MAYOR PLEADS WITH TORY CANDIDATES TO DITCH “ANTI-LONDON AGENDA”
City Hall sources suggested that language in the deal around pensions, though softened from previous iterations of the deal, would most likely lead to further industrial action on the network.Despite the strings attached, Byford said it was a “good and fair” deal that allowed the network to move ahead withTransportconfidence”.secretary Grant Shapps said the settlement “more than delivers for Londoners” and that central government had “time and again shown our unwavering commitment to London”.
GORBACHEVMIKHAIL DEAD REPORTSLOCALPER P2
SADIQ KHAN last night urged the next Prime Minister to stop “playing London off against other parts of our country for political gain” as Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak go head-to-head in their final hustings in London this evening.
The TfL negotiations had become an emblem of an almost total breakdown in relations between City Hall and central government over recent years. Last night Khan told City A.M. that “Londoners have been badly let down by the most anti-London government in modern times,” saying that outgoing PM Boris Johnson’s administration had “scapegoated” the capital “as a source of all our country’s ills”. In a change of tone towards central government, the Mayor called on Truss and Sunak to “leave their party’s damaging anti-London agenda behind and to support London, our business community and our public services.”
LONDON’S BUSINESS NEWSPAPER INSIDE ENERGY CRISIS P3 RYANAIR FLYING HIGH P4 LIVE MUSIC’S ‘EXISTENTIAL THREAT’ P6 UK CINEMAS A BOX OFFICE FLOP P10 MARKETS P12 OPINION P14 SPORT P18 WEDNESDAY 31 AUGUST 2022 ISSUE 3,808 FREECITYAM.COM
The deal comes after two years of what TfL commissioner Andy Byford last night called “sticking plaster” funding packages. City A.M. understands that the Mayor and TfL knocked back a so-called ‘final’ deal from government three times before Byford was able to recommend the deal to the transport body’s board yesterday.
Old divisions must not rule our future and prevent us from seeing what works and what doesn’t.
THE CITY VIEW TIME TO MOVE ON GOVERNMENT FINALLY SIGNS FUNDING DEAL FOR TRANSPORT FOR LONDON
The Mayor of London’s comments came just hours after City Hall struck a deal with central government that guarantees funding for Transport for London until spring 2024 –ending fears of widespread bus and tube service cuts.
THAT the farcical fights over Transport for London have dragged on this long tells us everything we need to know about Westminster’s relationship with WhenLondon.BorisJohnson was elected it was a mandate of “levelling up” a victory which often made our capital city, and the south east in general, a useful political punching bag. But next Monday will spell a new dawn when the next leader of the Conservative Party is finally announced. All sides –including City Hall –must put aside the tensions which have characterised a relationship which could and should be beneficial to both sides. This evening, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will bring their hustings back to London and when they do so they must spell out exactly how they plan to reset the bonds between SW1 and City Hall –and demonstrate they understand the capital’s needs. First, there must be an emergency package for small businesses, from pubs and hairdressers to boutiques and theatres. All make the capital a global city –all are at risk from rising costs. At the other end of the scale, our financial services and fintech firms cannot wait any longer for post-Brexit reforms to be finalised and implemented. The anti-London rhetoric must also come to an end. London is the UK’s golden goose –but it has problems that cannot be ignored simply because they are happening here, not in Hull. When London succeeds, so does the UK. Finally, we must redefine what it means to “take back control” of our immigration system with more relaxed rules to keep the best talent coming to our shores.
London has grown and prospered off the back of industrious types from Hartlepool to Hyderabad, from Birmingham to Brisbane –and benefited the rest of the world in kind.
Reset of relations between City Hall and Whitehall vital for London –and the country
“THE NEXT PM MUST LEAD A GOVERNMENT THAT IS LESS DIVISIVE,” SAYS KHAN ANDYEXCLUSIVESILVESTER AND ILARIA GRASSO MACOLA
The transport deal will see TfL receive £1.2bn of base funding and will support almost £3.6bn worth of projects. City A.M. understands that City Hall and TfL managed to secure an additional £78m of funding as well as important concessions around capital expenditure. TfL’s funding gap remains in the region of £300bn and last night City A.M. that despite the “tenacious fight” over recent weeks there would be still be “tough choices ahead.” Khan yesterdaysaidthat fare rises and some service cuts were still possible.
Brits ‘batten down the hatches’ and step up savings to cope with looming bleak winter Falling petrol prices boost US confidence as vacancies rise
THE GUARDIAN ALL OF SOUTH-WEST OF ENGLAND IN DROUGHT, SAYS ENVIRONMENT AGENCY All of south-west England is in drought after some of the driest conditions in nearly 90 years, the Environment Agency has said. The move means 11 of the 14 Environment Agency areas in England are in drought.
THE FINANCIAL TIMES
Concerns over the rapidly declining strength of the UK economy have put heavy downward pressure on the pound, which yesterday dropped to its lowest level against the US dollar since the first Covid-19 lockdown in MarchLondon’s2020.FTSE 100 gave up early morning gains to close in the red. Yields on UK government gilts also surged, driven by investors pricing in more rate rises from the Bank and fleeing sterling-denominated assets on recession jitters. Yields and prices on bonds move inversely.
On an annual basis, credit card spending rose at the quickest pace since 2005. Overall consumer borrowing climbed £1.4bn over the last month.Consumers are seemingly diverting money that could have been used for non-essential spending to their savings accounts ahead of an 80 per cent jump in their energy bills in October. Household savings swelled £4.3bn over the last month, sending the total stock of savings in the UK up 0.2 per cent over the same period. Thomas Pugh, economist at consultancy RSM UK, said: “The reduction in borrowing and rise in saving in July, suggests that consumers are already battening down the hatches against what will almost certainly be an exceptionally tough winter.”
“In a scenario where gas prices remain elevated at current levels, we would expect the price cap to increase by over 80 per cent in January,” Goldman warned. Household consumption is expected to dip in response to this living standards shock, dealing a sharp blow to the health of the economy, Goldman added. Under those circum-
MIKHAIL GORBACHEV, 1931 –2022 Former Soviet Union president and Nobel Peace Prize winner, credited with ending the Cold War, Mikhail Gorbachev dies aged 91 Brace for more than 22 per cent inflation, Goldman Sachs warns
Goldman’s forecast underscores the scale of the challenge possibly facing current business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, who is anticipated to be Truss’s –the contest’s front-runner –pick for ElevatedChancellor.inflation will force Bank governor Andrew Bailey and the rest of the monetary policy committee to keep hiking interest rates rapidly despite the economic slump.
JACK BARNETT BRITS are “battening down the hatches” ahead of a tough winter marred by sky-high energy bills, economists warned yesterday. Households are cooling spending on credit cards and putting money aside in savings accounts to keep their finances intact to withstand a historic shock to their living standards. Brits spent £740m on credit cards last month, down from the £940m spent in June, according to data released by the Bank of England yesterday.
Rishi Sunak warned it would be “complacent and irresponsible” to ignore the risk of markets losing confidence in the British economy, as wagers against UK government debt sent short-term borrowing costs soaring,
“We continue to look for the BoE to hike by another 50 basis point in September and see upside risks to our expectation of 25 basis point hikes in November and December,” Goldman said. The Bank has already lifted rates six times in a row.
stances, the British economy would shrink 3.4 per cent “due to a larger hit to real disposable incomes,” the Wall Street titan added. The energy regulator Ofgem last week said household bills will jump 80 per cent in October to £3,549. Brits are set to absorb the worst hit to their living standards on record over the next 18 months or so due to rising prices eroding wage growth. Experts have warned without a further cost of living support package from Tory leadership hopefuls Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak after one of them enters Number 10 next Monday, millions will tip into fuel poverty.
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However, the huge build up of savings in Britain since the Covid-19 crisis indicates households may be able to cope with the historic shock to their spending“Households’power.balance sheets are still exceptionally strong, so we expect consumers to reduce their saving over the winter to offset some of the impact of the 80 per cent jump in energy prices that will take effect in October,” Pugh added.Softer demand prospects pushed confidence among London businesses down 14 points, Lloyds said today.
RISHI SUNAK WARNS OF RISK THAT MARKETS LOSE FAITH IN UK ECONOMY
THE WHISTLEBLOWER’STIMES CLAIMS CITED BY MUSK IN NEW PUSH TO HALT TWITTER DEAL Elon Musk has cited recent claims made by a Twitter whisteblower about the platform’s data privacy as further grounds to scrap his $44bn takeover.
Kwasi Kwarteng is tipped to enter enter Number 11
JACK BARNETT
OBITUARY Gorbachev,MIKHAIL who ended the Cold War inthedisintegratedUnion,the15autonomyaspirationsfuelledtheusingheEuropeacrossprotestsdemocracyWWII.Europethatthepowerswithanddealsarmspresident,lastGorbachev,lateofficialscitednewsageyesterdaySovietthefailedbloodshedwithoutbuttopreventcollapseoftheUnion,diedattheof91,Russianagencieshospitalassayinglastnight.theSovietforgedreductionwiththeUSpartnershipsWesterntoremoveIronCurtainhaddividedsinceWhenpro-sweptEasternin1989,refrainedfromforce,butprotestsforintherepublicsofSovietwhichovernexttwoyearschaoticfashion.
Falls in pump prices also drove down inflation expectations to seven per cent, down from 7.4 per cent.
A SHARP fall in US petrol prices has boosted confidence across the pond by much more than expected, a survey published yesterday revealed. Stateside consumer confidence jumped to 103.2 points this month, up from 95.3 points in July, according to the US Conference Board.Wall Street had expected the consumer confidence index to hit 98Gasolinepoints. prices have curbed from their historic highs, easing pressure on US consumers’ finances.
WHAT MORNINGSAYPAPERSOTHERTHETHIS
Filing an additional notice of termination, Musk’s lawyers pointed to allegations made by Peiter Zatko.
JACK BARNETT INFLATION could soar to the highest level since 1975 if gas prices do not fall from their historic highs, a Wall Street investment bank warned yesterday. The cost of living would climb to a peak of 22.4 per cent if the energy watchdog is forced to heap even more woe onto households by passing on elevated gas prices again in January, according to Goldman Sachs. The fresh warning adds to the string of experts warning the UK is set to tumble into a tough slump over the winter that may last for more than a year.Goldman also said in a note over the weekend that Britain will tip into a recession in the final months of this year and stay there until the beginning of 2024. Citigroup earlier this month said inflation is set to peak at nearly 19 per cent.The Bank of England has also warned the country is headed for the longest downturn since the financial crisis.
“Falling gas prices cheer[ed] consumers and push down inflation expectations,” Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Macroeconomics,Pantheonsaid.Separatedatapublished yesterday revealed the US jobs market is still running extremely hot despite the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates rapidly to tame worker demand and inflation.Firmstried to hire 11.24m staff in July, much higher than analysts’ forecasts of 10.36m openings.
Q&A
“As a result, the markets will calm and go down,” he said.
NICHOLAS EARL POORLY insulated households will see their energy bills rise over £700 more than energy users living in more efficient properties, according to new research from B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher published yesterday.
The UK has limited capabilities to store natural gas, and is currently scrambling to put the Rough storage site in the North Sea back online as soon as Germanpossible.economy minister Robert Habeck is confident Germany will not have to pay the high spot prices for gas currently commanding the market.
Oil and gas prices have spiked amid a Russian squeeze on gas supplies in retaliation to Western sanctions after its invasion of Ukraine. Woodside is now among the world’s top 10 independent oil and gas producers, following its recent merger with BHP’s petroleum arm.
03WEDNESDAY 31 AUGUST 2022 NEWSCITYAM.COMNICHOLASEARL
The research also revealed that while 60 per cent Brits said rising bills have made them more interested in energy efficiency, only 40 per cent knew their home’s EPC rating. It also found that rented properties are on average more energy efficient than owner-occupied homes, although 72 per cent of renters said they wanted their landlords to improve the efficiency of their homes. The government has invested £6.6bn in total this parliament to improve energy efficiency across the country. Last year, it unveiled the Heat and Buildings Strategy, setting out a decarbonisation plan for households alongside commercial, industrial and public sector buildings. However, installation rates have dropped sharply in the past decade from over 2m homes per year to just tens of thousands after former Prime Minister David Cameron slashed previous efficiency schemes, according to the Climate Change Committee. The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit said earlier this month that this will see £1.5bn wasted on higher energy bills in the next financial year alone.
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WOODSIDE Energy Group has handed out $2.1bn (£1.79bn) to shareholders following a five-fold increase in profits for the first six months of trading this year. The Australian gas producer unveiled an interim dividend of $1.09 per share, providing shareholders $2.1bn, more than triple last year’s pay-out and topping analysts’ forecasts.Itcomes amid monster earnings for the company, which have been powered by booming oil and gas prices and its takeover of BHP Group’s petroleumWoodsidearm.posted an underlying net profit after tax of $1.82bn for the six months to June 30, up from $354m 12 months prior.
Gas prices plunge as Germany closes in on its storage targets
The group compared potential hikes in households bills for houses with EPC ratings of D or below, compared to C and above –with A representing the most efficient households and F theHouseholdsleast. with a rating of D or below face an average energy bill increase of £1,730 per year in October compared to £982 per year with an EPC rating C or above. This is based on Ofgem’s announcement that the energy price cap will rise 80 per cent to an eye-watering £3,549 per year for average use.
NICHOLAS EARL GAS PRICES fell sharply yesterday amid reports Germany is on course to meet its gas storage targets for October. Prices dropped seven per cent on the Dutch benchmark and a whopping 31 per cent in the UK, with domestic investors relieved that Britain is likely to have one less competitor for supplies this winter.
Gas prices have plummeted despite Russian pressure on supplies. While the country’s President Vladimir Putin continues to retaliate against Western sanctions, Germany is in line to top up its storage to 85 per cent by October. Nathan Piper, head of oil and gas research at Investec, also argued that a key reason for the fall in gas prices was Europe “paying eye-watering prices” for liquefied natural gas (LNG) instead. He said: “We anticipate this is a pause for breath ahead of winter gas demand increasing for heating and increasing competition for LNG from Asia as winter starts there too.
WILL MARKETS STAY DOWN? Despite the drop in prices, there are headwinds which reflect the urgent nature of the crisis this winter. Kremlinbacked gas giant Gazprom has announced it will shut the Nord Stream 1 pipeline for three days from tomorrow to undertake maintenance of a pumping unit. This has raised fears of a sustained closure after the latest round of maintenance saw flows reduced from 40 to 20 per cent. Russia has claimed reduced flows are a consequence of technological problems caused by western sanctions. However, Gazprom has also slashed gas flows into France this week.
Putin has been accused of using using energy supplies as a weapon of war
Woodside Energy hands out $2.1bn to shareholders after huge rise in profits
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The result beat analysts’ estimates of around $1.49bn, according to Visible Alpha.
Poorly payhouseholdsinsulatedto£700more
Woodside is one of the world’s top 10 independent oil and gas producers
WHAT HAPPENED TO GAS PRICES?
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The payment part is just the start. Search Barclaycard Payments for offers now on.
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ON HIS COMPETITION... ON THE GOVERNMENT We are the UK's most reliable airline [and] that is not setting the bar very high, as we are competing with BA and Easyjet. Personally, I would get rid of people like Priti Patel, who certainly is not capable of controlling anybody's border [while] Grant Shapps will be no loss in the sector.transport
“While our recovery and growth are very strong, it is still very fragile and is prone to falling over in the face of adverseO’Learydevelopments.”calledforchanges to the UK’s visa system to address staff shortages.
Investor confidence at an all time low, Hargreaves Lansdown warns
Chris Hill, chief executive of the Bristol-based firm, which has over 1.7m customers, said investor confidence had plunged this year with markets in turmoil amid soaring inflation and the fallout of the war in“InvestorUkraine.confidence is really, really low – probably the lowest we have seen,” Hill told Business Live. Hill said the firm was “engaging with clients on the benefits of saving and investing over a long period of time.”“Ifyou are investing for the long term you shouldn’t be so concerned about the short-term volatility.”
RYANAIR chief executive Michael O’Leary yesterday said the airline will grow stronger amid the UK’s predicted recession.Thelow-cost carrier said that people will not stop travelling altogether, but they will shy away from more expensive fares put forward by waystradinglargerterday.conferenceporterssensitive,”will“Peoplecompetitors.inarecessiongetmuchmorepriceO’Learytoldre-duringapressinLondonyes-“WewillseeamuchnumberofpeopledownfromBritishAir-andEasyjet.”TomonetiseonBrits’appetite
ON HIS REPUTATION We were never pirates, we were always the good guys ON HIS FUTURE I have no thoughts on retirement, I have three teenage children, [no] four teenage children.
CHARLIE CONCHIE THE CHIEF of retail investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown yesterday warned that investor confidence was at an all time low as he encouraged Brits to shrug off the “short term volatility” that has rocked equity markets this year.
IN GOOD news for Madame Tussauds owner thisExperianpetitionwindingbeenTussauds,likewithLegolandAltonparkswhichThedebt.actionoptedExperianEntertainment,Merlinhasnottotakeoverasmalloperator,ownsthemesuchasTowersandalongattractionsMadamehadhitwithaupfromearliersummer.
“I do think the €10.99 or 9.99 really cheap fares will probably be gone for the next couple of year while we’re all dealing with this kind of much higher oil prices,” he added.
for cheap travel, Ryanair announced it was adding 21 routes to its UK winter schedule.“As we continue to grow and add capacity in the UK, our customers have over 440 exciting winter sun, ski and city break destinations to choose from,” he said.
According to the aviation executive, Ryanair will be insulated while the rest of the industry remains behind pre-pandemic traffic levels, at least until 2025. Nevertheless, Ryanair will no longer be able to offer €10 fares due to hiking oil prices.
Despite the difficult financial backdrop, Ryanair expects to come out on top also because it has hedged out its fuel costs until March next year at $64 per barrel – which is 40 per cent lower than current prices.
CITYAM.COM04 WEDNESDAY 31 AUGUST 2022NEWS
UNDER PRESSURE NO MORE Experian drops legal action against Madame Tussauds owner
Ryanair chief expects growth in tougher times
ILARIA GRASSO MACOLA
Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary
THE EVER-QUOTABLE O’LEARY The Ryanair boss was on good form in London yesterday –and wasn’t shy from an opinion or three...
IN BRIEF
“Although the economic outlook is increasingly uncertain, Bunzl’s business model has proven to be inherently resilient historically,” the group added.
05WEDNESDAY 31 AUGUST 2022 NEWSCITYAM.COM
Loosening capital rules for banks in so-called levelling up regions should also be near the top of the list for regulators, the group said, with the current framework acting as “regulatory chains” that prevented lenders being founded in underdeveloped areas. “It is almost as if the UK’s regulatory authorities would prefer to deal with a few behemoths rather than a competitive panoply of diverse institutions,” the group said. The report comes as ministers look to breathe new life into the UK’s financial services with the bill, which government is hoping to use to scrap EU-era rules, such as Solvency II, grant fresh powers to regulators and overhaul the framework governing the sector. when you 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 Netflix included
It comes after Sky News reported at the weekend that the high street behemoth had not received enough financial information to make a formal proposal, with questions raised about whether it would proceed with the deal at no less than 33p a share. A source told Sky News that there was “no way” Next would pay a premium to invest in the firm.
LEAH MONTEBELLO DAILY Mirror and Daily Express journalists are set to go on strike over pay today after talks with media group owner Reach broke down. More than 1150 journalists are expected to take part in the walkout, with Reach reportedly plugging the gap with content that has been centrally created.
Daily Mirror and Express set to go on strike after failed pay talks
Joules pushes back against rumoured Next snub for a £15m rescue deal
BUNZL Distribution and outsourcing group Bunzl upped its profitability outlook yesterday as it posted a jump in its half-year earnings thanks in part to price hikes to offset soaring costs. Bunzl posted a 12.4 per cent rise in underlying pre-tax profits to £380.5m for the six months to June 30, and revenues rose 16.1 per cent to £5.7 billion. On a reported basis, pre-tax profits rose 7.6 per cent to £296.6m. The group said: “We now expect the group operating margin in 2022 to be higher than historical levels and only slightly lower than that achieved in 2021.”
LEAH MONTEBELLO
Joules shares fell a further six per cent in early trading yesterday to 24p, rather pailing against the 254p it was trading at a year ago. Joules said that it would make further announcements when appropriate.
A “ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL” approach to regulating UK lenders has failed and watchdogs need to “break the chains” holding back the growth of challenger banks, a group of MPs said yesreport on the UK’s banking sector, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Challenger Banks and Building Societies argued that the UK’s upstart lenders had a key role to play in levelling up the UK but were being bogged down by overly burdensome rules.“The UK’s one-size-fits-all regulatory model for banks – challengers, building societies and institutions big and small isn’t working,” said Conservative MP Karen Bradley, chair of the cross-party group. “This is not being caused by the daytoday realities of the UK economy or recent events such as Covid but a deeper structural malaise.”
and
British lifestyle and fashion brand Joules is currently worth an estimated £27m
JOULES pushed back against reports that discussions with Next over a £15m rescue deal have soured. In a statement yesterday, the struggling retailer said: “The group continues positive discussions with Next Group Plc about both adopting its Total Platform services to support its long-term growth plans and a potential equity investment.”
‘Break chains’ of challenger bank rules, say MPs £100 prepaid Mastercard®
CHARLIE CONCHIE
Among a host of recommendations in the report, the group said ministers must leverage the new Financial Services and Markets Bill to scrap prescriptive rules in the sector and unleash a “new big bang”.
Earlier this month, Joules posted a profit warning, citing poor sales across key line items like raincoats and jumpers as a factor.
terday.Inanew
£100 Prepaid Mastercard with Sky Glass Offer : Ends 01/09/2022. Subject to availability. Available to new Sky Glass customers and existing Sky Q and Sky + customers only. Limited to one card per household. Prepaid Mastercard® will be sent up to 41 days after purchase and activation of Glass and TV subscription. Prepaid Mastercard® can be used wherever Mastercard® is accepted, except for ATM’s, cashback, currency, credit card payments, overdrafts, credit agreements, memberships or direct debit subscriptions or at petrol stations. Offer not for Sky group employees. Further terms apply, see https://www.sky.com/help/articles/mastercard. Sky Glass TV: Subject to status and credit check. £10 upfront fee. £13pm for 43” Sky Glass on a 48-month interest free loan. Sky TV subscription includes fast forward ads (£0pm for 12 months then £5pm). 31 -day rolling contract for Ultimate TV. Sky Glass requires Sky Ultimate TV subscription (consists of Sky Entertainment and Netflix basic). Netflix Basic Subscription RRP £5.99/month. Netflix Terms of Use apply. All content on Sky Glass is streamed via broadband, minimum speed of 10Mbps required. Check speed with your broadband provider. Third party subscriptions required for apps. Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos Pack required to watch Sky content in UHD/HDR and with Dolby Atmos – requires minimum broadband speed of 25Mbps. Not all content available in UHD and/or HDR. Content must be optimised to watch in Dolby Atmos. Separate terms and conditions apply to Sky Glass and Sky TV subscriptions. You own Sky Glass. Option to purchase Sky Glass without a loan. Available in five colours subject to availability. Colour speaker fascias sold separate at: 43” (£39.99); 55” (£49.99); 65” (£59.99) each. Selection of shows/ series available and varies each month. 18+. UK only. Sky Glass must be set up in Enhanced mode to use Voice to turn TV on from standby. Energy Efficiency rating: 43” Sky Glass TV has an energy efficiency rating of G on a scale of A-G. General: UK residential customers only. Email address required so we can keep in touch about your services. Calls to Sky cost 7ppm plus your provider’s access charge. Calls to Sky contact centres are free for Sky Talk customers. If you’re not with Sky Talk, calls to 03 numbers cost the same as calls to 01 or 02 numbers and are included in your calls package. If you don’t have a calls package, charges may apply, check your provider’s tariff guide. Correct at 18/08/2022. Further terms apply.
Reach publishes the Daily Star, Daily Record and other regional titles in the UK
Journalists cancelled a strike that was due to take place last Friday, with the firm bringing the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in for further negotiations during the bank holiday weekend.However, Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said these were “doomed to failure” as a result of Reach chief exec Jim Mullen’s unwillingness to “budge an inch”.
ROYAL MAIL Royal Mail workers are continuing walkouts today, in what the posties’ union has dubbed “the biggest strike in the UK since 2009”. The Communication Workers Union has said more than 115,000 postal staff will be striking over pay Walkoutstoday. began last week and there are another two strikes planned for September. The post service will not deliver any letters on walkout days, apart from those sent by special delivery. However, Royal Mail has said it cannot guarantee delivery of all items by 9am or 1pm next day.
Speaking to City A.M., the co-owner of Hackney-based Paper Dress Vintage Steve Dix said this represents “crisis upon crisis” for London gigs. Calling the cost of living crunch and energy crisis a “twin attack” on the pandemic-battered live music scene, he said venues like his own must resort to “energy saving measures”, without “scrimping on the important things” for music lovers.
BT oncallengineers,centrestaffstrikeagain
UK Music chief executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin has called on ministers to cut VAT from its current 20 per cent and extend business rate help to music hubs across the country. Based on a survey of its 941 venue members, the Music Venue Trust revealed venues face an average 316 per cent rise in fuel bills –taking the average fuel bill cost to £5,179 per month per venue, up from the current average of £1,245.
CITYAM.COM06 WEDNESDAY 31 AUGUST 2022NEWS
MICHIELEXCLUSIVEWILLEMS
LEAH MONTEBELLO THE MUSIC biz has warned that venues and studios are facing “existential threat” and could face closure without support in the energy crisis. While the government has promised to help domestic households hit by rocketing fuel bills, ministers are yet to offer any specific support to the music and leisure industries.
Grind CEO AbrahamovitchDavid
Fridays, but between Tuesdays and Thursdays revenues are up –and overall the firm is ahead of where it was in Despite2019.his bullishness about Grind, Abrahamovitch says it’s a “challenging economic climate” for businesses at the moment. “Supply chain issues have been really tricky for our coffee roasting business,” he“Shippingsaid. to Europe from the UK has been especially challenging. We supply Soho House (the private members’ club) all over the world, and shipping to their locations in Europe post-Brexit has been a nightmare.”Andlikemany small businesses, the growing cost of energy –which for commercial users is uncapped, unlike for domestic households –is increasingly featuring higher up Abrahamovitch, who founded Grind in 2011, said it was a “real problem for high street businesses everywhere. In some cases, electricity bills are now as much as 50 per cent of our rent –considering we are almost exclusively based in locations,prime...factoringthisintoourbudgethasbecomeamajorconsideration.”
Rise and Grind: Coffee chain on the up as it brews up a storm in the US
LONDON coffee and cocktail chain Grind has added a permanent site in Los Angeles to its stores in the capital, CEO David Abrahamovitch told City A.M. yesterday. Grind, well known to caffeinehungry City workers, is looking to add five sites in the capital as well as embarking on its first foray in the“WeStates.want to invest and grow aggressively,” Abrahamovitch said. Grind rode out the worst of pandemic-induced lockdowns with the success of its home-delivered coffeeAbrahamovitchpods. said that postCovid-19 working patterns had seen foot traffic fall on Mondays and
Live music faces existential threat amid energy crisis
OVER 30,000 BT Openreach engineers and 10,000 BT call centre workers are set to walk out again today over worker pay, as the summer of strikes continue for the FTSE 100 firm. The action comes off the back of a historic strike ballot by the Communication Workers Union (CWU) announced in late June, which opposed the flat-rate pay rise offered by BT. The union said the company’s offer of an extra £1,500 per year was a “dramatic real-terms pay cut” in the context of soaring inflation.
The coffee and cocktail chain has become a favourite for City breakfast meetings and now hopes to be a success in Los Angeles
CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: “We won’t have bosses using Swiss banks while workers are using food banks. BT Group workers are saying: enough is enough. They have serious determination to win, and are not going to stop until they are listened to.”
LEAH MONTEBELLO
RAPID delivery platform Gopuff intends to amp up its focus on the UK as it departs from Spain, in an endeavour to close in on profitability.TheUSstart-up is intending to slim its operations, a source familiar with the matter told Bloomberg onWhileMonday.no formal announcements have yet been made, City A.M. understands Gopuff will be ending its operations in Spain. Meanwhile, the UK is one of the platform’s fastest growing markets, with revenue swelling at a 30 per cent compound monthly rate, Bloomberg reported. Gopuff launched across the UK last November, after snapping up rival brands Fancy and Dija. Its Spanish operations were included in the acquisition of Dija. Gopuff, valued at $15bn (£12.9bn) last year, is one of the bigger players in the speedy grocery sector. However, the firm has experienced turmoil in recent months, cutting its headcount 10 per cent in July and closing dozens of warehouses.
Audit delays see suspendRevolutiontrading
The sorry state of affairs for the Kentbased firm has meant that online fashion giant Boohoo, which already sells the brand’s products, was able to up its stake in the company from around three per cent to 7.1 per cent at a relatively knock-off price earlier this month, cementing its spot as the firm’s fourth-largest shareholder.
CITYAM.COMLEAHMONTEBELLO
07WEDNESDAY 31 AUGUST 2022 NEWS
CHARLIE CONCHIE FAST fashion firm Boohoo has become the most shorted stock on the London Stock Exchange as investors bet that soaring inflation will ramp up costs and choke off consumer thisspendingyear.Around 8.22 per cent of Boohoo’s stock is now held short by ten
Revolution Beauty said it was now aiming to complete the audit “within a matter of weeks”, allowing shares to continue trading.
EMILY HAWKINS
Revolution Beauty’s London-listed shares were down over 86 per cent in the year to date yesterday.
Investors bet against Boohoo as inflation batters bottom line
investors, with Marble Bar Asset Management holding the largest 1.9 per cent short position against the firm, FCA data analysed by City A.M. shows.Investors have been piling into short positions –meaning they stand to profit from a fall in its share price –after it reported a collapse in profits to £7.8m in the year to February, down from £124.7m the previous year. pected to report a small adjusted ebitda loss for the six months to AugustExecutives31. warned revenue was likely to be hit as two of its key growth markets, Russia and Ukraine, continue to suffer from halted trading, negatively hitting annualised revenue by £9m.
REVOLUTION Beauty said it would halt trading of its ordinary shares this week after it failed to complete its audit ahead of deadline. In a statement posted yesterday, the British makeup seller said it would “not be in a position to publish its audited final results and annual report” and would therefore be suspending trade from 7:30 am tomorrow. It comes after the beauty firm, which has 15,000 stores worldwide, announced on 19 August that it did not expect to complete its audit ended 28 February 2022 by its set deadline today. Shares tumbled after the beauty company later confirmed that this delay was due to accounting issues, which could have a material impact on the 2022 results. The stock also faced a further setback after Revolution Beauty said it ex-
Speeder grocer Gopuff to bid adios to Spain
Boohoo fell out of investors’ favour after posting a huge drop in profits in February
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market announced yesterday it had fined Wise after finding it did not “establish and maintain adequate AML systems and controls” to ensure full compliance with its antimoney laundering obligations.
The City law firm employs over 200 lawyers, including 97 partners
Yorkshire Building Society picks Barclay’s Susan Allen as new CEO Wise hit in£308,000withfineAbuDhabi
Travers Smith managing partner Edmund Reed said the law firm had posted “resilient results” in the face of “the Brexit vote, the Covid pandemic [and] the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine”.
The regulator said that it had failed to track and verify the source of funds on customers it had identified as high risk, and failed to properly obtain the approval of senior management to establish business relationships with those customers.Thewatchdog said it did not find any incidences of money laundering resulting from the control failures.
courtstalledcrackdownbyrecordwaittimes
The penalty adds to the woes of Wise after it was announced that chief executive Kristo Kaarmann was under investigation from the Financial Conduct Authority after failing to pay a tax bill of £720,495 for the 2017-18 tax year.
The company’s order book increased 15 per cent to £42.7m, while cash flow from operating activities spiked 61 per cent to £20.5m.
Susan Allen will take over from interim CEO Alasdair Lenman early next year
Allen has more than 25 years of experience in financial services having held senior executive positions at a number of large retail banks in the UK. Previously, Allen was responsible for all of Santander’s UK retail and business banking businesses, supporting 15m customers, following her role as chief transformation officer.“Herskills and expertise will be of significant benefit to our members,” HeapsAllen’sadded.appointment is subject to regulatory approval.
The drop in the value of Travers Smith’s payouts comes as the City law firm saw its revenues increase five per cent to £195m over the same period of time. The centuries-old law firm failed to provide information on its overall profitability.
Travers Smith partners see payouts drop 10 per cent to sums of £1.1m
Braemar also announced yesterday that trading during the first five months of the financial year had been very strong, benefitting significantly from the strength of the US dollar.
“Wise will continue to invest in maintaining and improving our AML processes to the highest standards in partnership with regulators around the world,” a spokesman for Wise said.
NICHOLAS EARL YORKSHIRE Building Society has appointed Susan Allen as its new chiefAllenexecutive.willjoin the group from Barclays, where she currently works as head of customer transformation. She will take over from interim chief executive, Alasdair Lenman, early next year. John Heaps, chairman of Yorkshire Building Society, said he was “delighted” with the appointment.
How we reported on the criminal barristers’ strike
CITYAM.COM08 WEDNESDAY 31 AUGUST 2022LOUISNEWSGOSS
However, the uptick in value came as the total number of fraud cases being heard in the UK’s Criminal Justice system dropped 13 per cent, from 149 cases in the first half of 2021 to 129 cases in the same period this year, as major court backlogs stalled prosecutions. Instead, the value figures were bolstered by a spate of high-value frauds, that saw seven of the 129 fraud cases to reach the UK’s Crown Courts in the first half of 2022 valued at sums of between £10m and £50m. Another £266m case bolstered the figures. For comparison, there were no cases valued at Fraud
LOUIS GOSS PARTNERS at Silver Circle law firm Travers Smith have seen the value of their annual payouts drop by 10 per cent to sums of £1.1m. Travers Smith’s partners are set to receive payouts worth £1.105m for the financial year ending 30 June 2022, compared to sums of £1.22m in the previous financial year.
He said the case backlog, set to be made worse by the criminal barristers’ strike, means it “takes years for fraudsters to be prosecuted”.
He added that the record long wait times will mean any potential impacts of the UK government’s wider efforts to tackle the country’s fraud epidemic, including the £25m launch of the Public Sector Fraud Authority, will not be felt for years to come.“Itwill be some time before the impact of this initiative is felt,” Waligora said.
LONDON-LISTED money-transfer firm Wise has been slapped with $360,000 (£307,801) fine by Abu Dhabi regulators today after a series of failures in its anti-money laundering controls.
In its most recent round of promotions in May, the law firm promoted a record 11 lawyers to partner, compared to eight new partners in 2021. The law firm currently employs more than 200 lawyers, including 97Traverspartners.Smith this year confirmed plans to move from its current Farringdon headquarters to new 250,000 sq ft offices across the top nine floors of the 13-story tall Stonecutter Court tower.
The shipping services firm has seen a spike in its order book
CHARLIE CONCHIE
sums of more than £50m in 2021. The drop in the number of cases being heard by the UK’s Crown Courts comes as record court backlogs, of almost 60,000 cases, have caused average wait times for hearings to hit record highs of 251 days, Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figuresRoyshow.Waligora, head of UK investigations at KPMG, said the buildup of cases has meant “UK Crown Courts are struggling to make headway in prosecuting these criminals”.
NICHOLAS EARL BRAEMER Shipping Services has reported a hefty boost in profits, powered by rising revenues and a strong order book, as it looks to massively expand its operations. The international shipbroker also simplified its operations during the 12 months of trading up to February 2022, launching a new growth strategy centred on shipbroking and corporate finance. Its full year results reveal that the group enjoyed a 21 per cent rise in revenues from continuing operations to £101.3m, alongside a 31 per cent increase in underlying operating profits, which climbed to £10.1m from £7.7m last year.
Shipbroker Braemar boasts £100m revenues as trading remains strong
The drop in partner payouts marks the end of a period of fast-paced growth in the value of the firm’s top lawyers’ pay packages.
THE UK’s Crown Court backlog is stalling efforts to tackle the UK’s worsening fraud epidemic, according to new research from KPMG. The value of frauds worth more than £100,000 reaching the UK’s Crown Courts increased 288 per cent, from £137.4m in the first half of last year to £532.6m in the first half of 2022, as a series of multi-million-pound fraud cases bolstered the total sum, figures from KPMG’s fraud barometer show.
The deals mark a major expansion in the region for Cambridge-based Bango, which will see it add Tidal, Discovery and Paramount+ to its Japanese customer base and extend local partnerships with firms including Vodafone and Japanese investment giantBusinessSoftbank.secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the deal was a signal of the UK’s fintech strength, adding that ministers were looking to fuel the global growth of firms like Bango.
The Cambridge-headquartered firm’s new drug underwhelmed investors yesterday Astrazeneca shares drop after heart drug results underwhelm
“This may be because while major diseases have large markets, they also attract lots of competition, and even though Farxiga could be used more widely, it’s likely rivals will also offer treatment options.”
In outer London, 23 per cent of landlords said they planned to cut the number of properties they let, compared to 15 per cent in the previous quarter.
Bango, which provides payments services for ecommerce firms, is looking to bolster its presence in Japan and has separately inked a deal with Docomo’s parent company to provide payments services in Japan for firms including Telefónica and Deutsche Telecom.
It comes as prospective tenants are battling masses of competition for a London postcode, with the number of house-hunters outnumbering places on the market. Tenants are facing cancelled viewings, bidding wars and inflated rents. There have been calls for the government to issue more financial support for households amid the cost of living crisis. The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has pointed the finger of blame at the government restricting mortgage interest relief for landlords and called for the stamp duty levy on additional properties to be lifted. Slashing the supply of rental housing had been “a nonsense”, Richard Blanco, London spokesperson for the NRLA said yesterday.
“This acquisition only further builds on the UK’s reputation as a global centre for fintech, and we will continue to create an environment where innovative businesses can expand at scale, boosting jobs and our economy,” Kwarteng said Bango said the deal would deliver a $5m boost to revenues.
“Investors appear to have been underwhelmed by the update on Farxiga despite the diabetes drug showing it has the potential to treat a bigger pool of patients than previously indicated,” Susannah Streeter, chief market analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, told City A.M.
MILLIE TURNER ASTRAZENECA’s share price dipped into the red yesterday, with investors “underwhelmed” by its diabetes and heart failure drug Farxiga.Astrazeneca revealed yesterday that Farxiga “significantly” lowers the risk of death in patients with heart failure. But the firm’s share price fell 1.92 per cent to 11,146p per share by close yesterday.
BACB will be hosting other participants as part of the City Giving Day quiz at our offices in Mansion House Place. Our Head of Marketing & Communications Peter Hampson will also be visiting some of the City’s historic churches to ring the bells in celebration of the day.
Jo Creed, Employee Volunteering
CHARLIE CONCHIE
EMILY HAWKINS THE SUPPLY of rental properties in the capital is set to plummet even further over the next year, worrying new data has revealed. Some 17 per cent of landlords in central London said they intended to slash the number of properties they let in the next 12 months, according to figures from consultancy BVABDRC from the second quarter. Just six per cent said this in the first quarter of the year.
CitySupportingGiving Day 27 SEPT 2022
UK’s Bango inks $4m deal for Docomo Digital
How will you celebrate City Giving Day?
UK vet firm
CHARITIES IN FOCUS “The team at BACB has built a varied calendar of volunteering activities, and through our work with the Bank we’ve been impressed by the dedication of their volunteers. They build a real connection with the charitable causes they support, often returning to help out year after year.”
Which charities do you support?
09WEDNESDAY 31 AUGUST 2022 NEWSCITYAM.COM
London rental supply set to plummet further
Working with Employee Volunteering, throughout the year we help local charities and grassroots organisations in a variety of volunteering days, and the engagement from our colleagues is always fantastic. This volunteering work, combined with our support of City Giving Day, is a great opportunity to strengthen bonds both internally among teams, but also within the communities we serve.
VETERINARY pharmaceutical firm Dechra has splashed more than £220m on American medicine manufacturer Med-Pharmex.Thepurchase of Med-Pharmex, which has been a long-term acquisition target for Dechra, is expected to bolster the UK firm’s manufacturing facilities in North America and provide “attractive financial returns”. The deal will be funded from existing debt resources, London-listed Dechra said in a statement yesterday, having hinted at an upcoming deal in late July. Dechra wrapped up a £180m share placing just last month, which intended to diversify Dechra’s sources of capital and repay debt on its revolving creditInvestorsfacility.were keen on the move, sending shares up 3.7 per cent to 3,568p per share byThemid-afternoon.company’sshare price, however, has been trending down, falling some 25 per cent since the start of this year.Med-Pharmex generated £36m in revenue last year, mostly from white label products sold through distributors, some of which Dechra plans to bring in-house and sell through its own sales and marketing channels. “I am delighted that we have completed the acquisition of Med-Pharmex, a company that I have been in dialogue with for a number of years,” CEO Ian Page“Thesaid.US market is highly consolidated, therefore this is a unique opportunity to add several new products to our portfolio,” he added. In Dechra’s latest trading update in mid-July, Page said the group had been “outperforming” the market in North America, where revenue grew around a quarter in the year to 30 June, in comparison with some eight per cent of growth inTheEurope.veterinary pharmaceutical group also completed another acquisition of US healthcare firm Piedmont for £175m in July, which brings two products under Dechra’s wing which are expected to launch between 2024 and 2025, with an expected peak sales potential of at least £34m. The US is currently the world’s largest animal health market.
“Acquiring Docomo Digital strengthens our position as a world leader in data-driven commerce,” Bango boss Paul Larbey said. Shares closed 20 per cent up.
MILLIE TURNER
UK PAYMENTS firm Bango, which powers Netflix and Britbox, has snapped up Japanese firm Docomo Digital in a deal worth $4m (£3.4m).
Why are you supporting City Giving Day?
inMed-Pharmexbuys£220mdeal
BACB’s participation in the City Giving Day 2022 is just one facet of our year-long volunteering programme. This year, we will be supporting the Lord Mayor’s Appeal and giving back to the communities closest to us.
Tenants have faced bidding wars and sky-high rents as the supply of rental properties in London is due to plunge even lower
Sign up now to get involved in City Giving Day.
ShakespeareStephanA FTERaccumulating billions in debt during the pandemic, Cineworld recently announced that it was considering filing for bankruptcy in the US. Whether we blame the company’s boardroom, the absence of new releases, or the narrowing window of theatrical exclusivity in cinemas, data from YouGov BrandIndex shows that the chain isn’t alone in its post-Covid struggles.Looking at Current Customer scores (which measure whether people have visited a cinema in the past six months) for Cineworld, Vue and Odeon reveals the extent of these difficulties.Goingback to 23 March 2020 (the day the first nationwide lockdown was announced) shows that Cineworld’s scores were at 12.7, Vue’s were at 12.0 and
YouGov BrandIndex: Have you used or visited any of the followingbrands in the past (12 Indoor cinemas under restrictionsCOVID-19-andwon’tpermanentlyreopenforfourteenmonths
WITH the new academic year upon us, Croydon’s The Brit School is celebrating 30 years of churning out some of the world’s top talent and pumping millions into the UK economy. Boasting alumni like Amy Winehouse and Adele, the iconic school has produced some of the best of British talent. and streamed equivalents since formation.Theschool also has 50 former pupils currently performing in London’s WestFoundedEnd. in 1991, the Brit School was loosely inspired by the musical Fame, forming a rough blueprint for what a
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ROYAL WELCOME Legoland Windsor welcomes new neighbours the Cambridges
LEGOLAND Windsor is celebrating the arrival of its new royal neighbours with mini Lego figure additions of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their family. The C Kensingtonmoveannouncedambridgestheirfrom Palace to the Windsor Estate last week.
CHARLIE CONCHIE A TIGHT labour market is threatening to choke off growth at UK firms this year as bosses struggle to attract and retain staff, a new survey has revealed. Some 69 per cent of chief executives said the availability of talent and skills was the most pressing threat facing their firm over the next 12-18 months, according to a survey from leadership advisory firm Russell Reynolds.Thefindings come after the number of job vacancies rose to a new record of 1.3m in the period between March and May, an increase of 20,000 from the previous quarter and a jump of 503,900 from the pre-pandemic level in January to March 2020. The availability of talent was cited as a bigger threat to business than geopolitical instability, which 50 per cent of chiefs said was their main concern, while uncertain economic growth was ranked as the primary threat facing business.
Odeon’s were at 11.5. On 16 May 2021 –just before the second lockdown’s restrictions on indoor cinemas were lifted – scores were at 0.7, 0.5 and 0.9 respectively. But while each chain has seen some recovery from the lockdown doldrums as of 1 August 2022, none has returned to its pre-pandemic heights. Cineworld’s Current Customer scores (8.8) now underperform those of Vue (9.4); Odeon’s are even worse (7.7). Comparing YouGov Profiles data from before the first lockdown and from August 2022 shows that people are visiting less – and spending less money – at cinemas. On 22 March 2020, 33 per cent of Britons said they had spent money to watch a new release at the cinema in the previous three months – with 57 per cent saying they had not. By 21 August 2022, 19 per cent had spent money to watch a new release, while the proportion who had not rose to 70 per cent. Those who are spending are spending less. In 2020, 17 per cent of Britons paid £20 or more during these cinema visits; by August 2022, this fell to 10 per cent. Is the pandemic responsible for changing filmgoing habits, or did it merely accelerate pre- existing trends? Whatever the answer, the unfolding story of the post-Covid cinema industry may be a horror movie unto itself. £ Stephan Shakespeare is CEO of YouGov
LOUIS GOSS
GENERALI has completed its acquisition of Axa’s Malaysia operations. The deal will see the Italian insurer buy Axa’s stakes in its two Malaysian joint venture operations – Axa Affin General Insurance and Axa Affin Life Insurance – for a combined sum of €150m (£131m).
Generali snaps up Axa’s Malaysian insurance businesses in £130m deal
Tight tomarketlabourathreatUKbusiness
week moving average) HOW THE PANDEMIC IMPACTED CINEMA VISITS ACROSS THREE MAJOR CHAINS 2018 11 August 2017 - 1 August 2022 12101424860 20202019 2021 2022 Odeon Cineworld Vue March 2020 - May 2021:
Alongside the Axa deal, Generali completed a deal to take full control over its Malaysia joint venture, MPI Generali Insurans Berhad, after buying out its Malaysian joint venture partner. The deals, which will see Generali enter Malaysia’s life-insurance market as one of the country’s largest insurers, sit in line with the Trieste firm’s plans to strengthen its position in “high potential” Asian markets. Generali’s growth strategy is set to see the firm invest €2.5-€3bn into buying up stakes in Asian and EuropeanGeneraliinsurers.saiditwill merge the Malaysian businesses into a single, unified entity, Generali Malaysia, by 2023.
Blockbusted: Britain’s ailing cinema scene makes for poor
The Confederation of British Industry in July warned that labour shortages threatened to stymie growth in the UK and called on ministers to work with the private sector to soften the impact of staff shortages.
CITYAM.COM10 WEDNESDAY 31 AUGUST 2022NEWS
six months?
Speaking to City A.M., chair of the Brit Trust Tony Wadsworth said that the Selhurst-based school has “consistently punched above its weight” in producing not just world-renowned artists and actors, but creators that operate behind theThecameras.BritSchool’s success is great news sector at large; an industry that is growing at twice the rate of the wider economy and now worth £111.7bn. Despite the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the creative industries still accounted for 6.9 per cent of all UK jobs in September 2021, up from 5.8 per cent in 2015, according to DCMS data.
Brit: School behind Adele turns 30
viewing
UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Russian soldiers to flee for their lives after his forces launched an offensive to retake southern Ukraine, but Moscow said it had repulsed the attack and inflicted heavy losses on Kyiv’s troops. Ukraine said on Monday its ground forces had gone on the offensive in the south for the first time after a long period of striking Russian supply lines, in particular bridges across the strategically-important River Dnipro, and ammunition dumps. “If they want to survive, it’s time for the Russian military to run away. Go home,” Zelensky said in a late night address.
Metropolises from the southern tech hub of Shenzhen to southwestern Chengdu and the northeastern port of Dalian ordered measures such as lockdowns in big districts and business closures aimed at stamping out fresh outbreaks.
Reuters
Oleksiy Arestovych, a senior Ukrainian presidential adviser, said Russian defences in the Kherson region had been “broken through in a few hours”. It was unclear which line of Russian defence, of which there are many, he was referring to.
Here we go again? Tougher Covid-19 curbs hit host of major Chinese cities
LOUIS GOSS THE CHINESE government is using state-backed hackers to launch cyberattacks against energy projects in the South China Sea, according to new research from cybersecurity firm Proofpoint and consulting firm PwC. Hacking group Red Ladon, also known as TA423, is using a simple phishing scam to attack politically significant targets in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, including defence contractors, infrastructure companies and law firms involved in diplomatic disputes. The scam sees victims lured in by fake news websites and infected with malicious software.
The Scanbox software gives hackers information about potential security flaws in their target’s systems. From April to June 2022, Red Ladon used emails pretending to be Australian news outlets to target companies involved in maintaining a wind farm in the South China Sea. Red Ladon has used similar tactics on companies working on the Kasawari Gas Project.
11WEDNESDAY 31 AUGUST 2022 NEWSCITYAM.COM Reuters CITY A.M. REPORTERS
“Ukraine is taking back its own (land),” he said, adding that he would not disclose Kyiv’s battle plans. In response, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said yesterday that Russia was methodically pressing on with its plans in Ukraine, adding: “All of our goals will be reached.”
Ukraine
China’s ‘zero-Covid’ policy has led to slow economic growth in the east Asian nation Ukraine claims progress in a counter-attacklong-awaited
While many of the measures are initially planned to run just a few days, any major escalation or extension in some of China’s biggest cities risks further hurting already tepidWhilegrowth.thetwo most populous cities of Beijing and Shanghai have faced only sporadic cases recently, Covid-19 worries still weighed on Chinese“Marketsstocks.could once again be hit in the next couple of weeks, likely triggering another round of cuts by economists on the street,” Nomura warned in a note, highlighting the significance of cities such as Shenzhen, also a major port.
BUY BUY BAE MoD close to splashing cash on five new frigates
ROXANNE LIU SEVERAL of China’s biggest cities imposed tougher Covid-19 curbs yesterday, further crimping the activities of tens of millions, and sparking fresh concerns for the health of a barely growing economy.
The new Ukrainian offensive comes
southernprogressclaimsinnewattack
The latest curbs, which will delay the start of the school year for some, reflect China’s strict adherence to a “dynamic Covid zero” policy of quashing every flare-up. That insistence makes it an outlier as the rest of the world tries to live with coronavirus despite the cost to the world’s second-largest economy.
Chinese hackers use phishing scam to hit South China Sea energy assets
Hacking presents a new battlefield for businesses and governments to deal with after several weeks of relative stalemate in a war that has killed thousands, displaced millions, destroyed cities and fuelled a global energy and food crisis amid unprecedented Western economic sanctions on Russia. Russia captured swathes of southern Ukraine near the Black Sea coast in the early weeks of the war, including in the Kherson region which lies north of the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula. Ukraine, now armed with regionweapons,Western-suppliedsophisticatedseesretakingtheascrucialtopreventRussian attempts to seize more territory further to the west that could eventually cut off its access to the Black Sea.
THE UK is reportedly closing in on the purchase of five new frigates from UK manufacturer BAE Systems. Sir Simon Lister, the managing director of the company’s naval ships business, told the Telegraph that the firm was in the “final phase” of negotiations over the sale of the Type 26 frigates. The firm is already building three for the MoD in Glasgow.
FLATFAIR Rental tech firm Flatfair has bolstered its C-suite with a new co-CEO to oversee strategy and finance. Ex-Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas lead Francois Tual was previously chief capital officer digital mortgage broker Habito.
Reporting to president and chief operating officer Marc Ferrentino, Reiss brings more than 20 years’ experience.
aggressively.nothingdamaging:towhichwithoutunappealingequallyoptions,knowingoneislikelybetheleastdoorhike
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P 30 Aug26 Aug25 Aug24 Aug23 ANGLOAug PACIFIC GROUP30Aug 160 156 162 161 157 158 159
Cassullo was previously head of UK at Broadway Malyan for two years, where she led a team of 130 architects.“Laura’sblend of residential and hospitality experience means she is well positioned to support us in our focus on the UK living sectors, as housing increasingly borrows from hotels and vice versa,” founder Jo Cowen said.
P 30 Aug26 Aug25 Aug24 Aug23 KIERAugGROUP 30 Aug 72.1
London FTSE 100-listed miners Antofagasta and Fresnillo lost more than five per cent apiece, dragged down by tumbling commodity prices.
YEXT New York-listed Yext has built out its London office with a technology marketing veteran with a chief marketing officer.
To appear in CITYMOVES please email your career updates and pictures to citymoves@cityam.com CITY DASHBOARD
Peel Hunt gave the natural resources royalty and streaming firm Anglo Pacific a Buy recommendation yesterday. Following a solid set of results last week, brokers increased its 2022 and 2023 ebitda, with the changes to Kestrel as the “main driver” for this. The company notably reported a record contribution in the first half of the year. Peel Hunt upped its target price from a 225p to 230p.
JO COWEN ARCHITECTS Chelsea-based residential architecture practice Jo Cowen Architects, which works with Berkeley Homes, has appointed a strategic director. Stepping into the newly created role is Laura Cassullo, who has overseen the 910home scheme by Brentford Football Club Community Stadium – one of the UK’s first build-to-rent projects.
L ONDON’s FTSE 100 yesterday initially batted away fears of a tough recession in the UK, before giving up gains later in the day. The capital’s premier index fell 0.88 per cent to 7,361.63 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, shed 0.1 per cent to dip to 19,149.65 points. During early exchanges, both indexes bumped into positive territory.Soaring inflation driven by unprecedented rises in wholesale gas prices is likely to tip Britain into a prolonged slump. Energy regulator Ofgem last week said bills will rise 80 per cent in October, squeezing household incomes and possibly sending inflation to near 20 per cent, some economists have warned. “Companies and households are waitFTSE gives up early gains as investors fret over looming slump 160 Peel Hunt gave Kier a Buy rating yesterday, noting that it was “well positioned to deliver long-term growth and a sustainable dividend”. Brokers said that the construction firm’s July update confirmed another period of successful delivery, thanks to order book growth, as well as the potential for shareholder returns. Peel Hunt retained the stock target price of 200p. To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com 68.50 72.50 69.50 70.00 70.50 71.00 ing for some radical solutions, before a winter of woe sets in with warnings coming thick and fast that businesses, particularly in the bar and pub industry will go to the wall without significant support,” Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said. Fears of a tough recession put strong downward pressure on the pound, which yesterday briefly tumbled to the lowest level against the US dollar since the first Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020. Yields on UK government debt pushed higher, caused by investors ditching sterling-denominated assets and pouring in dollarbased assets to capitalise on the Federal Reserve’s rapid rate hike cycle.
“Raianne is a seasoned marketing leader,” said Ferrentino. “Raianne brings a passion not only for marketing, but also a strong track record of building high-performing teams and cultures that attract, develop, and retain top talent. We are excited to welcome her to the team.”
LONDON REPORT BEST OF THE BROKERS
Tual will join co-CEO of business operations Gary Wright and chief technical officer Bartosz Alksinin to grow the business. Meanwhile, co-founder Franz Doerr will step down as a director. “Francois joins us at a truly exciting time for the business,” said Wright. “It’s been a record year of results for new signings and revenue, and his financial expertise will prove instrumental in building on these successes.”
Having dithered for so long when it came to the dangers that inflation would not be transitory, central banks are now faced with two
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Raianne Reiss previously worked at Amazon Web Services, where she was head of Americas marketing.
MARKETSCMCHEWSON,MICHAEL
OdellSusannah
the forecast of 510,000 deaths made in March 2020 by the Imperial College team was based around a code written well over a decade ago, for a model designed to predict the much better understood disease of flu. The Blackett review also stresses the need to convey very clearly to policy makers the assumptions underlying any model-based prediction. Throughout, the epidemiologists assumed that the public would not change their behaviour in light of the pandemic - the one assumption which was certain to be wrong. And the assumption does not seem to have been made transparent to the cabinet at the time. Why did Vallance not ensure that the epidemiological modellers met the scientific guidelines published by his own department? This, and more, need to be added to the list of questions which Rishi Sunak has posed of the government's chief scientist during the pandemic.
Nadine Dorries was one of the main drivers behind the Online Safety Bill under the outgoing government
O’SULLIVAN
First, tighter and proportionate definitions of harm are needed to ensure services with low risk or reach don’t face disproportionate compliance burdens. Lack of specificity also increases barriers to entry for smaller businesses, which could have a chilling effect on the UK’s digitalThresholdseconomy.for removing online content must be unambiguous, to avoid overzealous removal of online material. Firms should not be required to proactively monitor all content online; this is not proportionate, feasible or desirable from a privacy perspective. Otherwise, firms run the risk of overcompensating, potentially infringing individuals’ freedom of expression and lived experiences of the most vulnerable.Imagine a scenario when a user recounts a traumatic experience, but the algorithm is unable to determine the context, thus removing content not intended to cause harm but to raise awareness in the public interest.
Online safety rules for tech firms must encourage - not restrict - future growth
WIKILEAKS 2.0 Someone did some very clumsy scrubbing of Kwasi Kwarteng’s support of Owen Paterson yesterday, editing his Wikipedia page from an IP address in Parliament. The reference to his support for Paterson was added back inwith a deletetriedsomeonesayingnotetoit
AST week, Rishi Sunak rehashed old wounds and stirred up more controversy over lockdowns during the height of the pandemic. The former Chancellor now says scientists were given too much power, where policy choices should have rested with those elected policy makers known as our leaders. Unlike most other government policies, there was little cost-benefit analysis done. This is not for lack of information - there were a handful of distinguished economists publishing this analysis of lockdowns. Bob Rowthorn, former head of the Cambridge economics department, was one. David Miles of Imperial, former member of the Monetary Policy Committee and now a member of the Office for Budget Responsibility, wasTheiranother.conclusions were unequivocal. The economic costs of lockdown far exceeded the benefits. We might reasonably wonder why the then-Chancellor did not raise these reports with his colleagues or instruct the Treasury to carry out its own costbenefitNonetheless,analysis.Sunak’s refocusing of how we examine lockdowns in hindsight should be integral to the inquiry. When it was initially set up, many supposed it would be to discover whether the government had been tardy in imposing lockdown - not on whether lockdown was justified. A particular issue raised by Sunak is the role played by Sir Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser to the government during the pandemic. Vallance now faces questions over how dissent raised in meetings was handled - and if, as Sunak alleges, any criticism of lockdowns was left out of minutes given to ministers making decisions.
Our scientists were given responsibility in the pandemic but no public accountability
OrmerodPaul
CITYAM.COM14 WEDNESDAY 31 AUGUST 2022EDITEDOPINIONBYSASCHA
£ Paul Ormerod is an author and economist at Volterra LLP
The Online Safety Bill has the potential to impact more than 25,000 organisations, across all sectors of the economy including technology, travel, SMEs and retailers hosting online forums, within the UK’s digital economy worth $1tn. Tech roles now make up 14 per cent of all job opportunities in the UK. So, while protecting the vulnerable from harm is paramount, we’re all too aware of the importance of a strong economy for a healthy society. New regulation must be carefully crafted to achieve the twin ambitions of online safety and promoting UK growth and innovation in the long term.
The projections of the number of cases and deaths made by the epidemiologists were in general grossly overpessimistic. One figure presented by Vallance - that deaths could rise to 4,000 a day - was judged to be so implausible that it earned a rebuke from the official statistics watchdog, the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA). The epidemiologists reporting to Vallance do not seem to have been required to follow the guidelines on computational modelling issued by the body which Vallance himself headed - the Government Office for Science.Blackett Reviews are expert-led, independent studies designed to inform policymakers across the whole of government about scientific and technological questions. In 2018, the year Vallance took over GoS, the body published a 100 page Blackett Review on computational modelling – the activity epidemiologists relied on. A key point made in the report is that models designed for one purpose may not always be suitable for another. Yet
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Third, the government and Ofcom, the media regulator, can help businesses by establishing a phased implementation plan looking at the highest risks and harms first; for example, by defining priorities to support companies adapting to new rules. Get it right, and the Online Safety Bill can make the UK a global leader - not an outlier - on digital security while supporting economic growth.
The government has an opportunity to create pro-innovation, pro-investment and therefore pro-growth worldwide industry standards on how to improve online safety. The business community will embrace technically feasible, proportionate and future-focussed regulation. Our plea to whomever is responsible in the next government is to work with industry to get the details right so users, society and the economy can benefit.
Presently, the proposed laws risk creating uncertainty and deterring investment, by failing to provide muchneeded clarity. In order to be successful, new rules must clearly define which services and firms are within scope, what content is considered harmful and justifies action.
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AKING ends meet will be a challenge for everyone and will be weighing heavily on the minds of families, businesses and policymakers right now. Immediate help must be the priority. But as the UK enters a period of stagflation those charged with the stewardship of the UK economy must also take a long-term view delivering sustainable growth. This is the only way we can stabilise the economy, promote productivity and raise living standards.Todoso, we must fix the foundations for growth. We need smarter taxation to unlock investment, a workforce fit for the future, catalytic public investment, and – crucially – reforming regulation in favour of investment and innovation. The UK has a strong, proven track record in this area - just consider the extraordinary achievements of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Engagement with industry alongside a rigorous, risk-based approach made it possible. Game-changing, life-saving, innovation was delivered at pace. Cue the Online Safety Bill. This autumn, parliament will be taking the enormous responsibility of setting the regulatory guardrails to help keep people – particularly those most vulnerable - safe online. Businesses wholeheartedly back the ambition of the Online Safety Bill, and are alive to the role they need to play. Last year, global technology companies reported more than 29 million suspected cases of child sexual abuse material on their platforms to law enforcers and they are investing in new technology to quicken their ability to identify and remove harmful content. Yet there is recognition, given the scale and severity of the challenge, that new legislation can both clarify definitions of harm and clearly set out expectations and responsibilities to help keep people safe online.
£ Susannah Odell is deputy director of digital at the CBI
ChristieSarah
St Magnus House, 3 Lower Thames Street, London, EC3R 6HD Tel: 020 3201 8900 Email: news@cityam.com Printed by Iliffe Print Cambridge Ltd., Winship Road, Milton, Cambridge, CB24 6PP Our terms and conditions for external contributors can be viewed cityam.com/terms-conditionsatDistribution helpline If you have any comments about the distribution of City A.M. please ring 0203 201 8900, or email distribution@cityam.com Editorial Editor Andy Silvester | News Editor Ben Lucas Comment & Features Editor Sascha O’Sullivan Lifestyle Editor Steve Dinneen | Sports Editor Frank Dalleres Creative Director Billy Breton | Digital Editor Michiel Willems Commercial Sales Director Jeremy Slattery 15WEDNESDAY 31 AUGUST 2022 OPINIONCITYAM.COM
Recognising the gap in the market, and eager to find new sources of income streams, institutional investors such as pension funds and insurers are increasingly funding homes built specifically forManyrenters.ofthese new homes are managed by branded operators with names like Fizzy Living, Moda, or Uncle - the kind you would expect more from a consumer goods company than a real estate business. Most of these build-to-rent homes come with onsite amenities like gyms and co-working spaces. In this sense Flow, from what little we know, is not a wholly revolutionary concept. Even John Lewis is planning to build thousands of rental homes. In the US, branded purpose-built apartment blocks have been around for decades and are a key part of institutional investors' real estate portfolios. In the UK, these kinds of apartment complexes have only just started to take off. There are some 240,000 homes of this kind open, under construction or in planning state according to the latest data from the British Property Federation and Savills. Almost 100,000 of those are in ThereLondon.isafalse narrative that everyone renting is doing so because they can’t buy a home. Young professionals, for example, who don’t want to be tied down will rent out of choice. With many buyto-let landlords considering selling up thanks to a raft of regulatory and tax changes, build-to-rent homes will provide much needed supply and a higher quality alternative for consumers. Whether Flow becomes a household name or lives up to its lofty ambitions to “solve the housing crisis” remains to be seen. But these firms, at least, will be able to provide a level of consistency instead of luck-of-the-draw private landlords, and restore a sense of trust in the industry.
I urge you to look below the public narrative. We need to electrify everything as fast as possible. We need to dial up renewable resources, and we can already implement flexible energy management systems to support this. Our current grid requires £2bn just to keep up. We can do so much better, and we already have the tools to do this. One-third of households are predicted to plunge into energy poverty. Businesses, governments, and the public need to engage with smart grid solutions. We have a chance to redefine our relationship with energy. Let's not let this crisis go to waste. Nick Woolley Electrify the energy story
kets.Before
[Re: Zahawi: Middle-earners will also need help with bills, August 27] Another blow. The price cap. Another economic failure. Just when people were starting to see the possibilities of an electrified life, the perception of energy is taking an ugly turn. However, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to solve our Energy Trilemmarenewable independence, low cost, and low carbon.
A DAM Neumann, for better or worse, was at the forefront of a revolution of how people viewed the office. Now the former WeWork founder has turned his attention to a different kind of real estate, as cities around the world struggle with overheated rental marWeWork, Neumann first wanted to start a co-living concept, but faced an uphill battle finding investors to put money into homes. How times have changed. Now he’s turned back to his original idea, backing a new venture - Flow, a residential real estate startup. Marc Andreessen, who has invested $350m into Flow, set out in a blog post why residential property - the world's largest asset class by value - needs disrupting. He is right. You only have to read recent horror stories about the London rental market, with renters queuing to view properties before being forced into bidding wars, to see why. A severe demand-supply imbalance coupled with the dominance of amateur landlords has left many paying through the nose for poor quality accommodation and bad service.The private rented sector comprises some of the oldest housing available - a package that comes with leaks and insulation problems. Driving up standards by upgrading existing stock and modernising property management, which largely remains in the analogue era, is one way to fix the rental market. Proptech start-up IMMO has recently pledged to invest £1bn in refurbishing over 3,000 homes across the UK to bring them up to modern energy standards before renting them out via a “living-as-a-service” platform.
Clearly, we also need to be building more homes to tackle decades of undersupply and face the new reality that more people are renting and for longer. Some of these should be purely designed with renters in mind - not homeowners.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
30/5/2022
There is a false narrative that all renters are doing so because they can’t own a home
£ Sarah Christie is co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Balance Out Living
We need to build houses for renters as well as owners
WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR VIEWS › E: opinion@cityam.com COMMENT AT: cityam.com/opinion
The Prime Minister’s car needs to be armoured, but it can make the traditional Jaguar XJ a bit cramped, according to The Sun, and after the car went out of production our leaders could turn to German cars like BMWs or Audis instead. CAR WARS Prime Minister might have to give up the Jaguars for Audis or BMW
01/07/2022 is
Certified Distribution from till 79,855
DIARY
WHY CABOTTE SHOULD BE ON ANY WISE LONDONITE’S LIST
CITYAM.COM16 WEDNESDAY 31 AUGUST 2022LIFE&STYLE
GRAHAM BECK ULTRA BRUT 2016 £23 SIMPLY WINES DIRECT Part of the vintage range from this renowned South African producer this is one of the best Ultra Brut (meaning no added sugar) wines I have tasted. Elegant, fresh with a wonderful purity of fruit and fizz.
JEROBOAMS A total hit from this prolific producer.ItalianThis smooth red feels like velvet in the mouth with a lovely range of silky red fruits. This would pair so well with pappardelle pasta in a ragu sauce or grilled meats.
“Corbières creates exceptional wines which are age-worthy, have a great sense of place and can give Bordeaux a run for its money”.
Such attention to detail and passion for wine does not go unnoticed. My plaice with its warm langoustine consommé and delicate clams in their shells was perfectly cooked and delicious but it was my friend’s monkfish dish that had us full of praise. Could this be the best fish dish inMusselsLondon?and charred bok choi combine in a fragrant champagne sauce so good we declined to have the plate cleared as we dipped hunks of bread into it until the plate was sparkling clean.
LIFE&STYLE
W hen it comes to elegant, fine dining where you know the service will always be impeccable, the food excellent and the wine list intriguing, Cabotte is on any wise Londonite’s list.
DINING
£24RIPASSOVALPOLICELLAPASQUAFAMIGLIA2019
BALFOUR 2018SCEPTEREDTHISISLE£45
HEDONISM WINES An incredible white blend that has been previously hailed as one of England’s finest still wines, this is beguilingly creamy and complex with vibrant underpinningcitrus spiced baked apple notes. Delicious.
GUSBOURNE LATE DISGORGED BRUT RESERVE 2013 £99 GRAPE BRITANNIA One of my favourite English producers, this is pure opulent luxury having been aged on the lees for outstandingan90 months. It’s a dry wine but has all the flavours of manuka honey. High class and outstanding drinking.
Nestled on a red leather corner banquette we started the evening with generous gougères and a glass of superb Crémant de Bourgogne. The butter roasted lamb sweetbreads with tropea onions were a balanced delight of gorgeous soft supple meats topped with crisp toasted panko. Here you can be assured of a talented Sommelier who can recommend the perfect pairing and, more than happy to be left in his capable hands, I enjoyed first a glass of 2017 Saint-Romain Burgundy before he offered to go off-list to find me the perfect wine for my main.
Wine writer Matthew Jukes, on the other hand, says Piemonte is the most exciting wine region. “I have devoted the last ten years to writing an annual guide to the finest wines in the region and it is a 100,000-plus piece of work each year. “I call Piemonte The Last Great Wine Region in the World – this rather lofty statement means that of all the recognised great regions, this is the last one to truly hit the heights and I believe there is much more to come as the viticulture, vinification and understanding of their craft continues to skyrocket.”Nolistof emerging world class regions would be complete without mentioning our own excellent English wines, an industry that is burgeoning with increasing demand for local, bespoke, premium producers. Our sparkling wines regularly beat Champagne in blind-tasting competitions globally and now our still wines are also coming to the fore. Without a doubt, we are one of the most exciting areas for wine on the planet right now.
Beating Burgundy: Exciting new wines
T he rapidly rising prices of wine’s established “elite” regions is a source of discomfort to many in the wine world and even more to the wine loving consumer, many of whom are finding themselves increasingly priced out of that truly beautiful midweek bottle of Burgundy. “It is unbelievably how expensive Burgundy is now,” says Richard Ellison, founder of Wanderlust Wines. “There’s no way you’re going to buy a very good Burgundy for £25… so we are looking for wines that can compete on that stage and still offer value”.With limited supply and rising demand, alongside the issues of climate change, there has never been a better time to look for new, exciting regions. A personal devotee of South African wines, I am setting my cap at the Western Cape, with its sunshine and cooling sea breezes creating perfect growing conditions. In blind tastings Western Cape Chardonnays have proved a match for those of Burgundy, so for true refinement seek out wines from elegant Hemel-en-Aarde. The New World offers some fantastic opportunities for creating special, high-quality wines without the stifling weight of tradition.
Wine without the snobbery, by our columnist Libby Brodie
WEDNESDAYWINE-DOWN
vines and working sustainably.
NICE £21.50MALBECSAINSBURYS Boxed wine is no long budget basement. For fresh, fruity wines to enjoy now it is a winner with 3 bottles to a box that stays good for up to six weeks. This femalefronted start up has created this juicy Malbec which kept my guests happy over the long weekend.
“The most exciting for me is America,” says Ellison. “Right now there is a new wave of American wine, which is now coming out of the Parker era of over-extraction. There are guys making 12 per cent wines that are balanced and delicious”. More historical wine areas are also being granted new life by innovative younger winemakers. Alex Griem of Chilled & Tannin champions the enormous potential of Languedoc and Roussillon. “It’s a patchwork of neverending variety of distinctive wines and it really is a region where the shackles of convention that restrain other areas can be thrown off. “Pays d’Oc wines are so experimental these days. It used to be known for vast amounts of bulk wine but now winemakers are embracing the old
To quote my dining companion: “This is the best thing I have put in my mouth for 20 years”. Please do not neglect the dessert wines here. My strawberry and elderflower macaron was beautifully complimented by the delicate sweetness of a 2018 Joh Jos Prüm Riesling Auslese, whereas the darkly decadent Valrhona bitter chocolate tart with its salted caramel and champagne granita was matched by an exceptional Château Suduiraut 1er Cru Sauternes 2008. Sauternes is such a civilised and beautiful way to finish a meal and we left beaming with satisfaction at an evening well spent.
WINE RECOMMENDATIONS
iving and working in the Square Mile, I rarely venture too far west, but when I do I get all the rush of a foreign holiday. There’s the expansive feel of the grand parklands and the glamorous feel of the hotels with air-conditioned lobbies. Then there’s the contrasting intimacy of the red brick mansions on the backstreets that connect South Kensington and Sloane Square. Screw the beach holiday: my late summer tip is a trip on the Central Line.
Adam Bloodworth
TRADITIONAL MIXER: Soda water. Whisky and soda is the granddaddy of all highballs. While it can transform some un-peated whiskies into the best “lager” you’ll ever taste, it opens up smokey spirits, affording enthusiasts another dimension in which to explore them.
A s we reach the last day of August, it’s time to make the most of the remaining summer nights –and long evenings call for long drinks. With many of us still working from home, these two-ingredient cocktails can be ready in an instant.
LIND AND LIME GIN £35, LEITHEXPORT.COM Founded in 2014, Lind & Lime Gin draws inspiration from the pioneering naval surgeon James Lind, who established that citrus could prevent scurvy. Their new Leith distillery opened in May, and offers tours to the public. The gin is ablaze with fresh lime, pink pepper, and juniper.
Simon Thomson
Enjoy sayswhilesummerthesehighballsthere’stime,spiritsexpert
Highballs are cocktails where a base spirit is lengthened with lower alcohol or non-alcoholic (often fizzy) mixers. Easy to make without specialised equipment, they are served in highsided glasses, over ice. The following list includes four different spirits and suggestions for traditional and alternative mixers. So throw together some highballs, get out into your garden and unwind.
The new Al Mare restaurant translates as ‘to the sea’ in Italian. Found on the fringes of the gorgeous and remote Cadogan Square, a visit afforded me the opportunity to go to this perfectly serene west London enclave you’d only land upon when you have reason to. It could have inspired the setting for the family house in JM Barrie’s Peter Pan. A pithy poem by Italian writer Salvatore Quasimodo on the Al Mare website and printed menu manages to feel sweet without being cringey, giving away an idea of the approach to high quality escapism. “Even more so at night the sea still sounds, lightly, up and down, along the smooth sands.
ALTERNATIVE MIXER: Italian-style “limone & menta” soda –the lemon brings citrus depth and the mint accentuates the herbaceousness of the juniper – enjoy the flavours of a Southside Fizz, without the fuss.
LONG EVENINGS
AL MARE: FORGET LA DOLCE VITA, THIS ITALIAN ESCAPE IN SW1 IS JUST AS GOOD
17WEDNESDAY 31 AUGUST 2022 LIFE&STYLECITYAM.COM
ALTERNATIVE MIXER: Tonic water, which lets the more delicate citrus and banana flavours of the Pisco shine through, while providing a balancing bitterness.
ALTERNATIVE MIXER: Appletiser. Orchard fruit takes the edge off the Talisker, making it accessible to reluctant whisky drinkers, without sacrificing flavour. The pepper and smoke are still present, but they marry with the mixer for a refreshing summer drink that you’ll still be happy to sip in the autumn.
£ Al Mare is IN The Carlton Tower Jumeirah, 1 Cadogan Place, SW1X 9PY; Jumeirah.com
An Aperol sour was another risky move that paid off: just one final dose of gastronomic innovation one Friday afternoon when I ventured to that most far flung of places: west London.
BARSOL QUEBRANTA PISCO £31.45, THEWHISKYEXCHANGE.COM Pisco is a type of brandy from Chile and Peru. Produced by Barsol, under strict rules, this Pisco was made in the Ica Valley, near Peru’s famous Nazca Lines. Here wine made from Quebranta grapes is distilled in pot stills, and aged in non-reactive vessels, ensuring that the fruit flavour survives in the final product.
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ALTERNATIVE MIXER: Root beer. in Barbados, bitters or syrup flavoured with mauby bark are often added to rum. The flavour of root beer is somewhat similar, but it is rounded out with vanilla, which accentuates the XO’s American white oak maturation.
DUPPY SHARE XO CARIBBEAN RUM £40.50, THEDUPPYSHARE.COM The latest addition to Duppy Share’s
TALISKER 10 YEAR OLD £37.99, MALTS.COM Talisker’s famed smoke and salinity evoke the Isle of Skye, where the distillery has been producing whisky for almost two centuries. Peat meets pepper and dried fruit in this exemplary maritime spirit.
LONG COCKTAILS FOR
The highlight was the vitello alla milanese, the likes of which no British chef can stake a claim to
TRADITIONAL MIXER: Cola. Rum and coke is a classic for a reason (indeed Duppy Share Spiced Rum includes kola nut among its botanicals). Here it provides sweetness to showcase the rich sugar flavours of the spirit.
Audacious mustthat’sgastronomyItaliansimplyatry,says
Echo of an enclosed voice in the mind, that returns in time,” it begins. Anyway, enough of that: we sat down at an apricot coloured banquette in the window where half the point is the Cadogan Square view. Windows frame the trees in the garden that’s protected by freshly painted jet black gates that remind you that you’re absolutely not invited in. I interspersed looking out the window with diving into brilliantly modern spins on Italian classics that are absolutely worth travelling for. Italian head chef Marco Calenzo was executive chef at the Zuma restaurant group, three of which have Michelin stars, and his experience sings in the dishes. For starters, tuna dish tonno al tartufo nero had a deep blood red colour and a sharp, just-out-of-the-sea freshness.Therisotto all’o zafferano uses ‘piana di navelli’ saffron, one of the world’s rarest varieties, and has a gently alluring fragrance at odds with the immediacy of the lemon-hued colour of the Thendish.there was linguine all’astice, a blue lobster linguine with a similarly gorgeous salinity as the tuna, served in an exquisite bisque. Although the latesummer sun when I visited didn’t quite have the strength of the Italian heat, it nevertheless made me feel I had left W1 behind, which feels like an apt reflection of the kitchen’s exciting creativity.Formains the highlight was fallapart-in-the-mouth vitello alla milanese, the likes of which no British chef can stake a claim to. It would have suited a taut, light red wine, but we had a white to go off-piste and we hope chef Calenzo, whose whole vibe is experimental takes, would be proud.
TRADITIONAL MIXER: Tonic water. It brings bitterness and effervescence while allowing the gin to retain its starring role.
TRADITIONAL MIXER: Ginger ale. The standard Peruvian highball is the Chilcano de Pisco, (which usually includes lime juice and Angostura Bitters). The spicy heat of the ginger ale compliments the raisinflavoured spirit.
growing portfolio of rums, the XO is a blend of five-, eight- and 10-year-old rums from the Foursquare Distillery in Barbados. Column distilled and aged in ex-Bourbon casks, with notes of toffee, dark chocolate, and apricots, it is designed for sipping straight, but works wonders in cocktails.
Reigning Open golf champion Cameron Smith has become the latest player to move to the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series. Smith is one of six players that have moved to the Greg Norman-fronted circuit in time for this week’s Boston leg of the tour. “The best and the brightest continue to embrace the excitement and energy of LIV Golf and what we’re building,” Norman said. The next LIV instalment will also be the first to feature former Masters winner Bubba Watson on the course.
City A.M. understands that whether the Premiership remains a 13-team competition or, in the event of a club folding, becomes a 12-team league remains irrelevant to the broadcast and commercial deal agreed with BT Sport and CVC.
American firm Silver Lake’s initial £110m venture into arguably rugby’s most marketable entity – the All Blacks – was met with anger from players, but this was resolved by reducing the stake being discussed.
“It is obvious that there has been a large disconnect between the sport and its commerciality,” Millichip added. “Many of the larger clubs are owned by wealthy individuals who are huge fans of the sport and don’t mind putting millions behind it. However, we are seeing a number of those owners leave the game, often being replaced by those who do not have the same financial clout.”
PARKER BECOMES FIRST MANAGER TO BE SACKED £ Bournemouth became the first Premier League side to sack their manager this season as the Cherries yesterday confirmed that they had parted company with Scott Parker. Though the news followed a 9-0 loss at the hands of Liverpool, the club suggested that they were at odds with Parker over off-field matters. “In order for us to keep progressing, it is unconditional that we are aligned in our strategy to run the club sustainably,” owner Maxim Demin said yesterday.
I T’S no new phenomenon to see sports clubs, which tend to be at the heart of the community they serve, face financial challenges and ultimately go under. But why is this happening in rugby when the sport has benefited from a flurry of private equity investment which is shaping the future of the ovalballed“Formulagame?1 has really set the blueprint for how equity investors look to structure deals,” Mike Preston, partner at law firm Cleary Gottlieb, said. “When we look at investments in sporting leagues for private equity investors, one of the things we look at is the original Formula 1 model.
CITYAM.COM18 WEDNESDAY 31 AUGUST 2022SPORT
NORRIE DOMINANT IN STRAIGHT SETS WIN £ British No1 Cameron Norrie had a storming start to the US Open yesterday with a 6-0 7-6 6-0 first round win over Frenchman Benoit Paire. Norrie played well in the humid New York conditions to sail through to the second round of the final major of the year. “I am happy to be through and I will take that first and third set. I want to serve a little bit better,” he said. Elsewhere Dan Evans won 6-4 6-1 6-1 against Jiri Vesely.
“Where it would become an issue is if you had a series of these failures or insolvencies and then your private equity investors would have to take a look [at] the viability of the league.”
“What investments [in leagues] are doing is trying to break away from the individual fortunes of individual clubs – you’re looking at the league as a whole – and in particular it’s the commercialisation of rights. “One of the reasons why private equity investors tend to stay away from individual clubs is because there are so many variables; on the field, performances, the problems Saracens had [salary cap scandal].
CVC Capital Investments is by far the largest private equity investor in rugby.
GODSEND So with news of Premiership club Worcester Warriors in dire need of financial salvation and fellow club Wasps in a similar predicament, is this a new issue for the sport? “English rugby was a relatively late starter in professional sport, certainly when you compare it to football,” Peter Millichip, sports law partner at Keystone Law, said.
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maximise reach across sport, but private equity involvement hasn’t always been received positively.
CVC has diversified its portfolio to
“The main revenues received by rugby are channelled through the RFU and come from Test matches, World Cups and the Six Nations, and the commercialisation and licensing of television rights to those matches.
“Right up until the ‘90s, it was still an amateur sport. Whilst rugby has developed greatly in that time, it has struggled to get to grips with the professional side of the game.
WHY PE WON’T SAVE CLUBS
Worcester captain Ted Hill is sought after Private equity has flooded into rugby but is focused on leagues, writes Matt Hardy
DONALD TO GET SIX PICKS FOR RYDER CUP TEAM £ Team Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald will have six captain’s picks for next year’s tournament in Rome. Six players will qualify automatically for the biennial team event agianst the USA. Donald’s six picks is double the number that his predecessor Padraig Harrington had.
The company paid £200m for a stake in Premiership Rugby, a further £140m in the United Rugby Championship and £365m for a slice of the Six Nations. The private equity firm also has a £650m-plus franchise in cricket’s Indian Premier League, a £1.7bn investment in Spanish football’s LaLiga and a £250m investment in volleyball.
“Both the RFU and the Premiership Rugby have entered deals with the private equity investment firm CVC Capital selling significant stakes in its revenue streams. This appeared a godsend at the time, although it was clear to all those who knew that CVC would expect a return on their investments.”
SPORT DIGEST
OPEN FOR BUSINESS Claret Jug holder Cameron Smith joins LIV Golf Series at 16pt
GLOUCESTER CONFIRM SIGNING OF MERCER £ Gloucester Rugby have confirmed the signing of No8 Zach Mercer. The back-row will join the Cherry and Whites from Montpellier next September with hopes of forming part of England’s World Cup side.
Rematch promises to take you to the greatest events you never saw, writes Frank Dalleres
For Beattie, the business case for Rematch lies in his belief that people are increasingly choosing doing things over buying things.
I MAGINEfor a moment that you could attend any sporting event of the past. What would you choose? The 1966 World Cup final? Botham’s Ashes? Serena’s first Grand Slam? Well, soon you might be able to. Rematch, a kind of Secret Cinema for sport, intends to recreate the sights, sounds and smells of some of history’s most significant contests. Its first production, Wimbledon Rematch 1980, which re-staged the epic final between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, scooped a creative award from Campaign magazine in 2019. Its next focuses on the most famous boxing match of all time, the 1974 Rumble in the Jungle between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, and is set to run in London early next year. “If you’re really boiling it down, it’s a time machine,” is how founder Richard Ayers describes the concept to City A.M. Sports tech entrepreneur Ayers, who built digital agency Seven League and sold it to IMG, got the idea for Rematch from “going to immersive theatre stuff 10 years ago”. But he also credits a trip with a colleague to a WWE wrestling show, famed for its soap opera storylines and theatrical set pieces, with flicking a switch. “All the language he [the colleague] was using around this notionally sports event was arts and theatre language,” he says. “And there was something bugging me. Why aren’t we doingWimbledonthis?” Rematch 1980 was in effect a pilot staged in association with the All England Club, commercially facilitated by sponsors and with a run of just five performances. But its warm reception helped Ayers raise almost £2m in funding to begin work on the Rumble in the Jungle, which he hopes will run for three months in London before touring internationally.Among a clutch of high-profile names from sport and creative industries to have invested are Immersive Everywhere, the company behind the Great Gatsby and Peaky Blindhis personal treasure trove of Ali memorabilia to the experience.
But if part of the magic of sport lies in its unpredictability, doesn’t the fact that attendees know the outcome di-
The use of powerful medication –such as anaesthetic injections – is not uncommon in sport. Tennis star Rafael Nadal was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon this summer despite using injections to manage his Mueller-Weiss Syndrome – a cause of
Wimbledon Rematch 1980 earned critical acclaim and attracted
Athlete addiction issues rocket 300 per cent
“Many athletes develop a kind of tunnel vision where all they are focused on is pushing their bodies to their limits. As a result, they can sometimes develop a misguided belief that they can power through cravings for medication, just like they can power through everything else.
Anna Erat, a former researcher at Harvard and current Paracelsus Recovery consultant.“There’sa widespread belief that what you get over the counter is harmless, and that’s simply not true.
Rematch’s Rumble in the productionJungleisduetoruninLondonearlynextyear
THERUMBLEREVIVINGINJUNGLE Beattie’s memorabiliaAli could form part of the show
For further information, https://www.rematchlive.com/visit and www.rumblerematch.com
“The opioids that we see athletes ending up using – codeine, morphine, oxycodone, tramadol, diamorphine – are highly addictive. They decrease the deception of pain and create a feeling of euphoria.”
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Dr Erat added that it is therefore paramount for sports organisations to have robust “pre-season medical screening to nip potential addiction problems and mental health issues in the bud”.
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“This is where the immersive matters,” Ayers says, before quoting a colleague’s reasoning: “It’s like Romeo and Juliet. We all know they die at the end, but it’s the journey.”
Ayers says extra income will come from smaller, team-specific shows, and a digital experience via augmented or virtual reality which can be offered remotely and promises scalability. “It’s a whole new sports en-
“Objects are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. We don’t have love letters or records any more; it’s all in the Cloud,” he says. “We have experiences and I think people are willing to pay for extraordinary experiences; that’s where those who do have money will spend it.”
“We know this is a growing problem because we have noticed a 300 per cent increase in referrals for professional athletes struggling with a medicationrelated dependency over the last decade,” Paracelsus Recovery founder Jan Gerber said.
Leading clinic says sports need to nip drug and mental health issues in bud during pre-season, writes Matt Hardy
T HE number of elite athletes being referred for medication-related dependency and underlying mental health issues has increased by 300 per cent in 10 years, according to a leading clinic in the field. Mental health problems such as ADHD, eating disorders, depression, anxiety and burnout are becoming much more common in sportspeople, reports Paracelsus Recovery.
Substance abuse issues can also occur as a means of managing a mental health issue, says Paracelsus Recovery, adding that that up to 10 per cent of all pro athletes have been diagnosed with ADHD compared to just four per cent of the general population.
GOAT VERSUS SHEEP “There’s no aspect I don’t want my paws on,” he told City A.M. “Ali means everything to me. I hear kids talking about the GOAT [greatest of all time], in terms of Lionel Messi and footballers, and it makes me sneer and smile a bit. Because he literally created that acronym. Ali’s the GOAT; the rest of them are sheep. He’s always Rematchrelevant.”experiences include not just a staging of the sporting event but also the music, stylings and food and drink of the time and place. The Rumble in the Jungle works especially well because Kinshasa also hosted the Zaire 74 music festival, featuring James Brown and BB King, alongside the fight. Ayers wants future Rematch shows to be based on events with similar cultural resonance. Ideas under consideration include the 1990 World Cup. Rematch’s business plan is based on one major production a year generating revenue from tickets, merchandise, food and drink, sponsorship and advertising.
“We have seen acute kidney failure caused by poor pain management and prolonged use of painkillers such as ibuprofen or Advil. “In some of these athletes suffering from painkiller addiction, we also see underlying mental health issues.”
footMentalpain. health issues have also become more prominent in high-level sports with the likes of tennis ace Naomi Osaka, gymnastic star Simone Biles and England Test cricket captain Ben Stokes all openly talking about their problems in recebt years. But Paracelsus’ focus on opioid use points to a worrying trend of growing addiction.“Thereis an epidemic of opioid use which often starts with some kind of sports injury or accident,” said Dr
