m in the financial year up to April, down from a £6.8m profit in 2021. Commenting on the results, Marston said the company had been“significantly impacted by the challenges resulting from the implementation of our new operating model and investment in marketing that did not deliver the expected results”. She said the poor performance coincided “alongside a housing market which played against us” but regardless, “our performance was not good enough”.
VIDENDUM
CITYAM.COM06 TUESDAY 30 AUGUST 2022NEWS
CONVATEC beandthanoperatesfirmmedicalReading-HQedproductsConvatecinmore100countriesisexpectedtopromoted.Time
Prime Video penned a long-term contract with Shepperton Studios earlier this year the winter could well see any spell in London’s top flight be short-lived. Homeserve will move into the top level index as a replacement for Avast, which has been picked up by US giant Nortonlifelock. Homeserve will in turn be removed from the index once its own takeover by private equity isStrugglingcompleted. furniture retailer Made.com is set to be booted from the FTSE All Share index after a miserable year. It listed in June of last year but has since lost 96 per cent of its value amid ongoing concerns about the economic environment.Thefirmhas been forced to cut back profit expectations not once but thrice and is now looking at its headcount. Howdens Joinery may also slip out of the FTSE 100 as Brits put off renovation projects thanks to the rising cost of living. “The red-hot housing market is also seeing tentative signs of cooling off with rates set to continue to rise amid painful inflation,” Streeter said.
JOINERYHOWDENS A lockdown darling, Howden has felt the pain of Brits reining in spending amid rising costs in basic necessities.
CITY A.M. REPORTER HSBC once again faces renewed pressure to split off its Asia business after a research report said the change could unleash $20bn (£17bn) of extra stock market value. The report, written by analyst Peter Toeman, highlighted weaknesses at the bank’s global banking and markets and commercial businesses, saying they were underperforming and destroying value. The research, however, is believed to have been commissioned by China’s largest insurer Ping An, according to The Sunday Times. Ping An, HSBC's largest shareholder, has been lobbying to break up the bank over the last fewPingmonths.An’scalls to hive-off its Asia business, where the majority of the bank’s profits are made, has gained support among Asian shareholders who were burned by UK regulators forcing HSBC to end dividends during the pandemic. Earlier this month, HSBC boss Noel Quinn hit back saying the bank’s “strength as a well connected, global institution is the main reason our wholesale clients choose to bank with us”. “We are determined to capitalise on the advantages our network gives us,” Quinn added. HSBC declined to comment while Ping An did not respond.
WHO’S UP, WHO’S DOWN
UK FILM and TV production company insolvencies jumped 69 per cent in the past year as staff shortages continue to batter indie Accordingfirms.todata from audit advisory firm Mazars, insolvencies jumped from 67 to 113, despite the boom in UK production from streaming giants like Netflix. Partner at Mazars Adam Harris explained that smaller players are still struggling to service pandemic era debt. Many have been swept up in the wave of winding up petitions since the end of March this year, when the moratorium on winding up petitions was lifted. Creditors have since been able to apply to have companies wound up to recoup unpaid debt from the sale of these business’ assets. “Once creditors were allowed to file winding up petitions, many in the sector simply ran out of road,” HarrisManysaid.skilled production staff have also left the sector since work dried up during the pandemic.
key indices
LEAH MONTEBELLO
CITY A.M. REPORTER THE TOP brass of struggling online estate agent Purplebricks have spent nearly £1m of their own money on company shares. Helena Marston, the new chief executive, and Paul Pindar, the executive chairman, both recently spent £100,000 and £851,000 respectively, The Times reported. Pindar now owns a 5.4 per cent stake in the Purplebrickscompany.wascontacted for comment about the directors’ share purchases. The firm’s share price has fallen 24 per cent over the year so far, and is down nearly 70 per cent on this time last year. Earlier this month, Lecram Holdings, which owns 4.2 per cent of the company, called for Pindar to resign following the firm’s poor annual results.
Insolvencies jump for production firms despite TV and movie boom
The housing market continues to worry investors amid a cost of living crisis
ABRDN Global headwinds have delivered a beating to the asset management sector right across the world.
Purplebricks top brass spend £1m on shares in bid to boost confidence
look for the
FRASERS GROUP Mike Ashley’s empire has shown welcome resilience this year despite headwinds.economic Renamed from Vitec earlier this year, onsoftwarehardwareRichmond-basedthefilmandcompanyistheup. for a new UK’s
HSBC split could unleash $20bn, says report
CITY A.M. REPORTER FUND MANAGER Abrdn is set to exit the FTSE 100 this week as the index’s quarterly reshuffle hits. Shares in the asset manager have fallen just shy of 40 per cent since the turn of the year, with analysts blaming global uncertainty and economic“Hugetroubles.geopolitical uncertainty, sky high inflation and worries about economic growth have been challenging for the asset management sector, and Abrdn’s weaker performance in this environment looks set to propel it out of the big league,” said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.TheFTSE indices will be reshuffled based on closing prices today and promotions and relegations will come into effect in the middle of September.MikeAshley’s Frasers Group could well step into the FTSE 100 after a show of resilience in the year so far, though analysts warn that belt tightening over FTSE reshuffle to reflect cost of living concerns
fresh
MADE.COM The retailer has endured a miserable first year on the public markets and is set for demotion from the FTSE All Share.
BEN LUCAS SOME audit partners are retiring early over fears that they might be subject to regulatory scrutiny from the UK’s audit watchdog, a major accounting body has cautioned. “Itcanhave negative consequences for your career if there is any deficit in the audit work you’ve done,” Michael Izza, chief executive of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, told The Sunday Times.
Zahawi stateside to pitch financialLondon’sfuture review which aims to set the framework for the UK’s capital-raising markets. Findlay said the UK has a “once in a generation opportunity to implement radical reforms” as a result of the country’s departure from the EU, but that failing to do so would leave London with a “material risk of diminishing to that of a regional exchange”. There are already concerns that the UK has ceased to be a positive market for capital listings, with a number of recent floats failing to deliver. UK equities are also relatively underpriced compared to global competitors, leading to a recent feeding frenzy of foreign firms looking to take UK-listed outfits private. Zahawi will also visit Washington DC where he will meet with officials from the Fed and the US Treasury. He is widely expected to move on from his current role as soon as next week under a new Prime Minister.
Shareholders fight ‘opportunistic’ Schneider bid for control of Aveva
The warning comes after the UK’s audit watchdog issued a record £46.5m in fines last year
Some audit partners retiring early due to fears of regulatory scrutiny
CHANCELLOR Nadhim Zahawi will visit New York this week in an attempt to bang the drum for Britain’s post-Brexit financial future. Zahawi will visit the New York Stock Exchange and meet with senior global bank representatives with “the aim of setting the highest possible standard for global financial services cooperation between the two nations”. He will also talk up potential reforms in the UK’s Financial Services and Markets Bill –reforms that some in the City say do not go far enough. The chair of the London Stock Exchange has warned that the capital is “in a foot race with our competitors and we cannot afford to be ignorant of that or complacent about what we need to do if we want to stay relevant”, according to a submission to the Financial Conduct Authority seen by the Telegraph. Michael Findlay was writing to the watchdog as part of a primary markets
“Some of those people who are retiring over 50 are making a conscious decision to retire because they are managing their risk,” Izza added.
CITY A.M. REPORTER ONE OF Aveva’s largest minority shareholders has criticised an “opportunistic” bid for the software firm. Aegon Asset Management has criticised Schneider –the French giant which last week said it was pondering a £9bn bid for the just more than 40 per cent of the firm it doesn’t yet own –for taking aim at the firm “when the share price is depressed given the company is undergoing a complex transition to a subscription model which lowers profits in the near term,” Aegon’s head of equities told the Times in anAvevainterview.shares shot up on the speculation last week but the potential deal has once again raised the prospect of a foreign firm picking off a potentially undervalued London-listed company. A host of firms listed in the capital have been in the crosshairs of private equity in recent months, with Aveva potentially following Meggitt, Morrisons and Homeserve. Aegon did not immediately respond to a request for comment by City A.M. yesterday.
The Chancellor will meet with global bank reps in New York this week
A spokesperson for the Financial Reporting Council told the paper: “We would be surprised that any audit professional would be planning their career on the basis of fearing regulatory fines or sanctions. If individual auditors are doing high-quality work supported by firms with adequate resources, they should have no concerns.”
07TUESDAY 30 AUGUST 2022 NEWSCITYAM.COMJAMESSILVER
backsCommissiondown on Qualcomm fine
Time on the side of watchmakers
PA SWISS watchmakers are not seeing signs so far that geopolitical tensions and recession fears are hitting demand for luxury timepieces, executives told Reuters ahead of the Geneva Watch Days event that began yesterday. Sales of Swiss watches have rebounded strongly from the 2020 pandemic slump, with the value of exports up 11.4 per “For now people’s state of mind stays positive. How long will it last? We don’t know,” said Jean-Christophe Babin, head of LVMH jewellery and watch brand Bulgari. He said Bulgari was gaining market share, seeing “much stronger” growth in its watch business than the rate of Swiss watch exports. While there were many reasons to be alarmed over the and inflation, “watch exports are nevertheless close to all-time highs”, Edouard Meylan, head of independent watch brand H. Moser & Cie, said. “We need to take advantage while it lasts, but we have to get ready for a slowdown,” he said, adding sales were up by more than a quarter so far this year, with some bottlenecks for watch cases and straps.
JAMEY KEATEN LAWYERS for Israeli diamond magnate Beny Steinmetz have urged a Swiss appeals court to throw out testimony from a former first lady of Guinea that contributed to his conviction for corruption.Thecaseinvolves an alleged plot, dating to the mid-2000s, in which Steinmetz’s BSGR Group squeezed out a rival for mining rights for vast iron ore deposits in Guinea’s southeastern Simandou region.
The case has exposed the shady and complex world of deal-making and cutthroat competition in the lucrative mining business. The prosecutor’s office has argued that from 2005 onward, Steinmetz crafted a pact of corruption with Guinean president Lansana Conte, who ruled the West African country from 1984 until his death in 2008, and with Mamadie Toure, his fourth wife, involving the payment of nearly $10mAppearing(£8.5m).before a Geneva appeals court yesterday, Steinmetz’s lawyer Daniel Kinzer said the terms and circumstances of a deal between Toure and the FBI in the United States were unclear, and defence lawyers never had a chance to question her. She has reached an agreement with US authorities in the case. Steinmetz was sentenced to five years in prison in the original trial and ordered to pay a 50 million Swiss franc (£44m) fine. Steinmetz denies the charges and remains free pending the appeal.
Almost there: Airlines’ seat capacity inches back toward pre-Covid levels
“While international air travel recovery is well underway, airlines have had no choice but to restrict their own growth,” analyst Alex Macheras said.
Beny Steinmetz is appealing his conviction in the original trial last year
CITYAM.COM08 TUESDAY 30 AUGUST 2022NEWS UK traffic volumes are at 85 per cent, behind EU rivals such as Italy, Spain and France
Steinmetz appeals against Guinea corruption conviction in Swiss court
ILARIA GRASSO MACOLA
THE SEAT capacity of EU airlines is almost back to pre-pandemic levels. According to analysis by aviation market intelligence firm CAPA –Centre for Aviation, capacity is now at almost 89 per cent of 2019 levels. Projected volumes for the fourth quarter of 2022 have also risen slightly to 88 per cent over the last two weeks, as first reported by industry news website BTN. Italy and Spain remain the markets with the highest capacity recovery, with both reaching 94 per cent of 2019 levels, followed by France with 92 per cent. The UK is currently at 85 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, up two per cent from May. However, the aviation industry’s recovery could be hindered by capacity restrictions at major hubs such as Heathrow and Amsterdam Schiphol, which have extended their passenger cap until the end of October.
LEAH MONTEBELLO IN A FURTHER setback for EU regulators, it is understood that the European Commission (EC) will not be appealing the decision to overturn a €997m (£862m) fine placed on US chipmaker Qualcomm. As first reported by Reuters, the EC will not be pushing forward with an appeal, with sources suggesting that it would be too difficult for the body to convince the General Court in its Thefavour.finewas imposed by the EC after the US firm paid billions of dollars to Apple to use only Qualcomm chips in all its iPhones and iPads, hindering rivals like Intel Corp from 2011 to 2016. However, Europe’s second-highest court annulled this 2018 EC decision and questioned its handling of the case on a process level. “The Commission did not provide an analysis which makes it possible to support the findings that the payments concerned had actually reduced Apple’s incentives to switch to Qualcomm’s competitors,” the General Court said in June. Back in January, Intel won its own appeal against a billion-euro fine handed to the company 12 years ago. The court criticised the analysis made by the Commission on this specific case. The deadline for the Commission to appeal the decision has not yet expired.
Financial services risk compliance staff shortage as regulation tightens
Joules announced earlier this month that former Aviva and Kingfisher exec Jonathon Brown would be taking the top job from the end of September, after the abrupt announcement in May that existing boss Nick Jones would be stepping down this year. Brown was most recently boss of Compare the Market. “Whilst there have been some headwinds in the past year, I am very excited by the business’ future opportunities. The Group is making strong progress against its clear plans to improve profitability by simplifying the business and optimising the cost base,” Brown said at the time. “I look forward to working closely with the Joules team to return the business to sustainable, profitable growth and optimise the significant future opportunities available to us.”
“Financial services firms face extremely high levels of regulatory activity yet headcount within compliance functions is expected to remain relatively flat,” said Susannah Hammond, senior regulatory intelligence expert at Thomson Reuters. “This means teams will be forced to pick up more work, putting them under considerable pressure.” Companies might outsource the excess workload or use more technology, Hammond added. Research published in May by digital accountancy platform Lemonedge showed that 31 per cent of financial services and banking professionals planned to leave the industry due to high pressure and a heavy workload.
MILLIE
Britishvolt will not deliver any products from its £3.8bn gigafactory for another three years, its co-founder saidTheyesterday.gigafactory, which began construction last summer, had initially been anticipated to start battery production in late 2023.
Nadjari, who help establish Britishvolt just three years ago and is the largest shareholder, handed over the reins as CEO to former Ford chairman Dr Grahan Hoare OBE just last week. While announcing his exit, the former banker said “now is the right time” despite the challenges facing the Britshvoltgroup.isreportedly mulling a London listing as it looks to spearhead a UK electric vehicle boom.
In the UK, numbers are even higher, as 65 per cent of businesses will not recruit additional compliance specialists.
ELECTRIC vehicle battery startup
FINANCIAL services firms around the world are at risk of being hit by shortages of compliance staff due to a surge in the volume of regulatoryAccordingchange.toresearch published today by Thomson Reuters, while 74 per cent of financial services companies expect their regulatory burden to increase in the next year, 61 per cent believe their teams will not grow in size.
ILARIA GRASSO MACOLA
JAMES SILVER
A Joules spokesperson told Kleinman: “Joules continues its positive discussions with Next plc about both adopting its Total Platform services to support its longterm growth plans and a potential equity“Thereinvestment.canbeno certainty that these discussions will lead to any agreement, and announcementsfurtherinthis regard will be made if and when appropriate.”
HENRY SAKER-CLARK
Britishvolt plans hit by inflation as questions asked of UK battery boom Joules’ Next lifeline in danger as talks slow
Construction of Britishvolt’s £3.8bn gigafactory began last summer
The newBritish“premiumlifestylegroup”hasaCEObutaninvestmentbyNextappearstobeonthebackburner
Pub giants warn costs could see last orders called
An increase in the cost of senior compliance staff and budgetary restraints feature among the reasons behind the potential shortages.
TURNER
The City is set for a phalanx of new post-Brexit regulatory obligations
“The main facility will be delayed slightly into mid-2025,” former CEO Orral Nadjari told the Financial Times. “It does go hand-in-hand with the fact that we have inflation, we have recession and we have geopolitical uncertainties.”
PUBS and brewers across the UK are at risk of closure within months amid price hikes upwards of 300 per cent, industry bosses have warned. Bosses of six of the UK’s biggest pub and brewing companies have signed an open letter to the government urging it to act in order to avoid “real and serious irreversible” damage to theGreenesector.
venues when contracts come up for renewal. William Lees Jones, managing director of the JW Lees pub group, said: “We have publicans who are experiencing 300 per cent plus increases in energy costs and some energy companies are refusing to even quote for supply. “In some instances, tenants are giving us notice since their businesses do not stack up with energy at these“Governmentcosts. needs to extend the energy cap to business as well as households.”NickMackenzie, chief executive officer of 2,700-strong group Greene King, said one tenant has seen their energy bill jump £33,000 for the year. It comes as knock-on effects from rising energy bills are also impacting the sector, with CF Fertilisers, one of the UK’s biggest CO2 producers, revealing it will halt production at its remaining UK ammonia site due to rocketing costs. Brewers have warned they could face disruption if there is a shortfall in supply of CO2, which is used in the production of some beer.
King, JW Lees, Carlsberg Marston’s, Admiral Taverns, Drake & Morgan and St Austell Brewery all sounded the alarm today. Out of control gas prices following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia have contributed to rocketing energy bills forOnoperators.Friday, regulator Ofgem confirmed that bills for an average UK household would surge by eight per cent in October when the new price cap comes into force. However, businesses operate without a regulated price cap, with some pub owners warning that their bills have quadrupled or are struggling to even find suppliers willing to power their
NEARLY three weeks of talks have reportedly failed to produce a breakthrough on plans for Next to take a stake in struggling fashion chainCityJoules.sources told Sky News’ Mark Kleinman that Next had not received sufficient financial information to allow it to table a formal offer. Joules has been battling headwinds for some time and was forced to deliver yet another profit warning last week. The firm’s share price sat at 33p when Next’s interest was first reported but is now lower at 25.5p a share, further complicating any potential investment.
09TUESDAY 30 AUGUST 2022 NEWSCITYAM.COM PA
WHAT’S RUSSIA’S NEXT MOVE?
MILLIE TURNER ERICSSON will wrap up its remaining Russian operations by the end of this year, according to local stateThemedia.Swedish telecom equipment manufacturer announced in February, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, that it would suspend deliveries to customers in Russia, in line with Western sanctions. The company placed its Russian employees on paid leave as it announced the indefinite suspension of operations in April.
Q&A
The Swedish telecoms giant had originally placed staff on paid leave but will now bring its Russian operations to an end Stalemate or counter-offensive? Either way, it seems that six months into the war in Ukraine, the conflict is moving into a new phase.
Vladimir Putin appears to be planning for a long war, last week ordering a significant expansion in armed forces personnel. Ukrainian military leaders continue to hope that existing Russian soldiers in the country are struggling for morale, with Kyiv’s top spy suggesting that the “exhaustion” of Russia’s resource base “as well as moral and physical fatigue” were slowing the country’s assault in eastern Ukraine.
Nuke watchdog lands in Ukraine to monitor plant under Section 73 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 to vary Condition 20 (Approved Plans) and to remove Condition 14part E (details of green wall and maintenance) of planning permission dated 19 December 2019 (ref: 19/00796/FULL) to enable minor amendments to the approved scheme including: (i) Alterations to the location of external plant on the roof terrace; (ii) Reduction in the size of available terrace area and alterations to balustrade treatment and a installation of a raised planter bed; (iii) Alteration to a single larger glazed door; and (iv) green wall replaced with a raised planter bed. 1 Finsbury Avenue, London, EC2M 2PA 22/00685/FULL & 22/00686/LBC Installation of telecommunication equipment to rooftop, to include 12no. antennas, 6no. cabinets and ancillary development thereto. The Aldgate School, St James’s Passage, London, EC3A 5DE 22/00723/LBC levels. Adelaide House, London Bridge, London, EC4R 9HA 22/00734/LBC Internal alterations of the building including: (i) removal of casings to ceiling beams and structural lining to walls. You may inspect copies of the application, the plans and any other documents submitted with it on-line or telephone 020 7332 1710. Any observations must be received within a period of 21 days beginning with the consideration of this application. In the event that an appeal against a decision of the Council proceeds by way of the expedited procedure, any representations made about the application will be passed to
“We must protect the safety and security of Ukraine’s and Europe’s biggest nuclear facility,” Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said. There are concerns that the plant, if damaged, could leak radiation into the atmosphere.
“The priority is to focus on the safety and well-being of Ericsson employees in Russia and they will be placed on paid leave,” the company said at the time. It is unclear whether the telecoms giant will now cease its paid leave for employees in the country. The company in April set aside around £72m for its Russian asset impairment and other exceptional costs. Russian newspaper Kommersant first reported on the news.
WHO HAS THE UPPER HAND? That depends who you ask. In recent weeks Ukraine has become bolder in its attacks on Russian-held territory, including a series of assaults on ammunition dumps. Many believe the coming offensive on Kherson –a Russian-held port city –could be indicative of whether Ukraine can reclaim territory held by Russia since the beginning of the war. But casualties continue to mount on both sides, and Ukraine’s military forces remain outgunned despite western governments’ commitments.
CITY of LONDON The PLANNING ACTS and the Orders and Regulations made thereunder This notice gives details of applications registered by the Department of The Built Environment Code: FULL/FULMAJ/FULEIA/FULLR3 – Planning Permission; LBC – Listed Building Consent; TPO – Tree Preservation Order; OUTL – Outline Planning Permission Umi House, 4 - 10 Artillery Lane, London, E1 7LS 22/00530/FULL Application
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The six-month-old war, now focused in Ukraine’s south and west, moved into a new phase yesterday with Ukrainian defence forces launching an offensive towards the Russian-occupied city ofTheKherson.Kremlin also announced that it would be taking part in an Asian military exercise this week alongside China and others, however it would be sending only around 50,000 personnel –compared to 300,000 for a similar exercise inMilitary2018. experts told Reuters it would be its “smallest strategic-level exercise in year because the entire ground forces potential is engaged in operations in Ukraine.”“It’sjust Russia pretending everything is fine and they still have the capability to launch a large-scale military exercise with China. But in reality I think the scope of this exercise, especially from a ground force perspective, is going to be very, very limited,” Konrad Muzyka, director of the Rochan military consultancy based in Poland, told the news agency over the weekend.
Ericsson will provide “financial and social” support to employees, the paper reported the company as Lastsaying.week US banking giant Citi announced it was also shuttering in the country after failing to find a buyers for its operations. Most other multinational firms have also bailed out of the country as it increasingly becomes to be seen as a pariah state by much of the western world. Ericsson did not immediately respond to a comment request from City A.M.
CITYAM.COM10 TUESDAY 30 AUGUST 2022JAMESNEWSSILVER
The Zaporizhzhia plant is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and there are fears it could be caught up in the conflict Ukrainian VolodymyrPresidentZelensky
A TEAM from the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog touched down in Ukraine yesterday amid ongoing concern that Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is becoming a hotspot forTheconflict.Zaporizhzhia plant sits on the Dnipro River and has been under Russian control since March, though remains staffed by Ukrainians. Shelling in the vicinity of the plant has caused grave concern in recent weeks, with an uptick in activity over the last fewBothdays.sides have claimed that the other is using the plant as a military objective, with Ukraine’s foreign minister saying the Russian military “must get out of theRussianplant”.sources claimed to have shot down a Ukrainian drone heading to the plant, but news agencies could not verify those reports.
Ericsson set to fully wrap up Russian operations
WHAT’S THE END GAME? At the beginning of the war, most expected a swift Russian victory –but that has proved very wrong indeed. Ukraine’s end-goal has also moved, with President Zelensky keen not just to reclaim all territory claimed in the past six months by Russian forces but also that effectively occupied since 2014. Kremlinologists predict that Putin cannot afford such a defeat, even if he may be able to spin a small occupation of eastern Ukraine as a step towards securing the country’s eastern flank from what he sees as NATO aggression. Either way, most analysts expect this lengthy war could drag on well into winter and beyond. AS
SONY snapped up Finnish and German mobile game developer Savage Game Studios yesterday as the company continues to pivot away from consoles and towards mobile. Savage Game Studios, which was founded in 2020, will join the newly created Playstation Studios Mobile Division, an independent operation from the traditional console development for Sony.Hermen Hulst, head of Playstation Studios, said the company “must continue to expand and diversify our offering beyond console”, with this acquisition being “another strategic step towards that“Ourgoal”.move into mobile, like our expansion into PC and live service games, strengthens our capabilities and our community, and complements Playstation Studios’ purpose to make the best games that we can,” Hulst said. Sony did not disclose how much the deal with Savage Game Studios was worth, but the move notably adds to Sony snaps up Savage Games in console pivot Post-Brexit border agreements have beset business and the public alike the flurry of acquisitions made by the firm in recent months, including its $3.7bn (£3.1bn) swoop for Destiny maker Bungie. Sony has been under increasing pressure to push back against dwindling consumer demand and supply chain challenges. Just last week, Sony said it would be upping the price for its Playstation 5 (PS5) console. “The global economic environment is a challenge that many of you around the world are no doubt experiencing,” Sony said in a blog post. “We’re seeing high global inflation rates, as well as adverse currency trends, impacting consumers and creating pressure on many industries.” In the UK, this means a £30 increase for gamers, bringing the price to £479.99 for the disc versions. Meanwhile, rival firm Nintendo said it would be avoiding price rises for consumers, despite its own production costs soaring in recent months.
Singapore warns of ‘oblivious’ retail crypto traders as it plots regulation
Singapore’s welcoming approach has helped the financial hub attract digital asset services-related firms from China, India and elsewhere in the last few years, making it a major centre in Asia. But recent defaults of some global cryptocurrency-related firms based in Singapore, many of which are not subject to the financial regulator’s guidelines on consumer protection or market conduct, has triggered worries about tighter regulation. A review is ongoing.
ANSHUMAN DAGA SINGAPORE is planning to roll out new regulations that will make it more difficult for retail investors to trade cryptocurrencies at a time when they seem to be “irrationally oblivious| about the risks, its central bank chief has said.
Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), said at an event yesterday that despite warnings and measures, surveys show that consumers are increasingly trading in cryptocurrencies globally, not just in Singapore, attracted by the prospect of sharp price increases. “They seem to be irrationally oblivious about the risks of cryptocurrency trading,” he said. “These may include customer suitability tests and restricting the use of leverage and credit facilities for cryptocurrency trading,” he added at a seminar titled “Yes to digital asset innovation, No to cryptocurrency speculation.”
LARGE UK corporations have been suspected of underpaying £25.3m in post-Brexit import duties from the EU. Research published today by Pinsent Masons showed the amount of taxes under consideration has increased by 97.5 per cent in the year ended 5 April, up from £620,000 in 2021.
ILARIA GRASSO MACOLA
The city-state has become a vital Asian hub for global financial firms
Sony shares have tanked over 35 per cent in the year to date
FRESH FUNDS London
Series A Reuters
ON-DEMAND laundry startup Oxwash has snagged £10m in its latest funding round, led by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone. The funding, gathered from other investors including Untitled VC and Reckitt’s venture arm Access VC, will help scale the business.
Big business may have underpaid import duties by £25m since Brexit
Former Nasa scientist Dr Kyle Grant and Oxford engineer Tom de Wilton founded the now B Corporation status company in 2017. startup Oxwash wrings £10m in
CITYAM.COMLEAHMONTEBELLO
11TUESDAY 30 AUGUST 2022 NEWS
“The amount of tax HMRC thinks big businesses are underpaying so far on EU imports might just be the beginning,” commented Pinsent Masons’ partner Steven Porter. “Given the significant volume of goods that arrive in the UK from the EU, HMRC clearly sees this as an emerging area of tax risk.” City A.M. understands that taxes under consideration do not equate with taxes owed or unpaid, as they are an estimate used by the HMRC to deploy resources. Tax positions are only known after investigations have been carried out, meaning that additional taxes might be less than those initially believed. Big business groups declined to comment last night.
The government is supporting low carbon concrete options, unveiling its Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy last year which offers finance for the concrete sector to cut emissions.
CITYAM.COM12 TUESDAY 30 AUGUST 2022NEWS
borne from its R&D division, that offers concrete made from fly ash and blast furnace slag. This provides embodied carbon savings of 75-87 per cent, depending on the mix, while maintaining comparable resilience and consistency to concrete made from cement.
The London-listed airline has seen a welcome uptick in passenger demand in 2022 ILARIA GRASSO MACOLA WIZZ AIR took the crown for the UK’s worst airline for flight delays in 2021, according to data from the Civil Aviation Authority analysed by the PA newsFiguresagency.showed that Wizz Air –which operates from 10 British airports, including Luton and Gatwick – ran on average 14 minutes behind schedule. Wizz Air was followed by Tui’s average delay of 13 minutes and British Airways’ 12 minutes. Low-cost titans such as Easyjet and Ryanair performed better with Easyjet ranked second best, with a hold-up of four minutes, while Ryanair came in third. Wizz Air did not respond to a request for comment. UK airlines have been hit by staff shortages in their own ranks as well as at airports this year as the aviation industry struggles to keep up with the swift take-off of post-pandemic consumer demand. Carriers have axed thousands of flights to improve reliability.
Verner Viisainen, policy analyst at enT HE UK’s ambitions to replenish its faltering infrastructure to secure its energy independence, meet its net zero goals and cut regional inequality exist within a frustrating paradox. Going green requires a vast ramp up of renewable and nuclear power projects, while ‘levelling up’ depends on house building and new transport projects.However, such plans also require vast concrete consumption – one of the most carbon-intensive products on the planet, undermining the environmental benefits of renewable projects and newConcreteinfrastructure.consists of water, aggregates such as rock, sand and gravel, and – crucially – cement to bind it all together.TheInternational Agency has calculated the cement is responsible for eight per cent of global CO2 emissions. If it was a country, cement would be vironmental think tank Green Alliance, told City A.M. that until a low carbon alternative to concrete became commercially viable, demand had to beHereduced.said:“That means renovating existing buildings, rather than building new, and when possible, using alternative materials, such as cross laminated timber.”
At the moment, the company’s orders are typically in the hundreds of cubic meters, rather than the tens of thousands of giant competitors like CNBM and Holcim Group. Nevertheless, it has established a firm UK footprint, with Earth Friendly Concrete enthused by the opportunities in a country it considers ahead of Western counterparts on the decarbonisation agenda. City A.M. can reveal Earth Friendly Concrete has already been successfully trialled on several major rail and road infrastructure projects such as HS2’s phase one and the Transpennine Route Upgrade.Ithasalso been approved for use by the Environment Agency at a major sea defence scheme in Kent. Other major partners for the company include Network Rail and British Land, while it also has an agreement with Capital Concrete in the London area. Earth Friendly Concrete has been operating from a plant in Silvertown, Newham, and has now completed its first concrete pour out of a new facility in Wembley – delivering 50 cubic metres of concrete for the HS2 project.“Thiswas a nice little milestone for us, that was our second plant activated,” Kemp said. It is also eyeing smaller-scale construction alongside historic building projects, something that has been welcomed by the National Federation of BuildersRichard(NFB).Beresford, the NFB’s chief executive, said: “We welcome innovations such as cement-free concrete, recycled aggregates and precast systems, which can be reused in future projects. After water, concrete is the world’s second most consumed product and therefore the NFB has been campaigning to ensure the innovations we achieve in the UK can translate to global change.”
The UK is quietly becoming a leader in the use of ‘green concrete’ –and it could see Britain push ahead with vital infrastructure projects, writes Nicholas Earl Wagner KempexecutivechiefMichael
The majoralreadyconcretecement-freehasbeenusedonHS2andonseadefenceschemes
CEMENT-FREE CONCRETE SET FOR DEMAND BOOST However, Wagners – an Australian construction and materials specialist based in Queensland – believes its product could be the perfect solution.Itis home to Earth Friendly Concrete, a specialist supplier
PROGRESS?CONCRETE
Michael Kemp, chief executive of Earth Friendly Concrete, told City A.M. its approach from the start has been to remove cement from the equation rather than merely cut back or reduce it in the mix. He explained: “In simple terms, why make a mess and clean it up when you don’t have to make the mess in the As it stands, the product has a price premium tocementconventional–aroundsixpercentfor pre-casts constructed prior to shipping and up to 25 per cent for general mixing.However, Kemp is convinced this is chiefly a matter of production volume, and would be resolved as scale ramped up in line with demand. He said: “There is a huge scaling opportunity for us, and our whole drive is to be bringing that in line with demand. What we are seeing is the demand for the product.”
Not too Wizzy: Hungarian low-cost carrier the worst for UK flight delays world’s third biggest polluter, behind only China and the US. The Paris-based energy body urged the G7 earlier this year to reduce emissions from cement production, and has called for annual three per cent reductions worldwide until the end of the decade, to ensure countries meet the Paris Agreement.
The sector is carrying out demonstrations of a ‘zero carbon fuel mix’ for cement kilns in 2021, funded by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy department’s fuel switching programme.Theindustry is targeting the delivery of net zero concrete and cement products across all supply chains by 2050.
“It is hard to describe boosting deeconomic
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Meanwhile, builders merchants Grafton has been marked as a stock to Buy by Peel Hunt analysts, despite weaker trading anticipated for the second half of this year. Revenue jumped 12 per cent to £1.15bn in the six-month period, the FTSE company revealed last week, while operating profit sank seven per cent to £132m. A “flat” like-for-like performance hasn’t stopped analysts giving a 1,200p target price. To appear in of the 720 710 mand without boosting supply as ‘helping’. Would-be UK house buyers are obliged to take on ever more debt in their quest to get on the housing ladder, and to do so as interest rates rise,” he said of the Overprogramme.thepondit will be all eyes on a series of US jobs data released tomorrow, Thursday and Friday, with analysts looking at the data for signs of recession. Joe Biden is enjoying a boost in the polls thanks to a surprisingly resilient US economy and if the American workforce continues to expand it may make analysts who have priced in a Trump victory in 2024 think again. On the corporate front, Bunzl will report today, with Chesnara and Bens Creek on Wednesday (as well as Costco in the US). Ashmore will report on Friday morning, when we’ll also receive construction PMIs.
CITY the UK confidenceconsumer survey stands at a record low of minus 44 major
CITYAM.COMLONDON
U K CORPORATES are still mostly enjoying a summer lull –nobody wants to ditch their Tuscan villa for an earnings call, after all –so eyes will turn to clues on the overall state of the economy both at home and abroad this week. Amongst the closely watched data to be released this week are UK mortgage approvals, out today. Analysts will be looking to see if approvals yet again undershoot estimates, as Brits get spooked on major purchases by the cost of living crisis.
Mortgage approvals to tell the story of UK
13TUESDAY 30 AUGUST 2022 MARKETS
Amigo Holdings fell in line with expectations last week, with analysts at brokerage Peel Hunt unsurprised with the £2m pre-tax quarterly profit the beleaguered lender reported. The figure is down from £15m in the first quarter of last year, and “reflects the progressive run down” of Amigo’s loan portfolio amid an investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority, analysts Robert Sage and Stuart Duncan wrote.
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AJ Bell’s investment director Russ Mould notes mortgage applications are no higher than they were when Help to Buy was introduced way back in April 2013 (since when, he says, the average UK house price has advanced by some 75 per cent).
If Truss makes it to the top job, she’ll need a different tune to unite the party
OPINION
Liz Truss seems to be substantially ahead of Rishi Sunak in the leadership race
Let’s ensure London’s job market stays an attractive proposition for this year’s cohort HaywardChris
W E ALL remember that nervous feeling on exam results day. No matter your age, that trepidation never leaves you. This year’s A-Level and GCSE students faced challenges most of us could barely imagine. Months of learning remotely and little previous exam experience added to the usual pressure.Yet,this year’s cohort demonstrated remarkable tenacity to overcome these obstacles and succeed. This gives me full confidence that the economic future of this country is in goodThesehands.young people have been dealt a bad hand by the pandemic but, as London recovers from Covid-19, so does its jobs market. We must fuel these young Londoners’ imagination and help shape their futures; after all, what is right for young Londoners will also end up being right forManybusiness.firms
London needs a highly skilled and socially mobile workforce to remain a world-leading city. But to truly ensure that we have the broadest talent pool possible, we must also smash the class ceiling. A report published this month by the Socio-Economic Diversity Taskforcerun by the City Corporation - found that working-class employees are far less likely to reach the top of UK financial and professional services firms. Aside from the obvious moral reason for reform, this constitutes a clear business case for change. For if we close the sector off to people, then people will close off to the sector. Without rapid improvement, we risk losing talent to other, more inclusive sectors and cities. The message is clear: we have a duty to ensure that our children receive a first-class education, and our workforce receives every opportunity to succeed and progress.
I speak to complain of a lack of candidates with the right skills. But London also needs a diverse and resilient future workforce, with job opportunities available to people of all backgrounds. Without that our businesses cannot compete globally, creating lasting value for people across the UK. By working together, companies and schools can bridge this gap. Firms can boost career prospects offering apprenticeships, paid internships and work experience, opening up a wide pool of untapped talent. It is for exactly this reason that the City of London Corporation sponsors ten high-performing academies across London through its City of London Academies Trust. We want to prepare young people to flourish by providing exceptional education, cultural and creative learning, and invaluable skills needed in the workplace. We also run the annual London Careers Festival, where we connect tens of thousands of the capital’s pupils with major firms offering employment advice and work experience.
CITYAM.COM14 TUESDAY 30 AUGUST 2022EDITEDOPINIONBYELENA SINISCALCO
Every young Londoner who sat exams this summer should be proud of their efforts and look forward to their next step in life. Some students might not be completely satisfied with their final results, but they still can be sure that London is a place of opportunity, offering a vast number of paths to reach their goals. We must also build resilience so that young people can face present and future challenges. After all, it might just be one of this cohort who will go on to solving one of the great problems facing our country, whether that be climate change or urban regeneration.
£ Eliot Wilson is co-founder of Pivot Point and a columnist with City A.M.
WilsonEliot
£ Chris Hayward is policy chairman of the City of London Corporation
CUT DOWN If you’re worried about your energy bills going through the roof after the rise in the price cap announced last week, well… One of the government solutions is, among others, to cut on your usage. Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi said “we should all look at our energy sumption”con-
Kwasi Kwarteng seems nailed on as chancellor, and Truss’s close friend Thérèse Coffey is likely to be chief whip or cabinet office minister. Suella Braverman, easily the worst attorney-general in a generation, is talked about as the next home secretary. Truss must do better than this. Rishi Sunak might well decline to serve under his rival, but earlier contenders Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat need to be brought in to indicate generosity of spirit as well as an acceptance of the ideological spectrum. Most obviously, Penny Mordaunt, who won the support of a third of MPs and was only beaten by a whisker into third place, must surely be offered a senior post, with foreign secretary or deputy prime minister being the easiestTrussfits. will need to extend her hand beyond the parliamentary party too. Her agenda is clear, if unsophisticated: tax cuts, a smaller state, a hawkish foreign policy and the occasional kick in the shins for our EuropeanThatneighbours.pleasesthe Conservative electorate - but it is no way to govern. The new prime minister will need to reassure business that her intention to cut the burden of taxation is balanced by an ability to tackle runaway inflation and an acknowledgement that public borrowing is not a magic bullet. Energy customers need to know that a deregulatory instinct will not expose them to rapaciously unaffordable bills as the weather turns colder. And her famous boosterism of British industry must not present a crudely xenophobic face to foreign investment.Noneof this should be hard. Prime ministers usually feel an instinct to embrace rather than exclude, though perhaps Lady Thatcher’s invocation of St Francis of Assisi was a bit over the top. But if Liz Truss is our next prime minister, she must realise that next week is a watershed: the acrimony must stop, the slogans must be put away and she must focus on the job of leading not just her party but the nation.
W E ARE almost there. Only a week now remains of what has seemed an endless battle for the leadership of the Conservative Party. The result will be announced on the fifth of September and the winner will then become prime minister and begin to form an administration.Atthemoment, the received wisdom is that Liz Truss is substantially ahead of Rishi Sunak—indeed, with perhaps as many as two-thirds of the votes having been cast, it is possible she has technically already won. It was Mario Cuomo who said that you campaign in poetry and govern in prose. The phrase has some resonance for this election: there will need to be a stark shift in tone once the new prime minister takes office. It has been a dismal, uninspiring and nasty contest, and if it has been poetry it has been crude doggerel. Sunak and Truss have sniped at each other and made allegations of inadequacy and bad faith. Save the occasional empty slogan, there has been no vision, and certainly no attempt to look to the highInternalground.elections are always difficult. They represent the contenders’ most heartfelt ambitions and they necessarily require the airing of dirty linen in public. Any competition requires you to inflate your own capabilities and do down those of your opponents, but there is a choice between the major and minor keys. Unfortunately both Sunak and Truss have been drawn to the black notes. The Conservative Party is struggling. There is ill feeling at the - absolutely necessary - unseating of Boris Johnson, and there are unresolved ideological tensions between radical free-marketeers and extravagant public spenders. The need to appeal to the new Tory voters of the Red Wall is balanced by creeping fear that the traditional heartland is in revolt. These divisions are taking an ugly shape, and there are frequent accusations of not being a “real” Conservative - as if there were a checklist of doctrine. Let us suppose that it is Liz Truss who kisses the Queen’s hands next week and moves into Downing Street. The first job is cabinet-making, and this is a challenge: while there are supporters to be rewarded, she must also show to the party that she is inclusive and open to new ideas.
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EXPLAINER-IN-BRIEF: A LENGTHY ELECTION BATTLE FINALLY DRAWING TO A CLOSE
WELCOME
After an excruciatingly hot summer of Tory hustings, there are now three days left to the end of the ballot to decide who will be the next Conservative leader - and prime minister. The vote will close this Friday at 2 pm. The final result will be announced next Monday, as MPs return to Westminster after the summer break. It is already widely believed that Liz Truss will win the race. Some have even called for the race to stop earlier, claiming it has been clear for weeks that Rishi Sunak doesn’t stand a chance to Disgracedwin.ex-PM
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[Re: Nadhim Zahawi: The next PM will have ready-made options for the energy crisis, August 25] Zahawi’s acceptance of a raft of improvements to modernise the UK financial services sector is a welcomed and much-needed move. The UK Secondary Capital Raising Review recommendations, including the digitisation of share certificates, will strengthen the capital raising processes for publicly traded companies and make the process of investing and owning shares more efficient and transparent.However,a single digital register for shareholdings also raises other important possibilities. The work to underpin digitisation dovetails with the objectives of open finance by exposing a wider range of financial products and services to the transformative impact of third-party data sharing. Amongst securities markets players, there are a number of debates on the future market architecture taking place. They include the reduction in settlement cycles, technology rails like Central Bank Digital Currency, and the proportion of business taking place in traditional ‘market hours’ versus 24/7 markets.Digitisation will be an important precursor and enabler of these developments – and investors, advisors and other stakeholders across the UK stand to benefit. Fully digitising the City will be transformative but it will require a careful, co-ordinated and inclusive approach to ensure stability, security and operational efficiency.
£ Dom Hallas is the executive director of Coadec simplified visa system could attract the fresh talent our tech sector badly needs
EOPLE are the most important input for a successful tech startup. But there are more jobs that require data literate people than there are workers to fill them; two thirds of businesses say they struggle to fill their tech roles.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Innovation for the City
tive as a Sometimescountry.the problem is time. Delays mean that start ups can wait between six weeks to two months to get their visas. It should only take them three weeks, as initially promised. And sometimes, the ambition is there but the policy detail doesn’t match it - yet. The Scale-up Worker visa allows you to move to the UK if you have a job at an approved scale-up. However, the qualification criteria listed by the Home Office would exclude some of the UK’s fastest growing scaleups and the visa still has much red tape attached. A simple fix would be replacing the existing criteria with a point-based system which scores a business based on its growth rate, staff growth, and amounts invested.
Certified
Some visas are now five times more expensive than they were ten years ago, giving the Home Office an 800 per cent profit on some applications. Considering that immigrants, especially highlyskilled ones, are net contributors to the country, it makes sense to provide visas at-cost instead of at a profit. Prices shouldn’t make us less-competi-
The Entrepreneurs Network and Coadec published a manifesto that sets out how the new prime minister can enable startups to turbocharge the UK’s economic growth. Chief among these recommendations is how to ensure the UK continues to draw in talent.
The government already recognises the importance of talent to the tech sector, which is why it has created schemes like the Start-up visa. But these generous-on-paper routes are not as easy to use as they should be for early-stageSometimescompanies.theproblem is money.
The same is true of the High Potential Individual visa, which was meant to be a low-bureaucracy route for promising talent. Currently, graduates from a short list of top universities can use this route to move to the UK for two years within five years of their graduation date. Yet the “top university” rankings used here include a lot of criteria that are not relevant to this visa, like research output and number of Nobel Laureates on staff. A better ranking would look at the human capital of graduates, which you can calculate using graduate earnings. If the visa was reformed in this way it would include more specialist STEM institutions, small but elite American Liberal Arts Colleges, and top business schools. Of course, immigration is only a small part of the talent question. We should also be boosting the quality of education at home and make it easier for women to pursue rewarding careers in tech. There are good ideas for solving those problems too but, if the new prime minister wants to look at changes that can make life easier for the UK’s startups almost immediately, they should take a look at some of the quick fixes waiting in immigration policy.
Solving this problem is one of the most important actions our new prime minister can take. Technology is becoming an ever-bigger part of all of our lives - and of our economy. If the UK wants to remain a nation of geopolitical importance, it has to keep creating and scaling technology companies. And while London is currently one of the best places in the world to be a tech startup, attracting more VC investment than any other city in Europe, we cannot be complacent. For this to continue, we need government to get behind startups. That's why this week
Richard Fenner, Euroclear
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Boris Johnson will hand in his resignation to the Queen on the 6th of September, leaving his throne to an unwanted heir. With a new prime minister in place, the government will hopefully be able to focus on much needed policy-making - a task that’s been all but paused over the summer.
Some visas are now five times more expensive than they were ten years ago
ELENA SINISCALCO
New visa routes can ensure the UK’s start-up community is a skilled one August is drawing to a close, and September is quickly approaching. But we had the Carnival to take the blues away. After three years, the biggest street party in Europe was back on our streets. Almost forty sound systems blasted tunes as Londoners got together to celebrate the bank holiday weekend. TO THE SHOW Notting Hill Carnival livens up our capital’s streets Distribution from 30/5/2022 till 01/07/2022 is 79,855
AHallasDomnew,
Tim Pitt writes for motoringresearch.com for an electric system mounted in the front to improve weight distribution. It’s basic, then, but quality is faultless (Paul Stephens replaces aged plastic panels with its own fibreglass parts) and every touch-point – from the aluminium column stalks to the customised Momo wheel – feels exquisite.Dropdown into the carbon fibre Recaro bucket seats and you grasp the six-speed manual gear lever (no PDK paddles here), noticing the tab on the drilled throttle pedal to help you heel-and-toe. The tuned engine’s single-mass flywheel sounds abrasive at idle, but it all coalesces into a traditional air-cooled howl as the revs soar. The naturally aspirated GT3 aside, no modern 911 sounds nearly soLikespine-tingling.thelimited-run 911R that Porsche sold-out in 2016, the 993R is intended as a road car, not a track-
Bentley is also showing off the family jewels with EXP4 (pictured), the last of its 3Litre Experimental cars from the 1920s. Originally used to prove the viability of fourwheel braking, EXP4 later raced at Brooklands – reaching 92mph on the steep banking of the Surrey circuit. Today, the car has been restored to 1930s racing spec, and is a hot tip for glory in the concours d’elegance.Aftertheconcours parades and judging on Wednesday and Thursday, Salon Privé hosts a Ladies’ Day on Friday, then a clubonly event on Saturday. It concludes with a less formal Classic and Supercar day on Sunday (tickets from £50), with rally cars in action on the hill sprint.
17TUESDAY 30 AUGUST 2022 LIFE&STYLECITYAM.COM
A fter two decades of crafting its bespoke Autoart 911s, Paul Stephens Porsche has attempted to reinvent the restomod. The 993R is based on the last (1994-1988) iteration of the charismatic air-cooled 911, but takes inspiration from the scalpel-sharp GT3 models that followed. The end result feels like a greatest hits album for the world’s best-loved sports car. Whenever the words ‘Porsche 911’ and ‘restomod’ are used in a sentence, it’s compulsory to mention Singer. The British-built 993R is a very different proposition to the Californian car, though: less likely to get likes on Instagram, or draw a crowd at a Cars and Coffee meeting, yet more focused on light weight and driving dynamics. Poseurs need not apply. Having sourced a suitable 993 Carrera, Paul Stephens starts by bracing and seam-welding the shell to add The UK’s most high-society car show returns this week. Taking place from Wednesday 31 August to Sunday 4 September, Salon Privé brings together hundreds of blue-chip classics and supercars on the lawns of Blenheim Palace. If you like your chrome and carbon fibre with a side-order of champagne, it’s the place to be (and be seen). Among the debuts at Salon Privé 2022 is the Deus Vayanne electric hypercar. Styled by Italdesign and developed by Williams Advanced Engineering, only 99 examples of the 2,200hp twin-motor EV – claimed to offer ‘comfort, practical storage and daily usability’ will be made. Showgoers will also be first to witness the Engler Desat, a ride-on ‘Superquad’ that ‘delivers the tactility and visceral involvement of a superbike with the raw speed and drama of a hypercar’. With a 5.2litre V10 engine – presumably sourced from Audi or Lamborghini – it sounds exciting and terrifying in equal measure. If you’d prefer something more sedate, Salon Privé also promises an array of rare classics. A highlight is the three-car ‘French Revolution’ from Citroen, which comprises the SM Espace concept, a four-wheel-drive 2CV Sahara and a flagship DS 23 Pallas IE. The unique SM was first displayed at the Paris Motor Show in 1971 and has a T-bar roof with slats that retract to allow open-air motoring.
day tearaway. That’s evident in the motor’s ample mid-range torque, its refinement at cruising speeds, and the pleasingly supple ride in the softer damper settings. The slimhipped Carrera body is wonderfully compact, too: shorter and narrower than a new 718 Cayman. On hedgelined Essex lanes, I never once strayed over the centre line, despite this prototype being left-hand drive. Push harder and the reborn 993 struts its stuff with athletic poise and joyful exuberance. Turn-in is immediate and the whole car feels light on its feet, your angle of attack controlled by the throttle as much as by turning the wheel. It’s the classic 911 experience, but rebooted for 2022 in high-definition. If a GT3 – or even a Singer – seems too obvious, this might just be your perfect Porsche.
SILVER BULLET Tim Pitt drives the Paul Stephens 993R: a Porsche 911 that combines old-school charisma with ferocious modern performance.
stiffness, also bolting in a rear roll cage. The redesigned bumpers and engine lid – which incorporates a squared-off version of the classic 911 ducktail – are hand-made from fibreglass, while the thinner window glass comes from Porsche Motorsport.The993R also owes its tarmac-hugging stance to suspension parts from Porsche’s race car catalogue, combined with spidery 18-inch wheels from a 996 GT3 RS. Tractive Ace adaptive dampers offer five settings for firmness, adjusted via a knob beneath the dashboard. A Wavetrac limited-slip diff and bigger brakes from a 993 Carrera RS round off the chassisBehindmodifications.thebackaxle is a rather more potent flat-six than the 993 left Stuttgart with. A longer stroke stretches capacity from 3.6 to 3.8 litres, with lightened pistons and CLASSIC CARS AND CHAMPAGNE: SALON PRIVÉ IS BACK AT BLENHEIM PRICE: £400,000 POWER: 330HP TORQUE: 266LB FT 0-62MPH: 4.5SEC TOP SPEED: 170MPH KERB WEIGHT: 1,220KG PAUL STEPHENS 993R conrods, solid lifters, six throttle bodies and a 997 GT3 crankshaft and oil pump all working towards 330hp at a heady 7,400rpm. Want more? Paul Stephens offers a 360hp upgrade, or a 4.0-litre engine with close toStill,400hp.with only 1,220kg to shift –150kg less than the standard car –you really don’t need more. The 993R does without electric windows, central locking, a radio or even a glovebox lid, while the air-con is swapped
BY MOTORINGRESEARCH.COM FOR CITY A.M. MOTORING
Raducanu begins title defence today but other youths will fancy chances, writes Matt Hardy
CITYAM.COM18 TUESDAY 30 AUGUST 2022SPORT SPORT
UP AND RUNNING Murray wins first match in straight sets at US Open at 16pt Andy Murray began his US Open run yesterday with a straight sets victory over Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo. The Brit battled to win the first set 7-5 before toppling his 24-year-old opponent 6-3 6-3 in the second and third sets. “It felt like five sets to me,” Murray said after the win. “Very tricky conditions, very humid and hot but I was really happy the way I got through that one.” British No1’s Emma Raducanu and Cameron Norrie get their campaigns underway today.
RUNE Another looking to become the first teen male to win the US Open since Pete Sampras in 1990 is Holger Rune. The Danish 19-year-old reached his highest world ranking of 26 earlier this month and will be looking to progress beyond the first round in New York for the first time. In fact, the Dane from Charlottenlund’s only success in the first match of a Slam was at this year’s French Open, where he made the last eight. Most of his wins have come on the clay courts but he has picked up some good results on the hard surface, too, including on the Challenger Series late lastThoughyear. the chances of Raducanu retaining her title appear unlikely, there are plenty of youngsters at Flushing Meadows who will be eager to become the next teen showstopper. And if Raducanu’s run teaches us one thing it’s that anything is possible.
ALCARAZ Carlos Alcaraz launched himself onto the scene as one to watch this year, with the 19-year-old widely tipped to be Rafael Nadal’s successor on clay. The big-hitting Spaniard has already won an ATP Masters 1000 final this season on the hard surface in Miami. It is, though, uncertain as to whether the third seed can sustain a run to the title but he will be looking to progress beyond last year’s appearance in the last eight.
KRUEGER American 18-year-old Ashlyn Krueger may have been buoyed by Raducanu’s 6-0 6-2 win over Victoria Azarenka earlier this month because she is set to play the Belarusian in her opening matchWhiletonight.Azarenka remains a big-name seed in the draw, Krueger has nothing to lose against the 33-year-old double Grand Slam winner. She is the current holder of the junior doubles title at the US Open –which she won with Robin Montgomery – and could make a splash in this year’s singles competition.
T HE 142nd US Open got underway yesterday afternoon, when 256 singles players began to whittle themselves down in the hope of securing one of tennis’s most iconic trophies at the end of next week. The women’s draw will see Emma Raducanu look to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2014 to defend a title at Flushing Meadows, while no man has achieved the feat since Roger Federer in 2008. And though that statistic suggests that the odds stacked against the Brit, there’s no reason why we couldn’t see another teenager make history in New York this Raducanuyear.became the first winner at the US Open to come through the qualifiers last year – she didn’t drop a set on the way to her victory over fellow teen Leylah Fernandez in September 2021.Since that remarkable victory it has not been plain sailing for the Brit, who has had to overcome a series of coaching changes, injuries and early exits from Grand Slams. She has, though, become a highly sought-after marketing pawn, with the likes of HSBC, Tiffany’s and British Airways all signing up the Canada-born 19-year-old for business. Raducanu is due to start her campaign tonight against unseeded Alize Cornet in the Louis Armstrong Stadium and could find herself, should she progress sufficiently, in a quarterfinal against fourth seed Paula Badosa. But there are other teenagers dreaming of becoming the next Grand Slam winning sensation in New York’s Flushing Meadows.
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MICKEY MANTLE BASEBALL CARD SELLS FOR £10.8M £ A Mickey Mantle baseball card sold at auction yesterday for £10.8m to become the most valuable piece of sporting memorabilia to go under the hammer. The record surpassed the £7.1m fetched for Diego Maradona’s iconic ‘Hand of God’ Argentina shirt. The previous best price fetched for a sports card was £6.2m for a century-old T206 Honus Wagner card. Mantle was considered to be one of the best baseball switchhitters in history.
Raducanu faces Alize Cornet this evening
MAN UTD AGREE £80M DEAL FOR AJAX’S ANTONY £ Manchester United have reportedly agreed an £80m fee for Ajax winger Antony. The 22-year-old must be registered by tomorrow in order to be able to play for the Premier League club against Leicester on Thursday. If completed, the deal will take Manchester United’s summer spending to beyond £230m.
WEST HAM SIGN LUCAS PAQUETA FOR RECORD FEE £ West Ham United have confirmed the signing of Lyon midfielder Lucas Paqueta for a club-record £51m. The 24-year-old Brazilian becomes David Moyes’ eighth signing of the summer window and will wear the number 11 shirt as part of his five-year deal. “I hope it’s the beginning of an enjoyable journey,” Paqueta said.
TENNIS’ TEENAGE DREAMERS
KEATES, SING AND HARPER OUT OF RED ROSES SQUAD £ England women’s rugby head coach Simon Middleton has left Laura Keates, Emma Sing and Detysha Harper out of his 35-woman squad to face the USA as his side prepare for this year’s World Cup in New Zealand. Middleton insisted those players remain “in contention” for the travelling squad, who leave for the showpiece event next month.
With two wins including the Tour Championship and top-10 finishes at all of the majors, this is McIlroy’s best season since 2014. It’s extraordinary that it has been eight years since his last major win but I am sure there is so much more to come from him. Rory is a wonderful athlete, a great human being and I don’t think he has ever been better. He now seems to have so long until the next major. Scheffler, meanwhile, has also had an incredible year and winning the FedEx Cup would have been the icing on the cake. He will be disappointed not to have done that but has now got a great adversary in McIlroy.
EVERYTHING IN PLACE
19TUESDAY 30 AUGUST 2022 SPORTCITYAM.COM
Dutchman’s ninth Grand Prix win of season has given him and Red Bull championship stranglehold, writes Matt Hardy
BEENHASMCILROYNEVERBETTER
Da Silva strikes gold with PGA Seniors triumph
R ORY McIlroy’s FedEx Cup victory, clinched at the Tour Championship on Sunday, was the Northern Irishman at his very best. To bogey the first hole but still card a 66 that was enough to pip overnight leader and world No1 Scottie Scheffler was nothing short of magnificent. McIlroy himself remarked how proud he felt at that final round performance – strong words from someone so good, which tells you all you need to know. When he went to bed on Saturday night, having played so well all week but still trailing Scheffler by six shots, he would have known there was a glimmer of a chance. It all changed on the front nine, though, with McIlroy playing the first seven holes in three under par and Scheffler dropping three on the first six. Rory took it all in his stride. The four-time major winner didn’t hole a lot of putts but he did play some incredible golf. INSPIRED It was all the more remarkable considering that it came so soon after his huge disappointment at the Open Championship last month. He must have been so hurt by missing out at St Andrews, where he took 36 putts on his final round and had to watch Cameron Smith take the Claret JugButinstead.now he has become the first player to win the FedEx Cup three times and, in my opinion, is once again the best in the world. In fact I think he is getting better and better. His short irons are more controlled now and he is absolutely flying. I don’t want to overstate the effect of McIlroy flying the flag for the PGA Tour in its current tug of war with LIV Golf, but I think it has inspired him on some level. He has made no secret of his feelings about what is going on in world golf and it feels like there is an element of him wanting to show those involved in the rival series what they’re missing. The fact that he played the first two rounds at East Lake alongside Smith –rumoured to be the latest big player to
FRANK DALLERES BRAZILIAN Adilson Da Silva claimed his maiden title on the Legends Tour with an emphatic wire-to-wire victory at the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship.DaSilvatook a seven-shot lead into the final round and held off a challenge from former Ryder Cup player Joakim Haeggman to prevail by six strokes at Formby Golf Club onTheSunday.South Africa-based 50-yearold, a 12-time winner on the Sunshine Tour, has now secured a tour card for next year but admitted to having considered his future in golf only recently. “To be very honest about it, me and my wife sat down a couple of months ago and were considering opening a driving range, and that’s how things were going,” Da Silva said. “We had some tough times and I’m glad that we hung in there. She gave me quite a lot of support to try the Legends Tour and hang in there, so I was very fortunate.” Haeggman quickly emerged as the most likely challenger should Da Silva falter, and the Swede piled on the pressure with six birdies in his first eight holes. But a double bogey at the par four ninth, after Haeggman found sand off the tee and then two-putted, allowed the leader to stretch his advantage to four shots once again.
Da Silva closed out the win with a flourish, birdieing 17 and 18 for a round of 70 and a final score of 18 under par, that belied his private doubts.Haeggman’s 68 ensured he finished outright second on 12 under, four shots ahead of his compatriot Michael Jonzon and Italian Emanuele Canonica in a tie for third Englishmenplace.Simon Khan and Phillip Archer shared fifth with South African James Kingston a further shot back. In the Celebrity Series former footballer Robbie Fowler defended his title, narrowly beating exFormula One star Damon Hill. Verstappen has nine wins this season
TorranceSamCOMMENTGOLF
Sam Torrance OBE is a former Ryder Cupwinning captain and one of Europe’s most successful golfers. Follow him @torrancesam
Verstappen has one hand on second F1 title
His short irons are more controlled. He’s absolutely flying and I’m sure there’s much more to come
I N HIS ninth Formula 1 win of the season on Sunday in Belgium, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen moved ever closer to his second consecutive title in the world’s biggest motorsporting discipline. There was a sense, when the F1 circus headed to the historic track of Spa, that this might be the final time the paddock set up at the iconic venue, though it was later revealed that the 7km track would be used at least once more on next year’s calendar. And, almost as if the weekend’s race – the first since the summer break –was an audition for the future of the series in the country, the drivers performed, the fans turned up and defending champion Verstappen tightened his grip on the Drivers’ Championship.Thosewatching in the stands were maybe hoping for something of an exciting race when a mixture of grid penalties and qualifying saw Verstappen start the race down in 14th position with one-time title rival Charles Leclerc, but even that scenario didn’t stop the Dutch sensation from taking the race by storm. After Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton had clashed on the opening lap – with the Briton admitting guilt for not leaving the Spaniard enough space – the race opened up in the early laps but only seemed to help the Dutchman.Theearly dust from cars going wide caused Verstappen to rip off one of his visors – a regular occurrence, though unusual so early in a race – only for Leclerc to have to pit for having a visor stuck in his brake duct soon after. From that 14th position though, Verstappen had firmly taken the lead in just 18 laps and, from there, never looked like being caught. At times he was lapping around a second quicker than his teammate Sergio Perez, who finishedFerrari’ssecond.Carlos Sainz came in to seal third and limit the damage done to his team’s constructors’ tally but that was completely undone by yet another mistake from the Prancing Horse outfit. Leclerc’s garage brought in Leclerc late in the race to change onto the soft tyres and chase the fastest lap from fifth position. His Ferrari returned to the track only to be overtaken by Alonso, and despite Leclerc retaking the position and earning the lap time, the Monegasque driver was then penalised for speeding in the pit lane and was dropped to sixth – another example of Ferrari getting it Verstappenwrong.looked dominant, and he will have his second title – and the record of 13 wins in a season – in his sights in the coming rounds. But after last year’s drama, as he heads into his home Dutch Grand Prix this weekend, he will no doubt want the long procession towards Abu Dhabi to which winners in past seasons were treated.
