Monday 20 March 2023

POLITICAL WINDFALL HOW THE GOVERNMENT WON OVER THE TECH FOUNDERS P14

THE BREAKDOWN WHAT WE KNOW AFTER A GREAT SIX NATIONS P19

SWISS GOVERNMENT BROKERS DEAL THAT SEES UBS BUY EMBATTLED RIVAL CREDIT SUISSE

CHRISTOPHER DORRELL AND STAFF

THE SWISS government last night brokered a discount $3bn (£2.6bn) deal that will see UBS rescue its stricken rival Credit Suisse and avoid “irreparable” damage to the global financial system.

In an extraordinary press conference last night, the Swiss President said deposit outflows at Credit Suisse on Friday meant it was “no longer possible to restore the necessary confidence” in the bank and that a “stabilising” solution was required.

“This solution is a takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS,” Alain Berset said, adding that the historic bank’s failure would have had “unthinkable consequences for Switzerland and the international markets.”

The deal, to be completed by the end of the year, will bring to an end a 176-year history at Credit Suisse.

The lender suffered a dramatic share

price collapse last week after its largest shareholder, the Saudi National Bank, said it would not inject any further capital into the bank, which lost around £7bn last year. There were already fears the aftermath of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse in the United States would signal further bank failures.

Yesterday, the Swiss financial

authorities said that recent measures –including Credit Suisse drawing on a nearly £50bn credit facility provided by the Swiss National Bank –had not been enough to “restore confidence”.

In order to get the deal across the line,

the Swiss authorities have provided UBS with insurance in the form of an almost £8bn loss guarantee on a clearly defined part of Credit Suisse’s portfolio.

Last night, UBS chair Colm Kelleher said the deal represented an “enormous” opportunity. He will remain as chair of the surviving entity, which will continue to be known as UBS, and the bank’s boss Ralph Hamers will also stay on.

Axel Lehmann, the Credit Suisse chair, said that “given recent extraordinary and unprecedented circumstances”, a merger was the right call.

It was not immediately clear what the impact would be on Credit Suisse staff.

Kelleher said he would run down the firm’s investment banking division, but in a statement Credit Suisse said that “UBS has expressed its confidence that the employment of the staff of Credit Suisse will be continued”.

£ CRISIS COVERAGE: PAGES 2-3

STANDING UP FOR THE CITY

Post-2008 regulatory changes are being tested –and passing

HERE we go again? The sudden demise of Credit Suisse, sold for a penny on the pound yesterday to its historic rival UBS, may feel like the portent of a banking crisis. In the UK at least, that fear may be overdone, and a large part of the credit for that must go to the architects of the post-financial crisis reforms. The significantly more stringent liquidity and capital requirements placed on our biggest players have chafed at

THE CITY VIEW

times in the decade since the global financial crisis; in this time of stress they are passing the immediate test. Whether they continue to do so will depend on whether HSBC boss Noel Quinn is right when he says that there is no reason to fear contagion from

Credit Suisse and Silicon Valley Bank’s misadventures spreading into the UK banking sector.

It’s also worth taking a breath more broadly. SVB’s tumble into administration was a strangely modern mix of poor communications and social media herd mentality turning into an old-school bank run.

Suisse’s demise, meanwhile, was largely triggered by an ill-judged Bloomberg interview last week by its largest shareholder. These are

WELL, THIS IS AWKWARD Credit Suisse chair Axel Lehmann was

conference explaining why his bank had been rescued by UBS...

special cases, rather than necessarily emblematic of wider problems.

We have greater concerns for UBS, however. Credit Suisse has been a mess for years, embroiled in cock-ups of its own making. It has hit the headlines with the reliability of a fine Swiss watch, but without the elegance, and in the past decade it has announced so many transformation plans that it may well have ended up where it started. Just last week,

the firm announced it had material weaknesses in its financial reporting.

UBS, almost unwillingly, has ended up in a shotgun marriage with a problematic partner in which it was given precious little time to do its due diligence. Very few arranged accords are happy ones, and it certainly won’t be for staff who will now face the axe. For UBS’ sake, let’s hope the Credit Suisse balance sheet doesn’t look as bad as it might.

forced to sit through an hour long press

sat next to UBS chairman Colm Kelleher

In a hastily arranged press conference late last night, Colm Kelleher –the UBS chairman –was seated next to Axel Lehmann as the men explained how UBS had come to find itself in charge of its historic crosstown rival. Lehmann sat through Kelleher saying he would look to offload ‘tricky’ parts of Credit Suisse while regulators and politicians lined up to say that markets had lost confidence in Credit Suisse. “This has been an extremely challenging time for Credit Suisse and while the team has worked tirelessly to address many significant legacy issues and execute on its new strategy, we are forced to reach a solution today that provides a durable outcome,” Lehmann said in a statement late last night.

Growth forecasting miss and inflation a threat to Chancellor’s fiscal rules plans

JAMES SILVER

THE OFFICIAL Treasury watchdog may be repeating its mistake of over-estimating UK growth, Deutsche Bank analysts have warned, with the forecasting miss potentially wiping out the Chancellor’s spending power in years to come.

In forecasts published by the Office for Budget Responsibility last week, the watchdog said it expected UK GDP growth to settle around 1.75 per cent a year –some way higher than the Bank of England’s prediction of around one per cent.

But Deutsche Bank’s Sanjay Raja told clients in a note over the weekend that the “OBR’s track record to forecasting medium-term growth hasn’t been impressive” and said that between 2010 and 2019 were on average 0.8 per cent ahead of reality.

“As a rough rule of thumb, a near one percentage point miss in GDP will add close to 0.5 percentage points to borrowing... enough to more than wipe out the Chancellor’s current headroom.”

In the note Raja also suggests there is a danger that inflation could eat away at the UK’s public finances.

The official watchdog suggested that consumer price inflation would be flat in 2025 and 2026 before returning to the official target of two per cent.

“What if inflation ends up being higher, as we expect?” the analyst wrote. “While receipts would be lifted by higher prices boosting revenues, spending would rise even faster, driven by higher debt interest costs.”

“Big picture, the Chancellor’s room to manoeuvre is smaller than before,” Raja said, and “pressure to rejig the fiscal rules entirely will only rise from here, particularly with a general election looming”.

Deutsche Bank’s Sanjay Raja said the OBR’s track record was not impressive

Suisse fall puts contagion fears top of mind again

CITY A.M. REPORTERS

THE TAKEOVER of Credit Suisse by UBS has reignited fears of contagion in the banking sector, with many traders expecting US operation First Republic Bank to collapse this week.

A $30bn rescue package organised by Wall Street’s biggest players last week has not assuaged investor concerns, and last night Bloomberg reported it was set for a second ratings downgrade this week.

Yesterday, HSBC boss Noel Quinn said he thought it was unlikely that British banks would be dragged into the mess that began with Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank going under.

“Do I think the UK has a banking crisis before it? No, definitely not. I think the UK is well capitalised, profitable, with strong liquidity and good regulation,” he told The Sunday Times.

Last night, the Bank of England echoed

Central banks still expected to hike rates despite fears of banking crisis

CHRISTOPHER DORRELL

those thoughts, sending out a statement at 7:30pm saying it welcomed the “comprehensive set of actions set out by the Swiss authorities today in order to support financial stability”.

“The UK banking system is well capitalised and funded, and remains safe and sound,” it continued. Nonetheless, the apocalyptic language of the Swiss finance minister at last night’s Credit Suisse press conference is sure to have spooked investors.

“The bankruptcy of Credit Suisse would have had a huge collateral damage -- on the Swiss financial market also, risk of contagion for UBS and other banks, and also international,” Karin Keller-Sutter told reporters.

“I was in contact with my colleagues from the UK and USA. They were very grateful for this solution because they really feared that there could be a bankruptcy of Credit Suisse, with all the losses,” she added.

A TALE OF TWO BANKS

UBS IS TWICE AS BIG AS CREDIT SUISSE IN TERMS OF ASSETS AND GENERATED PROFIT OF $7.6BN LAST YEAR, WHILE CREDIT SUISSE LOST $7.9BN

THE FEDERAL Reserve is expected to raise interest rates for the ninth time in a row later this week despite widespread instability in the US banking sector, though some analysts are wondering if the Bank of England may not push ahead with a widely flagged hike. The Fed will announce its call

Gold benefits from collapse of banks as price spikes during chaos

CHARLIE CONCHIE

GOLD prices reached record highs in the UK last week as investors scrambled for safety in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse and an ensuing banking crisis on both sides of the Atlantic.

Gold, typically seen as a safe haven asset by investors in times of turmoil, showed its strongest weekly gain since mid-November, with prices reaching £1,634 per ounce on Friday, according to trading platform Bullion Vault.

Investors poured cash

into the safe-haven asset throughout the week amid extreme volatility on equity markets, triggered by SVB’s collapse and fears of a looming crisis at embattled Swiss lender Credit Suisse. The FTSE 100 closed down over 5.3 per cent over the week, dragged down by sharp falls in Britain’s big four lenders Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays and Natwest, as well as Analysts said the banking crisis has reignited a flood of investment into gold to escape the market swings.

on Wednesday, with Threadneedle Street the day after.

According to Fedwatch there is a 62 per cent chance the Fed will opt for a 25 basis point hike. As analysts at ING summarised, “while the most prudent course of action may be to pause and digest the fallout from regional banking woes, the Federal Reserve is focused on inflation and will look to hike

25bps if conditions allow”.

Although the 25bps hike would be a climbdown from the 50bps which many were predicting after Jay Powell’s Senate hearing a week ago, it would continue the policy of monetary tightening which has in part sparked financial turmoil in the US over the past few weeks.

Most are expecting the Bank of England to also hike.

The plant in your reception has been living its best life since you got an all-in-one card reader from Barclaycard Payments.

It handles customer payments and manages inventory as well as bookings. Less time on all of that means more time watering the Philodendron in your life.

What’s good for small business is good for everyone.

Source: LSE data, the banks, Reuters calculations

John Lewis staffowned structure at risk –reports

CITY A.M. REPORTERS

THE JOHN Lewis Partnership is reported to be exploring a plan to change its staffowned model as a way of attracting new investment.

The retail giant – which runs the department store chain and the Waitrose supermarket arm – last week cautioned over potential job cuts as it told staff it will not hand out a bonus for only the second time since 1953 after a hefty loss.

The Sunday Times said it understands chairwoman Dame Sharon White is in the early stages of exploring a plan to change its mutual structure in an attempt to raise between £1bn£2bn of new investment.

The sale of a minority stake could require a change to the John Lewis constitution, which would have to be voted on by its partnership council, a group of about 60 staff, the newspaper reported.

Any money raised through selling shares would go into the busi-

Corporation tax hike slammed by CBI vice president as anti-growth

NOAH EASTWOOD

THE VICE president of the Confederation of British Industry has described a hike in corporation tax in the budget as the “worst thing that could have happened”.

nearly a third threatens to stifle economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It is literally killing the goose that lays the golden egg, because what you’re doing is you’re hampering the growth,” Bilimoria said.

budget last week, the government will increase corporation tax from 19 per cent to 25 per cent in an effort to recoup some of the billions of pounds of taxpayer money used to prop up businesses during the pandemic.

ness, rather than the pockets of staff, the Sunday Times said.

A John Lewis Partnership spokesperson said: “We’ve always said we would seek partnerships to help fund our transformation and exciting growth plans. We’ve done this with Ocado in the past and now with Abrdn. Our partners, who own the business, will be the first to hear about any developments.”

In a letter sent to staff last week, Dame Sharon warned of job cuts as part of efforts “to become more efficient and productive”.

The group recorded a £78m loss before exceptional items for the year to January 28, representing a slump from a £181m profit in the previous year, with John Lewis blaming “inflationary pressures”.

The update came a day after the group appointed turnaround specialist Nish Kankiwala as its first chief executive in a structural shake-up.

Speaking to GB News at the weekend, Lord Karan Bilimoria said that the Chancellor’s decision to increase taxes on business by

“This is the worst thing that could have happened... almost one third in one swoop.”

Under plans confirmed in the

The warning shot comes after Astrazeneca snubbed the UK to invest £320m in Ireland for a new factory last month.

Virgin Media O2 considering £3bn swoop for broadband rival Cityfibre

CITY A.M. REPORTER

VIRGIN Media O2 is mulling a takeover bid for rival broadband provider Cityfibre, according to reports.

Virgin Media O2 chief exec Mike Fries and Cityfibre boss Greg Mesch have held initial talks about a tie-up deal potentially worth up to £3bn, sources told The Telegraph. Cityfibre –which claims to be the UK’s largest open access, fibre only operator –currently reaches around 2m homes with its fibre broadband

and is set to have built out sufficient infrastructure to supply 8m homes and 800,000 businesses by 2025, though the firm is currently lossmaking.

Virgin Media O2, which is jointly owned by Liberty Global and Telefonica, is hoping to upgrade its entire network to full fibre –a goal which could be significantly helped by a tie-up with the Londonheadquartered fibre giant.

About half of Cityfibre’s network overlaps with Virgin Media 02.

The tie-up could help Virgin Media O2 in its plans to upgrade its entire network to full fibre

White is looking to raise £1bn-£2bn

THE NOTE BOOK

HSBC’s SVB move a smart one –and not just for the clients

THEPEPPERCORN purchase of Silicon Valley Bank’s (SVB) UK arm by HSBC for £1, signed and sealed just an hour before markets opened last Monday, left the tech industry breathing a sigh of relief –and has left HSBC with what appears to be a double victory.

That SVB UK’s branch had become integral to the tech industry is now well known; but perhaps less talked about is the fact it made (unlike many of its clients) a decent amount of cash, with a profit before tax last year of £88m. That’s a drop in the ocean for HSBC but it’s not unwelcome, and with confidence restored there is no reason to believe that the lender cannot get back up to that level in decent order.

More interesting though perhaps is what the deal does for HSBC’s reputation in the UK which has taken something of a bruising in recent years. Most notably, of

course, there was the utterly supine statement issued in 2020 backing Beijing’s crackdown on human rights in Hong Kong –a misstep that sits uncomfortably next to HSBC’s ESG grand-standing. Ping An’s activism, pushing CEO Noel Quinn to spin off the Asian bank into a separate, Hong Kong-listed entity, further gave weight to the theory that HSBC was increasingly a London bank in name only.

In his interview with The Sunday Times at the weekend, Quinn said he couldn’t stand by and let the firms banking with SVB UK flounder.

It’s unlikely that the shotgun marriage of HSBC and SVB was done for any other reason than smart commercial sense, with the banking giant attaining an unexpected foothold in the start-up and scale-up world.

But for HSBC, the PR benefits are certainly a welcome add-on.

PRIVATE EQUITY, PUBLIC PROBLEMS

Another weekend of highly anticipated rugby union has ended with a refereeing controversy –but the issue for the game is bigger than just Freddie Steward’s absurd sending off against Ireland, and it’s one that should have the many private equity backers who have piled into the game concerned they might find themselves rucked off the ball. The way modern rules are being interpreted is increasingly making the product itself difficult to watch –and changes to the rules around tackling in the grassroots game will see the numbers of club players continue to fall. Many of those who’ve invested –including CVC –are said to want the game to have more razzmatazz. That’s all well and good, but it’s the product that matters.

GHOSN WITH THE WIND SECTION

Whilst the ongoing shenanigans in the banking sector will have had many of us rewatching

The Big Short last week, I also found time to finally watch the brilliant documentary on Carlos Ghosn’s escape from Japanese police on the BBC’s iPlayer, recommended to me by our columnist Josh Williams. Carlos Ghosn: The Last Flight tracks the exec’s rise to power and the splits between French and Japanese business culture that (in his mind at least) led to his extraordinary fall. It is gripping watching –especially as he recounts the near-miss at Osaka’s Kansai airport –and at shy of two hours is significantly easier to watch than any of Ghosn’s later press conferences. Whether Ghosn comes across well, I’ll leave for you to decide.

City A.M.’s Andy Silvester holds the pen for today’s notebook as the City braces for another week of banking turmoil

Quinn’s £1 deal looks to be a PR win for HSBC

B&Q and Wickes set to post lower profits this week

HENRY SAKER-CLARK

B&Q OWNER Kingfisher and rival Wickes are set to reveal falls in profits over the past year as the home improvement firms were knocked back by surging costs.

Kingfisher, which runs B&Q and Screwfix, has previously indicated its sales and profits have weakened over the past year, as it also saw DIY demand from locked-down customers start to soften.

The London-listed firm is expected to reveal pre-tax profits between £730m and £760m for the year to January when it updates investors tomorrow.

It comes after Kingfisher cut its previous estimate of £770m in its latest update in November.

During the update to shareholders, Kingfisher had highlighted a marginal rise in sales over the quarter to October and hailed a “good start” to the final quarter.

However, the group is still likely to deliver a decline in like-for-like sales for the full year after the start of the year failed to keep up with pandemic-boosted demand.

Millennial business leaders twice as likely to support flexible working

NOAH EASTWOOD

MILLENNIAL business leaders favour flexible working for employees in nearly twice as many numbers as their older counterparts, a poll has found.

flexible work arrangements, such as working from home, hiring freelancers and allowing staff to take on multiple jobs.

flexible work.

Analysts have predicted a 2.1 per cent like-for-like fall in sales, with a roughly flat performance over the second half of the year.

But investors are likely to look further forward amid worries that continued inflationary pressure and weakness in the housing market could further weigh on demand.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said: “Shareholders and analysts will then look for an update on the Powered by Kingfisher programme and the financial priorities outlined by chief executive Thierry Garnier as part of the plan.

“They will look for sales growth faster than the overall market, profit growth in line with and then faster than sales growth and strong free cash flow.”

Meanwhile, rival Wickes has seen a more positive trajectory, which has helped shares improve by around a fifth since October, though it is still coming under pressure from continued cost pressures.

The firm is expected to report pre-tax profits of between £72m and £76m for 2022 on Thursday, down from £85m in 2021.

In a survey by Opinium, 73 per cent of UK business executives aged 34 and under said their companies had benefitted from embracing

Transport Committee pours cold water on UK maritime strategy

LUKE THOMAS

GOVERNMENT and the maritime industry must invest in better tech and improve worker conditions or risk falling behind internationally, the Transport Select Committee has warned. In a report published today, the committee criticised the government’s Maritime 2050 strategy and its “muddle” of recommendations, which chair Ian Stewart said put the UK at risk of missing net zero targets.

With cargo volumes expected to triple by 2050, the committee said it was vital the UK invested in new, cleaner tech.

Following the P&O Ferries sacking scandal last year, the report also addressed the need to invest in workers.

“Many will be supportive of the government’s plans to enforce the UK minimum wage equivalent for seafarers who frequently work here, albeit on ships registered abroad, but this will not be sufficient to ensure proper treatment of seafarers,” Stewart said.

Baby Boomers –aged 55 and over –were more sceptical, with only 34 per cent of those polled believing that flexible working was likely to work in their companies and only seven per thinking companies should actively seek to accommodate those seeking

The generational split comes as hybrid and flexible working largely becomes the norm in the postpandemic landscape, though the anticipated consequential death of the office has failed to materialise. Indeed, the City of London Corporation last week revealed it had granted consent for 370,000 sq m of office space between 2020 and 2022.

AS SPRING –apparently –springs today, the London Eye has a had a good scrub to mark the first day of the new season. Staff braved heights of 135 metres over the weekend to make sure each of the landmark’s 32 pods were sparkling clean.

A WHEEL GOOD CLEAN London Eye gets spring clean to mark start of the season

SNP boss, and husband to Nicola Sturgeon, Peter Murrell steps down

JESSICA FRANK-KEYES

The boss of the Scottish National Party Peter Murrell has quit the party amid a row over declining membership figures, as the race to succeed first minister Nicola Sturgeon enters its final week. Chief executive Peter Murrell resigned this weekend after reports of a threat of a no confidence vote

by the National Executive Committee.

Candidates Kate Forbes and Ash Regan had raised concerns about election integrity while Humza Yousaf, seen as the favourite for the top job, dismissed these as “baseless smears”.

Recent polls suggest Forbes is ahead with Scots, while Yousaf has been seen as representing continuity.

It came after media chief Murray Foote quit on Friday following a row

over the party’s membership numbers revealing the SNP had lost 30,000 members in just over a year. Murrell, who is married to outgoing leader Sturgeon, said: “Responsibility for the SNP’s responses to media queries about membership number lies with me as chief executive. While there was no intent to mislead, I accept this has been the outcome.”

Spring statement fails to reassure as Brits’ money worries increase

JESSICA FRANK-KEYES

MORE than a third of Brits surveyed say the budget last week made them more rather than less concerned about the state of the UK’s economy.

Despite rosier economic projections and increased spending on childcare, Brits have become more concerned about the nation’s economy and their personal finances since Jeremy Hunt unveiled his spring statement last

week, according to Ipos polling. Gideon Skinner, from Ipsos, said, while realising external factors were also at fault, many Brits blamed the Conservatives “for at least some of Britain’s economic difficulties”.

Meanwhile a separate poll for Opinium finds more than twice as many voters would prefer a Labour government led by Keir Starmer to be running public services and the economy.

Johnson facing partygate ‘witch hunt’, allies fear

a recruitment firm during the Covid-19 crisis.

FORMER Prime Minister Boris Johnson could face a “witch hunt” before MPs at a grilling over his involvement in the partygate scandal, a key ally has warned.

Lord Greenhalgh, who was a deputy mayor during Johnson’s tenure at City Hall, said he was “concerned it will be a witch hunt” and hoped he would get a “fair and just hearing”.

Johnson is set to appear before the Privileges Committee on Wednesday, where MPs will quiz him on his comments over the partygate row, including claims he misled the House of Commons.

His allies have previously dubbed the process a “kangaroo court”, according to reports.

“We want swift justice – and I think this has gone on for too long – and we also want to have sure justice,” Greenhalgh said.

It comes as the Commons health committee chairman, Conservative MP Steve Brine, is under investigation over claims he lobbied the NHS for

The ex-PM will publish evidence in his defence aiming to clear his name ahead of the televised evidence session, which could last as long as five hours, according to the BBC.

An initial update on the committee’s findings claimed Johnson, who was fined by the Met Police’s partygate investigation, may have misled parliament multiple times – which he has repeatedly denied.

Labour committee chairwoman Harriet Harman is expected to lead the questioning, which will see Johnson aim to convince seven cross-party MPs that he did not mislead the House.

If he is found to have misled MPs, he risks a suspension from the Commons. If this is longer than ten days, it could spark a recall petition from constituents and trigger a by-election in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat, where he saw a 7,210 majority in 2019.

JESSICA FRANK-KEYES

Jeremy Hunt’s budget last week has left over a third of Brits more concerned, Ipsos found

Boris Johnson will face MPs on Wednesday

No sign of crash in property price data for March

NOAH EASTWOOD

THE AVERAGE price of homes entering the market has grown by £3,000 this month, with the housing market continuing to defy gravity.

Analysts have been expecting a significant fall in property prices this year, with higher interest rates believed likely to increase the supply of homes due to defaults and tamper demand due to the increased cost of mortgages.

However new Rightmove data suggests that the market is rebounding after a slow winter.

Top of the ladder properties, which make up the largest and most expensive houses for sale, led the national average with a 1.2 per cent increase in prices.

Homes for first-time buyers rose in price to a more modest 0.4 per cent, while second steppers looking to move up the property ladder saw a 0.5 per cent rise.

Asking prices for new sellers do still remain £5,800 below their peak in October 2022. Average mortgage rates have begun to fall, with the average rate for a 15 per cent deposit five-year fixed now

Manufacturing shows green shoots of recovery but fears still abound

ALAN JONES AND REPORTERS

at 4.65 per cent, below October’s astronomical 5.89 per cent.

That still compares to the average of 2.48 per cent in March 2022.

There was a slight fall in asking prices in London of 0.1 per cent, bringing down the capital’s average to £680,806.

Larger homes however are showing some signs of coming down in price at

FEARS of a recession in the manufacturing industry have eased slightly, but significant growth remains elusive, according to a new report. Companies are seeing a rebound in activity in the first quarter of the year as domestic and global markets improved, said a report by

Make UK and business advisory firm BDO.

Their research suggested the improvement was being largely driven by strong demand in the electronics and mechanical equipment sectors.

This could be due to companies investing in digitalisation and extra capacity to counter labour shortages, while demand for

electronics goods was said to be especially strong from overseas, especially the EU.

Fhaheen Khan, senior economist at Make UK, said there had been a rebound at the start of the year. “However, one swallow doesn’t make a summer, and it is far too early to say the worst has passed given the significant challenges the economy faces,” Khan said.

a faster rate.

Larger home sales are 10 per cent short of 2019’s average.

Tim Bannister, a property expert at Rightmove, said lagging sales for bigger homes was due to “a more cautious approach to trading up due to the cost of living, and even perhaps concern over the running costs of a larger home”.

“The beginning of the spring season sees stability and confidence continuing to return to the market as it recovers from the turbulence at the end of 2022. The pace of the market reached an unsustainable level in the last two years,” Bannister continued.

Raab to host justice ministers as Putin makes surprise Ukraine trip

JESSICA FRANK-KEYES

INTERNATIONAL justice ministers are meeting in London today to discuss support for the investigation into war crimes in Ukraine.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued a warrant for Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s arrest, accusing him of bearing personal responsibility for the abduction of children.

It is the first arrest warrant to be issued against a leader of one of the

five permanent members of the United Nations security council.

In an apparent show of defiance, Putin reportedly made a surprise visit to the occupied Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on Sunday, where he was filmed by Russian state media. The trip to the Donbas region is thought to be his first in the area since the invasion last year.

The UK, which has upped its funding of the ICC, will host 40 ministers today at Lancaster House.

Vladimir Putin visited Mariupol in occupied eastern Ukraine on Sunday

There are few signs of a dramatic property price crash in the data

Moulding set for further battles as activist investor Sparta muscles in

JAMES SILVER

THE GOVERNANCE at embattled retailer THG is to come under even more scrutiny, it appears, after the arrival of a second activist on its shareholder register.

Sparta Capital has joined Kelso as THG shareholders, according to a report in The Sunday Times.

The owner of My Protein and a

host of other online retailers, founded by Matt Moulding, has lost around 93 per cent of its value since floating in 2020, with Moulding promising to reform governance at the firm in an effort to win investors round –including the appointment of Charles Allen as chair.

However some eighteen months after promising to give up his ‘golden share’ in the business, he is yet to do

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so, preventing THG from listing on the premium market.

Moulding told GQ magazine in 2021 that the process of going public “has just sucked from start to finish” and said he would not have listed in London had he known then what he knows now. Shares have rebounded a little this year after record sales in the 2022 financial year.

Oxford Street set for rebound, says business lobby

LAURA MCGUIRE

OXFORD Street is set to rebound this year, reckons the boss of a central London business body, some thirty-six months after the UK was plunged into lockdown and the world of retail potentially changed forever.

The pandemic forced once seemingly indestructible retailers such as Debenhams, Topshop and Gap off Oxford Street, the city’s most popular shopping destination, leaving the capital’s main drag facing something of an existential crisis.

Even today, 36 months post-lockdown, there are some 24 vacant lots spanning across Marble Arch, Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street, and a further 29 have been overtaken by American candy and souvenir stores that have caught the attention of Westminster Council for hawking counterfeit goods.

While Philip Green’s flagship Topshop site, which was wiped off the high street after his Arcadia brand was forced into administration, is now being transformed into an Ikea, the two smaller

outlets which were once home to Miss Selfridge now lay vacant.

While currently, the outlook for Oxford Street looks uncertain, prominent retail figures have told City A.M. that they remain hopeful about the future of the shopping destination –with a flurry of international brands reportedly keen to swoop in and carve out a space on the West End.

SUPPORTING ALL MEMBERS OF HIS MAJESTY’S ARMED FORCES

There are still almost 30 ‘candy shops’ on the city’s main drag

“While the last few years have created new challenges for the high street, we are seeing brands across the West End embrace the demands of the post-pandemic consumer,” Dee Corsi, boss of the New West End Company, said, pointing to “experiential offerings” and “innovative leisure occupiers”.

Corsi’s optimism was matched by James Abel from Newmark, which represents North American retailers, who said retailers were jumping into prime locations at knock-down rates.

ANNOUNCEMENTS LEGAL AND PUBLIC NOTICES

TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING (DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT PROCEDURE) (ENGLAND) ORDER 2015

PLANNING (LISTED BUILDINGS AND CONSERVATION AREAS) REGULATIONS 1990

Notice under Article 10 of an application for a non-material amendment to a planning permission

Notice under Regulation 6 of Application for Listed Building Consent Proposed development at: Land bound by Fleet Street, Salisbury Court, Salisbury Square, Primrose Hill & Whitefriars Street, EC4Y 1HT.

We give notice that the City of London Corporation (“the Applicant”) is applying to the City of London for a non-material amendment to a planning for the following:

“Non-material amendment under Section 96a of the Town and Country Planning Act (1990) to planning permission dated 30 July 2021 ref. 20/00997/FULEIA.”

We also give notice that: the City of London Corporation (“the Applicant”) is applying to the City of London under Section 19 to vary condition 15 of the listed building consent application (ref. 20/00998/LBC) approved on 30 July 2021 which lists out the approved drawings. It is proposed that Condition 15 is updated to reflect the updated drawings.

Any owner of the land or tenant who wishes to make representations about this application, should write to City of London, PO Box 270, Guildhall, EC2P 2EJ within 21 days of the date of this notice.

Gerald Eve LLP

On behalf of: City of London Corporation (“the Applicant”)

Statement of owners' rights: The grant of planning permission does not affect owners' rights to retain or dispose of their property, unless there is some provision to the contrary in an agreement or lease.

Statement of agricultural tenants' rights: The grant of planning permission for non-agricultural development may affect agricultural tenants' security of tenure.

'Owner' means a person having a freehold interest or a leasehold interest the unexpired term of which is not less than seven years. 'Tenant' means a tenant of an agricultural holding any part of which is comprised in the land.

PRINCIPAL SPONSOR

COMMODITIES

THEheads of both leading watchdogs for the water industry were grilled in Parliament last week, facing questions over sewage spills, miles of leaky pipelines, chronic underinvestment in new projects, poor customer service and troubling water quality.

Yet, their answers to MPs are unlikely to reassure the public, with Ofwat coming across as technocratic and slow-paced, while the Environment Agency (EA) appeared more concerned with heavy fines for the sector than improving outcomes for customers.

To keep it simple, the Environment Agency oversees regulations for the quality of British waters, while Ofwat scrutinises the suppliers feeding sewage into them.

The regulators’ boss David Black told the Welsh Affairs Committee that it was developing “sustained actions to drive up performance” amid public criticism over sewage leaks.

However, Ofwat finds itself tinkering around the edges, with its primary threat to water companies so far being allocating less money under-pricing reviews rather than recommending bans or removing suppliers. Black was also unprepared to determine what an unauthorised sewage outflow was, an increasingly bizarre position when the sight of a flowing pipe of excrement is a staple of most British beaches these days.

Meanwhile, departing EA chief executive Sir James Bevan gave an alarming testimony to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee last week – which exposed the EA’s own lack of willpower to take on the challenge of cleaning Britain’s rivers and the lack of tools at their disposal even if they wanted to.

He argued the EA’s remit had become increasingly challenging during his seven-year tenure, with year on year budget cuts. This would jeopardise its ability to reach targets set out in its 25-year environmental plan with the government including river health, water quality and quantity.

As it stands, just 14 per cent of rivers meet good ecological status instead of 75 per cent – one of many ambitious targets in the plan.

Bevan said: “If we do not get more resources over the next few years, I am not confident we will hit targets. I don’t think we will.”

However, Bevan also wasn’t prepared to challenge the financial arrangements water suppliers enjoyed – with the chief executive rejecting government proposals for up to £250m fines that breach environmental laws. This is a sharp contrast to former chair Emma Howard Boyd pushing for water bosses to go to prison it they oversaw serious and sustained breaches of environmental laws.

He also denied the agency has been letting water companies mark their own homework.

Instead, Bevan argued the EA’s system of self-monitoring and reporting meant it was the EA which does the marking and forces water companies to pay for their pollution and sewage leaks. “I actually think with those appropriate checks and balances, operator self-monitoring is a good thing,” he added.

City A.M.’s Nicholas Earl delves into the nuts and bolts of business in his weekly column

NET ZERO FOR THEE, BUT NOT FOR ME

The EU’s climate goals suffered a setback with Germany blocking a ban on new combustion engines by 2035, in a bid to shield its industry amid the transition to EVs. This could be a growing source of conflict within the bloc, as the EU has signed off on targeting a 55 per cent cut in emissions 2030 and in reaching net zero emissions by 2050. EU officials fear the risk of contagion, with laws on pollution from heavy trucks and industrial-scale farms among other rules member states want to weaken.

DO REGULATORS HAVE THE FIGHT?

which have underperformed so poorly, when he takes up the job in July.

NEED TO WORK TOGETHER

Opinions are subjective, but data is not – and Bevan’s own agency revealed that sewage discharges between 2016 and 2021 amounted to over 9.4m hours.

In the UK, the quality of water levels was flatlining with 62 serious water-pollution incidents in 2021, which was being driven by population growth, global warming and the conduct of water suppliers. Nevertheless, with the charge sheet facing suppliers ever growing – there is a growing possibility for the industry to put water firms under pressure, with all parties working together over the issue.

that water companies across England will have to explain why storm outflows are happening and what is being done to fix them, under new government plans to clamp down on sewage spills. She wants all firms to provide an improvement plan for every storm outflow – with suppliers told to prioritise sewage reductions at bathing sites and nature habitats.

Meanwhile, the EA has teamed up with Ofwat to investigate every company across the industry over potentially unauthorised sewage spills, and have taken enforcement action against six suppliers.

This includes Anglian Water, Northumbrian Water, South West Water, Thames Water, Wessex Water and Yorkshire Water.

Separately, Ofwat found that 14 companies

FURTHER DELAYS AT THE LME

spent their budget for improving their wastewater network between 2020 and 2022.

The watchdog has also ordered water firms to toughen up plans to secure reliable services in the coming decades, in Ofwat’s latest clampdown on the much-maligned industry.

If they fail to come up with more ambitious strategies, City A.M. understands Ofwat could cut the funding and profit allowances for suppliers for the upcoming price review.

While the testimonies of industry bosses fail to be reassuring, the recent actions from the two watchdogs suggest a viable pathway to a more stringently regulated industry – with the DEFRA secretary on side.

The question is whether they have the willpower to achieve it.

The London Metal Exchange has pushed back the reopening of nickel trading during Asian hours after it found bags full of stones at one of its warehouses. The LME revealed the nonconformant nickel represented 0.14 per cent of live nickel stock in its warehouses. It will now open on March 27 rather than today, in another blow for the world’s oldest metal exchangewhich has been forced to restrain nickel trading for nearly a year following a series of cancelled short bets after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

SEND US YOUR THOUGHTS

Can the water industry get back on track? Email Nicholas Earl at nicholas.earl@cityam.com

Tories should have put solar power at heart of budget - energy firm boss

NICHOLAS EARL

THE GOVERNMENT should have prioritised ramping up renewables such as solar power instead of pledging £20bn to carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS), argued energy bosses, industry bodies and think tanks.

Nigel Pocklington, chief executive

of supplier Good Energy told City A.M. that CCUS had a role in the path to net zero, even if it was sometimes used as a “fig leaf for maintaining fossil fuel interests longer.” However, he criticised the comparative lack of policies and funding in the Budget towards reviving onshore wind and boosting solar power – an increasingly gaping

issue with the government targeting a fivefold increase in generation from 14GW to 70GW by 2035 as part of its energy security strategy.

Meanwhile, industry body Solar Energy UK raised concerns over the UK’s creaking grid, with a boost in electrification and transmission cabling required to reach the country’s energy ambitions.

CITY DASHBOARD

LONDON REPORT

All eyes on the Fed and the Bank in a week to define new narrative

TRADERS across the world will be waiting with bated breath for the Federal Reserve to declare its next move on interest rates on Wednesday, with the decision having implications across the world.

Most still expect a rate rise but the volatility in the banking sector has led some analysts to expect that the Fed may at the very least give updated dot-plot guidance.

The Bank of England will follow on Thursday.

“Recent comments from governor Andrew Bailey have helped to give the MPC some wriggle room this week, when he said that nothing had been decided when it came to further hikes in rates,” reckoned Michael Hewson, chief markets analyst at CMC Markets.

“Bailey did go on to say that more rate rises would likely be needed and that the lessons of the 1970s ought not to be forgotten,” Hewson noted.

Elsewhere, traders will be keeping an eye on the UK’s latest inflation numbers, out on Wednesday. The Office for Budget

Responsibility reckons it will fall back from double digits to the Bank’s two per cent target by the end of the year. Retail sales are out on Friday, providing an insight into the state of the high street and Brits’ cost of living confidence.

On the corporate front, Kingfisher headline a busy enough week with full-year results tomorrow. Revenues will be expected to come out higher than the year before, but guidance for next year as the pandemic’s boost to the DIY trade recedes into the rear-view mirror.

JD Wetherspoon will tell us whether the pub trade is battling through higher energy costs and inflation on Friday, with some no doubt colourful commentary from boss Tim Martin to accompany the numbers. On Tuesday we’ll hear from Yougov and Oxford Nanopore, Fevertree and Vistry will report full years on Wednesday, and Wickes will add to the Kingfisher theme with their results on Friday. Keep an eye out for results from Nike and Gamestop across the pond, both of which are due after the bell tomorrow.

BEST OF THE BROKERS

To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com

Analysts at Peel Hunt have slashed their earnings per share estimates for Close Brothers Group by 11 per cent for the full year 2024 and 10 per cent for 2025, after “sluggish loan growth, lower expectations for net interest margin and a higher tax rate” in its first half earnings last week. They say a “long-awaited credit event that could trigger a lending opportunity” has yet to materialise. They say hold the stock and set a target price of 977p.

A recovery in Saga’s cruise business looks set to boost the over-50s specialist in the long run but profits remain weighed down by the firm’s lacklustre insurance offer, brokers at Peel Hunt say. They have slashed their forecasts and say a potential sale of the insurance underwriter “remains a priority and should bring welcome relief ahead of the 2024 bond redemption”. They set a target price of 130p and say hold the stock.

NO FANS OF THE BANK HERE “Bailey’s recent comments that the economy was evolving in line with expectations were particularly laughable given that a few months ago the central bank was saying that the UK economy was already in recession.”

MICHAEL HEWSON, CMC MARKETS

EDITED BY SASCHA O’SULLIVAN

Rishi Sunak’s cool head after the collapse of SVB was a political windfall

of HSBC’s size and weight behind it. The Bank of England set its seal on the arrangement: “No other UK banks are directly materially affected by these actions, or by the resolution of SVB UK’s US parent bank. The wider UK banking system remains safe, sound, and well capitalised.” And it cost the taxpayer not a penny.

THERE are two kinds of politicians: the visionary dreamer who can conjure up the journey to a better tomorrow; and the calm and reassuring technician who will attend to emergencies efficiently, with minimal fuss.

If no one has accused Rishi Sunak and his Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, of falling into the former category, they may have proved last weekend they can be the latter, as they responded to the crisis which engulfed Silicon Valley Bank.

When US regulators closed down SVB on March 10, it was the biggest failure of a financial institution since the global crisis of 2007/08, and the second biggest bank failure in US history. Silicon Valley Bank had been created - perhaps worryingly, over a game of poker - to cater particularly to startups, and supported a large number of tech companies. Its UK subsidiary is a mainstay of the domestic tech ecosystem: almost a third of UK tech firms bank with SVB. For many, it is their only access to finance. A failure would have had an instant and severe effect on the sector.

Tech businesses have very specific patterns of funding - and consequently very specific needs. They tend to exist

as loss-making entities for a long time before achieving profitability, and they need to draw heavily on their bank accounts between investment rounds, which makes them awkward customers for traditional banks. But SVB’s tech-dominated customer base made it, perhaps ironically, unusually vulnerable to an old-fashioned bank run.

If SVB UK had collapsed, the losses to tech firms would have been horrendous, even unsurvivable for many. Only £85,000 is guaranteed in a bank account, and companies would have been unable to pay their staff and suppliers.

The prime minister knows this

world: he studied for his MBA in California, worked for investment giants Goldman Sachs and launched a US-

based hedge fund in 2010. To his credit, he “got” the problem early on. Downing Street and the Treasury officials abandoned weekend plans, engaged with the tech sector, and a deal was quickly agreed with HSBC. The bank would buy SVB UK for £1, safeguarding account holders’ deposits and allowing the bank to keep going almost without pause.

HSBC has got a good deal. Last year, SVB UK recorded pre-tax profits of £88m. It has deposits of nearly £7bn and loans of around £5.5bn. The parent company now has an experienced, agile foothold in the important tech sector, while SVB UK has the security

HSBC’s purchase of Silicon Valley Bank shows the power and limits of government

THE collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the US and recent events in the European banking sector have reminded us of the fragile nature of our financial systems.

So the Chancellor’s budget just days ago came at an important moment.

Billed by the government as the ‘Growth Budget’, the announcement of a review of how defined contribution pension funds can be better utilised to support high-growth industries to start, scale, and stay in the country is a positive step forward. I know that many in the City will look forward to working with the Treasury as these plans develop.

We in the City welcome this return to political stability. London’s place among leading financial centres – our ability to attract firms, investment, and people – depends on our international reputation and that was put at risk last year. Sunak’s government recognises the need for political and economic stability. It provides the foundations upon which our country’s long-term success is built.

Chris Hayward

But even with something of a return to politics as normal, London faces immense challenges to retain its place among the world’s financial elite. As global financial systems have become more interconnected, the world has become smaller; competitiveness among leading financial centres has increased.

The government has taken steps to strengthen our appeal: the Edinburgh Reforms and Financial Services and Markets Bill are welcome efforts to reshape our regulatory environment and inject some much-needed growth into the economy.

But not all things can be left to government to solve. Some challenges require a time horizon that transcends the often-frenzied day-to-day world of

Westminster. In our parliamentary system, we too often prioritise political expediency over economic competency, short-term goals over long-term gains, and singular headlines over a sustained narrative. We need to turn elsewhere for long-term solutions.

In business, we cannot afford to set targets purely based on the election cycle or lurch from one idea to another based on that day’s public polling. Instead, firms often make decisions years in advance so things like expensing for machinery or investing in skills mean many businesses will have already decided whether or not to invest.

Nowhere is this need for a longer-term outlook needed more that in financial services. Over the last couple of weeks, we have seen the results of problems that have been years in the making: companies including Arm, CRH, and Flutter have all chosen New York rather than London to list. Such moves are symptomatic of London’s perceived problem with investor pools, pensions reforms, and IPO valuations.

The City and the sector need to act -

quickly. We need a cohesive, cogent, and compelling vision for financial services that covers not just the next year but the next decade.

Later this week, the City of London Corporation will announce a major project – convening leaders from across the financial services sector – to provide long-term direction to reinforce and renew our global position. We will work collaboratively through our network of partners to build a robust case for reform, developing a shared strategy for the future, and create a detailed route map for success.

By bringing the whole financial services sector together, we will speak with one voice on the serious challenges that we are facing. We will be able to provide the government, regulators, and institutions with clarity of thought and share the very best ideas from the industry to ensure the City’s long-term success – and that is an ambition worth pursuing.

£ Chris Hayward is the policy chair of the City of London Corporation

Politics is a rough business. Gordon Brown was widely praised for his role in tackling the global financial crisis, but was given scant credit when voters came to cast their ballots at the general election in 2010. It would be an optimistic Tory who predicted the saving of SVB UK will lead to an inexorable rise in the government’s fortunes. But the commentariat is very quick to criticise and should at least be willing to praise where it is warranted.

What happened over that recent weekend was what one actually wants in a government: swift, effective, unshowy competence. Jeremy Hunt’s appointment as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the dying, thrashing days of Liz Truss’s premiership was heavily billed as the return of “the grown-ups”: it had an element of truth.

Electoral politics will always require governments to show they are doing, as well as simply doing. The Conservatives’ reputation for competence has taken a battering over many years. But the HSBC deal showed that Whitehall can still act when it has to, and for that, the tech sector and the country more widely should be grateful. More of this, please.

GIVE

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

Eliot Wilson

Rishi Sunak and his Chancellor had to intervene to respond to the Silicon Valley Bank crisis

UP YOUR DAY JOB Mick Lynch, the beacon of the last six or so months of industrial unrest, might have to find a hobby if pay deals with the unions keep going to the way they’re going. RMT members are currently voting on a deal and the NHS is on the cusp of one too. Might be time to try chess?

The government’s response to the collapse was what we wanted: effective competence

WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR VIEWS

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Startups, find your AI ethics

[Re: Slack to offer users a ChatGPT AI tool which will write messages for them ‘in seconds’, March 7]

As the world awaited the launch of GPT4 this week, ethical concerns pertaining to Chat-GPT have increased in parity with levels of excitement around its new capabilities. Startups and researchers are becoming increasingly aware of AI-related ethical concerns such as privacy, bias, and human autonomy, with diversity being cited as a foundational problem in AI ethics. Whilst there is certainly an awareness of these risks, startups lack the necessary resources and tools to address these challenges, particularly as more decide to integrate generative AI into their operations. Startups and other companies will have the opportunity to leverage GPT-4’s advanced capabilities,

ANOTHER

as OpenAI announced an API waitlist for developers looking to build applications and services using its language model. As generative AI continues to gain wider adoption, organisations that ensure AI ethics are accessible and easily implemented will be key to reducing ethical concerns related to AI in wider society. At Digital Catapult we’re committed to providing methods and tools to ensure that AI ethics is beneficial to all the companies we work with. We aim to show that responsible innovation is not divorced from a business or product. Rather, ethics is key to ensuring product-market fit, usercentred design, and effective stakeholder and risk management. Our work improves teams, products, and business models, while minimising ethical concerns, and promoting the successful application and integration of AI tools including GPT-4.

Robert Smith Digital Catapult

KIND OF BROMANCE

Xi Jinping to visit Vladimir Putin today

After years of vague pledges, company boards are starting to care about their emissions

Kari Mccormick

AS WE head towards yet another summit on climate change, this time in the UAE, we should look at how far British businesses have come on the “E” in ESG. Many are not just embracing opportunities to transition to net-zero, but genuinely leading the field in embedding ESG values in a just transition.

But there are developing risks on this journey. Over the last year, litigation rose globally against governments and companies alike. They are held to account for climate commitments it is alleged they should have made – or ones they have made but are not delivering on. Regulatory enforcement is also on the rise.

China and Russia are good friends, and they haven’t tried to hide it. But in a renewed show of support, the Chinese president will be in Russia from today until Wednesday to talk about the war with Putin. Xi Jinping has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

EXPLAINER-IN-BRIEF: SUNAK’S WINDSOR FRAMEWORK PUT TO THE TEST

Of Rishi Sunak’s achievements as Prime Minister to date, agreeing a new deal with the European Union over rules governing Northern Ireland was a jewel in his crown. This week it will be put to the test. The so-called “Stormont Brake”, a cornerstone element of the deal will be voted on by MPs, with Brexiteers in the Conservative party yet to say how they will vote. The brake gives the Northern Irish assembly the ability to block new rules from applying in Northern Ireland. Crucially, in order to do this, power sharing at Stormont, which has broken down since elections last May, would have to be restored. The DUP has refused

to participate until a deal is agreed which it finds acceptable. By agreeing a key part of the deal, known as the Windsor Framework, which gives power to Stormont over the rules applicable in Northern Ireland by making power sharing a prerequisite, Sunak has made it difficult for the Unionists of the DUP to refuse. If the DUP would to continue their boycott, they would be denied these powers.

Tony Blair, who agreed the Good Friday Deal, has called the Windsor Framework “the most practical way forward”. The Conservative MPs on the European Research Group have not yet said how they will vote.

Greenwashing, and the quality of climate change corporate reporting, continues to be the focus of regulators. While of obvious relevance to the financial services industry, the ESG focus areas are significant to businesses more generally: initiatives in the UK in the next 24 months include a review of the corporate governance code, net-zero transition plans, sustainability disclosure requirements for asset managers, a new anti-greenwashing rule that will apply to all regulated firms, and proposals to bring ESG data and ratings providers into the FCA’s regulatory perimeter.

Many companies already report on their net-zero commitments. Focus has turned to transition plans - the roadmaps setting out how the company will deliver on those commitments with interim targets being a key component. These plans will be carefully scrutinised by stakeholders, and challenged if not supportable. The government is committed to the UK becoming the world’s first net zeroaligned financial centre and sees transition plans as a key component of that ambition. The Transition Plan Taskforce is expected to report later in 2023 with a “gold standard” framework. FCA guidance already encourages UK-listed companies to publish their transition plans for financial years from January of last year. British companies also report according to the parameters of another taskforce, specifically on financial disclosures related to climate. These disclosures will be made by larger private companies for the first time in

Failing to invest in compliance is not an option anymore for British businesses

2023. Once the International Sustainability Standards Board finalises disclosure standards later this year, the FCA will be looking to implement them in the UK for listed companies with a new framework.

Another area of focus for many companies is going to be non-financial reporting on sustainability issues like environmental rights, social rights, human rights and governance factors. This reporting is required by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. A number of UK businesses, and other non-EU head-quartered companies that nevertheless have a footprint

in the EU, are currently seeking advice on the application of the directive to their business.

These developments are just the tip of the iceberg. While climate remains a core focus, there are many other aspects of ESG that companies are expected to act and report upon.

Attention is also turning to diversity and inclusion, including at board level, both through regulatory requirements for listed companies and voluntary initiatives.

It should be great news for everyone to see corporates demonstrating genuine leadership on this, and seeing legislators taking it seriously. But it also means a huge array of regulatory and legal developments companies need to stay abreast of. The challenge for some will be whether they have the resources, expertise and data they need. However, failing to invest in compliance is not an option. The enforcement and litigation cost of failing to comply is a risk businesses cannot afford to take.

£

Kari

Mccormick is a litigation partner at Eversheds Sutherland

The UAE will host the next climate change summit later this year

INCOMPREHENSIBLE Retracing the Holocaust with survivors

I’m not generally a nervous traveller, it would be something of a professional impediment, but I must admit to being nervous of visiting some of the most horrific sites of the Holocaust in Poland, with March of the Living UK. I wasn’t nervous of the places themselves; I was nervous about how I would feel, or if I would feel anything at all.

March of the Living is an annual Holocaust education trip, led by expert educators and accompanied by survivors of the Nazi atrocities. Without these survivors, I doubt I would have visited these depraved sites. I don’t see Auschwitz as a sacred pilgrimage as some do, and I avoid what I call “terror tourism”, making a holiday out of someone else’s tragedy. But to hear the first-hand testimony of Holocaust survivors back where it actually happened is a rare privilege and, with the passing of time, only getting rarer.

The 300-strong UK delegation is a mixed bag. There are plenty of Jewish people – of course – but also non-Jews. Some come for education, others to honour their families, others to learn something about themselves. But this trip really isn’t about us, it’s about victims who were murdered and victims who survived.

My group is joined as we journey from Warsaw to Krakow by Harry Olmer, who was 12 when war broke out in Poland. Taking a pitstop in the grand Yeshiva (Jewish Study Centre) in Lublin, Harry starts to tell us his story. He speaks quietly, still with his Polish accent, and there’s an urgency amongst the group to be close to him so as not to miss a word.

Originally from a small town called Sosnowiec, close to the German border, Harry recalls the “disorganised Polish army” retreating from the invading Germans and remembers not understanding why. His father, grasping the danger, split the large family of eight for safety and sent Harry’s mother and older siblings ahead to stay with their grandmother in a neighbouring town, while Harry remained with his father and two younger sisters.

Harry’s story is harrowing. There were countless brushes with death and months of torturous physical labour in a munitions factory, supplying weapons for the German army, and even being forced to build future concentration camps. In a twisted logic though, every minute of slave labour was saving his life – if you weren’t useful, you were dead – but that’s no consolation in the midst of the horror.

The last time Harry saw his mother was in a cold, damp field where they had camped for four days awaiting onward transport. When the trains arrived, prisoners were selected for different transportation: no one survived his mother’s final journey.

The Nazis’ gut-wrenching records show trainloads of victims – predominantly, though not exclusively Jewish – were murdered in Belzec. In muted horror, we join Harry as he returns to his mother’s final resting place for a sixth time.

Belzec shocks me. Today, the site is covered by a memorial, protecting the 31 mass graves below from the ravages of wild dogs that Harry witnessed when he first visited three decades ago. The memorial itself is visually arresting - a blackened, almost volcanic landscape – but the real stop-in-your-tracks surprise is how small it is. Belzec is smaller than a primary school playing field, yet within just a year this

very square exterminated 600,000 people. That’s the equivalent of killing every single person who passes through Waterloo station (London’s busiest) for the entirety of the next three days.

In 1942, no one stayed a night in Belzec. Unlike Concentration Camps, Death Camps had no need for barracks – they arrived, they undressed, they were gassed to death. Harry lights memorial candles for each of his family members murdered here and says a memorial prayer – he’s not the only one crying.

Back on the coach, Harry tells us of the recurring nightmare that haunted him after the war. He could see his mother on the other side of a low brick wall, but the wall kept getting higher until she disappeared. This experience is clearly horrifically gruelling, so I ask why he came back to Poland this year. Harry’s answer is matter-of-fact: “In England, lots of people who’ve lost their family, their loved ones, they’re buried in the cemetery and they usu-

THE TRAVEL HACK

Spaces on the annual March of the Living trip book out fast. This year's event has already sold out, so now's a good time to book for the 2024 event

ally go and visit the grave. That’s the reason I come here too.” He’s visiting his Mum. Harry’s answer drives home the personal grief attached to the Holocaust, an intensity of emotion that I was anxious I wouldn’t be able to connect with, coming from a family that wasn’t caught up in the Nazi Holocaust – though that is purely by dint of the fact that the Russians had taken a pop at my family in the 1900s and so they had already fled to safety in London.

The Holocaust isn’t a holiday, it’s not a place to visit architecture, cafes or art galleries, which is why our final destination – Auschwitz – troubles me so much. Without Harry, I doubt I could have connected with Belzec beyond it being a memorial site, so I can’t help but feel uneasy when Auschwitz is pitched as a top tourist destination – it feels distasteful to rank it as a great day out near Krakow.

People have already desensitised to the

Every year survivors, now in their 90s, return to Holocaust sites to take visitors on tours. Daniel Edward went along

Main picture: the entrance at Auschwitz II Birkenau. Above: Harry Olmer - Holocaust survivor. Right: The Book of Names at Auschwitz. Below: Walking through the Belzec Death Camp Memorial

HORROR

reality that this particular death camp –where the art of mass-murder was finetuned in the demented Death Block – is the site of the single largest systematic extermination of human beings the world has ever known. Within just 85 short years, tourists traipse through Auschwitz as they do the Colosseum in Rome or the Pyramids at Giza, oblivious to the number of slaves who lost their lives there. To add insult to injury, Auschwitz now has a restaurant and charges visitors to use the toilets.

Few signs of personal suffering remain –even before museum curators repurposed blocks for anonymous displays of spectacles, shoes, and mounds of human hair, the Nazis had blown up us much evidence as they could when they fled – but names etched into bricks speak of prisoners’ haunting desperation to be remembered.

I was worried I wouldn’t be able to muster the emotional response these hor-

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rific sites warrant and in a way I was right. I feel very little in response to the mummified museum of Auschwitz, but I will never forget Harry’s solitary voice as he prayed in memory of his mother at Belzec.

Hitler’s death camps now lie silent and peaceful, in some cases, with wild flowers and skipping rabbits, they are serenely pretty. But these aren’t places you visit with your eyes, they’re places you visit with your heart and if you have the opportunity to become a witness with one of the surviving survivors, I urge you to take it.

NEED TO KNOW

Tickets for young adults (18-35) cost between £299£649 and the full-price cost for adults (36+) is £1,899. This price includes all transportation, accommodation and food. For more information and to register an interest in the 2024 March of the Living, visit: marchoftheliving.org.uk

SHANGRI-LA QARYAT AL BERI ABU DHABI THE LONG WEEKEND

Abu Dhabi is booming, so Olivia McEwan checked into one of the best hotels to get the lowdown

THE WEEKEND: The Shangri-La Qaryat Al Beri occupies a private stretch of beach on the Khor Al Maqta canal, positioned to offer views over the main island of Abu Dhabi from each of its 213 rooms. Its design boasts Arabian architectural detail and each of the hotel’s individual villas have their own pool. The hotel is part of the Qaryat Al Beri complex, which includes a Souk offering shopping and dining experiences. You can walk there, but you should take the Shangri-La’s Abra boat, which steers you along a charming mini canal weaving through the complex.

WHERE? Abu Dhabi is the second most populous city in the UAE after Dubai. Its government has been consciously investing in industry, real estate, tourism and retail in recent years, meaning it is rapidly becoming a go-to international destination. Visitors immediately feel the expansiveness of the land, with new developments mushrooming up; in its centre gleaming modern skyscrapers designed by Norman Foster share the sunny blue skyline with the ancient walls of its oldest rampart, the Qasr Al Hosn, now an excellent museum sharing the historical traditions of Abu Dhabi. The feeling of tradition remains strong; if cosmopolitan Dubai is party-central, Abu Dhabi is a more family-oriented affair.

THE FOOD:The Shangri-La hosts six different restaurants and bars spanning classic French to authentic Chinese. It hosts a Culinary Master Series which invites celebrity chefs from around the world for short-term pop ups, with each bringing their own signature menu. 2022 welcomed Chef Chatchai Klanklong from L'Orchidée based in Alsace, the only Thai restaurant with a Michelin star. There is a pretty unreal breakfast experience hosted by Shangri-La at the Aquarium, where before opening hours you can enjoy a gourmet meal served in the aquarium’s tunnel, the longest in the Middle East, where thousands of glittering fish swim over your head.

ASK ABOUT: New developments and urban plans so you can be first to see how the city is changing. The Al Qana is an enormous 2.6km long waterfront destination featuring new eateries, wellness centres and attractions for kids –notably the Middle East’s largest aquarium – reached via picturesque walkways.

For art lovers, the Louvre Abu Dhabi is located in the Saadiyat Cultural District on Saadiyat Island. Opened in 2017 it operates in conjunction with its namesake in Paris, with its collection of both permanent pieces and rotating

loans from Paris museums. The building is as much of an attraction as its contents. Designed by Pritzker prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, a breathable ‘floating dome’ roof of eight layers of geometric metal star shapes allows the sun to shine through in dappled effect onto the courtyards and waterways below.

MUST SEE: Most impressive and humbling is the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, a dazzling architectural feat conceived by Sheikh Zayed to symbolise peace, tolerance and coexistence. Built between 1994 and 2007, it is an extraordinary display of gleaming white marble and ornate Arabic decoration. Marble inlay work represents flowers from around the world and chandeliers imported from the company Faustig in Munich, Germany incorporate innumerable Swarovski crystals, and what is considered to be the world’s largest hand-woven carpet made in Iran. The space can accommodate 55,000 worshippers; anyone can feel the deliberate openness and welcome of its intent, regardless of creed or background.

NEED TO KNOW: Direct flights via Etihad airways depart from London Heathrow; rooms at the Shangri_La cost from £100 per night

SPORT

FOOTBALL

Saka the star as Arsenal go eight clear in league

FRANK DALLERES

ARSENAL manager Mikel Arteta hailed Bukayo Saka after he helped the Gunners to shake off a European hangover and go eight points clear at the top of the Premier League yesterday.

Saka scored twice and set up another as Arsenal beat managerless Crystal Palace 4-1, less than 72 hours after being dumped out of the Europa League by Sporting Lisbon.

Gabriel Martinelli, who missed in the penalty shootout with Sporting, and Granit Xhaka also scored as the Gunners pulled away from closest rivals Manchester City.

“He was disappointed not to get a hat-trick,” said Arteta of Saka, who became the first Premier League player this season to hit double figures for goals and assists. “That is what we need. We need our front players firing and making the difference and today they did that again.

CUP CAPITULATION

FULHAM manager Marco Silva doubled down on criticism of referee Chris Kavanagh after his team lost their heads and an FA Cup semi-final place with three red cards in 40 seconds at Manchester United yesterday.

In a minute of madness, Silva was sent to the stands, Willian was dismissed for deliberate handball and then, worst of all, Fulham goalscorer Aleksandar Mitrovic was shown a straight red for manhandling Kavanagh.

It all came from Willian stopping Jadon Sancho’s goal-bound shot on the line 20 minutes from time. Bruno Fernandes equalised from the spot,

“The desire and the energy that we put in right from the beginning impressed me most. We were really determined and focused and left Thursday in the past. Now we must stop and make sure everyone comes back from the internationals with the same mindset.”

Marcel

instantly flicked in a second and Fernandes blasted a third in stoppage time.

The comeback set up a semi-final between United and Brighton and Hove Albion, who thrashed Grimsby Town, with Manchester City facing Sheffield United, conquerors of Blackburn Rovers, in the other tie.

Silva said: “Chris [Kavanagh] was in a game we played at West Ham where we lost with two clear handballs. We received the apology because of the mistakes.

“The last game at Leeds in the FA Cup it was him again. And for a game that is the quarter-finals it's him again. It’s difficult to understand. Of course we

respect that he’s a top referee in this country, but unfortunately for us it’s been really unhappy this season.”

Silva cited two Fulham penalty appeals that he felt were ignored but admitted he and Mitrovic should have kept their cool.

“In that moment he has to control his emotions much more like all of us should,” he added. “You have to keep the emotional balance of course. Sometimes it is not easy but it is our obligation to do it. I didn’t say anything special to the ref. He didn’t listen and showed me the red card. It is a moment to control my emotions. The game was decided in the moment.

“It is a shame the ref wasn’t shown

Perez wins in Saudi with Russell on podium after Alonso error

MATT HARDY

RED BULL’S Sergio Perez won the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix last night while teammate Max Verstappen came from 15th to finish second and lead the title race by a point.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso finished third in in Jeddah but was later demoted to fourth and replaced with Briton George Russell after the 41-year-old Spaniard was penalised for an issue during his one and only pit stop.

Mexican Perez started on pole, lost the lead to Alonso, then recovered for a comfortable victory. The result ensured a one-two

finish in the opening two races of the season for the Red Bull outfit with Russell’s third place Mercedes’ first podium of 2023.

Lewis Hamilton finished fifth behind the demoted Aston Martin but ahead of Ferrari duo Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.

Lando Norris finished 17th.

Verstappen remains top of the Formula 1 drivers’ standings due to the fastest lap he picked up on the final lap of 50 in Saudi Arabia.

“We will keep pushing, and keep pushing hard,” Perez said following his fifth Formula 1 victory. “We have got the fastest car, and I am very happy about that.”

VAR for the first-half moments. It is difficult to be Fulham at Old Trafford, the VAR feels the pressure too. For us it is difficult to understand why they didn’t do the same.”

Brighton ended fourth-tier Grimsby’s FA Cup fairytale in brutal fashion, Evan Ferguson scoring twice in a 5-0 drubbing. Deniz Undav, Solly March and Kaoru Mitoma also netted for the Seagulls.

In Sunday’s all-Championship quarterfinal, Sheffield United twice came from behind before snatching a late 3-2 win at home to Blackburn.

The Blades will face Manchester City in the semi-finals, keeping alive the possibility of the first ever Manchester derby FA Cup final.

Arsenal took advantage of City being in FA Cup action over the weekend to increase their lead heading into this week’s international break, albeit that the champions have a game in hand. Martinelli smashed the opener after 28 minutes and Saka slotted his first before half-time. Xhaka finished from close range early in the second half and, after Jeffrey Schlupp had pulled one back for Palace, Saka swept in Arsenal’s fourth.

Palace lie 12th in the Premier League but just three points above the relegation zone. The visitors, who sacked former Gunners captain Patrick Vieira as manager on Friday, were not helped by the loss of defender Joachim Andersen to injury in the warm-up.

Caretaker boss Paddy McCarthy said: “I do not know what is next. We take each game as it comes and the next is a big one at home against Leicester.”

Chiefs break Irish hearts in

Prem Cup final extra time

MATT HARDY

AIDON Davis’s extra-time try handed Exeter Chiefs a 24-20 win and the Premiership Rugby Cup and condemned London Irish to a second consecutive final defeat in the competition.

Ignacio Ruiz and Jack Innard exchanged tries early on before Argentina front-row Ruiz scored his second to hand London Irish the lead.

The Londoners – who lost to Worcester on tries scored after a 25-25 draw in last year’s final – led 14-10 at half-time but the two sides finished the match 17 points apiece.

Jacob Atkins dissected the posts early on in extra time to hand Irish a 17-20

lead but Davis crossed the whitewash ahead of extra time half-time to seal the win – France-bound Joe Simmonds was successful with the conversion. Exeter last won this competition in 2018 with yesterday’s success their first piece of silverware since they did the domestic-European double in the 201920 season.

Irish were looking to win their first top flight trophy in 20 years.

“Full credit to London Irish, they were a hell of a side,” Exeter skills coach Ricky Pellow said. “We’ve just been in the dressing room singing our song and I think it’s the loudest it’s ever been, just because the boys knew how much it meant to everyone.”

RUGBY UNION

FORMULA 1

FRANK DALLERES

Sabitzer

Roussin leans on loved ones for biggest win yet

FRENCH rising star Pauline Roussin’s ploy of choosing a loved one to caddie for her paid off again as she won the individual title at the Aramco Team Series – Singapore.

Roussin made eight birdies in a bogey-free final round of 64 to finish on 15 under par and see off major winners Danielle Kang and Lydia Ko at Laguna National Golf Resort Club on Saturday.

The 22-year-old had her boyfriend on her bag for the $1m (£820,000) tournament, her second title since turning professional and joining the Ladies European Tour in 2021.

It harked back to her approach in her first win, the Didriksons Skatfo

Ireland have won the 2023 Six Nations. Here are Matt Hardy’s final thoughts

SO THERE we have it, another Six Nations Championship has concluded and it has, as ever, left us with more questions than answers.

Ireland are champions – winning their fourth ever Grand Slam – but the hoodoo of never winning a World Cup quarter-final lingers over the men in green, there was a tale of two rebuilds in England and Wales, and finally Scotland came good. Here are City A.M.’s takeaway thoughts.

IRELAND’S CALLING

Ireland were sublime for the entirety of this Six Nations. Andy Farrell’s men won by 24, 13, 14, 15 and 13 points on their way to a Grand Slam – nobody could get close. It appears Johnny Sexton’s last Six Nations couldn’t have ended on more of a high, too. Their most impressive win came against France in what was dubbed one of the greatest Six Nations clashes ever.

Farrell has built a side on trust, depth and ability and the four provinces are reaping the rewards.

And though England gave them a proper game – ruined by an incredibly harsh red card for England full-back Freddie Steward – Ireland’s 29-16 win was deserved on Saturday. What it leaves us with is the world No1 team, well, way out in front of the rest just months ahead of the World Cup later this year in France.

The big southern hemisphere challengers will get their last test before the showpiece quadrennial event this summer in the Rugby Championship but Ireland look like the favourites to lift the William Webb Ellis trophy – so long as they can finally win a knockout match.

WHAT IFS

After England’s humiliating 53-10 loss at the hands of France in round four, few gave them the remotest of chances against Ireland in Dublin on St Patrick’s weekend. But England showed up, and were hard done by.

There aren’t too many saying they’d have won in the Irish capital but the sending off of Steward was a gamechanger. It was harsh, unnecessary and spoiled a match – the full-back had just 0.8 seconds to react to an Irish knock-on before he shouldered Hugo Keenan in the face. The referee Jaco Peyper got it wrong.

Frenchwoman thanks caddie boyfriend after beating stars Kang and Ko at Aramco Team Series, writes Frank Dalleres

Open, where Roussin’s mother caddied for her.

“My mom was on the bag for the first time; this week was my boyfriend. I think it tells a lot about the mindset that I want to keep on the course,” she said.

“It’s that having fun part and being me, and doing things in a good mood, not letting the game affect that. It’s not always going to be the case, I’m aware of that, but that was the mindset.

“Now after a year and a half as a pro, I have realised where I can be when

I’m on top of my game and it feels good that it comes out with a win.”

Roussin started the final round in a three-way share of the lead and took until the seventh hole to make her first birdie, but from thereon in she played immaculate golf. She made consecutive birdies from holes nine to 12 and then again from 14 to 16 to finish four clear of runner-up Kang, with world No1 Ko a further shot be-

hind in third.

“Honestly, I was just surfing the wave that was just happening,” Roussin added. “We kept it very chill with my caddie, my boyfriend, and we just talked about TV shows and what to watch, what not to watch. It kept me in a really good place during the entire round.”

Roussin won in Singapore

LET order of merit winner Linn Grant tied for fourth place with fellow Swede Elin Arvidsson in the first of five Aramco Team Series on the European circuit this season.

A day earlier, Austrian Christine Wolf’s quartet, which also featured Casandra Alexander, Eleanor Givens and amateur Katsuka Blalock, won the team competition.

Alexander rolled in the winning putt at the 18th hole to take Team Wolf to 29 under par, one shot lower than Team Roussin.

Wolf said: “We all knew we needed a birdie on the last few holes and thank god the girls pulled through. They’ve all played really well for the whole two days and I couldn’t be prouder!”

BREAKDOWN OF THE NUMBERS

TRIES

France’s Damian Penaud concluded the championship with the most tries (5) while Jamie George and Max Malins (2) topped England’s try scoring statistics.

The 2023 Championship saw more tries (91) than any other year while Wales conceded the most fivepointers in their Six Nations history (19) and England finished the year with their worst ever points difference (-35). Ireland are the only side to have scored less tries this year than last year (four fewer) while Scotland scored six more.

POINTS

Fellow Les Bleus back, Thomas Ramos, concluded the tournament with 89 points – way clear of Johnny Sexton in second (35), who took his total Six Nations haul to an all-time record of 566. Italy’s Tommaso Allan, Scotland’s Finn Russell and England’s Owen Farrell made up the top five – no Welshman made the top 10.

THAT’S GREEN IS GOLD

to France and Scotland at home and Ireland away will hurt – but at least the coach has a better record than the other recently appointed boss.

HARPOONED

Watching Wales get harpooned by the likes of Scotland, Ireland and England will have deeply hurt fans of the team who won their last Grand Slam as re-

Selections looked manic, the attacking style was tragic and ahead of the World Cup there may be a little bit of panic. It’s anybody’s guess as to where Wales will go from

wrap if Italy’s potential relegation from the competition isn’t discussed. And though many are of the opinion that the competition still

Borthwick’s side won just three games

maintained.

Though they did not pick up a win this year, they’ve developed brilliantly. Sure, they need significant performance improvements to beat some of the other sides, but it feels like there’s a renaissance occurring in Italy at the moment – and the subsequent rugby enlightenment could be a beautiful sight to behold.

GOLF

SCRUMS AND CAPS

RUGBY UNION

ALL