Monday 6 February 2023

LONDON’S BUSINESS NEWSPAPER

THE NOTEBOOK VICTORIA SCHOLAR ON BIG TECH, STRIKES AND GLOBAL TRENDSPOTTING P8

RECORD BREAKER

KANE’S 267TH GOAL DENTS MAN CITY’S HOPES P20

FCA told not to bend the rules for Arm

LOUIS GOSS

A TOP CITY lobby group has hit out at the UK’s financial watchdog over claims it is planning to bend its own rules to persuade microchip designer Arm to float on the London Stock Exchange.

THE BIG FOUR WANT MORE

FIRMS LOOK TO SCOOP UP

is “actively hiring”. He noted “some of our

BANKERS TO BEEF UP M&A TEAMS

the accounting giant’s M&A business “is growing, in spite of the downturn in the volume of deals being done”.

Asked whether PwC is seeking to hire laid-off bankers, Stapleton said “we’re

She added that PwC is “holding its nerve” by continuing to hire as she said the “mid-market is still very resilient”.

£ CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

Avanti not ‘out of the woods yet’ as contract decision looms

ILARIA GRASSO MACOLA

AVANTI WEST COAST is not “out of the woods yet”, a top MP has warned, as the government decides whether to renew the operator’s contract.

Rail minister Huw Merriman has said he will make a decision on Avanti’s contract soon, with the

extension set to expire in April.

Merriman said it will bebased “on who’s best to run” things.

“I hope Avanti gets it right,” Iain Stewart, chair of the transport select committee, told City A.M. “But I don’t think they are out of the woods yet.”

The troubled train operator was

recently crowned the UK’s worst operator in terms of cancellations.

Avanti said previously that its performance has improved since the period the ranking was based on.

Stewart said it was important to separate the cancellations Avanti was responsible for from those caused by factors beyond its control such as

adverse weather or strikes.

“My view at the moment is that the jury’s still out.”

He said, however, he would “not lose any sleep” if ministers said they needed more time to look at the evidence before making a decision.

Avanti was approached for comment.

The Institute of Directors (IoD) warned the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) offer to waive market rules “undermines the integrity of both the rules themselves and the UK’s wider governance framework”.

The IoD’s comments come after The Sunday Times reported the FCA is planning to lift rules to lure the Cambridge semiconductor firm into listing in London instead of New York.

The IoD said the reported plans show a “worrying willingness to rewrite the listings rulebook as a means of luring business to London”.

“In the long term, good corporate governance is best served by the consistent and fair application of sensible listing rules that protect investors and other stakeholders,” Roger Barker, director of policy and corporate governance at the IoD, said.

“The UK should not endanger its hard-won reputation for high governance standards by engaging in a regulatory race to the bottom.”

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ARM WRESTLE

STANDING UP FOR THE CITY

We need measures to solve tomorrow’s worker shortages today

Aworker shortage is likely to become a structural crisis as developed economies face a demographic crisis caused by a collapse in fertility rates and a lack of future workers to pay the taxes and fill the roles our economy desperately needs. While the UK fertility rate as a whole currently stands well below the replacement rate of 2.1 at 1.56 births per woman, some cities in the UK such as Brighton have fertility rates as low as 1.3. Indeed,

many inner London boroughs have some of the lowest fertility rates in the UK, with Camden the lowest in the country at only one birth per woman. Despite the fact that London’s population as a whole is not contracting, the lack of births has led to plans to close or merge

primary schools, as is already happening in the borough of Camden as a result of a lack of primary school-aged children. The challenges to the UK are of obvious concern, given that we continually require a pool of workers to enter the workforce, including physically intensive roles varying in nature from the armed forces to hospitality and the care and health sectors.

End of the World is Just the

Beginning’ highlights the scale of the looming challenge, with a combination of older workers taking retirement and a shortage of working-age adults to support an ageing population soon to create labour shortages far worse than the existing situation. The government could take a variety of reforms to improve the UK’s demographics.

A recent book by geopolitical analyst Peter Zeihan entitled ‘The

Childcare vouchers could be used to cut the cost to families, while

supply-side reforms to the housing sector should take place to enable the construction of properties in the areas with the highest demand. Changes to the tax system could provide tax breaks and incentives to young families who are facing a triple whammy of high housing, living and childcare costs. Given the existential challenges presented by having a lack of workers, this is a topic that is set to receive increasing public attention.

WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING

THE FINANCIAL TIMES

THE CITY VIEW BAILLIE GIFFORD SHEDS OVER £100BN IN ASSETS

Baillie Gifford suffered its worst fall in assets under management during 2022, losing more than £100bn as the rise of growth stocks that had propelled its performance over the past decade was curbed by higher interest rates.

THE GUARDIAN CZECH BILLIONAIRE AND VITOL EYE ENERGY FORTUNE

The billionaire West Ham United investor Daniel Kretinsky and Swiss commodities giant Vitol are among bidders hoping to land hundreds of millions of pounds in subsidies to keep the lights on in Great Britain.

THE TELEGRAPH

AMAZON TO SUBLET UK WAREHOUSES AFTER LOSSES

Amazon is understood to have kicked off work to sublet unused big-box sites in Britain, following years of swooping for more warehouse space across the country. It is estimated to have opened hundreds of warehouses globally during the pandemic.

EY says it does not owe ‘duty of care’ to taxman

LOUIS GOSS

EY HAS said it is under no obligation to help HMRC collect more taxes in defending itself against a High Court lawsuit over a British property magnate’s tax affairs.

The Big Four accounting firm said it owed no “duty of care” to HMRC to have given it information that could have helped it collect more taxes on £141m in profits made by Jamie Ritblat’s Delancey property investment firm, court documents seen by City A.M. show. EY’s defence comes after HMRC sued the Big Four firm in July 2022 over claims it failed to disclose “key facts” that could have helped it recover more

tax revenue from £141m in profits paid into a Delancey-owned employee benefit trust (EBT).

HMRC is seeking to overturn a £400 settlement that is now blocking it from collecting taxes on the £141m profits that were paid into the trust owned by Delancey’s wholly-owned subsidiary, DV4.

Jamie Ritblat – the son of British Land owner Sir John Ritblat – founded Delancey in 1995, through which he later bought London’s Olympic Village in 2011 via a joint-venture with Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.

Ritblat claims the £400 settlement blocks the UK government from collecting further taxes on the £141m paid

into the DV4 Trust. In the tax years 2015/16 to 2018/19, the DV4 trust paid £141m to Delancey employees, including £63m to Ritblat himself.

HMRC claims it would not have entered into the £400 settlement if EY had disclosed information on the value of the Delanceyowned trust. The taxman instead claims it only entered into the 2015 settlement due to “misrepresentations” made by Delancey and EY.

In court filings seen by A.M., EY said it provided “all the information which HMRC required” as the Big Four firm argued it “did not owe

any duty of care” to the taxman to help it collect more money from the DV4 Trust. “EY did not owe HMRC a duty to anticipate all the information which HMRC now alleges it would have considered to be relevant to the proposed settlement,” the accounting firm said in High Court filings from 25 January 2023.

An EY spokesperson said it would be “inappropriate to comment on ongoing legal proceedings”.

“We strongly refute any suggestion of wrongdoing by EY and will continue to vigorously defend the claim against us,” they said.

A Delancey spokesperson said the real estate investor believes the 2015 settlement is “valid and that the various reasons put forward by HMRC to justify their breach are wholly without merit and have no legal foundation”.

The Delancey spokesperson noted HMRC “publicly initiated and offered” similar settlement deals to “hundreds of employers and trusts” as it claimed the UK taxman has “breached the terms” of its agreement with the DV4 Trust.

HMRC declined to comment.

CLOWNING AROUND The annual Joseph Grimaldi memorial service takes place in All Saints Church in Hackney. Grimaldi was one of the most famous Regency era clowns.

Ritblat founded Delancey

Covid-19 surge and Brexit worry UK firms most

JACK BARNETT

A SURGE in Covid-19 cases in China gumming up supply chains threatens to snag the UK economy, a survey out today reveals.

Trade flows hobbled by workers in China being too sick to work after contracting the virus or Beijing reimposing lockdowns in response to a rise in cases ranks as the top concern among UK businesses, according to consultancy BDO.

More than half of firms are worried about being unable to source materials over the next six months to produce goods and services as a result of supply chains being strained.

China dismantled its zero-Covid policy at the beginning of the year, resulting in a big uptick in cases as citizens returned to normal daily life.

The move is expected to boost Chinese GDP this year, but not before the economy is disrupted by a wave of people staying at home after contracting Covid-19.

Trade disruption caused by Brexit is also expected to continue, according to more than a third of firms surveyed

Accounting giants look to expand as mid-market M&A deals continue

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

EY’s managing partner Steve Ivermee told City A.M. the firm is “committed to investing in the talent and skills needed” despite “ongoing economic and geopolitical uncertainty”.

by BDO, most of which are small companies.

“Medium-sized businesses are battling rising costs, supply chain problems and difficulty accessing labour amid a nationwide skills shortage. Whilst they are striving to remain resilient, existing resources can only go so far to help drive growth or investment in skills and innovation,” Ed Dwan, partner at BDO, said.

Damaged supply chains have squeezed supplies of raw materials, raising the cost of doing business. More than one in three companies have had to pay more for basic inputs, while nearly a third of firms say the cost of imports is higher.

A quarter of companies cannot get their hands on materials needed to make products, BDO said.

A worker shortage that has failed to unwind since the beginning of the pandemic is also hampering firms’ capacity to grow. There are around 900,000 fewer available workers in the UK compared to before the Covid-19 crisis.

BDO said companies are responding to recruitment difficulties by investing in improving existing staff skills.

GILT TRIP Truss blames media and ‘leftward’ shift for £45bn mini-budget failure

LIZ TRUSS has broken her silence for the first time since being booted out from Number 10 to hit back at critics of her tax cutting, progrowth economic agenda.

Truss blamed “large parts of the media and the wider public sphere” for failing to understand her “key arguments about tax and economic policy”.

UK should not start a ‘regulatory race to the bottom’ to win Arm IPO

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

According to the report, FCA officials have said they would be prepared to relax the regulator’s requirements around ‘related party transactions’ that force listed firms to make declarations on dealings with connected entities. Arm has expressed concerns the rules would require it to report on any dealings with its parent company Softbank or any of the Japanese conglomerate’s hundreds of

One source in Mazars’ M&A deals business told City A.M.: “We’re expecting some kind of fallout

from the investment banks and we will have our eyes on the market, as everyone does.”

Laid-off bankers might also be drawn to the stability the big firms offer, who are less likely to cut jobs in a downturn, the source said.

One dealmaker told City A.M. that EY’s forthcoming split had also led some bankers to look at the Big Four more carefully.

EY’s push to separate its audit and consulting businesses could unlock billions in fees by freeing the firm’s advisory unit from the conflict-ofinterest rules that block it from selling advice to audit clients.

“Some are wondering whether they could get into the Big Four early doors and make a killing,” the dealmaker said.

KPMG declined to comment.

subsidiaries.

The rules, which are intended to reduce the risk of secret conflicts of interest, could also require that Arm consult shareholders in dealings with Softbank and other firms.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has sought to woo Arm into listing in London despite Softbank chief Masayoshi Son’s public statements in favour of a New York float.

Arm was approached for comment, while the FCA declined to comment.

Aviva warns directors not to award themselves bumper salary rises

CHRIS DORRELL

AVIVA Investors has warned company directors that it would be “inappropriate” to award themselves bumper pay rises and urged them to recognise that record high inflation puts far greater pressure on the budgets of their frontline staff.

In a letter to the 1,600 firms in which it has stakes, the fund management arm of the FTSE 100 insurance firm said directors should not expect to receive pay increases

higher than the average employee.

In the letter, reported on by The Sunday Times, CEO Mark Versey wrote: “It would be inappropriate for highly paid executives to be fully insulated from the impacts of inflation. We expect any increases to executive base salaries to be below the average for the wider workforce.”

He said executive pay was a “barometer of corporate culture”, arguing companies “must engage with trade unions in good faith and seek a balanced outcome, recognising

MP tells Brits to delete Tiktok to protect data

RICHARD WHEELER

PEOPLE should delete Tiktok from their phones to protect their personal data from “hostile” threats, according to a senior Conservative MP.

Alicia Kearns, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, said users should “without question” get rid of the app as she suggested the video-sharing platform is linked to China’s efforts to build a “tech totalitarian state”.

There have long been concerns around Tiktok over its links to China because its parent company, Bytedance, was founded in the country, and critics have raised fears data could be passed to the Chinese state.

In December, Tiktok executive Liz Kanter insisted the platform has not been asked for UK user data by the Chinese government and would not provide it if it was.

Speaking after the US shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon, Kearns told Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: “We are being naive.

“Tiktok gave evidence to my committee where they said there was no way that individuals working in China could get access to the data of Britons.

“But what we’ve now seen is that peo-

ple working in China for Tiktok hacked into European data so it could track down the source of a journalist.

“Because what Tiktok does is it gives away the data that makes you most vulnerable: who are you friends with; what are your interests; what are the interests you have that you may not want publicly disclosed; who you are having private conversations with; the locations you go to.

“There’s a reason why China has this app. There’s a reason why they’re buying up gay dating apps.

“Our data is a key vulnerability and China is building a tech totalitarian state on the back of our data.

Asked if she is advising people to delete Tiktok from their phones, Kearns replied: “Without question.”

A Tiktok spokesman said: “Tiktok is enjoyed by millions of people across the UK, and we want to be clear that they can trust us with their data. We’re taking steps like storing UK user data in our data centre operations in Ireland, starting this year; further reducing employee access to data; and minimising data flows outside of Europe.”

Tiktok was looking forward to having “constructive engagement” with Kearns, the spokesman added.

the impact of high inflation on real wages and the… toll the pandemic has had on frontline workers.”

The letter was sent ahead of companies voting on executive pay at their annual general meetings. Executive pay rebounded last year, having fallen during the pandemic.

According to figures from the High Pay Centre collected during AGM season, the ratio between the pay collected by bosses and employees at 69 FTSE 350 companies fell to 34:1 in 2021, before hitting 63:1 in 2022.

Frasers to snap up shopping centres: reports

MAEVE CULLINAN

MIKE Ashley is gearing up to purchase two shopping centres in a £100m deal, in a sign that the retail sector might be starting to stabilise. Frasers Group, majority owned by Ashley, is in the final stages of negotiations to acquire The Mall in Luton and the Overgate centre in Dundee, The Sunday Times reported yesterday.

The estimated value of these purchases stands at £70m and £30m, respectively.

Dragons Den reject Trunki to be sold in a deal worth over £12m

MAEVE CULLINAN

TRUNKI, the well-known children’s suitcase brand, has been sold in a deal thought to be worth over £12m.

Founder Rob Law, who was once told his company was “worthless” on the BBC’s Dragon’s Den, has now sold over 5m Trunki suitcases and built a successful portfolio of travel gear, with the group’s revenue growing 68 per cent to reach £6.4m in 2022.

Law will tomorrow announce the sale of Trunki’s parent company, Magmatic, to e-commerce firm Heroes, The Sunday Times first reported.

When asked by City A.M. what he would say to the Dragons who rejected his pitch, Law replied, “I don’t need to say anything, the success speaks for itself.” Law said he will remain as general manager and the company’s sixty employees will keep their positions.

He said: “It will be business as usual, but the Heroes team will bring great technology that will help us to accelerate our digital sales and expand to America. There is a great opportunity to not only grow Trunki but help other brands acquire scale as well.”

Frasers Group will be hoping to get a good price for the centres, as the Covid-19 pandemic and huge growth in online shopping in recent years slashed UK shopping centres’ revenues, forcing some stores to close.

Data from MSCI Real Assets shows that since June 2018 the average value of shopping centres has declined by 67 per cent. Frasers, now headed by Ashley’s son-in-law Michael Murray, has been on the lookout for acquisitions following a strong recovery from the pandemic. Frasers declined to comment.

Ashley is planning a £100m deal

Business lending to drop at fastest rate in decades over recession fears

CHRIS DORRELL

BANK TO business lending will contract sharply in 2023 while mortgage lending will grow at its slowest pace since 2011 as recession fears intensify, economists have predicted.

According to the latest forecast from EY Item Club, bank to business lending

is expected to contract 3.8 per cent this year – one of the sharpest falls in decades – before returning to growth in 2024.

Borrowing demand is expected to weaken as firms face multiple pressures from higher costs of servicing debt, lower earnings and continued supply chain disruption.

“With more than 70 per cent of

corporate bank loans on variable rates, UK businesses are likely to be affected in the short term by increases in interest rates,” Dan Cooper, UK head of banking at EY, said.

While falling incomes may weaken demand, a recovery in the second half of this year is likely to boost consumers’ confidence in using credit, EY noted.

The company has sold over 5m suitcases

Aviva boss Mark Versey said directors’s pay bumps must not outstrip that of staff

Glaxosmithkline tops the new business gender equality index

HENRY SAKER-CLARK

PHARMACEUTICAL giant

Glaxosmithkline (GSK) has been revealed as the top performing FTSE 100 business on gender equality, according to a new index.

The Equity Index 2022/23 produced by Lead 5050, a cross-industry accreditation body, ranked firms using official data on average salaries, bonuses, and pay at every level.

Among FTSE 100 employers, GSK finished top after data showed the

business had a very small median and mean overall pay gap, with pay more evenly spread throughout all levels of the organisation.

In second place was IAG Cargo, a London-based subsidiary of British Airways owner IAG, while ITV was also a strong performer.

Leanne Linacre, chief executive officer of Lead5050, said: “Whilst the UK is a world leader in ensuring employers provide transparent data on gender-related pay, after years of progress, the gender pay gap for full-

Watchdog’s new fraud scheme slammed by MPs

CHRIS DORRELL

THE PAYMENTS Systems Regulator’s (PSR) new fraud reimbursement scheme is “fundamentally flawed”, chair of the Treasury Committee Harriet Baldwin has said.

The PSR is considering using its statutory powers to force Pay.UK – Britain’s interbank payments standards body –to amend its rules to ensure fraud victims are reimbursed by banks, according to draft proposals published today.

Pay.UK operates the digital network that facilitates payments between banks, building societies, other financial institutions, and their customers. Any bank or payments processor seeking to use the Pay.UK system must follow the network’s rules.

Under the draft plans, which the PSR said has got “broad support”, Pay.UK will be responsible for ensuring the banks and building societies that are its own guarantors pay out large sums to reimburse consumers.

However, Baldwin said Pay.UK faced conflicting interests as

both regulator and industry body.

“Putting an industry body in charge of reimbursing scam victims is like asking a fox to guard the henhouse,” she said.

“The regulator needs to take back control of the reimbursement process, rather than leave it in the hands of an industry body which is inherently conflicted,” Baldwin added. The committee also argued Pay.UK lacks effective tools to ensure the financial services industry is complying with the rules.

The MPs called for the PSR to revise its plans and “take back control” of the reimbursement process.The PSR said it aims to publish its final plans in May 2023, with a view to ensuring “people are properly protected from these devastating scams”.

Fraud is the most common crime in England and Wales, and one of the most reported in Scotland. Authorised push payment fraud, where a scammer tricks someone into sending them a payment, is widespread.

At least 196,000 consumers were said to have lost £583m to these scams in 2021.

time workers has increased.”

Linacre also noted how women were adversely affected by the cost of living crisis, due to the costs of childcare.

“Closing the gender pay gap would strengthen the economy as higher wages would encourage more women to either enter the labour market or extend their working hours.”

While GSK topped the FTSE 100 list, when smaller and public-sector employers are included, Registers of Scotland and Wykeham Staff Services in Spalding finished joint top.

Barclays boss recalls criticism for working amid cancer treatment

CHRIS DORRELL

BARCLAYS chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan said that some people accused him of “CEO swagger” when he said he intended to work through his cancer treatment.

Writing in the Financial Times for World Cancer Day, Venkatakrishnan –who prefers to be known as Venkat –said he received some messages after his diagnoses that suggested his decision to work through treatment was “a form of privilege, with my role

affording me a flexibility denied to many others”.

“Some even asked if it was CEO swagger or, worse, ‘negative virtue signalling’, implying that it was wrong for others to take complete medical leave to heal themselves,” he wrote.

“I quickly clarified that the decision to work was mine alone, and neither Barclays nor I would ever expect others to do the same if they were unwilling, or unable. My choices were neither a model nor requirement for others”, he added.

index

Digital pound coming this decade: reports

CHRIS DORRELL

THE BANK of England (BoE) and the Treasury are convinced that a central bank digital currency (CBDC) is becoming increasingly necessary, an unpublished report seen by the Daily Telegraph suggests.

“On the basis of our work to date, the Bank of England and HM Treasury judge that it is likely a digital pound will be needed in the future,” the Telegraph quoted BoE governor Andrew Bailey and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt as saying in the report.

“It is too early to commit to build the infrastructure for one, but we are convinced that further preparatory work is justified,” the report said.

The Telegraph suggested that the report could be published as soon as next week, with the ‘digital pound’ potentially ready by 2030.

The Bank’s deputy governor Jon Cunliffe is due to give a speech tomorrow updating the Treasury on the Bank of England’s CBDC work.

Last month, the Treasury said it was looking to appoint a head of CBDCs, signalling the department’s focus on the issue.

CBDCs are digital tokens, similar to cryptocurrency, but issued by a central bank. They are pegged to the value of the country’s fiat currency.

Many countries are exploring the possibility of CBDCs. China has been testing the use of CBDCs since 2020.

Return of Levy funding hampers

60,000 apprenticeships, says

MAEVE CULLINAN

OVER £600m in Apprenticeship Levy funding was left unused and returned to HM Treasury last year, despite the potential to support 60,000 apprenticeships, the Co-op has claimed.

The Apprenticeship Levy requires employers with an annual bill over £3m to pay a rate of 0.5 per cent of it

Co-op

each month, which is then combined with a government contribution of 10 per cent and used for apprenticeship training and assessment.

Many employers struggle to spend all their levy funds due to “inflexible rules”, according to the Co-op.

The demand for apprenticeships, which allow individuals to earn a salary while gaining on-the-job

training, has risen in recent years. The Co-op is calling for the government to revise its Apprenticeship Levy policy. Currently, employers can transfer up to 25 per cent of unused funds to other businesses for their apprenticeship programs. The Co-op is advocating to raise this cap to 40 per cent to reduce the amount returned to HM Treasury.

The Barclays CEO was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in November

GSK has a very small gender pay gap, according to the

PA

Baldwin said the regulator needed to take control

BANK TO KEEP RATES HIGH

unlikely to be cut by the Bank until early next year, writes Jack Barnett

AYEAR of interest rate pain is still in store for households, businesses and mortgagors even after Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and his team of economists have already lifted borrowing costs 10 times in a row.

That is according to several top City economists, who do not expect interest rate cuts until early next year.

Impetus on the Bank to keep piling the pressure on has receded due to inflation seemingly passing its peak of 11.1 per cent back in October.

Most, including the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC), think the rate of price increases is now on a downward path that will end up with it more than halving at the end of the year, probably to somewhere around four per cent.

The bulk of the tightening cycle’s heavy lifting has already been done.

Cumulatively, rates rose 390 basis points between December 2021 and February 2023, the fastest acceleration since the 1980s. Doing more damage now risks making the coming recession worse than it

needs to be. The Bank last week said it expects inflation to fall below its two per cent by the middle of next year if rates stay at four per cent, indicating cuts may be needed to stimulate spending. However, the danger of in-

flation sticking around at a higher level due to firms passing on steep pay increases – private sector wage growth is running at record levels of just over seven per cent – means the MPC will not be coaxed into handing cash back

to homeowners any time soon.

“While we expect the MPC to pause after the March meeting, the underlying message that they consider the risks to inflation to be heavily skewed to the upside reinforces our view that rate cuts are unlikely in 2023,” Andrew Goodwin, chief UK economist at consultancy Oxford Economics, said. Experts at Natwest agreed.

“We do not expect ‘early’ rate cuts (i.e., in 2023) given the expected stickiness of core inflation but judge current policy settings to be restrictive (at least once full pass-through has occurred) and therefore expect policy rates to gravitate towards more neutral levels 3.5 per cent over the course of 2024,” they said.

Concerns among the MPC about steep wage increases filtering through the economy are unlikely to abate over the next 12 months, analysts at investment bank Nomura said, adding they do not think rates will fall until mid-2024.

Bailey and co provided some good news last week. They ripped up their warning in November that the UK is on course for the longest recession in a century at six consecutive quarters.

The combined GDP hit was lifted to just under one per cent instead of the near three per cent forecast a few months ago.

Rates

Bank governor Andrew Bailey and co have hiked rates 10 times in a row

THE NOTE BOOK

Big Tech no longer in investor vogue as inflation surges

US technology giants have been reporting their latest financial earnings in recent weeks with a mix of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Until the turn of 2021/22, Big Tech was a firm favourite among investors, scoring impressive share price gains in the years building up to the pandemic, underpinned by rock bottom interest rates.

Covid-19 sharply increased our dependence on technology when most of us were glued to our devices, participating in Zoom meetings, scrolling Instagram and watching Netflix.

However many investors were caught off guard last year when tech was brought back down to earth amid the challenging macroeconomic backdrop of spiralling inflation and rising interest rates from the Federal Reserve. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index logged steep declines, shedding 33 per cent in 2022 with Tesla and Meta both sliding around 65 per cent. To combat the

malaise, the tech industry has been slashing jobs with nearly 50,000 positions this year.

In terms of earnings, Tesla, Meta and Netflix have been standout performers. The electric vehicle giant reported record fourth quarter revenues, forecast topping earnings and offered a rosy outlook for full-year deliveries. However, it was a tougher ride for Apple, Amazon and Alphabet.

The iPhone maker suffered its biggest drop in sales since 2019 and its first earnings miss since 2016 on the back of a softening in consumer demand, production issues in China and the strong US dollar.

Amazon said operating profit could drop to zero this quarter as e-commerce and cloud revenues slow. Plus, Alphabet saw advertising revenues disappoint, particularly for Youtube. The focus now shifts to earnings from Uber which is likely to enjoy a postpandemic rebound in ride hailing, offset by higher costs.

INDUSTRIAL ACTION BY UK UNIONS

An estimated half a million workers staged industrial action on what was dubbed Walkout Wednesday on 1 February. Civil servants, teachers, and transport workers went on strike amid the cost of living crisis as inflation erodes takehome pay. The latest Ipsos poll suggests that less than 1 in 5 think the UK government is doing a good job negotiating with trade unions.

£ Would you like a brand-new Porsche Panamera for £15,000?

An online advert in Yinchuan, China offered the luxury car for a fraction of its retail starting price of around $148,000 (£120,800). Hundreds pounced on the bargain before the dealership informed disappointed potential buyers that there had been a mistake. The Porsche Centre Yinchuan said there was only one vehicle left in stock, providing a refund to those who had coughed up for the reservation fee.

£ This week the Treasury published proposals to regulate cryptocurrency and help protect consumers. It follows the collapse of crypto exchange platform FTX and last year’s plunge for Bitcoin. While its anti-establishment credentials helped to attract investors, a series of high-profile scams have caught the attention of regulators. Interactive Investor’s research found that 45 per cent of those aged between 18 and 29 made crypto their first investment of choice during the pandemic.

NEW BOOK LOOKS AT PAST PANICS

Inspired by John Naisbitt’s 1982 book, Megatrends, The New Megatrends takes a look at some of the biggest societal, economic and technological developments in recent history, drawing upon these to spot trends and reach conclusions about potential major changes to come in the years ahead.

CAN I QUOTE YOU ON THAT?

Author Marian Salzman discussed big picture events such as the hysteria around Y2K at the turn of the millennium, the Covid-19 pandemic, the MeToo movement, climate change, wealth inequality, divisions in America and China’s economic growth. Salzman makes some bold and brave predictions about the future of business, politics and culture to forecast what the world might look like in 2038. It is a must-read for entrepreneurs, business leaders and anyone with a keen interest in global trendspotting.

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, casts her eye over the economic trends to be in the know about

FED CHAIR JEROME POWELL

Cautious about declaring victory and sending signals that we think the game is won.

West told it must prepare for 2023 energy crunch

NICHOLAS EARL

EXPERTS have urged the West against complacency after staving off blackouts this winter, warning that the energy crisis could last for years to come.

Nathan Piper, head of oil and gas research at Investec, told City A.M. that gas markets are still pricing in supply disruptions, with futures contracts remaining well-above pre crisis norms later this year.

He said: “The challenge of ensuring enough gas supply will re-emerge later this year as we move into next winter, which is underlined by the current forward curve where prices are expected to increase again later this year.”

First quarter contracts in 2024 on the UK benchmark are currently trading at 1.85 per therm, above current spot prices which are currently hovering just under £1.50 per therm. Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, gas prices were conventionally trading at 45-50p per therm.Piper argued that the UK and EU benefitted from a warmer than expected winter, which eased demand and

UK spent £60bn on gas imports to meet energy demand this winter

NICHOLAS EARL

reduced the prospect of a supply crunch.

But Piper said this was something that couldn’t be banked on over the coming winters amid a sustained supply squeeze from the Kremlin.

“The fundamental security of supply fear has now eased, helped by milder than expected windy weather and high storage levels. This has taken the extreme risk premium out of prices, short term,” he argued.

Craig Erlam, senior markets analyst at OANDA, argued that the next winter could be challenging for the West.

“There are some factors that could change that including Russia cutting remaining supplies to Europe, the weather necessitating above normal usage and China’s economy recovering much stronger and faster than anticipated," Piper told City A.M.

The UK has managed to avoid blackouts over Christmas, but last month it did trigger its demand flexibility service over two days, with millions of households volunteering to cut their energy usage at peak evening times in exchange for discounts on their bills.

THE UK spent £60bn importing gas in just four months to stave off a winter energy crunch, according to storage experts Highview Power. Its data reveals that in the absence of renewable energy storage to make the most of record wind generation, the UK was forced to purchase expensive fossil

fuels. Low-carbon power produced 82.5 per cent of Britain’s electricity from 27 December to 9 January, however, the UK also experienced ‘dunkelflaute’, when the UK experienced little to no wind but still needed energy for heating. This occurred in both November and mid-January and the lack of renewable energy storage during these periods meant the UK was left

with no choice but to rely on £60bn of foreign imports of gas.

The £60bn figure reflects a vast increase in imports, with data from the Office for National Statistics revealing the UK brought in less than £20bn of gas in 2021 as a whole.

Renewable energy storage is essential to powering a cleaner, cheaper, always-on Britain,” Highview Power chief exec Rupert Pearce said.

Only two new onshore wind turbines built in England last year

NICHOLAS EARL

JUST two onshore wind turbines were installed in England last year, as the industry awaits pledged planning reforms for new projects.

Overall, just ten new onshore wind projects were installed in 2022 across the UK, according to new research published by trade body Renewable UK.

This boosted onshore wind generation by 318MW, powering a further 209,000 homes. By contrast,

THE CITY’S MOST HOTLY-ANTICIPATED AWARDS EVENING - AND AFTERPARTY - IS BACK

GUILDHALL

more than ten times as much offshore wind capacity was installed in 2022.

Six of the new projects were built in Scotland, one in Wales and two in Northern Ireland.

Dan McGrail, chief exec of Renewable UK, said: “Onshore wind is one of our cheapest sources of new power and the government’s own polling shows that four-fifths of the public support it. But outdated planning rules and lack of resources... mean progress and investment are being held back.”

Renewable UK said outdated planning rules were holding the UK back

CATEGORY ANALYST OF THE YEAR

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THE NOMINEES

DR CRAIG LOWREY, CORNWALL INSIGHT

Lowrey has increasingly become ‘the man’ for energy predictions, with a global insight into the shape of a market that has become one of the biggest issues for businesses no matter their sector. His modelling of everything from energy price caps to wholesale gas prices are increasingly in demand as firms look to hedge against unprecedented volatility.

GILES THORNE, JEFFERIES

Not many analysts have spent their days outside a ‘dark kitchen’ to work out if the fast-delivery market has legs, and very few have done it twice in a row. Thorne’s team’s reports –which follow up his adventures as a Deliveroo rider –deserve to enter into City lore. Even better, his optimistic calls on the market appear to be backed up by tentative signs of a share price rebound for some of the bigger players.

IAN WILLIAMS, PEEL HUNT

Does the man ever sleep? Williams’ morning note is a must-read, popping into inboxes whilst many are still wiping the sleep from their eyes. A combination of overnight news, opening calls and analysis of the data releases that shed light on the state of everything from the global economy to the car industry makes Williams’ analysis shine through a crowded field.

MIRANDA PANMURECOCKBURN, GORDON

Few markets are as volatile or as vital as the real estate market and Cockburn’s analysis of the sector’s biggest players are increasingly becoming morning must-reads. With an unparalleled insight into the space, Cockburn and her team have successfully navigated the end of the low-interest-rate era and are seeing many of their biggest calls proved right.

VICTORIA SCHOLAR,INTERACTIVE INVESTOR

A regular in print and on broadcast media, Victoria Scholar takes complex moves and shifts across the financial landscape and condenses them to their essence. Respected by City watchers and valued by retail investors alike, Scholar continues to horizon-scan the financial world and get to the heart of the matter like few others.

experts ahead of the curve

Keeping a beady eye on businesses is always a challenging job, but with Zoom calls the norm and numbers harder than ever to analyse, we highlight those City watchers whose calls have proved more right than wrong across a range of sectors.

ENERGY City A.M.’s energy editor Nicholas Earl delves into the sector’s challenges in his new weekly column

BULB Energy’s collapse from a highly-vaunted challenger to a de-facto nationalised husk on government life-support –propped up by transfusions of taxpayer cash – has largely been overshadowed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Kremlin is seemingly taking all the blame for the energy crisis, yet Russia’s imperialist warmongering only exacerbated soaring gas prices, with energy firms already collapsing across the UK’s domestic market amid rebounding post-pandemic demand in the summer of 2021. Rather than Russia’s supply squeeze, it is Bulb’s ‘hero to zero’ tale that truly encapsulates everything wrong with the retail energy sector.

The energy market seemed impressive prior to the industry crisis: peaking with 70 firms competing for customers in 2018, offering cheaper than ever deals while reducing the stranglehold of the Big Six.

But this vision was built on sand, and highly-dependent on customers switching firms, with company growth plans powered only by gullible investor sentiment, and no meaningful oversight of hedging or the competence of company owners.

This led to a perfect storm of incompetency and ill-preparedness when wholesale costs climbed, and Bulb was one of 30 energy firms to collapse amid this historic market volatility – three months before Russia invaded Ukraine. It was also the only one to be passed through a special administration process.

As the UK’s seventh biggest supplier with 1.6m customers, it was deemed too large for the supplier of last resort process –which ferried customers from other fallen firms to surviving suppliers in a bidding process overseen by Ofgem.

With the industry eager to recover from the crisis and restore the confidence of consumers now grappling with record energy bills – it would have been a refreshing statement of intent from the government, Ofgem and bidders for any deal to rescue Bulb to be as transparent as possible.

BULB DEAL LACKS TRANSPARENCY

Unfortunately, much remains shrouded in ambiguity.

Bulb spent over a year in public hands before finally being sold to Octopus Energy following a protracted and heated bidding process. One supposed certainty from the saga was the cost of nationalising Bulb and offloading it to Octopus was in the many billions, including a £6.5bn prediction from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), making Bulb the biggest state bailout since RBS in the 2008 financial crisis. Octopus, however, has revealed it has calculated the cost to taxpayers at £260m –a factor of 25 less than the OBR forecast.

Martin Young, senior analyst at Investec, told City A.M. that this was a “plausible

SHINING A LIGHT ON THE BULB TAKEOVER DEAL

falling gas prices, but also the general uncertainty around the terms of the Bulb deal.

There is no doubt Octopus has been one of Britain’s few great business success stories in recent years, and with the Bulb takeover it has become the third largest supplier in the UK, overtaking established players like Ovo and EDF in terms of size and scale.

However, with the terms still not in the open for scrutiny, despite the involvement of taxpayer cash, it would seem premature to lavish praise on the takeover – no matter

RECHARGE Australian startup Recharge is making a bid for collapsed firm Britishvolt

RECHARGE Industries has been selected by EY as the preferred bidder to buy collapsed battery firm Britishvolt, according to the Financial Times. The battery startup went into administration two weeks ago.

WEST UPS THE PRESSURE

The West has further ramped up the pressure on Russia, nearly a year since the country’s invasion of Ukraine, with both the G7 and EU looking to clamp down on Kremlin-backed oil supplies.

The G7 has established new price caps on Russian exports –at $100 per barrel on premium products such as diesel and $45 per barrel for discount products such as fuel oil and naphtha. This has also been backed by the EU and Australia, and follows the $60 per barrel price cap for crude products announced in December last year.

EUROPE FEARS US GREEN SUBSIDIES

£The latest price caps do not mean the US and Europe always see eye to eye. France and Germany’s economic ministers are set to visit Washington this week for crunch talks, according to Reuters. Bruno Le Maire (below) and Robert Habeck will both meet White House officials, and urge the US not to poach green investments from Europe. The EU is concerned about the lure of the US Inflation Reduction Act, which offers highly appealing subsidies for renewable projects. It is now scrambling to offer its own version, including liberalising planning laws and loosening subsidy restrictions.

City A.M. understands the takeover of Bulb includes a nine-figure lump sum, a hedging loan provided by the government, alongside a profit-share deal and ringfencing of Bulb’s former customers until the support is repaid. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of information around the percentages involved in the profit-share deal and the size of the sum make it difficult to evaluate the deal for taxpayers.

British Gas owner Centrica is hoping to test the deal further in court later this month at a judicial review on 27 February.

concerns over the deal’s transparency –particularly regarding government support –alongside Scottish Power and EON. Yet, it isn’t clear what either the outcome of the case will be or what Centrica hopes to meaningfully achieve, with Octopus’ takeover deal being greenlit in December.

As Ofgem looks to clean up the energy market, imposing standards on transparency would not go amiss –as the British people have a right to know the terms of a deal at risk of being engulfed in an industry row.

SEND US YOUR THOUGHTS

What can we do to improve energy security?

Email energy editor Nicholas Earl at nicholas.earl@cityam.com

Pressure on Iceland as insurance coverage slashed as energy bills rise

MAEVE CULLINAN

THE CREDIT insurer Coface has slashed its cover for suppliers to the supermarket chain Iceland, The Times has reported.

Allianz Trade and Atradisu have also reduced their insurance coverage for the frozen-food chain in the past year, as energy prices continue to soar.

Iceland has reportedly entered into negotiations with renewable-energy providers after its energy bill jumped by £85m this year. The agreements would lock the price for 50-65 per cent of its energy usage for the next 15 years.

According to Creditsights analyst Amarveer Singh, the deal will leave Iceland paying 5-10 per cent more

than last year’s energy expenditure.

In November, The Sunday Telegraph reported that hedge funds had acquired Iceland’s debt, potentially allowing them to take over the supermarket before the maturity of its £550m bonds in March 2025. The bonds, trading at 89p per pound, are currently trading below their issue price.

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UK to narrowly avoid recession but GDP still expected to shrink

THE UK economy narrowly avoided a recession at the end of last year, new official figures out this week are expected to reveal.

City traders think new GDP numbers from the Office for National Statistics on Friday will show the economy contracted 0.3 per cent in December, meaning the UK will have just about skirted a technical recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction.

Although the technical slump is expected to have been avoided, the monthly negative figure could signal where the economy is headed over the coming year.

The Bank of England last week repeated its recession warning from November, although its new forecasts were much more optimistic, with a peak to trough fall of just one per cent of GDP

now pencilled in instead of the near three per cent hit.

Analysts at Investec reckon output shrank by just 0.1 per cent in December, mainly due to the “cold month” boosting “utility output”.

Economists reckon the economy will have had to contract at least 0.4 per cent for quarterly GDP to be negative, which would tip the country into recession.

Any bigger than forecast GDP drop is likely to knock investor sentiment and drive London’s FTSE 100 index lower.

On the corporate front, energy giant SSE updates markets tomorrow and European banks post final results.

Pharmaceutical giant and Covid-19 vaccine maker Astrazeneca releases final year results on Thursday, as does consumer goods firm and Marmite maker Unilever.

Fashion retailer JD Sports’s strong relationship with suppliers that hand it exclusive access to trainers and other products make it a strong addition to any portfolio, according to brokers Peel Hunt. Its “head to toe” offer of everything from footwear to top clothing is “extremely well-liked” by core customers and brands too, its experts reckon. Few high street peers can match that.

POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

“The most touted recession probably ever is likely to have been postponed to another day, figures from the ONS on Friday will show. Markets think the UK economy contracted 0.3 per cent last month, just above the 0.4 per cent economists think is needed for the quarter as a whole to register negative GDP growth.

JACK BARNETT, ECONOMICS EDITOR

OPINION

EDITED BY SASCHA O’SULLIVAN

The world’s favourite airline? It’s certainly not British Airways anymore

lighted fans with photos of the aurora borealis from his cockpit and dramatic night-time cityscapes taken on approach to major airports.

NEXT year British Airways will celebrate its golden anniversary. Fifty years! You get less for murder. The company’s lineage goes back much further than that, to the earliest days of air passenger travel, and BA’s marketing department chose to mark its centenary in 2019. But the facts do not lie: it was in March 1974 that the government created the British Airways Board to manage its two nationalised airlines, British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and British European Airways (BEA) and two regional carriers, Cambrian Airways and Northeast Airlines.

I mention BA’s marketing department because “the world’s favourite airline” (a massive hostage to fortune, even if you can stand it up statistically) has found life challenging in recent years. Over time they have had some huge presentational successes, like its appropriation of Delibes’s The Flower Duet and its long-running animated safety video. For every Saatchi and Saatchi triumph, however, there has been an ethnic tailfin design, a misfire cringingly remembered for Lady Thatcher’s deft use of a paper tissue and the strident declaration “We fly the British flag, not these awful things!” It was not the celebrity endorsement the airline

might have hoped for.

It has been a difficult time. Last year saw a series of IT disasters which delayed or cancelled flights and left passengers stranded, airports starting to look like refugee camps with snaking queues of dejected would-be fliers and their would-be holiday impedimenta. This was supposed to be a joyful emergence from a pandemic which, in truth, the company had weathered reasonably well. Instead, BA’s problems marred hotly anticipated family holidays, and social media provided the perfect platform for unhappy customers to vent their instant and splenetic rage. Social media is a modern reworking of the adage “Live by the sword, die by the sword” for the Very Online. Customers

have access to a bully pulpit tucked just inside their coat or handbag or pocket, and there is no filter between bottledup rage and 280 characters of accusatory thunder. There are now Twitter accounts entitled “British Airways SUCK” and “Hate British Airways”. Some criticism is inevitable. Despite her high profile, Elizabeth Hurley’s wail of “Stranded at Antigua airport” was not a comms disaster. However, one passenger’s weary observation that “flight computers have been down for two hours worldwide and no BA plane can file a flight plan” hinted at a more profound malaise, while “Worst airline I’ve ever used. Scumbags doing this around Christmas time” was not a vote of confidence.

Now it seems the airline management has adopted an attitude of double-or-quits. Last week, BA flight crew complained that new company-wide social media guidelines had been published to restrict or forbid employees sharing certain types of content online. Essentially it seemed that BA wanted to stop pictures taken by their staff at work from appearing on Twitter, Instagram and other platforms, ostensibly as a reminder about appropriateness and safety. This might seem innocuous enough, but some who worked for BA had built up enormous social media audiences with candid snaps of their daily lives.

Dave Wallsworth, a captain with BA, has 112,000 Twitter followers and has de-

It’s true, Paris isn’t far behind London but we can still win the race to be the top city

ONLY weeks ago, a flurry of shockwave reports concluded that Paris had overtaken London as Europe’s biggest stock exchange.

According to the figures, the French stock market had a combined value of $2.823tn, approximately $2bn greater than its British counterpart.

But on every other metric – global share of exports, derivatives trading and trade surplus – London exceeded Paris.

Nonetheless this should act as a warning sign that London mustn’t rest on its laurels. Our global competitors are waiting in the wings to snatch our crown as the number one financial centre in the world.

So what’s the reason behind Paris’ rise and what can London learn from this?

That’s what I’ll be discussing with leading industry figures including the French Treasury and Central Bank next week as I cross the Channel for two days of business meetings.

The French government have taken a number of steps to attract more inter-

Chris Hayward

national financial institutions, investment banks and asset managers.

They’ve outlined plans to foster a fintech ecosystem to try and outrival London’s by reducing regulation, improving the tax system and providing incentives for companies to invest.

We should not be complacent about the competition that Paris offers. But similarly, we should not forget that London has tremendous strengths. Our rule of law, language, timezone and access to talent continues to place us head and shoulders above the rest. London holds the top spot in attracting foreign investment in financial and professional services, attracting 114 projects in 2021, more than New York and Paris combined.

We have also seen developers and investors continue to show confidence in the Square Mile through major planning applications. In 2021, more than 4 million square feet of new office floorspace was approved – an increase of almost 70 per cent year on year.

And on green finance in particular, London’s expertise is in high demand across the globe. London has maintained its top spot on the latest Global Green Finance Index (GGFI) which serves as a valuable measure of the development of green finance for policy and investment decision-makers.

But keeping our dominant position also relies on the government creating the right business environment for firms to invest, list and grow.

The recent Edinburgh reforms were a step in the right direction that will power growth across the City. The Financial Services and Markets Bill currently making its way through parliament can help us adopt fair and proportionate regulation.

The government must now look to adopting other growth measures in the

here and now. Signing the mutual recognition deal with the Swiss government which aims to improve access to our respective markets, cutting compliance costs and boosting growth, could further consolidate London’s position as the world’s leading financial centre.

Urgently enacting Solvency II reforms could unlock more than £100bn in long-term productive finance. And directing capital into much needed infrastructure and sustainable projects will help get us a step closer to reaching our climate targets.

On this last point, tackling the climate challenge will require greater cooperation. So it’s welcome to see the recent mood music changing between the EU and UK. Seizing on this opportunity will help us move past the standstill.

London has many competitive strengths – from data to green finance - leaning into these, will help us ultimately retain our number one title.

£ Chris Hayward is the Policy Chair of the City of London Corporation

BA’s unpaid Twitter ambassadors have been working hard for the company’s reputation without even considering it work. Glimpses of celebrity travellers, candid scenes of cabin crew and the wonders of nature had softened and humanised BA’s tattered image. The modern audience prizes authenticity above everything, and here was raw, unfiltered, wholly positive content, provided for free.

Like many large corporations, however, BA showed it neither understood nor trusted what it did not control. So no more photos are to be taken or posted while staff are “professionally engaged” in their duties. No more surprise vistas of Barcelona’s bright lights or a tired-but-happy Hollywood star sipping champagne. From now on, all fun must be strictly choreographed and signed off in triplicate.

It is a decree which smacks of lack of imagination and, worse, paranoia. Aspirant business leaders are told that employees are a company’s greatest asset, and the cliché can be true: if your workforce is motivated and enthusiastic, they will perform well above what is expected and required, they will do it for free and they will be your best ambassadors. BA, meanwhile, seem to be enunciating the truth revealed by the Pointy-Haired Boss of Scott Adams’s Dilbert cartoon: it turns out money is our most valuable asset. Employees came ninth.

£ Eliot Wilson is co-founder of Pivot Point and a columnist at City A.M.

TRUSS ME, I’LL

Eliot Wilson

British Airways has faced criticism over the last year over a series of technical problems and delays

BE BACK It’s the comeback we were all dreading. Yesterday Liz Truss re-launched herself and her commitment to cutting taxes - even after her disastrous mini budget. She’ll join the ranks of Boris Johnson, who now flits around American news channels and Talk TV.

WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR VIEWS

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

A general strike is on the cards

[Re: Rail strikes: TSSA considers revised pay offer from train companies, 31 Jan]

As different unions seek to exert pressure on the Government, a general strike is looking increasingly likely. Each profession has its own concerns, but the fundamental issue is the same: unions say that pay hasn’t kept up with inflation, and years of underinvestment in health, railways and schools, have left staff demoralised and services failing. The government argues that the current problems have been

compounded by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, but according to Penta’s latest insights, public support for strike action is rising. With more strikes planned, the industrial disputes will, in part, be decided by the presence or absence of public support.

To bring an end to months of strike action which has had a huge impact on the wider economy, the government must tilt public sentiment back in its favour and provide clear communication on the action proactively being taken by our leaders to secure resolution with unions and to minimise disruption.

Louise Stewart Penta

AN UBER PROBLEM Union for Uber drivers fights against algorithms

Women looking out for Gen Z at work are being burnt out by being a ‘Team Mum’

Eliza Filby

YOU may not be familiar with the term “Team Mum” in the workplace but I’m sure you will have encountered her. She’s a staple in almost every business. She’s the emotional bedrock, the one to whom everyone turns when they have problems, whether personal or professional. She's the fixer. She tends to exude certain qualities: approachable, informal, always “on” and reliable, with an almost devotional approach to being everyone’s problem solver - Think Joan Harris in Mad Men.

I’ve spent the past two years talking to companies around the world on the future of flexible working and while the long term impact of hybridity will take years to filter through, one thing is becoming clear: Team Mums are absolutely pivotal in making flexible working work for everyone’s benefitexcept their own.

EXPLAINER-IN-BRIEF: ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER NURSES’ STRIKE

Today marks the beginning of another week of NHS strikes, with nurses joining the picket lines on Monday and Tuesday. But a solution to the dispute is still out of reach, as Rishi Sunak confirmed last week he doesn’t intend to give nurses a pay rise.

The Prime Minister said he would love to give nurses a pay rise, but the government cannot afford it.

In an interview with Piers Morgan, he said “it’s about choices” and the money going into the NHS now is to

hire more doctors and nurses and to get state-of-the-art equipment.

The Royal College of Nursing initially asked for a 19 per cent pay rise, but then said it is willing to meet the government “halfway”. That could mean accepting a rise of around 10 per cent.

The independent review body, whose advice is followed by government, recommended a pay rise of around 4.3 per cent.

ELENA SINISCALCO

I use the term Team Mum because these individuals are disproportionately - but not exclusively - women. They also tend to be towards middling age and invariably, in some kind of management position. They do not necessarily have children but do take on a parental identity at work. I have met some “Team Dads”, but not many. The success of flexible working was always going to rest in the hands of management rather than centralised leadership. But it is becoming clear that so much of the emotional and mentoring work is landing on the plate of the sacrificial few who are willing to take the time and expend the emotional energy required to absorb and solve other people’s problems. As we encounter each other less in the office and are not afforded the time to forge new bonds or friendships with a suitable range of peers, mentors and managers it is no surprise that more and more of the burden is directed towards that one individual upon whom we can rely.

Nowhere is Team Mum’s role more important than in parenting the new Gen Z recruits who entered the world of work during or in the aftermath of Covid, and whose needs were not always suitably met by companies. Those recruits whose networks, learning and socialisation have been curtailed and who, as a generation, are also much more predisposed than any other cohort before them to expect, and value, a more humane, personalised ap-

proach to management. These digital natives are, ironically, the generation that prizes face to face contact more than any other in the workplace. Although we must avoid lazy tropes about women being naturally emotionally intelligent managers we can also presume that in an age when mental health is recognised, most of the informal help that is being offered to young people in our workplaces is being offered disproportionately by Team Mums.

I recognise this dynamic of parenting young people at work because this was once me. In my former life as a university lecturer, I slotted comfortably into my Team Mum identity, studiously learning the names of the 150 students under my supervision, spending additional hours holding their hands through the dissertation process.

Word got round of my commitment and I found myself supervising students who weren’t even signed up to my modules. Ultimately, this was to my own detriment. These efforts weren’t being recognised by the higher

powers and what's more it was stopping me from finishing my book and focusing on my own goals. In the end, I left academia altogether.

And that is the real danger here for both companies and Team Mums themselves. Something snaps. So what can be done? Team Mums need to recognise the dangers of being a people pleaser and fixer at work, and be supported in setting boundaries. But that is almost impossible if companies don’t recognise the need to invest time and money into helping all staff, especially Gen Z, in generating their network and support base at work. And even more crucially, firms need to create a culture in which Team Dads are as recognisable, approachable and effective as Team Mums. Informal support and management structures will always exist, but we can't simply rely on one or two parent figures to oil the wheels of office life. Team Mums - and Dads - need a break.

£ Eliza Filby is a generations expert and writer

Generation Z are more likely to work remotely

The Union representing Uber Drivers, the App Drivers and Couriers Union, has demanded Sadiq Khan ban new algorithms in London which use personal data to set variable pay for drivers and passengers.

TRAVEL

The descent into Gustaf III Airport on the Caribbean Island of Saint Barthélemy is not for the faint hearted. We depart nearby Saint Martin strapped into a 12-seater Twin Otter plane and soar over the sea towards a small landmass. We spot yachts and catamarans sailing aquamarine waters below, and tropical green hills, villas and swimming pools as they come into view. Approaching fast, the nose of the plane dips and cuts through hillsides, gliding down the runway until we come to a triumphant halt about 20 metres from the ocean. We have arrived.

St. Barts, an Overseas Collectivity of France, has been immortalized as a playground for the rich, famous, and fabulous since it gained popularity in the 1970’s.

With a wealth of upscale restaurants, bars, boutiques and hotels it’s not surprising that celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio and Beyonce regularly retreat to this jewel of the French Antilles. The island lies 400km East of Puerto Rico, with natural beauty to match St Lucia and clear waters to rival the Bahamas. St Barts is distinctly more rugged and hilly compared with its neighbours in the Caribbean. The candy coloured architecture of the capital, Gustavia, conjures images of Curaçao and Havana. Yet it is more commonly compared to Turks and Caicos, the epitome of superstar luxury.

On a private 18-acre peninsula within the Reserve de Grand Cul-de-Sac lies the embodiment of dreamy French joie de vivre –the Rosewood Le Guanahani. The only fullservice resort on the island, it originally opened in 1986, and was recently renovated following extensive damage from Hurricane Irma in 2017. Unfolding across the property are 66 coloured cottages in shades of butter yellow, turquoise, and lavender, a nod to Provence. Touches of French sensibility meet Californian chic with elegant, open-plan interiors. Spread across the communal gardens are painted rocking chairs which move gently in the warm wind – you’d be forgiven for thinking you were in the Deep South. Or perhaps Hawaii, with abundant species of palm tree and frangipani and a comparable landscape.

The Marigot Suite is our home for the next five days, a two-bed villa that rises over the resort with 180-degree views across its namesake, Marigot Bay. In addition to a pool, we have a private spa entrance, an outdoor shower and a jazzy mini bar that resembles stacked luggage. A large group of rocks and cacti sit at the bottom of our garden, providing direct access to the ocean and, to my delight, refuge for a family of unfazed tortoises. The daddy of the group, who I name JeanPaul, looks hopefully at my watermelon wedge before sauntering off towards the sea. It would be easy to just stay here drinking negronis and eating petit almond croissants with Jean-Paul but the view across the bay would make anyone curious. Imposing mansions straddle the cliff edge, and we can’t help but wonder –who on earth lives here?

It’s hard to deny that St. Barts holds a myth and legend type status. The key to understanding its popularity is to look

HANGING WITH TORTOISES IN TURQUOISE COTTAGES ON ST BARTS

THE TRAVEL HACK

To do St Barts like the locals, hike along the beach at Grand Ford to the unspoiled natural swimming pools of Piscine Naturelle. Known to locals as the Washing Machine

back to nature. The island has 300-plus sunny days per year and is home to a plethora of secluded beaches best explored by boat. At Le Guanahani the private lagoon is expansive, with lucent shallow water – ideal conditions for sighting six types of sea turtles. Located at the meeting point of the Atlantic Ocean is Colombier Beach. Made famous by David Rockefeller, this spot is perfect for merrily surveying tropical fish with your snorkel. The glistening waters at Gouverneur are a desert island experience, but after spotting a DO NOT ENTER sign in the trees, it does start to feel a little bit like ‘Lost’. The owner of the sign and the estate laying behind this pristine strip of white sand is Roman Abramovich. Later, at remote beach Anse de Grande Saline, we luxuriate in the warm sea, chatting nonsense and doing handstands. A gentleman appears from nowhere and swims backstroke past our boat, totally oblivious and totally naked. We are all embracing the laissez-faire mindset.

With its winsome red roofs and busy harbor, the island’s capital Gustavia is steeped in charm. Fort Gustaf, a relic of the island’s Swedish past, sits above the town and houses a red and white lighthouse. Also residents are more unbothered tortoises who sit calmly in the shade, oblivious to our selfie-taking shenanigans. They are the real VIPs here.

Here we are flâneurs, privy to normal life for the locals and expats. We stroll the hilly avenues admiring the street art and modest architecture, drink €15 Carib beers in humble dive bars (yes, it’s the Euro here), and tour the many scenic churches, each decorated by tall palm trees. Given the crowd, you might expect to find Lamborghini’s lining the streets. In fact, the Mini Cooper is the car of choice: well suited for navigating the windy, narrow roads.

Despite its small size, Gustavia has an established food scene. Bonito is a must, with nautical white furnishings, an open kitchen and waterside views. The cuisine

A distinct set return to St Barts in the Caribbean year after year. Julia Leyland touches down to hang with tortoises and find out what draws people back

Also resident are tortoises who sit calmly in the shade, oblivious to our selfie-taking shenanigans –they are the real VIPs here. The daddy of the group, who I name Jean-Paul, looks hopefully at my watermelon wedge

BOOK THIS

ANTWERP IS A TOP CITY BREAK JUST AN HOUR FROM LONDON

may be French-South American, but the vibe is very much international-cool. We’re treated to tuna ceviche, wagyu tiradito and cocktails as flamboyant as the clientele. Try the Sex in the Bath. At Le Guanahani, executive chef Cedrik Ollivault’s menu boasts an impressive selection. Take a long, lobstery lunch poolside or a surf and turf beach BBQ by candlelight. Or you can do both. Best of all is the delectable Pâtisserie in fanciful shapes with winning flavours including hazelnut and blackberry.

Our host describes the other big hotels on the island as the ‘high-heel’ or ‘midiheel’, assuring us that Le Guanahani is very much the ‘flip flop’ of the gang. Sense, the Rosewood spa, is the largest wellness facility on the island with a range of decadent therapies including quartz massages and spa journeys inspired by Creole practices. After my personalised massage I melt in the tranquil silence, the type you’d expect when entering an ancient basilica.

There are feet peddling furiously underwater to ensure St. Barts - which is self-sufficient in energy and water - runs like a well-oiled machine for high-spenders.

Those feet belong French seasonal staff whose work takes them to some of the most exclusive destinations across the globe. They tell me about working in Bora Bora and the Maldives, but neither has the pull of the island Jean Paul the tortoise calls home.

“Year on year, we return faithfully to St Barth,” a young waiter vows in a thick Parisian drawl. “I mean - wouldn’t you?”

NEED TO KNOW

Rates at the Rosewood Le Guanahani start from £1,650 per night and from £1,030 per night in low season, from May to December.

Flights to St Barts go via Paris & Saint Martin with Air France and with Winair from London Airports.

THE LONG WEEKEND ANTWERP

“I’d be willing to bet there’s no quicker way of getting from the UK to mainland Europe,” said Robert Sinclair, CEO of London City Airport, as we stood on the tarmac at Antwerp Airport. The flight we’d just taken was 40 minutes from tarmac to tarmac, meaning you can leave the City or Canary Wharf after work and comfortably make an 8pm dinner reservation in the centre of Antwerp, especially as the airport is located right in the city.

WHAT’S THERE? Antwerp is often overlooked in favour of Brussels and Bruges but it’s every bit as beautiful and historic as either, full of grand shopping streets and winding, cobbled alleyways. Even the train station has been called the most beautiful in the world. At the centre of it all is the vast, imposing, gothic Cathedral of Our Lady, its impossible height propped up by hundreds of flying buttresses. Inside you can find works by iconic artists including Peter Paul Rubens, one of Antwerp’s most famous sons. Most people know Antwerp as one of the world’s largest ports (it’s the second biggest in Europe, after Rotterdam), and while this isn’t much of a tourist destination in its own right, it helped bring about the city’s diamond trade, the biggest in the world, with 84 per cent of rough diamonds passing through the city limits. Stroll through the centre of town and all around are windows filled with the unmistakable glint of diamonds.

WHAT’S THERE TO DO? Belgium is famous for chocolates and beer and there are no shortage of places to indulge in either. You could visit the Chocolate Museum, or you could cut out the middleman and head to

TOP TIP

As of April, you won’t have to remove your liquids or laptop at London City Airport thanks to special new scanners (one of which is already in operation)

one of the many chocolate emporiums. I went to Chocolate Line, owned by master chocolatier Dominique Persoone, famed for his outre creations, including the very pleasant beetroot number I tried. You can also take in his chocolate sculptures, which include a metre-high bust of Frida Kahlo.

If beer is more your thing, as it is mine, then the city really is your oyster. Beer Central Antwerp, located on the main drag, has an entire book’s worth of options to try, from traditional Belgian wheat beer to mad, fruity concoctions. Your best bet, though, is to just meander from street to street, bar to bar, taking in the kinds of places filled with nicotine-stained locals who have, over time, become one with the venue itself.

WHAT ABOUT RESTAURANTS? Antwerp has a culinary clout far above the level its 530,000 population suggests, with 29 Michelin starred restaurants (the similarlysized Manchester, for comparison, has just one). Vying for a place on that prestigious list is relative newcomer Fiera, a stunning dining room in a former trading hall that serves exceptional modern European cuisine (I had sweetbreads followed by a kind of deconstructed lobster ravioli, both excellent). For something more relaxed but equally high-end, there’s a lovely little place called Graanmarkt 13 in the basement of a fancy homeware store, which specialises in vegetable dishes (but is not entirely vegetarian). Belgian brilliance.

£ The new Luxair route from London City Airport operates four weekly rotations from £139 return including taxes. For more information on their 30-plus destinations go to londoncityairport.com

It’s the diamond capital of the world and an international eating and drinking hub. Now you can be there in time for dinner, says Steve Dinneen

The Return to Balance spa journey at Sense, A Rosewood Spa. The treatment includes a mint and ginger cooling wrap. The perfect tonic to all that glorious Caribbean sun.

Netflix doc lays bare elite golf’s infighting

WHEN Netflix weighed up what to call its latest behind-the-scenes sport documentary, about life on golf’s PGA Tour, it plumped for the beige Full Swing. It might have been better off choosing Making A Wedge, such is the preoccupation with money that runs through the eight-part series, or Taking Out The Pin, given the explosive impact of the rival LIV Golf series, which casts a shadow on the show.

Like Formula 1’s Drive to Survive, Full Swing examines a season through the lens of several players, who bring their own storylines and personalities. So we get episodes about the friendship and rivalry of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas; Brooks Koepka and Ian Poulter raging against the dying of the light; Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick joining the ranks of major win-

ners; and Rory McIlroy finding renewed purpose in fighting for the future of the tour.

But LIV Golf is the game-changer which colours most of the storylines and conversations. It is this ingredient, a once-in-a-generation intervention that causes deep and bitter divides between the players, that makes Full Swing, released next week, more compelling than it first looked on paper.

LIV’s recruits have been widely vilified but here Koepka, Poulter and Dustin Johnson at least get to state their cases, which they do with greater candour and relatability than in combative media appearances. Yet while the issue is not presented as entirely

black and white, there is no doubt where this programme’s sympathies unsurprisingly lie. One episode that deals with the dilemma facing players is titled “Money Or Legacy”, while footage of the first LIV event is soundtracked by a track called “Big Ol Bag of Money”. Subtle, it ain’t. The split caused by LIV leads to some juicy bitching, such as McIlroy mocking defector Patrick Reed’s fall down the rankings – “beautiful!” – and disparaging one of the new circuit’s poster boys, Phil Mickelson, roaring “F*** you, Phil!” while joking with peers in the clubhouse. But there are no actual bust-ups even of the schoolboy level seen between McIlroy and

Reed in real life last week.

Poulter gets some of the best lines, with one pink and blue pair of trousers prompting one commentator to remark that “he looks like a walking gender reveal party”, and has enough charisma to carry his own show. He and Tony Finau, the gentle giant who has taken his wife and five kids on tour, are easy to warm to. The emotionally de-

serted Koepka less so, while Spieth, Thomas, Scheffler and Collin Morikawa are nice but dull.

McIlroy is the undoubted star, however, and one of the strengths of Full Swing is that, unlike its tennis sibling Break Point, it has most of the biggest names. The series reaches a satisfying crescendo as McIlroy, our hero now positively thriving in his role as a figurehead of the LIV resistance, vies for The Open and then the PGA Tour’s final prize, the Tour Championship. The jury is out, however, on whether the characters and storylines in Full Swing, even with the added spice of a rival tour, can emulate Drive to Survive and pull in a new generation of fans.

STEVE Borthwick’s first game as head coach of England offered an intriguing comparison with the last match of predecessor Eddie Jones in the autumn. They both started Marcus Smith at flyhalf and Owen Farrell at No12, they both picked a pack that, in the end, was outmuscled and they ultimately both lost. Here are four things we learned from England’s 23-29 loss to Scotland in their Calcutta Cup clash in the Six Nations.

BITE RETURNS?

It was a losing cause in south-west London for England but Borthwick’s side at least looked competitive again. They controlled the possession, carried hard and played large parts of the game in the ascendancy – but they couldn’t dominate the scoreboard.

England enjoyed 70 per cent of the ball on Saturday but it matters not when the side couldn’t convert their possession into points.

Borthwick said after the game that his side shouldn’t have let their 20-12 lead be dissolved by brilliant Scottish play, but it was and that’ll be a worry for the former Leicester coach.

England looked good in large parts and that's something they were unable to manage in the autumn, so that’s progress at least.

But in the Six Nations every decision matters, and England’s lost edge is yet to return. They’ll hope they find some of it against Italy next week.

AXIS ISSUE

England fly-half Smith is a star. England fly-half and captain Farrell is also a star. But together? Questions remain. The duo played at No10 and No12 together in one of the best performances during this World Cup cycle – the 2022 draw against the All Blacks – but England’s centre partnership looked off balance this weekend.

And that often comes down to what kind of role you want your 12 to have. There were times where Smith and Farrell interchanged at 10, and when Smith called for the ball, it often came to nothing.

In future England need to find some

ZERO FROM ONE

his brilliant kick-pass assist for Max Malins in the first half, but England looked slightly flat in their 10-12-13 channel.

ALL CHANGE PLEASE?

It wasn’t a bad XV or XXIII on Saturday but England will undoubtedly look for a couple of changes ahead of the Italy Test next weekend.

It will be interesting to see whether Borthwick backs Alex Dombrandt, Jamie George and Maro Itoje in the pack given their quiet performances in

Scotland and there could be questions surrounding full-back Freddie Steward after an underwhelming performance. With Malins in the squad there are quality options to cover at No15.

FEELING OF HOPE

When England fell to defeat at the hands of Argentina in the autumn, Twickenham had never sounded so mute. It was drab and depressing.

On Saturday, though, the 82,000 spectators cheered and made themselves known to the 30 players on the

just a political-style new-coach bounce, England had a jubilant feel within its four stands – even in defeat – and that’s something that has been missing for months now.

No one pretends Twickenham is the best stadium to watch rugby in, but Saturday’s showing was one which played into the feeling of a new era. England lost and sit in the bottom half of the Six Nations table – but as is the way with this competition, anything can happen each week and England are not down and out just yet.

RUGBY UNION

Matt Hardy looks at what we learned as England began the Borthwick era with another loss

GOLF

Poulter stars in the new docu-series

It will be interesting to see whether Borthwick backs Dombrandt, George and Itoje against Italy

LIV breakaway casts a long shadow over Full Swing but the spite is only fleeting on PGA Tour show, says Frank Dalleres

BITCH AND PUTT Golf’s infighting laid bare in new Netflix series

Worcester sale in spotlight over administrator’s email to witness

EXCLUSIVE

MATT HARDY

THE IMPARTIALITY of Worcester Warriors’ sale process has been called into question after the administrators were accused of pressuring a witness ahead of a parliamentary select committee.

A partner at DCMS–appointed administrators Begbies Traynor warned the witness that they could be sued for defamation if they repeated allegations about preferred bidder Jim O’Toole’s Atlas consortium while giving evidence at the hearing.

The witness told friends they felt intimidated and offended by the warning from regional managing partner Julie Palmer, which was made by email the day before the hearing in November and raises questions about possible favouritism towards Atlas.

The administrators last week exchanged contracts with Atlas despite the Rugby Football Union (RFU) refusing to approve the sale of the former Premiership rugby club to former Worcester chief executive O’Toole’s group until the group made certain pledges.

A complaint relating to the matter was made to Damien Green MP – the acting chair of the DCMS Select Committee – whose office said they could not investigate because the complaint was raised by a third party and not the witness.

“In mid-December the RFU was made aware of the concerns of an individual

regarding the conduct of Begbies Traynor in relation to the DCMS Select Committee Hearing,” the governing body told City A.M.yesterday.

“We have remained in contact with the individual to offer our ongoing support. The RFU has consistently raised the need for this to be a transparent and impartial process.”

Witnesses at select committees are not at risk of being sued for defamation because, like parliament and court hearings, participants are protected by absolute privilege.

Lawyers for the administrators told City A.M. they “categorically denied” seeking to “pressure a witness at the select committee hearing from testifying in any way” and unfairly favouring the Atlas bid over others.

“Ultimately, the Atlas consortium was the highest offer that was capable of implementation in the relevant timescales in accordance with the statutory duties of the administrators,” they added.

O’Toole’s bid – in conjunction with a consortium made up of ex-player James Sandford and Atlas SportsTech –was chosen as the successful bid to rescue the troubled club ahead of other bids, including one fronted by former head coach Steve Diamond.

The winning consortium has not yet met the criteria set by the RFU to operate as an elite club, meaning they could remain frozen out of the professional game, and have been given until 14 February to comply.

Champions France sneak past defiant Italy in Rome thriller

MATT HARDY

SIX Nations Grand Slam holders

France began their Championship defence with a nervy win over Italy in Rome yesterday afternoon.

Les Bleus picked up a try bonus point win with a 29-24 victory in the Italian capital after Italy had led 24-22 in the final quarter.

France crossed the try line on three occasions in the first half –through Thibaud Flament, Thomas Ramos and debutant Ethan Dumortier as the tourists looked to be in fine form.

But Italy pegged them back with a trio of Tommaso Allan penalties and

Kane’s historic strike dents City’s title hopes

FRANK DALLERES

HARRY Kane savoured a “magical moment” after becoming Tottenham Hotspur’s all-time leading goalscorer in yesterday’s Premier League defeat of champions Manchester City.

Kane tucked past City goalkeeper Ederson in the 15th minute for his 267th Spurs goal, eclipsing the record previously held by Jimmy Greaves.

It saw the 10-man north Londoners move to within one point of fourth-placed Newcastle United in the race for a Champions League spot, having played one game more. And it also dented City’s title charge, ensuring that they failed to take advantage of leaders Arsenal’s

slip-up at Everton on Saturday.

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte, who is recovering from having his gall bladder removed, called Kane to congratulate him immediately after the game.

“It is hard to put into words. It is just a magical moment,” said Kane. “I was so desperate to do it with a win. Once we went 1-0 up it was just about keeping a clean sheet. To do it in front of the home fans was a moment I will never forget.”

Kane’s goal was also his 200th in the Premier League, making him only the third man to reach that tally. Alan Shearer’s record of 260 is in his sights. “I’ve got plenty of goals to come, I’m feeling good,” he added. “Alan has set the record to beat. I’ll see if I can beat it.”

City pushed for an equaliser in the second half and Spurs were reduced to 10 men when defender Cristian Romero was sent off for a second booking late on.

But the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium remains an unhappy hunting ground for Pep Guardiola’s team, who have lost on all five of their visits without scoring.

In a snapshot of City’s day, prolific striker Erling Haaland failed to register a single shot for the first time sicne 2020.

“It is disappointing. We have come here to get a result at this stadium, which we haven’t got,” said defender Kyle Walker. But we will move on now. We will work hard this week and try to go on a run that we know that we can do.”

Borthwick rues letting lead slip after England defeat

an unconverted Ange Capuozzo score to trail by just five at the break.

Ramos and Allan traded kicks and Italy were handed a penalty try by referee Matthew Carley which gave the Azzurri a 24-22 lead.

But French class shone and replacement Matthieu Jalibert found his way over to score the winning try. Italy had a chance to win it at the death but lost the ball at the set piece.

“It’s quite tough to swallow, this defeat,” said Allan. “We know we can win, we showed some good rugby today and we will see what happens next week.”

MATT HARDY

ENGLAND head coach Steve Borthwick insisted his side shouldn’t have let an eight-point lead slip at Twickenham after Scotland won three consecutive Calcutta Cups for the first time since 1972 in Saturday’s Six Nations clash.

Scotland winger Duhan van der Merwe scored a brace for the tourists as they beat England 23-29 in Borthwick’s first game in charge of the national side.

“To go in at half-time in the position we were in was an immense credit to the players,” said Borthwick.

“At 20-12 up and in control of the game, we shouldn’t be letting that get

away from us and we did. We’ll have a look at it, and I think that’s part of the growth of the team because you’ve got to go through some pain.

“You don’t want to, but there was certainly enough there on that pitch that said I can see some aspects we’re working on, and I can see some things we need to improve.

“We got ourselves in a position to win that game and we didn’t, and we’ll look at that to make sure we are better going forward.”

England will look to get their Six Nations campaign back up and running when they host Italy, who narrowly lost to France yesterday, next Sunday at Twickenham Stadium.

RUGBY UNION

RUGBY UNION

Begbies Traynor accused of pressuring