Thursday 20 April 2023

NEWSPAPER

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE FROM MODERN ART TO WAGATHA CHRISTIEWHAT TO SEE IN LONDON P22-23

HIGH FIVE?

STICKIER THAN EXPECTED INFLATION RAISES EXPECTATIONS OF FIVE PER CENT BANK RATE

JACK BARNETT

UK INFLATION has smashed expectations to stick in the double digits, prompting markets to bet the Bank of England will hike interest rates to five per cent, in a sign that the cost of living crisis is set to maintain its grip on families.

The rate of price increases trimmed to 10.1 per cent last month, down from a shock rise to 10.4 per cent in February, according to numbers yesterday from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The figures were above the City’s expectations of a fall to 9.8 per cent. March’s inflation rate was held high by rapidly increasing food prices, which have jumped more than 19 per cent annually, the fastest acceleration since the 1970s.

Strong price pressures hidden within the headline numbers remain, with the rate of core inflation –which strips out food and energy price movements –still pretty high.

It was unchanged at 6.2 per cent yearly in March and hit 0.9 per cent on a monthly basis.

“Inflation continues to ease but the underlying momentum remains sticky,” Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, said.

Bank of England officials have stressed they need to see a reduction in underlying inflation before feeling comfortable to stop hiking interest rates.

March’s overshoot unanimously tipped market expectations in favour of Bank governor Andrew Bailey and co lifting borrowing costs for the twelfth time in a row at their next

meeting on 11 May, likely by 25 basis points to a post-2008 financial crisis high of 4.5 per cent.

“To address the underlying issues the [monetary policy committee] still needs to raise rates again when it meets in a few weeks’ time,” Kitty Ussher, chief economist at the business lobby group the Institute of Directors, said.

Further hikes are priced in by markets beyond that, with borrowing costs projected by the City to peak at five per cent, bets not seen since the days after Liz Truss’s mini budget.

Yet more pressure is therefore poised to be heaped on the housing market via further rate hikes, while FTSE 100 listed banks like Natwest and Barclays could receive a further boost from being able to charge even more for loans.

ANOTHER ROW O’Leary blasts ‘not brightest’ air minister

GUY TAYLOR

RYANAIR boss Michael O’Leary (pictured) took aim at British politicians yesterday, accusing them of over-egging the benefits of Brexit and describing the aviation minister as “not the brightest sandwich in the picnic”.

O’Leary’s chief frustration is labour inflexibility which he says is stopping airlines staffing up quickly –an issue he says the government is not taking seriously.

“We have had a number of meetings with the Department of Transport, and the Aviation Minister Baroness Vere, who is not the brightest sandwich in the picnic basket. She has had a distinguished career running girls schools, but aviation is not her forte,” he said at a conference in Dublin yesterday.

Despite this, the aviation boss remained optimistic about the industry which is “still growing in the UK”, stating his surprise “at the strength of spending in the UK”.

“For all the talk of fuel poverty and consumer price inflation, people are spending on travel."

Demand for travel has defied the economic downturn, with Ryanair rival Easyjet yesterday predicting a bumper summer of bookings.

Every little helps: Lidl fights back against Tesco in blue and yellow logo battle

SAMANTHA DOWNES

THE BATTLE for grocery supremacy found its way from cut-price olives to the courts yesterday, with Lidl triumphing over Tesco in a trademark dispute over the use of a yellow circle on a square blue background.

Lidl sued Tesco in 2020 shortly after

Tesco adopted a yellow and blue logo to promote its “Tesco Clubcard Prices” discount scheme.

Judge Joanna Smith said in a written ruling that Tesco had “taken unfair advantage of the distinctive reputation” for low prices held by Lidl’s trademarks, though she rejected Lidl’s argument that Tesco had done

so deliberately. A Lidl spokesperson said in a statement: “We are pleased that the court has agreed with us and that it will now order Tesco to

stop using the Clubcard logo.”

In February, supermarkets Tesco and Lidl began a High Court fight over the use of a yellow circle logo.

German discount

chain Lidl said its trademark, and copyright, has been infringed, while Tesco had made a counterclaim.

Tesco intends to appeal.

Britain’s biggest grocer has retained its market share in the UK, while Lidl and German counterpart Aldi eat into competitors including Asda and Sainsbury’s.

The yellow circle has proven divisive

STANDING UP FOR THE CITY

Regulatory intervention and Bank delays haven’t helped the UK

DEAR oh dear: inflation, hanging around for longer than expected. The UK is now a distinct outlier compared to the rest of Europe and the US on the headline number, and the easiest protagonists to blame are government interference and incompetent management.

One of the reasons inflation has fallen sharply in western Europe is the sudden collapse in energy prices, with a combination of

heightened supply, dampened demand, and decent weather all contriving to bring down the cost of keeping the lights on. In the UK, thanks to the energy price cap, Brits won’t feel the benefit for a couple of quarters, with the prices firms can charge for

default tariffs set by the regulator on a backward-looking basis.

That’s point one.

The second – incompetent management – refers more to the governor and the Monetary Policy Committee. The wise hawks and doves of Threadneedle Street were blind to the danger of inflation through the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, as supply chains gummed up and the entire world went on a spending spree. Whilst they cannot be blamed for

not foreseeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, that conflict left their ‘stay-put-and-see’ strategy looking distinctly out of kilter with the moment. When the Bank was taking its time to get the rate-hike cycle started, economists of all stripes warned a failure to move quickly would most likely create a situation in which rates had to remain higher for longer. Such is where we’ve ended up, and nobody at the Bank of England can say they

FOURTEEN CARROT GOLD A majestic robe created using an array of flowers and leaves that will form the centrepiece of the Harrogate Spring Flower Show this weekend

weren’t warned.

Where now? It appears the initial excitement that rates may have hit a peak has well and truly dissipated. The best guesstimate is now a peak of five per cent: bad news for homebuyers and the government’s debt management office alike. We try and remain forward-looking in this column, and to look on the bright side of life. But what a mess our wellintentioned regulators and central banks have made of this.

THE CITY VIEW INSTAGRAM WILL CUT OR RELOCATE LONDON STAFF

Troubled Credit Suisse accused of limiting scope of probe into Nazi-linked accounts

US SENATORS have accused embattled Swiss bank Credit Suisse of limiting the scope of an internal investigation into Nazi clients and Nazi-linked accounts –including some open that were until just a few years ago.

The US senate budget committee said an independent ombudsman initially brought in by the bank to oversee the probe was “inexplicably” removed while he carried out his work, and it faulted “incomplete” reports that were hindered by restrictions.

Credit Suisse said it was “fully cooper-

ating” with the committee’s inquiry, but rejected some claims from the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, a Los Angeles-based Jewish human rights group, that brought to light in 2020 allegations of possible Nazi-linked accounts at Switzerland’s second-largest bank.

Despite these hurdles, the reports from the ombudsman and forensic research team revealed at least 99 accounts for senior Nazi officials in Germany or members of a Nazi-affiliated groups in Argentina, most of which were not previously disclosed, the committee said on Tuesday.

The reports “raise new questions

about the bank’s potential support for Nazis fleeing justice following WWII via so-called ‘Ratlines’,” the committee said, referring to a network of escape routes used by Nazis after the war. The committee said Credit Suisse “has pledged to continue its own investigation into remaining unanswered questions”.

Credit Suisse said the Simon Wiesenthal Centre investigation “fundamentally confirms existing research on Credit Suisse’s history published in the context of the 1999 Global Settlement that provided binding closure for the Swiss banks regarding all issues relating to World War Two”.

BLOOMBERG

Meta is planning to cut or relocate its London-based Instagram employees, according to a person familiar with the matter. The London office had become a centre for growth but now its leader, Adam Mosseri, plans to return to the US.

THE TIMES

JUNIOR DOCTORS MAY CO-ORDINATE INDUSTRIAL ACTION WITH NURSES

Minutes after the nursing union rejected an offer from the government, doctors were suggesting a collaboration. The BMA has refused to come down from a demand of a 35 per cent pay rise.

THE INDEPENDENT

24-HOUR SAUSAGE ROLLS WOULD CAUSE WAVE OF ‘CRIME’, POLICE CLAIM

Greggs is set for a court showdown with Westminster Council after the bakery was banned from selling late night snacks from its Leicester Square store. Police fear a crime hotspot emerging.

JAMEY KEATON

WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING

Danker says CBI has thrown him ‘under the bus’

CITY A.M. REPORTER

THE OUSTED boss of the CBI Tony Danker has hit out at the business body’s decision to fire him, saying his reputation has been “totally destroyed”.

Danker was given the push after a series of allegations that he made some staff feel uncomfortable and revelations of other complaints about his behaviour. He stepped aside during the course of an inquiry into his conduct, but was then fired a week after a series of separate complaints about sexual misconduct perpetrated by other members of the CBI – which occurred before his time as director general.

Danker told the BBC that the CBI had fired him on four grounds: organising a private karaoke party after a Christmas do for selected staff; viewing the Instagram accounts of CBI staff; sending non work-related messages to staff on work platforms; and inviting junior staff to breakfast, lunches and one-on-one meetings.

“I have never used

Hundreds of workers at pharma giant GSK to strike in pay dispute

ALAN JONES

HUNDREDS of workers at pharmaceutical giant GSK will stage a series of walkouts in May in a dispute over pay.

Unite said industrial action will be spread throughout May, with workers at six sites striking on different dates.

process technicians, laboratory analysts, warehouse workers and fire officers.

sexually suggestive language with people at the CBI,” he told the BBC in his first interview since losing his job.

“You know, there was an incident in which somebody raised a complaint about unwanted contact, which was verbal contact.

“There was never any physical contact.

I’ve never had any physical contact. I’ve never used any sexual language. I’ve never propositioned anybody,” Danker said in the interview.

It is the latest blow to the CBI, which had hoped to begin turning the page from this scandal with the removal of Danker and the appointment of former chief economist Rain NewtonSmith as director general. The CBI told the BBC that Danker was dismissed on strong legal grounds.

“It is just not OK to throw somebody under the bus and ask them to be the fall guy when their entire reputation is destroyed,” the fired chief executive said.

PUT OFF BY PRICIER PINTS Heineken’s quarterly results show a decline in sales

Yet the brand was boosted by higher selling prices: on average, 12 per cent higher in the latest quarter compared to a year ago. This lifted Heineken’s revenues by five per cent in the UK over the first three months of the year. Shares in the brewer rose three per cent following the news.

Just Eat announces £132m share buyback as takeaway orders drop

LAURA MCGUIRE

JUST EAT will undergo a €150m (£132m) share buyback scheme after the takeaway giant posted a 14 per cent loss in orders in the first leg of the year.

The Danish company yesterday said that it was impacted by a “difficult pandemic comparison” as an end to lockdowns and a tightening on consumer spending pushed gross transaction value (GTV) down eight per cent to €6.7bn.

Unite said 750 of its members have voted for strike action after rejecting a six per cent pay offer and a one-off lump sum of £1,300, calling it “significantly below” inflation.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is an incredibly wealthy company that can fully afford to pay its workers a fair pay offer.”

Workers involved in the dispute at the company include engineers,

A GSK spokesperson said: “We recognise that for many of our people, this past year has seen their cost of living rise rapidly and believe the offer we have made to our UK manufacturing colleagues covered by collective bargaining agreements is fair and reasonable.

PA

Just Eat, which is known for its celebrity endorsements from the likes of Katy Perry and Snoopdog, also said total sales in its UK and Ireland offering were down to €1.5bn (£1.3bn) compared to €1.6bn in the same period last year.

The group also said it was continuing to explore the sale of Grubhub, which it acquired in 2021.

It comes after last month’s announcement that Just Eat would cut 1,700 job roles across its workforce due to a slowdown in takeaway sales.

Tony Danker says he’s a ‘fall guy’

Heathrow and airlines to appeal watchdog fee call

GUY TAYLOR AND CITY A.M. REPORTER

HEATHROW airport and two of the UK’s biggest airlines are each independently appealing the aviation regulator’s decision on the airport’s passenger fees.

Last month, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) confirmed a cap on how much Heathrow can charge airlines per passenger.

The CAA set the cap lower than Heathrow had hoped and higher than the airlines had pitched for.

Yesterday, it was confirmed that Heathrow would appeal on the grounds the CAA is undermining its ability to invest in the airport.

Virgin Atlantic and British Airways, meanwhile, allege Heathrow is underplaying its passenger rebound after Covid-19, and have brought their own appeals.

The Competition and Markets Authority will decide which, if any of the claims, have merit.

“We believe the CAA has once again focused on driving down charges to air-

Subway deal: Buyout firms face off against Asda owners in £8bn battle

LAURA MCGUIRE

lines, which will not be passed on to passengers, and is undermining the investment needed to deliver the airport service and resilience consumers want,” a Heathrow spokesman said.

Virgin Atlantic’s submission to the competition watchdog, meanwhile, says the CAA has come up with the fixed 2024-onwards cap at £25.43 on the basis of flawed passenger number figures supplied by a Heathrow Airport model.

They contend that the CAA’s estimation of a return to pre-pandemic levels at Heathrow by 2025 is overly pessimistic, and believe that the forecast of 375.5m over the 2022-26 period should be upgraded to much closer to 400m, allowing passenger fees to come down.

Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss has previously described Heathrow’s proposed higher fees as “great for the airport and its mostly foreign shareholders,” which include the Qatari and Chinese sovereign wealth fund, but “a bad deal” for consumers.

ELECTRIC DREAMS Jaguar pledges £15bn to accerate green car ambitions

A FLOCK of the world’s biggest buyout firms are eyeing the possibility of a joint bid for Subway, joining the owners of Asda in the race to acquire the sandwich chain. Advent International, Bain Capital and TPG are considering teaming up in a so-called “club deal” as the second round of

Rail strikes boost National Express as company bolsters electric fleet

GUY TAYLOR

NATIONAL Express has seen UK coach revenue rise by 87 per cent on the previous year, as rail strikes see passengers opt for alternative transport.

Passenger growth also rose despite a six-day bus driver strike and a pay settlement of 16.2 per cent in February.

The coach company also bolstered its electric bus fleet by 170, becoming the largest of its type in the UK.

Total UK revenue grew by 27 per cent on the first quarter, higher than the

total first quarter revenues.

The group’s German Rail also delivered strong growth, after it was issued a £1bn contract to operate two regional train lines in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Last month, online rail ticketing business Trainline said annual ticket sales fell short of expectations, as rail strikes left it nursing a hit of up to £6m a day.

National Express said ongoing industrial action on UK railways cost it £5m to £6m in gross sales.

auctioning for the American fastfood chain draws to a conclusion. Before this point, bidders were not allowed to join forces, but the size of the £8bn deal means they “will need to secure partners” to close the takeover.

The ‘club deal’ posse will join Goldman Sachs Asset

Management and TDR Capital, which jointly owns supermarket Asda with the billionaire Issa brothers, in the battle to snap up Subway.

In a statement earlier this year, Subway told its shareholders it was “exploring a possible sale of the company” but with “no timing or assurance that a sale will occur”.

JAGUAR is revving up its green credentials, with the carmaker pledging to spend £15bn over five years to develop a selection of electric vehicles. The firm is also weighing up whether to build a battery factory in the UK or Spain, with its CEO saying a decision was “imminent”.

Better together: HSBC backs status quo as Ping An pushes for break up

BEN LUCAS

THE ONGOING row between HSBC and Chinese insurer Ping An continued yesterday as HSBC hit back to defend its position that spinning off the bank’s Asian business would weaken the lender.

Ping An, which holds an eight per cent stake in the bank, said HSBC has “exaggerated many of the

costs and risks” of a restructuring while refusing to “countenance any benefits”, adding that it has been “extremely disappointed” by HSBC’s “closed-minded attitude to all solutions”.

But HSBC said Ping An’s plans “would significantly dilute the international business model upon which HSBC’s strategy is based”.

“This would result in a material

erosion of earnings, returns, dividends and shareholder value, and a disruption to our unique global customer service proposition,” it said.

“HSBC is a global, systemically important bank. It is not in the interests of it shareholders, customers or stakeholders for HSBC’s structure to remain the subject of prolonged debate,” it added.

Investors flock to Wall Street giants amid sector crisis

CHRIS DORRELL

SMALLER US lenders have so far faced a torrid earnings season as many have seen an exodus of deposits as their larger rivals rake in profits from higher interest rates.

Over the week a series of smaller banks have seen deposits drop. On Monday, Charles Schwab, State Street and M&T reported that nearly $60bn (£48bn) between them was pulled over the first quarter.

On Tuesday BNY Mellon said its average deposits had fallen three per cent from the end of last year while, on Wednesday, Citizens Group reported that its deposits dropped five per cent.

Western Alliance, which has seen its share price fall nearly 40 per cent since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), said deposits fell 11 per cent in the first quarter, although the bank then saw its deposit base increase $2bn in the first two weeks of April.

Since the Fed started raising rates last March, investors have been parking their money in money market funds in search of higher yield.

This trend was turbocharged by the collapse of SVB amid fears that uninsured deposits were at risk of contagion.

Money market funds saw $367bn of inflows in March. Following these outflows, the largest lenders meanwhile saw inflows, with JP Morgan seeing a $37bn increase. Although Citi and Wells Fargo posted a drop in deposits over the quarter, both banks said they had seen inflows in March, with Citi saying around $30bn had been parked in the bank.

The movement from smaller banks to larger banks suggests investors are taking action to reduce the risk of being caught up in a bank run.

In fact, new research from Clearwater Analytics – shared exclusively with City A.M. – shows that many investors spread their money around different banks in an attempt to keep their funds safe.

In a survey of 254 investors holding over $10 trillion between them, 31 per cent of firms said they increased the number of banks at which they held cash or shortterm investments as a result of the crisis.

Clearwater chief revenue officer Scott Erickson described the movement as a “fundamental shift” in investing strategy, with investors “putting faith in the behemoths of Wall Street as a safe haven for their cash”.

SACRE BLEU Even French vintners get into the UK’s Coronation spirit

Morgan Stanley boss talks down banking crisis as profits slump

CHRIS DORRELL

MORGAN Stanley’s chief executive James

Gorman told analysts “We are not in a banking crisis” as he discussed the bank’s first quarter earnings.

Gorman yesterday dismissed concerns that the US banking sector could face a widespread banking crisis, saying conditions were very different to 2008 and that the largest US banks were now part of the solution.

“We are not in a banking crisis,” he

said, but admitted “we have had and might still have a crisis in some banks”.

Gorman praised the actions of regulators, arguing “strong regulation on both sides of the Atlantic has led to the cauterisation of the issue”.

Morgan Stanley’s profits slipped 19 per cent year-on-year to $3bn as the US banking giant suffered from the continued slump in dealmaking. While this was ahead of market expectations, the bank’s shares fell more than four per cent in morning trading.

Moët Chandon have launched a coronation-themed magnum to give Brits a taste of France’s finest in May. The Impérial Coronation Cuvée 2023 features the official emblem of the Coronation. It’s available exclusively from Clos19 from 1 May.

Bloomberg ups data offering amid AI push

CHRIS DORRELL

BLOOMBERG will expand its alternative data offering on its terminals this summer, the company’s chief technology officer told City A.M., after the firm announced that it plans to integrate a ChatGPT-like AI model into its software.

Shawn Edwards said the financial data vendor aims to bring new sets of data to its terminals alongside the company reports and market estimates that Bloomberg already compiles. The Bloomberg Terminal is a popular computer software used by financial services professionals to monitor financial data and make trades.

Bloomberg already offers some forms of alternative data, but much of it is extremely expensive to collect and difficult to use, meaning only the most sophisticated hedge funds use it routinely. Edwards said he wants that to change and to “bring it to the masses”.

GOAL! Plus500 sees earnings double thanks to amateur traders

Edwards said he was hoping to add more up-to-the minute data points such as live footfall data, app usage and information about web traffic.

“Often companies don't even report this level of detail, but I can look at it right now and see how a company is performing well before earnings,” Edwards said.

Edwards highlighted the case of exercise equipment company Peloton, where using alternative data, like credit card analytics, some hedge funds were able to see Peloton sales were falling post-pandemic well before the company published its earnings.

News of the expanded data offering comes after Bloomberg released BloombergGPT, its large language AI model built for finance, which Edwards said had great potential to streamline processes for traders.

“All of a sudden, they become superhuman,” he said.

FINTECH firm Plus500 more than doubled its earnings to $100m in the first quarter of the year as it cashes in on a US expansion and boosts the amount of retail traders on its platform. Ebitda rocketed 116 per cent to $100.9m (£80.96m) in the three months to the end of March, up from $46.7m in the previous quarter, as amateur traders continued to punt on the markets despite extreme volatility.

Liontrust investors pull £2bn in last quarter

CHARLIE CONCHIE

LIONTRUST yesterday said it had been a “challenging” year as it reported heavy outflows in the final quarter and a tumble in its managed assets. The FTSE 250 investor said its managed assets had tumbled 3.6 per cent to £31.4bn in the year, while investors had pulled £4.8bn out of its funds. In the three months to March, Liontrust said net outflows had topped £2bn.

The news sent shares falling yesterday, closing down almost seven per cent.

Bosses at the asset manager said the pre-tax profits are set to beat expectations, however, and come in “not less than £86m” due to a jump in fees for the firm.

“It has been a challenging year for Liontrust in terms of net outflows and mixed performance for our funds,” said Liontrust chief John Ions.

“But this has to be set against a

backdrop of the industry in aggregate, and suffering UK retail net outflows in 10 out of the 12 months last year, according to the Investment Association.”

The results mark one year since Liontrust completed the acquisition of rival Majedie for £41m, which bosses said had generated performance fees of £12m out of a total £17m for Liontrust. The firm confirmed this week it was also in discussions to snap up Swiss rival GAM.

Average London rent climbs to over £900 a month as shortages persist

LAURA MCGUIRE

PRIVATE renters in London are faced with the highest costs since 2012 as a competitive market send the cost of homes in the capital to new highs.

London landlords increased rent by 4.8 per cent in the 12 months to March 2023, up from an increase of 4.6 per cent in the 12 months to February 2023, the latest figures from the ONS showed.

Riccardo Tessaro, co-founder and chief of flexible co-living brand

Gravity Co, said: “The growing mismatch between supply and demand is pushing up rent sharply as increasingly desperate would-be renters outbid each other in the race to secure a place to live.”

Data from rental site Spareroom has shown that in the first leg of this year the average asking price of rent in London has jumped 20 per cent –with the average price of a room in the capital now costing £952 up from £794 in the same period last year.

“There’s now not a single London

Streamers feel the hit of cost of living concerns

ABBY WALLACE

THE NUMBER of British households signed up to streaming platforms has slumped so far this year, as more cashstrapped viewers trim their subscriptions to cut costs.

The number of homes subscribed to at least one video streaming platform fell to 16.1m between January and March this year, down from 16.91m during the same period last year, according to data from market research firm Kantar, which analysed data from platforms including Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+.

Seven per cent of homes cancelled at least one subscription in a ‘post-Christmas cull’, meanwhile only four per cent took out a new subscription.

The total number of lost subscriptions hit 167,000.

“It’s often the case that consumers take out Prime Membership with Amazon in the fourth quarter for the fast and free delivery service and at the same time utilise the Prime Video service for entertainment over the Christmas holidays, before cutting back the next quarter,” said Dominic Sunnebo, global insight director at Kantar. But Amazon – which accounted for

over 40 percent of any new subscribers – suffered only a one percentage point drop in subscriptions.

Netflix saw a drop in subscriber numbers despite launching a cheaper service, according to Kantar.

The streaming giant took steps last year to boost subscribers and bat away competition, including a new adsupported price tier. But any new subscriptions under a cheaper tier were offset by more people cancelling their subscription to cut costs, according to Kantar.

Netflix is also more expensive than other streaming platforms, with a premium subscription costing £15.99 per month in the UK. An Amazon Prime membership fee costs £8.99 per month in the UK, while Paramount+ costs £6.99 per month.

“When people have two or three streaming platforms, it’s going to be the more expensive one that goes. These streaming companies have to do more to stay sticky,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

Earlier on Wednesday, Netflix said it added 1.75m subscribers globally in the last three months, down from 7.66m the quarter prior.

postcode with an average monthly rent under £700,” Matt Hutchinson, director at Spareroom, said.

“Demand is likely to fall a little over the course of the year, but unless something is done to stop the continuing decline in rental supply, things aren’t likely to improve much for renters. Government has to do much, much more to help, or the housing crisis will become a housing disaster.”

Rent prices outside London also climbed, with prices up 4.6 per cent.

Persistently low housing supply in the capital has seen rents continue to soar

SHARE OF NEW SUBSCRIPTIONS IN Q1 2023

App store rules to be changed after

CMA probe

ABBY WALLACE

GOOGLE said it will allow app developers in the UK to use alternative payment options following an investigation by the UK’s competition regulator.

The tech giant said it would present other payment options to Google Play’s billing system for inapp purchases “in a neutral manner” if its commitments are accepted by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

The proposition comes following a CMA study, in which the regulator expressed concern that Google’s control over available payment options reduced choice for android users.

The Google Play app store accounts for over 90 per cent of app downloads on Android phones, according to the CMA.

The proposed changes to its app store payment rules, if accepted by the regulator, would allow app developers to use Google Play’s existing payment system or offer an alternative one.

Google said it would phase the proposals in if they are approved by the CMA, targeting non-gaming apps first before rolling them out to gaming app developers by October this year.

The CMA has now opened a public consultation on the changes and will start investigating feedback in June.

More bad news for HS2 as transport secretary admits to ballooning costs

GUY TAYLOR

TRANSPORT secretary Mark Harper yesterday admitted that HS2’s Euston developments were “significantly” greater than the initial budget allocated.

His comments followed confirmation that the £1.2bn tunnel from Old Oak Common would be

paused until 2024.

Asked whether HS2 would “ever actually come into London”, Harper said he had “been very clear that we remain committed to continuing HS2 from Old Oak Common to Euston,” but that there had been “some very significant challenges there about the design work that was undertaken”.

A National Audit Office report

released in March said that pauses on the construction work needed to be “managed closely” and could increase costs in the long term. Harper said inflationary pressures had also exacerbated repeated setbacks.

The HS2 project’s budget began at £55.7bn. In 2018, the Oakervee Review estimated it could hit upwards of £106bn.

MARK KLEINMAN

BREAKING BUSINESS STORIES AND ANALYSIS

Only a heavyweight can turn around crisis-hit CBI

NEEDS must, I suppose. Future dictionary editions may come to define ‘desperation’ as ‘a business lobby group’s reaction to a crisis largely of its own making’.

The CBI, Britain’s self-styled “voice of business”, has certainly failed to be the exemplar of effective crisis management. At every turn, its response to the allegations about the conduct of Tony Danker, its former director-general, and other yet-to-be-identified managers has been found wanting.

First, its initial decision that an internal inquiry into Danker had found insufficient evidence to take the matter further is impossible to correlate with its brutal dismissal of him immediately after the Easter break. Second, the decision to bring Rain Newton-Smith, its former chief economist and the executive responsible for diversity and inclusion, back as Danker’s replacement just weeks after she left for a job at Barclays.

Third, the bone-headed decision by its media advisers to grant an interview with its president, Brian McBride, to a couple of media outlets when he should have been saturating the airwaves with fulsome apologies to the employees who have alleged such serious mistreatment.

That’s not even mentioning the foolhardy choice of appointing an existing board member - Jill Ader, of the headhunter Egon Zehnder - to oversee a review of its “culture, governance and processes”. Even in the space of a four-day weekend, it should have been obvious to McBride that this work would need to be carried out by someone independent of the CBI.

This could take a while.

HSBC’s response yesterday to calls from Ping An, its biggest shareholder, for it to break itself was emphatic and robust.

Acceding to Ping An’s demands, the bank said, would be damaging to customers, shareholders and the company itself.

“Structural reforms of HSBC’s

Asia Pacific businesses suggested by Ping An would significantly dilute the international business model upon which HSBC’s strategy is based,”

HSBC said.

“This would result in a material erosion of earnings,

The arrogance of the organisation has been breathtaking, even after a period when it should have been humbled by the difficult –and at times toxicrelationship it has endured with the government over Brexit.

That’s why it must now go much further. Instead of relying on insiders, it should appoint a heavyweight figure straddling the business and political arenas to conduct a wider review of the CBI’s operations, its mandate and its performance.

The CBI must also re-evaluate the tone it projects throughout the organisation – its arrogance has become predictably hubristic, and it should reflect upon why so many of its members have been so fast out of the traps to administer public admonitions.

To show some contrition, it should also announce that it is waiving members’ subscription fees, or that it will reduce them to take account of an interregnum during which by virtue of its exclusion from Whitehall it cannot possibly be ‘the voice of business’.

As if to demonstrate that, today, the other members of the so-called B5 – the Institute of Directors, the British Chambers of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses and Make UK –will meet Kemi Badenoch, the business and trade secretary, for the first time since the CBI crisis erupted.

The B5 has suddenly become the B4. To reverse that, McBride will need to stage a resurrection worthy of the timing of its Easter weekend implosion.

returns, dividends and shareholder value, and a disruption to our unique global customer service proposition.”

Ping An’s anger at the cancellation of its dividend during the Covid-19 crisis clearly runs deep. It believes a

separation of the group’s Asian operations would deliver material benefits, but has so far failed to explain how. Still, Mark Tucker, HSBC’s chairman, will be well aware from his knowledge of the region that Ping An will not be taking its campaign anywhere, regardless of its success at persuading other shareholders to back it at next month’s annual meeting.

Pay goes green at Schroders in ESG-friendly move

Nothing like practising what you preach. Asset management groups are frequently guilty of committing the cardinal sin of lecturing others about boardroom pay while flouting common sense and good governance themselves, so hats off to Schroders for putting its money where its mouth is. According to the fund management behemoth’s annual report, it is

adding an ESG-connected financial measure into the performance-related elements of its executive pay policy.

“Certain shareholders fed back [to the company] that they considered our approach to measuring EPS versus a

composite index as opaque,” Schroders said. “We are therefore proposing a move to measuring EPS performance against annualised growth targets, providing a clear and transparent measurement approach which is aligned to market norms. This also ensures a focus on delivering

absolute returns to shareholders, even in volatile markets.”

That will allow Schroders to say that the often-woolly integration of ESG into pay policies has been addressed. Given its influence as an institutional shareholder in the UK and beyond, companies should expect to be pressed to adopt a similar approach in future.

PMQs: Crime battle hardly an arresting affair

IF YOU were in any doubt as to one of the key fault lines the next election will be fought over, Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak worked hard in Prime Minister’s Questions to dispel any uncertainties.

Crime and law and order strike a nerve across voters, regardless of which party they have voted for in the past.

In a way, it is also a peculiarly difficult one for both of them to fight.

Sunak, as Starmer has been at pains to point out, sits at the helm of a government which, after 13 years, has hardly made policing a shining star of efficiency.

Meanwhile Starmer is facing a series of questions over his tenure as Director of Public Prosecutions and his role in relaxing

sentencing guidelines for peadophiles.

But all the same, the Labour leader popped out like a 3D version of the attack ad Labour HQ pumped out last week in advance of the local elections, accusing Sunak of failing to take charge of crime, and then, for good measure, adding in a jibe about his wealth.

He joked that maybe the reason Sunak

couldn’t fix the justice system was because “the Prime Minister doesn’t use the same public services as the rest of us”.

Of course, because British politics is a totally normal place, Sunak’s retort was to evoke an image we all could’ve lived without, of Starmer as Mr Whippy. He taunted the Labour leader and called him “Sir Softie, soft on crime, soft on criminals”. Predictably, CCHQ had a series of social media posts using the line ready to go the moment the words escaped Sunak’s lips. Neither Starmer or Sunak have a sparkling record on crime, but both are betting on it as a winner in the upcoming local elections, and a general election on the horizon.

@MARKKLEINMANSKY

Ping pong with Ping An leaves HSBC chair Tucker with a real dilemma

ACCA: Why green finance is a super power

THISyear’s Earth Day on Saturday should serve as an urgent call to action for businesses. As a community, we must rapidly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and help our society adapt to human-caused climate change.

If businesses are to deliver on their sustainability strategies and fund essential innovation, they also need access to well-priced capital – crucial in an era of rising interest rates. Recent research by ACCA, published in ‘Green Finance Skills: The Guide’, highlights that lenders are increasingly offering attractive “green rates” to organisations that meet their sustainability requirements.

The green transition demands longterm financing, which is why products such as green bonds and sustainability-linked loans will be critical to enabling us to reach net zero by 2050.

Green finance is potentially a superweapon in the battle for net zero. It will provide the funding that enables carbon-intensive industries and companies to reduce their emissions. Green skills will empower businesses to turn their good intentions on climate change into genuine progress. With financial institutions under pressure from governments, regulators, and other stakeholders to support the sustainability transition going forward, the trend towards green finance will only grow in importance.

Green finance is an engine of competitive advantage and a great way for businesses to fund themselves more cost-effectively. So, it’s concerning that the majority of businesses say they lack information on climate finance opportunities and climate risk management. Our surveys of finance professionals across the world indicate that the majority of businesses are not so far considering using green finance products – a huge missed opportunity.

IN SEARCH OF SKILLS

Another challenge is that many businesses lack the skills and expertise to develop, implement and manage robust environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies.

To achieve the transition to net zero, we need to upskill the global workforce – at speed and at scale. Upskilling on sustainability is vital for many professions.

But it is particularly important for finance and accountancy professionals who must be able to analyse the impact of climate and nature-related trends on their organisation, and source and manage green finance products, and inform, drive, and embed their organisation’s sustainability strategy. They can also help to train other staff and develop the talent to enable transformation.

HOW ACCA IS PLAYING ITS PART

At ACCA, we believe strongly in the need for a better, fairer world that works for everyone. We also believe that the accountancy profession is in a unique position to drive change and help reset the global economy for more sustainable growth.

Recognising that accountants need in-depth knowledge of the sustainabil-

MARK THIS EARTH DAY BY INVESTING IN GREEN FINANCE SKILLS

ity agenda, we are supporting our members in all sorts of ways, including with a global webinar for our members around the world earlier this week. The webinar aimed to help them understand which green finance and sustainability skills they need to support the sustainability transition.

We have also worked with CFA Institute to jointly launch a Climate Finance course, a practical course designed to support business and finance professionals on climate-related finance matters. We’ll be stepping up this support with the wider adoption of sustainability disclosure standards across many countries. The recently-formed International Sustainability Standards

Board will soon be issuing its first two reporting standards, which will be a significant step forward.

ROUTE TO NET ZERO

No one wants to leave an uninhabitable planet to our descendants. That’s why we must do as much as possible, as soon as possible, to achieve net zero – the state when the addition of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere is balanced by their removal from it. Green finance and wider sustainability skills and knowledge will be critical to success in this endeavour. It will also help them prepare well in advance for the emerging and systemic risks brought about by climate change – a far greater potential danger than the most powerful and ruth-

less of business rivals.

A focus on green skills can also have a positive social impact by generating jobs for disadvantaged and underrepresented communities.

With access to green finance and green skills, and with the support of knowledgeable finance professionals, businesses will be able to develop environmentally-friendly products and services, appeal to new customers, and build sustainable business models.

They will then be well placed to seize what Mark Carney, the United Nations special envoy on climate action and finance, has described as “the greatest commercial opportunity of our age”.

To learn more about the ACCA research, visit www.accaglobal.com/greenfinanceskills

Climate change is a far greater potential danger than the most ruthless of business partners

OVO Energy’s future as one of the Big Six energy suppliers was under threat last year after it reportedly found itself on the UK energy regulator’s watch list for nationalisation.

In a Companies House filing last September, it warned that soaring wholesale gas prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine gave rise to a “material uncertainty” which “may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue”.

But the government’s energy support packages for businesses and households eased the costs suppliers were shouldering, and helped spare Ovo from the same dismal fate that met 30 other energy firms across the UK.

Following a challenging winter, the company is now in line as a potential suitor to buy Shell’s household energy business, which consists of 1.4m customers.

In an exclusive interview with City A.M., chief executive Raman Bhatia declined to comment on what he labelled “speculation”, but did set out his vision to re-establish the firm as the leading renewable electricity supplier in the domestic market.

“We plan to have a long run,” he said. “We want to help customers onto this path to net zero. If we can help more customers, the better.”

This week Bhatia unveiled a new “Path to Zero” tariff for customers at his first public speech as CEO (he was co-CEO until former chief executive and founder Stephen Fitzpatrick stepped back to sit on the company’s board), reigniting the supplier with a sense of mission.

Yet Ovo is not alone in bolstering its green offering. Good Energy is expanding solar panel installation services, while Octopus is honing in on heat pumps.

However, its decision to ditch renewable energy guarantees of origin,

Ovo Energy boss bets on green future to cement Big Six status

rethinking forced prepayment meters

Dr agon Awar ds now open for responsible City f irms

or REGOs – the industry-standard certification scheme for deeming products to be 100 per cent renewable –with Ovo regarding such approvals as worthless compared to practical measures to reach net zero.

Its decision has been backed by Friends of the Earth, Ethical Consumer and Energy Saving Trust –boosting the group’s environmental bona-fides.

Bhatia was confident the new drive and offering will “resonate with customers” and hopes it will start an industry discussion around pushing for offering more green energy solutions.

“I will take a team sport analogy around decarbonisation,” he said. “I would be very happy if there is con-

following glitches in its prepayment meters.

More recently, the government reported that Ovo was one of the three biggest users of controversial forced prepayment installations in 2022, making up 18 per cent of forced installations.

The issue has been brought into the spotlight after an investigation by The Times revealed British Gas used third-party operators to install prepayment meters at vulnerable households.

“For many customers prepayment meters offer the right solution to stay on top of their financials,” Bhatia said.

“I think they need to be used only with the right safeguards.”

But he made clear that he endorsed Ofgem’s new code of conduct for prepayment meter installations announced this week, which includes banning their use for over-85s living alone and requirements for suppliers to make at least 10 visits to a residency before turning to courts for enforcement.

“Now, going forward, I think it’s about working with the sector to make sure that code of conduct is genuinely implemented. Ovo’s position is clear. We are already doing most of that,” he said.

APPLICATIONS are now open for the 2023 Lord Mayor’s Dragon Awards, celebrating businesses that go the extra mile to benefit society.

This year’s awards include a new Social Impact Leadership Award, while the Lord Mayor’s Award will recognise companies that show leadership in financial literacy.

The awards recognise firms which work to build strong community relationships, tackle disadvantage or inequality, promote inclusion or boost skills.

All finalists are invited to an awards

ceremony and celebration dinner hosted by the Lord Mayor at Mansion House, which also offers opportunities to network and share innovative practices in responsible business. Get your entry in by Friday, 2 June.

www.dragonawards.org.uk/ apply

Roman baths reopen t o visit or s

ONE of Roman London’s most unusual finds is welcoming visitors again.

vergence on some of the good ideas because climate change is a shared agenda. Not just in the UK, actually, it’s a global shared agenda.”

The supplier’s latest crusade against greenwashing signals a more confident approach from the supplier following the energy crisis, but it has not been without scandal or setbacks.

Ovo forked out £11.7m in redress payments in 2020 and 2021 for under and overcharging customers, but it is unclear whether it has learned its lesson after hundreds of customers got hit with hiked bills this week

However, he said the real issue in this instance is our over reliance on fossil fuels.

“Let’s just cut to the heart of the matter that is behind all of this: energy bills, affordability, customer affordability. There’s a direct link you can draw between affordability and our reliance on fossil fuels,” Bhatia said.

Prepayment meters and powering the UK’s green future are just some of the many industry challenges Bhatia will be forced to grapple with as he looks to maintain Ovo’s rank as one of the UK’s top energy suppliers.

Billingsgate Roman House and Baths, located in the basement of an office block on Lower Thames Street, will be available for bookings visits until November.

Discovered in 1848, the remains of the large private residence and its adjoining bathhouse dates from around A.D. 150, after which it was extended, and occupied until the end of the Romans’ occupation of the then Londinium.

Visitors can study the remains of the house’s walls and courtyard, as well as the cold room, warm room and hot room of the baths. cityoflondon.gov.uk/bathhouse

We want to help customers onto this path to net zero. If we can help more customers the better.

Glencore ups the ante suggesting sweeter Teck bid

NICHOLAS EARL

GLENCORE said yesterday it is willing to improve its $23bn (£19.7bn) bid for Teck Resources, ramping up the pressure on Teck’s board to enter negotiations.

“Glencore has never stated that its proposal is ‘best and final’ and that it is not willing to make changes and improvement,” chief executive Gary Nagle said in the letter.

“With engagement, we could improve our proposal’s terms and value, which would be in the best interests of all Teck shareholders.”

The letter marks the first time the London-listed miner has publicly approached Teck’s shareholders.

Last week, Glencore revised its unsolicited takeover bid to include up to £6.6bn in cash for shareholders.

Glencore has proposed combining their metals businesses to create a £72.5bn commodity juggernaut and combining their coal assets in a spin-off company.

The initial bid represented a 20 per cent premium to Teck’s 26 March closing price, when it was made privately. But Teck’s board deemed the initial offer and later-revised bids to be too low.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Instead, it wants to proceed with its own plan to split into a coal company and a metals business. Shareholders are set to vote on the plan on 26 April.

Nagel reportedly flew out to Canada to meet Teck investors to urge them not to back the Teck split, and nudge them towards the company’s own bid. But convincing Teck’s shareholders without board approval would not be enough to successfully buy out the company.

Teck is effectively controlled by the founding Keevil family. A controversial dual-class structure means they control the majority of the more powerful A shares. Chairman Norman Keevil has confirmed he will not sell at any price.

On Tuesday, Teck shareholder Legal & General Investment Management said it will vote in favour of the proposed split. Glencore’s bid is the latest in a growing wave of mining industry buyout offers fuelled by growing demand for copper and other metals.

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.

Russia accused of plotting in North Sea

NICHOLAS EARL

THE UK is under threat from a Russian programme to sabotage wind farms and communication cables in the North Sea, claim new allegations . A joint investigation from public broadcasters in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland alleges the Russian state is using spy ships disguised as fishing vessels, as first reported in the UK.

The Nordic countries allege Russia has been mapping key infrastructure in the North Sea with underwater surveillance equipment for potential sabotage with underwater surveillance equipment.

The

Windfall tax blamed as oil and gas production set to plummet

NICHOLAS EARL

THE UK’s oil and gas sector is set for a steep decline in production and capital expenditure, according to the latest data from the North Sea industry’s watchdog.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has calculated that annual crude oil production will more than halve over the decade to 2028, while gas production will drop from 37.51m tonnes to 20.49m tonnes.

This will come alongside a sharp drop in capital expenditure, which NSTA expects to fall from £5.42bn to £2.5bn over the ten-year window.

Mark Lappin, member of Brindex, the UK association for independent North Sea operators, blamed the instability of the UK’s investment regime. “We need a state of stability and we need to be able to plan for our projects and if the tax levels are particularly high, that will clearly affect investment,” he said.

These allegations featured in a documentary aired yesterday in the Nordic countries, in which a Danish counter-intelligence officer warned the sabotage plans are being prepared in case of a full conflict.

The documentary suggests vessels are loitering near wind farms and that individuals on board could be armed.

Meanwhile, the head of Norwegian intelligence has told the broadcasters the espionage was considered highly important for Russia and controlled directly from Moscow.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “We increased Royal Navy presence patrols after the Nord Stream incident and have invested £65m in surveillance ships. We continue to review our investments and activities against threats.”

ISLAND LIFE IN THE CAPITAL Whisky takeover in Borough

A LITTLE slice of Islay will be making an appearance in London Bridge this weekend at a celebration of the peat-led single malt Laphroaig. The whisky brand has teamed up with highly regarded chef Tom Aikens to deliver a tasting experience of ‘salt, fire and peat’ from Friday to Sunday in London Bridge’s new retail-heavy Borough Yards development.

Zara founder snaps up old BBC base in West End

LUCY KENNINGHAM

SPANISH billionaire and founder of popular fashion chain Zara Armancio Ortega has closed a deal purchasing luxury residential offices – and former BBC base – in the West End. Ortega’s firm Pontegadea shelled out £82m for the 1920s building, the private firm announced yesterday.

Last month, Ortega purchased a luxury residential property with 120 apartments in Dublin for $109m.

This is part of a larger strategy to

invest in multiple real estate assets, as evident in the fashion mogul’s firm’s luxury residential and office purchases in Canada and the US over recent years.

The buildings were originally constructed as printing works back in the 1920s. Prior to this deal, Standard Life Investments Long Lease Fund bought the offices from Kier Property in 2017 for £70m.

Kier had fully redeveloped and extended the building into 42,000 sq ft of office spaces. Standard Life had

secured a 25-year lease with inflation-linked rent reviews.

The property purchase from Ortega represents a boost for the West End after a slow start to 2023.

Savills, an estate agent, reports in their West End Investment Watch for January that only two transactions occurred in the first month of the year, with a combined value of just £165m.

This is in comparison to an average transaction volume of £493m for January over the past five years.

NSTA said it expected crude oil production to more than halve by 2028

Copper and other metals are used in renewables and electric vehicles

FEW topics in fintech have divided opinion and fuelled political debate like buy-now pay-later (BNPL). What was five years ago seen as a useful tool to help Gen-Z shoppers split the cost of their Asos orders has veered into a hot cost-of-living crunch issue, as new products are rolled out to split the cost of everything from takeaways to cleaning products.

That debate will likely come to something like a soft conclusion this year. Fears around the sector have largely been stoked by its unregulated status, and moves to bring it within the remit of the City’s watchdogs are in full swing. The Treasury last week closed a key consultation on planned rules and the FCA will soon move in with its own.

But BNPL firms, while roundly supporting the move into regulation, are not yet staying shtum. Bosses at Swedish giant Klarna say work still needs to be done.

“I think the key thing for us now is to make sure that [regulators provide] extra protections that we can’t give consumers,” Klarna’s UK boss Alex Marsh told City A.M. this week.

Klarna’s global founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski also doesn’t mince his words on the planned rules, telling City A.M. in an unexpected email that the Treasury’s plans to copy and paste sections of the Consumer Credit Act for regulation are a major misstep.

“Making consumers sign a clunky, 50-year-old credit agreement every time they use BNPL is like saying you need to go through the full credit card application every time you swipe your card,” he says.

“Returning customers who have demonstrated responsible use of BNPL should have an experience comparable to using a credit card. Who would use a credit card if you had to go through the full application process every time you made a purchase?”

RULES AND LOOPHOLES

Those comments come after a protracted regulatory process that has seen BNPL firms under fire and strong words traded on both sides of the debate.

But Klarna is by no means the only firm to raise concerns over the plans.

As the Treasury closed its consultation last week, Zilch, which offers an FCA-regulated BNPL product, sounded the alarm over loopholes

Charlie Conchie interviews the biggest names in tech, fintech and financial services

How do you solve a problem like buy-now pay-later?

Charlie Conchie talks to Klarna UK boss Alex Marsh about why looming regulation might not settle the buy-now pay-later debate

that allow so-called ‘loan stacking’, where customers borrow via other means to pay off BNPL debts.

Clearpay and campaign group Which have flagged the fact that retailers lending off their own balance sheet to provide BNPL products will not be swept up in the rules. And City A.M. revealed concern among several BNPL firms last year over how fit for purpose the Financial Ombudsman Service –a central part of the planned rules –would actually be. The fee structure means firms may be incentivised to simply settle any disputes before they are escalated, effectively shutting it out of the market.

READY FOR RULES?

For its part, Klarna, like other BNPL firms, has insisted it’s not waiting around for rules. Marsh says the firm has heightened its affordability checks on customers, made it “very clear they’re credit products” and “put in place credit checks and reporting to credit bureaus”.

“We’re very confident we’re ready. We already offer regulated credit products in the UK, so we’ve tried to make sure our products operate to that same standard,” he says.

He claims that the products currently function better than credit cards, which are so often painted by Klarna as the real baddies of the credit

world. Against a backdrop of soaring prices, Marsh claims the one-off nature of BNPL products gives them a safer backstop than credit cards.

UNSETTLED BILLS

However, the heat does tend to stalk Klarna and its peers despite their efforts. Labour MP Stella Creasy has been among the industry’s biggest adversaries and labelled the firms “legal loan sharks” last year, while top money campaigner Martin Lewis has sounded the alarm over some of its latest products.

After Klarna launched a tie-up with Deliveroo, Lewis wrote on Twitter that “borrowing should only be if

STANDING UP FOR BUSINESS

NEEDED, for planned one off budgeted purchase, not a cheeky Nandos”.

A move by Klarna to roll out late fees in the UK, revealed by this newspaper, has also raised talking points in recent months, though Marsh claims it makes customers “more conscious about planning their money”.

What is clear is that despite the looming regulatory clampdown and the hopes of some campaigners, regulation will not close the door on this debate.

Klarna, its BNPL peers, and their adversaries on the other side are likely to be having this conversation for some time to come.

THE SQUARE MILE AND ME

into

great and good: this week, Steve McGill details his life running the fastest-growing speciality broking firm in the world, McGill and Partners

AND IF WE’RE GOING FOR AFTER WORK DRINKS?

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?

Boxing up goods in a Boots warehouse which is somewhat different from my role today running a global reinsurance broking firm…

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB IN THE CITY?

My first job in insurance was at Bland Payne supporting the brokers and distributing the post and, back in those days, telexes.

WHEN DID YOU KNOW THE CITY WAS THE PLACE FOR YOU?

I never thought I would work in insurance; I fell into it by mistake like many people do. However, I am fortunate that it has offered me a brilliant and varied career which is centred around people. Solving problems and innovating and this has kept me interested for over 40 years.

WHAT’S ONE THING YOU LOVE ABOUT THE CITY…

I love the vibrancy and buzz of the City. It’s an incredibly exciting place to work and from an insurance standpoint, London continues to operate as the epicentre for speciality insurance and reinsurance in the world.

AND ONE THING YOU’D CHANGE?

The general negativity towards winners. The City and the UK as a whole has so much to offer and we should identify, support and reward those firms that are making a difference.

WHAT’S THE MOST MEMORABLE DAY YOU’VE WORKED?

There are many but it would probably be 24 May 2019 when we raised $250m from Warburg Pincus to launch McGill and Partners. Little did I know that our first full year of trading as London’s biggest startup in decades would be to navigate through a global pandemic, which is something we did very successfully.

AND WHAT’S BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE LUNCH?

One of my most memorable lunches was many years ago on a Friday when I took the afternoon off and went to the Fat Duck in Bray – Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant – with a good friend and senior insurance exec and our wives. It was an incredible meal and an afternoon enjoyed with good wines and good company and certainly a lunch to remember.

QUICKFIRE ROUND

FAVOURITE... FILM BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID BAND COLDPLAY VIEW OF LONDON VIEW FROM MY APARTMENT OVER TOWER BRIDGE

BOOK LONG WALK TO FREEDOM –THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF NELSON MANDELA COFFEE ORDER SKINNY CAPPUCCINO FROM STARBUCKS

WHO IS THE CITY FIGURE YOU MOST ADMIRE?

I have admired many City and business figures and learnt a huge amount from them all. Currently, I admire what John Neal and Bruce Carnegie Brown are doing as part of Blueprint II to transform Lloyds. Additionally, I have much admiration for Amanda Blanc and her leadership at Aviva which is inspirational.

WE’RE GOING FOR LUNCH AND YOU’RE PICKING –WHERE ARE WE GOING?

Generally, if I am not travelling to meet clients and colleagues, I work through lunch and will have a sandwich and a Diet Coke which will keep me going until dinner.

If we have a client dinner, we will often head to the wonderful Four Seasons at Ten Trinity Square. Otherwise you can often find me at Le Pont de la Tour restaurant at Tower Bridge, where the food and service is excellent.

ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC FOR THE REST OF 2023?

Yes, I’m incredibly optimistic for the City, for the London and Lloyds insurance market and for McGill and Partners. We all have an exciting future ahead of us.

GIVE US ONE OPINION THAT SAILS AGAINST THE PREVAILING WISDOM...

That to build a global insurance broking business from scratch and at scale is virtually impossible. Whilst other firms in the industry have pursued M&A aggressively, McGill and Partners is proof that you can build a business organically and succeed whilst developing a unique culture founded on inclusion and teamwork. We are the fastest-growing speciality broking firm in the world and when you consider our first full year of trading was 2020, the year of the global pandemic, and the fact that in our second full year (when we were still in the midst of the pandemic) we achieved over $100m of revenue, that is remarkable. It shows that with a great team, extensive preparation, hard work and a determination to succeed, anything is possible.

WHERE’S HOME DURING THE WEEK?

During the week, I stay at my apartment near Tower Bridge looking over the river which is a lovely view to wake up to.

AND WHERE WILL WE FIND YOU ON THE WEEKEND?

At the weekend, you can find me at home in Hertfordshire surrounded by beautiful countryside. Quite a contrast to the City.

YOU’VE GOT A WELL-DESERVED TWO WEEKS OFF –WHERE ARE YOU GOING, AND WITH WHO?

Probably Portofino in Italy in the summer with my wife, Liz, and our family.

We dig

the memory bank of the City’s

CITY DASHBOARD YOUR ONE-STOP SHOP FOR BROKER VIEWS AND MARKET REPORTS

LONDON REPORT BEST OF THE BROKERS

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

INFLATION

Inflation shock drags London index lower as real estate leads losses

LONDON’s FTSE 100 slipped yesterday as investors took fright at UK inflation topping forecasts to stay in the double digits last month.

The capital’s premier index shed 0.13 per cent to drop to 7,898.78 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, fell 0.49 per cent to 19,200.85 points.

New numbers out from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) yesterday revealed the rate of price increases in Britain dropped to 10.1 per cent in March, down from a shock increase to 10.4 per cent in February.

While inflation is cooling and economists reckon it will steadily decline throughout the year, today’s numbers smashed the City’s forecasts of a tumble to 9.8 per cent.

That overshoot has strengthened bets on the Bank of England hiking interest rates for the twelfth meeting in a row on 11 May, likely by 25 basis points to 4.5 per cent, a post-financial crisis high.

Higher rates, in theory, chill inflation by making it more attractive for consumers to save and more expensive for businesses to borrow. They also weigh on stocks by making bonds more tempting and knocking future valuations.

The ONS’s numbers “will likely put

pressure on the Bank of England to almost reluctantly continue with its interest rate hiking policy in May, adding further pressure to the already-beleaguered consumer – whose wage growth is being outstripped by inflation – and with economic growth stalling,” Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said.

“The release was not well received by the FTSE 250, something of a barometer for the UK economy,” he added.

Stocks that are sensitive to changes in interest rates told the story on the FTSE 100 yesterday. Real estate firms – which often fall when rates look like they’re heading higher due to fears over a reduction in demand for offices and homes – dragged the premier index lower.

British Land was down nearly two per cent, while real estate investment trust Land Securities lost a similar amount.

Banks, meanwhile, were among the small group of firms to squeeze gains in the City.

Barclays, Lloyds and Natwest all finished in the black yesterday. The sector tends to get a boost from a higher rate environment as it allows its big players to charge more for loans.

The pound strengthened around 0.1 per cent against the US dollar, boosted by growing expectations of Bank governor Andrew Bailey and co lifting rates yet again.

Analysts at Peel Hunt said fintech firm Plus500 had had a “good start” to the year as revenues were up 64 per cent. Plus signed just over 28,000 new customers. “Overall message is confidence in future prospects but that performance for the year is expected to be in line with market expectations,” they said. Analysts rated it a buy.

Gold mining giant Serabi produced 8,000 ounces of the precious metal in the quarter, in line with industry estimates. Cash on hand of $13.9m (£11.2m) was ahead of Peel Hunt’s expectations, with the Coringa site producing 9.8kt of ore. The investment analyst has maintained its buy stance at 74p per share.

PROVING STUBBORN “Bank of England

governor Andrew Bailey has said on several occasions that the Monetary Policy Committee expects inflation to cool and that the country needs to be careful about a wage-price spiral. This comes across as somewhat tone deaf when inflation is averaging over 10 per cent a month and wages have lagged CPI since October 2021.”

MICHAEL HEWSON, CMC MARKETS

Analysts at Peel Hunt have upgraded FY23 profits expectations for used car dealer Lookers by 11 per cent. “The current share price remains below both the group’s 92p cash and property value and the group’s 10-year DCF with zero terminal value of 138p, another clear value flag,” they said. Analyst rated it a buy.

OPINION

EDITED BY SASCHA O’SULLIVAN

Hunt should join the Mottley crew of reformers at the World Bank and IMF

Barry Johnston

JEREMY Hunt’s recent trip to Washington DC for the World Bank meetings was a little more low-key than his predecessor, who flew there last October to try and reset the UK’s relationship with global finance markets. Instead of flying back early to face the chop like Kwarteng, Hunt - and Britain’s economic travails - flew mostly below the radar this time. This gave airspace to another group that is taking a more considered tilt at the windmills of Bretton Woods orthodoxy.

Led by Barbados PM Mia Mottley, the Bridgetown Initiative, as it’s called, rests on a fairly sensible assertion. The World Bank and IMF - financial institutions created in the aftermath of the Second World War - probably need a bit of fine tuning to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. She cites two in particular.

First, debt. Okay, not a new challenge but acute and worsening now for emerging markets hammered by Covid-19, inflation and interest rate rises. A looming debt crisis is choking off public and private investment and crippling growth and social development.

Second, climate. Finance just isn’t flowing through the global system at the scale required to decarbonise in-

dustrialised economies. Nor is there sufficient funding to help less-industrialised countries leapfrog dirty fossil fuel development and pay for the damage caused by increasing extreme weather.

When you’re up to your neck in that much crap, it’s time to call the plumber. That person appears to be Mottley. Her initiative would unblock the global financial pipes with a couple of main fixes.

The first is relieving unsustainable debt servicing. This includes treating specific kinds of debt as more favourable (for instance investment in climate resilience), and unlocking liquidity within the system by reallocat-

ing IMF Special Drawing Rights to countries facing a crunch. The second would see multilateral development banks use their balance sheets to unlock more capital for loans

- including at concessional rates - for investment in climate and development objectives. Finally, these increased capital flows should leverage private and philanthropic investment in public goods and technological breakthroughs.

Mottley’s been on the kind of charm offensive to sell her ideas that Truss would have done well to observe. She’s won backing from a host of current and former political leaders, financial commentators and advocacy groups. In June, Emmanuel Macron will take up the charge with a summit on the initiative in Paris. Granted his currency has dropped of late, but nonetheless, it shows the ideas have traction.

Let’s be honest, teaching everyone more maths won’t boost our economic growth

PRIME minister Rishi Sunak is a mathematics evangelist. In a speech this week to the London Screen Academy, he slammed the “anti-maths mindset” and re-announced plans to require everyone in the country to study maths until 18.

For many, these plans just don’t add up. The ongoing shortage of specialist maths teachers could make the policy backfire by lowering standards, as even more non-specialists are brought in to fill gaps. Others wonder whether disinterested students would be wasting their time and distracting others. Creative industry representatives were particularly aghast when Sunak first announced the plans in January.

Few, however, have tackled the prime minister’s central argument: that expanding mathematics education is necessary to grow the economy and compete internationally. Sunak’s belief fits neatly into the emerging concern about geostrategic competition in science and technology. Many believe the West is falling behind. Analysts expect

Matthew Lesh

China to have almost double the number of science, technology, engineering, and STEM PhDs compared to the United States by 2025.

This fear is, of course, nothing new. A confidential CIA report in 1959 warned that in the Soviet Union an extraordinary 90 per cent of all graduates specialised in scientific and technical fields. Soviet schools were famous for emphasising a strong mathematics and science education, expecting students to compete in the Soviet Student Olympiad. The launch of Sputnik, the world’s first satellite, particularly spooked the West.

Ultimately, however, it didn’t matter that the Soviet Union beat the West in

technical education. Knowledge of maths could not compensate for a broken economic model. Central planning led to an inefficient use of resources and the lack of profit motivation removed the incentive to compete and innovate. Producing so many scientists and engineering left little space for business people and entrepreneurs. The strength of what economists call “human capital” is irrelevant when the underlying institutional environment doesn’t promote growth.

It’s a similar story for Britain. The UK has some of the world’s top universities, a record-high number of graduates, and impressive scientists. But none of that matters when a housing shortage prevents those skilled graduates from living in cities where they would be most productive. Nor does having top scientists matter when they cannot build successful companies – because of a shortage of laboratory space or barriers caused by red tape. Put differently, the UK produces more STEM graduates (23 per cent of all tertiary degree recipients) than the United States (20 per cent). Yet

our economy is about one-third smaller on a per-capita basis.

Technical education certainly provides useful skills, which may then ultimately translate into higher productivity and incomes. Indeed, as Sunak said, we shouldn’t celebrate ignorance. But, as a study from the World Bank says, “education by itself does not guarantee successful development, as history has shown in the former Soviet bloc, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and the Indian states of Kerala and West Bengal.” The authors, Ramon Lopez, Vinod Thomas, and Yan Wang, find that “economic policies that suppress market forces tend to dramatically reduce the impact of human capital on economic growth”.

Maths education is no silver bullet for economic growth. It’s worrying that, of all the things the prime minister could talk about, this is it. A plan for more maths classes is not the same as a plan for growth.

£ Matthew Lesh is the director of public policy and communications at the IEA

In each area, things are moving. On debt servicing, China has softened its stance in recent days and now says it will work with G20 partners on a common framework to manage the crisis.

On lending, the US has tapped former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga as its choice to replace outgoing World Bank president David Malpass. Banga benefits in the first instance by, well, not being Malpass. That he actually accepts climate science is welcome to start. And there’s a kind of logic in putting the credit card guy in charge during a debt crisis - he might actually like lending money to people who need it, and be motivated to do more of it.

And on leveraging private and other sources of finance, of course, Biden’s green financial package has ignited a whole new global arms race to incentivise investment in clean energy as a public good.

It strikes me that the UK government and the City is conspicuous in its absence from these discussions. Perhaps that’s understandable - given recent financial missteps. But you can only keep your head down for so long as agendas are set and opportunities formed without you. Where are the figures like Carney, prepared to push out big ideas, convene and bang heads together around ambitious common causes? We need leaders to row in forcefully behind initiatives like this. Their motivations need not necessarily be altruistic. Some compare the Bridgetown Initiative to the new Marshall Plan. Britain did pretty well out of that.

SMOKING SOMETHING

£ Barry Johnston is co-founder of Purpose Union

Jeremy Hunt was at the International Monetary Fund spring meeting last week

Michael Gove may well just go down as an icon of British politics. New housing has been blocked in his own constituency, but there’s been building for his own personal office - a smoking den, attached to his department so he can have a ciggie in privacy

When you’re up to your neck in crap, it’s time to call the plumber - or Mia Mottley

WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR VIEWS

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR A boom for the Coronation sales

[Re: Retail sector pins hopes on King’s coronation to lift sales, April 12]

Laura McGuire is right that the King’s Coronation will provide a muchneeded boost for London’s leisure, hospitality and retail businesses that were badly hit by the pandemic. But we are not doing everything we should to attract international visitors to this historic event or to maximise London’s attractiveness to overseas tourism.

In particular, we are losing out to our competitor European destinations which have kept VAT-free shopping for goods purchased by international travellers. This is demonstrated by data from Global Blue which shows that 10 per cent of UK spending by

international shoppers in 2019 has now been relocated to EU27.

We are lagging behind our European neighbours when it comes to attracting visitors from key markets. For example, spending by US shoppers in the UK is back up to 101 per cent of 2019 levels – but in France it is at 226 per cent, Spain at 201 per cent and Italy at 190 per cent. It is a similar story for visitors from the Gulf and China.

If the government brought back VATfree shopping, it would strongly support growth and generate £4.1bn GVA annually and create 78,000 jobs. Importantly, it would also largely pay for itself through increased revenue.

With the Paris Olympics taking place next year, we must act now to ensure we are an attractive hop across the Channel for visitors and show the world that Britain is open for business.

John Dickie BusinessLDN

ANOTHER MUSK MESS Twitter scraps anti-trans harassment rules

Stop pitting home ownership against the rental market, we need both for Londoners

Theresa Wallace

WE DON’T have enough homes for private rent in London. In February, the supply of homes for private rent in the capital was down by 41 per cent compared to the five-year average, according to figures from Zoopla. Figures from Rightmove show that in the third quarter of 2022 the number of new properties becoming available to rent was down by 24 per cent on the previous year.

In the face of a shortage of properties, Savills has spoken of “surging demand” from tenants. Zoopla has pointed to rental demand in London in February being 44 per cent higher than the five-year average. These statistics are supported by emotive pictures of renters queuing to view properties and plenty of anecdotal evidence.

EXPLAINER-IN-BRIEF: CHOOSING BETWEEN PRICE OF FOOD AND PRICE OF HEALTH

Yesterday, speaking in front of the Environmental Audit Committee, ex food tsar Henry Dimbleby talked about food prices. Asked about whether reforming our food and farming systems would make prices go up, he said “not as much as people think”. “The health impacts of food are undercosted”, he said, noting that we currently don’t account for the cost of emissions, biodiversity loss and health impacts in our food chains. Dimbleby admitted more

sustainable food systems would initially be more expensive, but said that innovation in farming technologies would ultimately bring the costs down. Dimbleby quit his job as the government’s food tsar last month, criticising its failure in tackling obesity. His intervention yesterday came on the same day as a report by the Institute for Government that argued consecutive governments failed to act decisively on obesity for fear of being perceived as the “nanny state”.

ELENA SINISCALCO

Since 2015, a series of tax changes have deliberately sought to dampen private landlord investment in housing. But the intended reduction in supply assumed that a smaller private rented sector would lead to more homes being available to turn “generation rent into generation buy”. If that was true, why is demand for rented housing increasing so much?

The problem is that this assumption was always wrong. Where a landlord sells a property with multiple households living in it, say a three-bed house rented to unrelated sharers, to a firsttime buyer, that might help one household to get a foot on the housing ladder, but it leaves two others scrambling to find a new place to rent. Where a house is available to buy, it’s also not just existing renters competing for it but also the ranks of newly formed households, who make up a third of first-time buyers and are largely drawn from individuals still living with their parents.

In addition, around a third of properties in the private rented sector were built before 1919, making them some of the hardest to improve, especially when it comes to energy efficiency measures. These are not the types of properties that first time buyers are going to be keen to purchase given the significant costs of upgrading them.

Finally, this assumption ignores those for whom home ownership is an impossible dream or undesirable.

The problem will only get worse as demand grows.

The number of those aged 15-29 is projected to increase by almost 7 per cent over the next 10 years according to the Office for National Statistics, whilst the number of people applying to university is set to increase considerably. Add to that the rising costs of homeowner deposits and we will continue to see growing numbers of people scrambling to access an increasingly limited selection of properties. None of these are groups that would necessarily be the right fit for new social housing even if rates of construction increased.

The government needs a proper hous-

ing strategy that gets a grip of the crisis renters face. Too often policy has been characterised by backing one tenure over the other. We certainly do need investment in social rented or affordable home-owner properties, but without attention to the broader rental sector too, that ends up simply as a strategy of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

For the private rented sector, that means ending the conflicting policy objectives of ministers. While we have a shortage of long-term homes to rent, the tax system not only discourages investment in new homes to rent, it makes renting as short-term holiday lets more attractive.

Likewise, ministers want to protect benefit claimants struggling to access rented housing, but they fail to accept the need to unfreeze housing benefit rates to support them.

Renters across London need somewhere to live now - not in five or ten years.

£ Theresa Wallace is writing on behalf of the Large Agents Representation Group, which works with Savills and others

A series of tax changes have deliberately dampened rental investment

The number of properties to rent in London was down by 24 per cent

Social media giant Twitter has quietly pulled an anti-harassment policy which barred users from ‘repeatedly misgendering’ or ‘deadnaming’ trans individuals. It was a part of the hateful conduct policy to prevent abuse.

Dragons’ Den star acquires London-based Web3 firm Zebu

ADIGITAL communications company co-founded by Dragons' Den star Steven Bartlett has acquired London-based Web3 marketing platform Zebu.

Bartlett's Flight Story, co-owned by Oliver Yonchev, yesterday officially snapped up Zebu to launch a new marketing arm called 'Flight3'.

Founded in 2021, Flight Story set out digital marketing aims for a changing digital media landscape. The acquisition of Zebu forms the next steps of bolstering services in Web3, AI, VR and emerging technology spaces.

Brothers Harry and Jolyon Horsfall founded Zebu with their close friend Henry Hankin in 2021 as the digital world saw a colossal upheaval while Web3 and blockchain boomed. To give brands a fighting chance in the evolving landscape, they built Zebu to accelerate Web3 and innovation projects - working with brands like Solana, Tezos, OKX and NEAR.

"Web 3.0 includes AI, machine learning and blockchain technology," explained Bartlett.

"The total market valuation of the metaverse is forecasted to be $678bn by 2030, per Grand View Research and Web3 is already on its way to becoming a multi-trillion dollar industry.

"Flight Story endeavours to be the most advanced marketing agency in the world, to do that, we need people who are native to the technology that the future will be built on. That’s why

Zebu is the perfect addition to the Flight Story team - they further our mission of keeping brands at the very forefront of what’s possible.”

Flight3 will focus on providing Web3 community growth, influencer marketing, social media, content marketing, brand design and animation, PR and live events. Zebu Livethe brand's Web3 conference, will remain as a core part of the Flight3 offering.

“During a time of fast growth

within the Flight Story business, we are excited to be launching Flight3 as part of our Flight Story ecosystem," said Oliver Yonchev, CEO and cofounder of Flight Story. "The company perfectly embodies our values and the new team will strengthen Flight Story’s expertise in community building and new technologies.”

Harry Horsfall, CEO of Flight3 added: “Since we met Steven and Oliver, we instantly connected on our

CRYPTO NEWS IN BRIEF

DATE CONFIRMED FOR NEXT CRYPTO AM EVENT

THE Crypto AM ‘SOLSTICE: Unlocking Summer and fifth birthday party has been scheduled for Wednesday June 21. The event, including a series of keynote speeches, in-depth panels, networking lunch and late-night afterparty, will take place at The Boisdale of Canary Wharf. Details of partnership packages and tickets will be revealed in next week’s Crypto AM page, and also online.

FRUITLAB’S ‘PIP’ GETS SOWN ON UNISWAP

UNISWAP has listed blockchain gaming platform Fruitlab Media’s native ‘PIP’ token. As well as the listing on the Uniswap v3 decentralised exchange, the London-based company has also announced it will move away from a ‘play-to-earn’ model to a new ‘engage and earn’ system.

The move will reward users equally for levels of engagement from the very first use without the need to wait to be rewarded for gaming.

Matthias Homan, Chief Operating Officer at Fruitlab Media, said it was a proud moment to see PIP on decentralised exchanges.

COPPER ADDS STEEL TO MANAGEMENT TEAM

excitement for the changing digital landscape. We can’t wait to become fully embedded and integrate into Flight Story’s marketing and communication services.”

Steven Bartlett is regarded as one of Europe’s best-known entrepreneurs. From his bedroom in Manchester, the university drop-out built the hugely influential platform Social Chain. In 2021, aged 28, he became the youngest-ever investor on Dragons’ Den.

Ethereum creating a stir as Shanghai kicks off

THE world and his dog may have hung up their boots for Easter over the last fortnight, but crypto recognises neither religious festivals nor non-denominational holidays. It recognises progress.

Sleep is for the weak.

The big news for Bitcoin was a return to the $30k price zone for the first time since early last June.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has rallied nearly 80 percent so far this year. It’s not clear exactly what’s driving the recovery, but analysts are largely attributing the pick-up in performance to increasing expectations that the Federal Reserve could pause ongoing

interest rate hikes in the US in order to combat contagion after the collapse of several large US banks.

Arguably the more exciting news, however, was in Ethereum, which has broken back through its own landmark round number of $2k. The second-largest cryptocurrency is currently riding high after the longawaited completion of the Ethereum Shanghai upgrade, which was successfully completed last week and has finally enabled investors to un-stake ETH staked on the network.

Many were worried the event would drive down the price of ETH, fearing that investors would flood the market with newly un-staked

coins. The price of ETH has climbed by more than four per cent in the last week.

In other news, Elon Musk reportedly set into motion his plans to transform Twitter into an ‘everything-app’ by merging the company with a shell company called X Corp - and could crypto play a starring role? Twitter also last week announced a partnership with trading platform eToro, which will enable Twitter users in selected regions to trade stocks and crypto through the app. It follows a recent move by online global securities marketplace Nasdaq into crypto custody services, which it hopes to

launch sometime around June this year, in another potentiallysignificant move from a major establishment player.

In all, the recent strong performance means the total crypto market last week reached a 10month high of $1.26 trillion, revisiting levels last seen before the so-called crypto contagion suppressed crypto prices. Where to from here?

DIGITAL asset management platform Copper has appointed Stefano Maestri as Chief Technology Officer, Sam Goh as Chief Financial Officer and Sam Brown as General Counsel.

Stefano has more than 25 years’ experience working in building technology divisions, specialising in capital markets. Prior to joining Copper, he was Chief Technology Officer at Clarivate.

Sam Goh joins Copper from his previous position as Senior Vice President, Finance, at AI-based digital identity company Onfido.

Sam Brown, who has been Acting General Counsel since February 2023, is now confirmed as General Counsel.

MARLIN SURFACES AS THE WEEK’S PRIZE CATCH

IN A week when barely any digital assets have produced anything resembling upside movement, Ethereum-based Marlin has been swimming against the tide.

The protocol, aimed at scaling peer-to-peer networks by improving communication between nodes, has seen its native POND token produce an impressive week-onweek lift of 12 per cent, and even a daily rise of six per cent as the crypto markets dropped yesterday.

It caps off a near-10 per cent monthly rise for the $93 million market cap network which also produced an astonishing 300 per cent rise in 24-hour trading volume up to $17.2 million, taking the token’s price to $0.012.

PICTURED (left to right): Steven Bartlett (co-founder, Flight Story), Henry Hankin (CBO & co-founder, Zebu), Harry Horsfall (CEO & co-founder, Zebu), Jolyon Horsfall (CFO & co-founder, Zebu), Oliver Yonchev (CEO & cofounder, Flight Story), Andy Leck (CFO, Flight Story)

GOING OUT

EDITED BY STEVE DINNEEN @steve_dinneen

MONDRIAN AND AF KILNT: MYSTICAL MUSINGS AT TATE

ART

HILMA

AF KLINT AND PIET MONDRIAN

BY STEVE DINNEEN

What a strange time it must have been to have lived through the discovery of radio waves and x-rays and radiation, to one day be told that an invisible, inscrutable world exists alongside the one you know, hitherto unnoticed, exerting a powerful, unknowable influence.

The late 1800s were a time when spirituality and science seemed to intersect, when the occult momentarily bled into the ordinary: who was to say what these new forces represented? Perhaps God – or gods, or something else – existed within them. If only one could better understand this world, who knows what they might see?

This is the story the Tate Modern tells through its dual exhibition of Piet Mondrian and Hilda af Klint, bringing

together two distinct artists with two distinct bodies of work that developed with an uncanny synchronicity.

The first thing that really grips you is a series of works by Swedish artist af Klint. Rows of paintings take up an entire wall, each one resembling a strange scientific diagram: spirals and shells, Vitruvian men and women, religious symbols, repeated slogans.

They are among 193 paintings that af Klint said were commissioned by a spiritual guide who existed on a higher plane of consciousness, with whom she would commune. Through these paintings she attempted to develop a language by which to understand the forces that bind us, and to chart humanity’s evolution towards enlightenment.

Mondrian, a fellow member of the spiritual Theosophy movement, is less commonly associated with such mysticism. Indeed, his most famous works –those “neo-plastic” black and white grids peppered by splashes of colour –have been stripped of much of their meaning through sheer repetition

(there were two women wearing Mondrian-print dresses when I was there, taking selfies beside the corresponding

SCHOOL SHOOTING OPERA IS BRUTAL BUT BRILLIANT

works). But his paintings were a similar attempt to reduce the natural world to a pictorial language, stripping almost everything away to see the fundamentals that remain.

Dual exhibitions like this can often feel stuffy and academic, art historical thought experiments rather than crowd-pleasing shows. But the Tate’s curators have really captured a sense of two minds grasping for understanding at a time of seismic change. Throughout their careers both artists moved from the naturalistic to the expressive – from landscapes to botanical drawings to impressionistic lines and swirls. The Tate has also brought together some incredible works that are absolutely worth seeing even if the mysticism the exhibition is couched in leaves you cold; some of the Mondrians are worth the price of admission alone.

But drinking the Kool-Aid is part of the fun – at a time when artificial intelligence promises to change the way we see the world all over again, it’s fascinating to see so many striking works that attempt to understand the world that was just coming into focus 100 years ago.

ROYAL OPERA HOUSE

BY TACITA QUINN

Opera, that most dramatic of art forms, has routinely attracted the most tragic of narratives. Torture, tyranny, poverty: there is an opera for every personal and political hardship, and now, with Kaija Saariaho’s Innocence, there’s an opera for the most modern of tragedies, a school shooting.

Innocence begins at the wedding of Stela and Tuomas, a small affair, where a handful of family members share a long-buried secret, unsuspected by the bride. A waitress, Tereza, recognises the family and is thrown into shock –the revelations that follow are combined with the traumatic recollections of the murder of ten students and a teacher at an International School in Finland ten years prior.

Saariaho’s score is a tense cacophony of overlapping motifs and vocals, distinguishing and then entwining the personalities of all thirteen characters.

Dissonance marks the entire opera and is enhanced by the multilingual libretto, developed by Sofi Oksanen, with translations by Aleksi Barrière. The distortion of sound provides intricate layers to each moment, building to unsettling fever pitches of suspense.

Chloe Lamford’s slick revolving stag-

ing has the stories playing one above the other simultaneously. It’s a clever use of the space, helping Aussie film director Simon Stone’s theatrical eye for the intricacies of human relationships successfully transfer to the operatic stage.

Susanna Mälkki conducts the orchestra with plenty of equanimity and confidence. The cast, a mix of operatic singers and actors, also give an assured performance. Special mention should go to the Finno-Urgic vocal specialist Vilma Jää as Markéta, who punctuates the drama with sorrowful reflections, producing yelping notes akin to herding calls. Markus Nykänen makes for a convincingly conflicted Tuomas, with his earnest tenor voice. Julie Hega gives a remarkable performance as Iris, whose rage and anguish were by far the most convincing on stage.

Not a single firearm is shown throughout the production, yet limp bloodied bodies are strewn across the stage and those who were shot jitter and convulse in pain, demanding recognition in their vocal cries. In showing the extent of the violence, the production walks the line between visceral and obscene.

Hair-raising or haunting, or both simultaneously, it is hard not to question to what end the graphic imagery is deployed. In the end, the small rays of hope and redemption carry enough weight to escape the glorification of brutality. Trauma, its manifestations and how we cope with it, becomes the focal point of this opera.

Innocence is a harrowing achievement, but an achievement nonetheless.

Stage show proves the Wagatha

Christie joke is old –can we finally put it to bed now?

OPERA THEATRE

VARDY V ROONEY

AMBASSADOR’S THEATRE

BY

ADAM BLOODWORTH

Wagatha Christie was a great joke. The idea of Colleen Rooney being a modern day detective, the type Agatha Christie could have penned, is obviously hilarious. But can we end this joke now? Or

I’ll call the real detectives in.

In case you’ve been hiding in Miss Marple’s beehive for the past three years, this play is about the time when Colleen Rooney accused fellow wag Rebekah Vardy of selling stories about her to The Sun. “It’s………. Rebekah Vardy’s account,” Rooney wrote, smashing the internet into smithereens.

What followed was a high-profile court case, but also a high profile soap opera. Vardy and Rooney’s court outfits have been picked apart at the seams, as has Vardy’s evidence, perhaps the most iconic being her claim that her phone – containing valuable proof of her innocence – “regrettably fell in the North Sea.”

Vardy lost the court case and now owes Rooney up to £1.5m in legal fees. It’s all been undeniably gripping. Then the Wagatha Christie play came along, which I thought might be some kind of hipster take on the whole sorry mess, but instead it’s a run-through of…. (yes, dot, dot, dot) exactly what

A CHILLING LOOK AT THE POWER OF THE INTERNET FILM

RECOMMENDED MISSING

DIR. WILL MERRICK, NICK JOHNSON

BY VICTORIA LUXFORD

As smart phones have become a predominant part of our lives, Hollywood has attempted to make screen time cinematic. A variation of the found footage style of the late 90s, films like 2014’s Unfriended and 2018’s Searching tell a story through laptop and phone screens.

The trend continues with Missing, a standalone sequel to Searching, this time with the child looking for a parent. Storm Reid (A Wrinkle In Time), plays June, a chronically online teenager who looks forward to a few days of freedom as her mother (Nia Long) heads off on holiday to Colombia with her new boyfriend. When she doesn’t arrive on her return flight, June begins a desperate search, using all her online knowledge to uncover the dark truth behind her mother’s new love.

While the chase is tense, the real chills can be felt in how feasible the digital element of the film seems. Hacking email accounts, checking dating profiles, and instantly facetiming

the other side of the world shows how much of our lives is traceable online.

Little details, like June hiring Colombian gig worker Javi (Joaquim de Almeida) to do some snooping, add to the sense that this is all possible.

The format means there’s no room to hide, and Reid is talented enough to excel in a role that requires her face to

be on screen for the best part of 90 minutes; to hold your own against veterans like Long and Almeida is no mean feat.

Missing treads a lot of the same ground as its predecessor, meaning it can’t rely on the novelty of the presentation. The result is a cautionary tale which couldn’t be more relevant.

THE LOWDOWN: WAGATHA CHRISTIE PLAYWRIGHT ON ADAPTING THE CASE

Vardy v Rooney writer Liv Hennessy on the two iconic women and the camp, maximalist British court system

YOU'VE TWEAKED THE PLAY TO LEAVE A QUESTION OVER WHO WON. WHY?

We don’t exactly leave the play on a question mark, as we have the judge’s verdict at the end!

remember that both of them wanted to do this publicly, Coleen by posting that infamous ‘reveal’ post, and Rebekah for taking it to court.

hearsal room, they’re both playing the game but they play it differently.

we’ve already heard a million times.

Liv Hennessey’s script basically restages the court case for those of us who weren’t inside, but all the good lines went viral during the case anyway, and the script allows next to no room for either Vardy or Rooney actors to offer us any new takes on the whole saga. How these two women felt during the court case, behind-the-scenes tidbits or introducing questions about what either may have thought would have been interesting insertions, but there’s basically no fiction here. It leaves a huge question mark about why we’re here in the first place.

At times, the audience seem gladiatorial. Laughing at, rather than with, the characters, their response feels meanspirited. By the end when the court case dissolves and the woman stand facing one another, it feels like the Vardy and Rooney actors may get to delve into some drama, but instead the lights just go off. It’s an unsatisfying end to an underdeveloped concept.

But yes, we definitely show a more balanced version of the case than we did first time round. During the initial writing process (which was only around six weeks from commission to stage), we didn’t have the space to delve into the deeper complexities of the case. When I discovered we’d be transferring to the West End, it felt like the perfect opportunity to go back into those court docs and really engage with the intricacies.

WHO DO YOU THINK IS GUILTY?

I couldn’t possibly say. What’s striking about libel law in the UK is, because of the reverse burden of proof, Rebekah Vardy had a very strong case. Neither team knew who had won until the day of the verdict.

WAS IT HARD TO GET THE TONE RIGHT?

While the case had two real women at its centre, it was ultimately a lowstakes dispute, and it’s important to

The trial was all about how we behave online, and the conflation between private and public spheres in a world of social media. So while there is a lot of (hilarious) dramatic irony when WhatsApp messages are read aloud, completely contradicting what someone’s just said, we saw this play as a modern comedy of manners, a way to satirise contemporary society and our relationships.

WHY DO VARDY AND ROONEY MAKE GREAT CHARACTERS?

They’re both incredibly clever, selfpossessed and, in this instance, both feel that they’ve been the victim of a great injustice. Lucy May Barker and Laura Dos Santos have done an incredible job in making these women three dimensional and real; this isn’t caricature or impression, it’s a human portrayal of two people thrust into the spotlight because they’re married to footballers.

Like we always said in the re-

WHAT'S THE LINE YOU'RE MOST PROUD OF?

I can’t take credit for any of the lines as it’s mostly verbatim, but I loved everything that came out of David Sherborne’s mouth. His closing statement was a thing of beauty. I don’t think the British public are really aware of how camp and maximalist our courts are –there are wigs, costumes, jokes. British court rooms are inherently theatrical.

HOW DID OPENING NIGHT FEEL?

The first time we opened at the Wyndhams was completely surreal and electric. It was a sold out show, and the rowdiest audience I’ve ever encountered on a stage. It was definitely a night nobody will forget, but we feel very lucky to be doing this again. And this time our own stage (last time we were doing Tuesday nights on Life Of Pi’s stage!).

£ Vardy v Rooney The Wagatha Christie Trial is at Ambassadors until 20 May

HOW QUICHE DIVIDED US

Who eats quiche? The eggbased tart has a dry image, seen these days as the preserve of grandparents, academics, and people who can't be bothered to make lunch. It’s seen as boring, but how did we get here? Is hating them the pre-occupation of men? Either way, a quiche is rarely anyone's favourite. What does that say about us?

Snobbery around the humble dish makes it almost embarrassing to order one in public, especially if you're a man. I'll admit I often swerve ordering one at lunch for fear of judgment. It seems somehow to lack the masculine energy of a pie. I don't know what that means, but I'm pretty sure it says more about me than the quiche. "A straight man never has a quiche in his fridge," a friend joked once. I am certainly not a straight man, but I definitely fear being torn apart by friends for ordering the once fashionable tart at dinner.

The quiche taboo was the subject of a satirical 1982 book, Real Men Don't Eat Quiche, which examined stereotypes about masculinity. Fascinatingly, more than one academic paper has concluded that quiche is seen as feminine, and that perhaps makes men less likely to order it in public.

None of this halted quiche's popularity in the 1970s and 80s, when it was an

Men avoid it, plenty find it boring. So how did we get here? Adam Bloodworth asks the important quiche questions

incredibly trendy dish to bring to dinner parties or serve amongst friends. Although the quiche Lorraine is still the most famous, many other varieties of it were developed, particularly in the United States in the middle of last century, when it was seen as a practical dish, something people would frequently eat whole, for one person in one go.

One man who won't stand for toxic masc ideals about men and quiche is King Charles, who reportedly loves the dish that originated in Germany in the 13th century. (Contrary to popular belief, quiche isn't actually French.) It was "personally" chosen by the King and the recipe for the Coronation sounds gorgeously delicate. It's "a deep quiche with a crisp, light pastry case and delicate flavours of spinach, broad beans, and fresh tarragon." Hardly the gastronomic template of masculinity.

Perhaps there is something about it being light that aligns with stereotypical ideas about what women eat. That its flavour isn't bold but delicate and refined.

Brits right now seem more angry that the King announced the Coronation quiche during a cost of living crisis than its effeminate image. But nonetheless, it requires rebranding. As the Coronation nears, it seems clear to me: either I get over my image crisis or quiche does.

WHAT A TART - THE BEST (AND WORST) SUPERMARKET QUICHES

SAINSBURY’S BRITISH HAM HOCK, CHEDDAR AND TANGY PICKLE hhiii

Pickle is a tricky mistress – too vinegary and it’s overpowering, too sugary and you end up with something like this Sainsbury’s British ham hock, cheddar and tangy pickle quiche. A little too sweet, it all hinges on whether or not you want a show-off quiche on your coronation table. It is supposed to be the star of the show after all, so get this quiche and it’ll make it look like you’ve made the effort. Elsewhere, there’s good texture to the base, so that’s a decent bonus.

TESCO CHEDDAR AND ONION

hhhhi

There’s something underwhelming about the look of this quiche, which is too beige. But it’s got a gorgeously strong cheesy taste. It’s definitely the most cheesy, and for me, that makes it a reliable fave. Nothing special, nothing Coronation-themed, just a darn good quiche for those that can handle their – slightly pongy – cheese. Elsewhere there’s a decent crust, and generous slabs of cheese mixed in among the egg filling so you can see exactly how much cheese you’re getting for your money. A bargain on every level.

SAINSBURY’S QUICHE LORRAINE hhiii

There’s some sad-looking packaging for this quiche that boasts a Coronation design, with crowns and bunting, but it looks like it was drummed up in 15 minutes by a Year 7 student. The quiche itself is very salty, with the bacon clustered on top as if its trying to flee the quiche for fear of its life – I didn’t know you could have too much bacon but it turns out there is too much of a good thing. Overall it’s a little on the claggy side too, but if you like to play things safe, you’re always going to be happy with a quiche Lorraine, original style.

HIGGIDY’S SPINACH AND RED PEPPER QUICHE hhhhh

Woah, hold up, what’s this, a brown paper holder? There’s something unusual encasing this quiche if you’re used to seeing the silver foil tray, but I rate that, I mean why not, life’s short? Elsewhere things are equally appealing – there’s a homemade look, giving the quiche a rustic feel. Overall, quiches are too beige, but alongside the brown pastry this one has lovely red slabs of pepper and a good selection of spinach. It looks like it was drummed up one sunny afternoon by your grandmother. There’s good depth of flavour too.

WAITROSE’S BROCCOLI AND RICOTTA hhhhi

Another zingy quiche. The type of quiche you’d introduce your mum to. Cheery looking and bright on the tongue, if this quiche could speak, it’d have intelligent conversation. I could look at this quiche all day. There’s lovely al dente broccoli in nice big chunks, and a homemade-looking browned crust, and the spinach is a genius addition. There’s chunky broccoli to write home about too, nothing worse than overcooked brocolli and the pieces are decently-sized chunks.

TESCO QUICHE LORRAINE hhhhi

This one’s got a really inviting smoked bacon vibe that lingers on and on. Classic quiche Lorraine, it has good smokiness to taste and there are decent chunks of ham. There’s a slightly synthetic note to the flavour, but in a moreish, MSG kind of way, a bit like those bacon crispies you buy in a family-sized bag and demolish in minutes. There’s a good crust too – it looks a bit anaemic though. Let’s face it, this is not a looker, and there’s a slight surface of the moon consistency, but overall, a great quiche. Absolutely lovely stuff.

Rugby had to be tough on Nowell for the sake of the game’s future

THIS may not be something you expect to hear from an explayer but I do really feel for referees when it comes to decisions on player welfare.

In the 43rd minute of Exeter’s loss to Leicester last week, winger Olly Woodburn – who had previously received a yellow card – was handed a second card and sent off by referee Karl Dickson for “diving on a player on the floor”.

By the letter of the law, Dickson may have been correct in his application of the rules. But in reality, it was an unnecessary call.

In response, Woodburn’s non-playing Exeter teammate Jack Nowell tweeted: “I’m actually in shock, like shock shocked. What the hell is happening? That’s one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen. EVER.”

He was right to be hauled in front of a disciplinary committee last night for his

RUGBY COMMENT

BAROMETER

PLAYER OF THE WEEK Mateo Carreras, 23, Argentina international and Newcastle Falcons wing

comments, as the likes of Anthony Watson were in the past, and his punishment will be revealed later today. Rugby shouldn’t be airing its dirty rags.

I have no issue with the comment itself –it was a player expressing his view. But I do have sympathy with referees. They’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t, and at the moment rugby needs to demonstrate that it is being tough on dangerous play.

Players have a responsibility to use their platform to support the game. That’s not to say a player cannot disagree with Dickson’s call but they

ED WARNER

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27

British Swimming was separated from its grassroots sport in 2014 to enable the unencumbered pursuit of medals after a poor London 2012.

It does little but deliver the elite aquatics programmes that UK Sport funds. Buckner is clearly familiar with this skinny governing body model, which may well presage UKA’s own future.

If UK Athletics can’t bear the risk of using a huge London venue; if it can’t see its way to rebuilding a profitable event model; if the only thing it has to sell is sponsorship of the GB team outside of the Olympics and Paralympics; if it has no membership fees –where else can it turn?

I believe there is a commercially viable opportunity for professional athletics in Britain. But I fear that the precipitous slump in UKA’s finances means that UK

should consider the context.

There is a chance that the game we love could cease existing in coming years given discussions around head contact and concussion.

You have parents worrying about their kids getting brain damage and the game is at risk of being lost because we aren’t contextualising what the impact of head contact means.

But playing rugby comes with an accepted risk of getting hurt, right? So how do we show parents that the sport is taking itself seriously? By punishing dangerous play.

As I have said, Dickson will argue he followed the law book, and Nowell will say he has a right to an opinion, but both parties should use their platform to contextualise what’s going on.

Dickson needed to spend longer discussing the incident with his team and Nowell should have clarified what he was saying rather than simply raging.

Nowell last night faced his disciplinary committee under the threat that his ban could be longer than one handed out for a dangerous tackle, which is ridiculous.

But in all of this, what sticks out to me? It is another week in the English Premiership where all of the conversation is not about a rugby game as a whole, but about a decision or situation that could have been avoided with better communication.

£ Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips is the founder of Optimist Performance, experts in leadership and behavioural change. Follow Ollie on Twitter

Sport is likely to encourage it to take the lowest risk route out of the crisis as the price it extracts for shoring up the governing body.

Athletics may be about to join the majority of Olympic sports that exist primarily to provide thrills for the nation at the Games: Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth. Thankfully, a year out from Paris, there is an exciting crop of young talented athletes to distract us from the shambles.

Those responsible for this scandalous situation are not those currently in charge. And there remains a core of dedicated, long-standing staff at UKA – a number of them my friends – who have deserved better.

If you sense that I’m pissed off, then you’re right.

Ed Warner is chair of GB Wheelchair Rugby and writes at sportinc.substack.com

Argentina will need to beat either England or Japan to qualify from their pool at this year’s Rugby World Cup, and when you have players like Mateo Carreras it makes notching up tries much more likely. The Newcastle Falcons back has been in scintillating form for his club and notched up his 13th try of the Premiership campaign to draw level with Harlequins’ Cadan Murley at the top of the scoring charts. He is surely one of the first names

WHO’S HOT WHO’S NOT

on the Pumas’ sheet.

Lachlan Swinton was called up to Eddie Jones’s Australia squad only to be handed a seven-week ban from the sport for a dangerous tackle.

Solid scrummagers are worth their weight in gold during a World Cup and Englishman Will Stuart has been a standout for Bath. Worth watching.

Ange Capuozzo, the Italian superstar, suffered an injury for Toulouse. He will miss the rest of the season but Italy will hope he recovers soon.

It is another week where the talk has not been about a great match

Ollie Phillips

England’s Tommy Freeman has been criticised for his defending in recent months but he was superb for Northampton against Saracens.

SPORT

FOOTBALL

Premier League financial model ‘shutting door on those below’

FRANK DALLERES

MPs HAVE accused the Premier League of “shutting the door on those below” with the parachute payments system of financial redistribution to relegated football clubs.

Julian Knight, chair of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport select committee, urged England’s leading clubs to find a “fairer solution” that doesn’t have a “distorting effect on competition”.

The issue is a sticking point in negotiations between the Premier League and EFL, which runs England’s three other professional divisions, over a new model of sharing the wealth generated by the top flight.

“The current financial arrangements amount to the big clubs shutting the door on those below,” said Tory MP Knight.

“The Premier League must commit to working to find a fairer solution to safeguard the health and sustainability of the game.”

It comes after EFL chairman Rick Parry provided research that concluded Championship clubs in receipt of parachute payments were three times more likely to be promoted.

At a hearing last month attended by Parry and Premier League chief Richard Masters, Labour MP Clive Efford said top clubs had rejected that statistic. Parry followed up with a letter to the committee and a copy of re-

LIKE, COMMENT, RETWEET Ollie Phillips on how social media can help tackle perception of rugby

BASKETBALL

SLAM DUNK NBA star buys stake in London Lions basketball team

search carried out by Sheffield Hallam University academics which showed that between 2016 and 2021, 22 per cent of Championship clubs receiving parachute payments were promoted compared with only 7.3 per cent of other teams.

The numbers suggest the issue is becoming more acute, Parry added. If Sheffield United join Burnley in clinching promotion this weekend, it will mean that at least two of the teams going up this season have bounced straight back.

Knight said: “This study gives the lie to any suggestion from the Premier League that parachute payments are not having a

FOOTBALL

Moyes: Experience can help West Ham beat Gent and reach Europa Conference semi-finals

distorting effect on competition for those trying to reach the top flight’s promised land.”

Masters defended the parachute payments system when giving evidence at the hearing last month.

“Parachutes have been around since the start of the Premier League, and they are vital to ensure that clubs, when they come up, are able to invest and compete,” he said.

Sources close to the top flight pointed out that analysis of 1995-2022 showed that on average only 0.85 teams in receipt of parachute payments have been promoted to the Premier League each year.

MATT HARDY

WEST HAM United manager David Moyes has insisted that recent European experience can help the Hammers beat Gent in their Europa League Conference quarter-final second leg tie and reach the final four of the competition.

The Londoners drew 1-1 in Belgium last week after a Danny Ings goal was cancelled out by a Hugo Cuypers equaliser.

West Ham are looking to win a trophy for the first time since the Hammers lifted the 1980 FA Cup.

The East Enders won the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965. Moyes

led his side to the second tier Europa League semi-finals last year where they lost 3-1 to eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt, who beat Rangers in the final.

“We’ve been here before which will hopefully help,” Moyes said yesterday. “We hadn’t before, here at West Ham, before last season, so we didn’t know how the players would react to the games.

“There is no given right that you deserve to win or because someone sees you as favourites, you go through. You have to earn the right to go into the semi-final.

“I think we’ve certainly earned the right to be in the position we’re

ATHLETICS CRICKET

McCullum to face no action on betting ad after England probe

MATT HARDY

ENGLAND Test head coach Brendon McCullum has been cleared by the England and Wales Cricket Board over his association with a Cyprusbased betting firm.

The ECB were “exploring” the New Zealander’s links last week after he appeared in ads for 22Bet India on YouTube. England’s governing body said it looked into the issue from a “regulatory and employer perspective”.

In the video, McCullum said: “My friends at 22Bet are ready to make your IPL experience even more fascinating. 22Bet India guarantees

the best odds.”

An ECB spokesperson said: “Discussions have been ongoing with Brendon over the last few days, and the matter has been considered from an employer and regulator perspective. We can confirm that no further action will be taken.”

The ECB’s anti-corruption code says players and coaches must avoid “directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging, facilitating or authorising any other party to enter into a bet in relation to the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of any match.”

in and to be in this competition last year. If we want to be a semi-finalist, then we have to earn it.”

West Ham are favourites for the Europa Conference League ahead of Fiorentina and Nice.

“Isn’t it incredible that West Ham United are the favourites to win the Europa Conference League?” Moyes added.

“There are only three European competitions, and for people to think we’re worthy of winning one of those, it means a lot.”

This year’s final will be held in Prague’s Fortuna Arena with the winning earning a spot in the Europa League.

Marathon

director

plays down chance of protests

MATT HARDY

THE DIRECTOR of the London Marathon Hugh Brasher has played down the idea of the iconic 26.2-mile event being disrupted by protestors.

Brasher has said that Extinction Rebellion has assured the event – which will see elite athletes joined by 45,000 general participants run, walk and hop past some of the capital’s most iconic landmarks – will be left alone.

“I’ve come from a meeting with Extinction Rebellion,” Brasher said yesterday. “They will be uniquely asking all their participants to help guard the London Marathon. To do something which is unique in their history, to pro-

tect what is one of the crown jewels of British sport.” Another group, Just Stop Oil, disrupted the World Snooker Championships. “We do mitigate for disruption and have done for years. There are numerous mitigations we put in, we do that working with the police, the Royal Parks, Westminster, the Mayor,” Brasher added.

“I won’t say what they are. We don’t say what we are doing, but we have a raft of additional mitigation measures we are putting in to this year’s event.

“I trust Extinction Rebellion, they have been very clear of what they are doing and why. I hope Just Stop Oil and the other organisations listen to what we are saying.”

Julian Knight said the current system shuts the door on others

Harlesden-born NBA star OG Anunoby has returned to his roots by becoming a part-owner of British Basketball League side London Lions. Toronto Raptors wing Anunoby, 25, has taken a minority stake in the team, which is majority owned by American investment group 777 Partners. His investment is another boost to the Lions, the leading team in a British basketball scene currently enjoying a surge in popularity. “It’s great to see everything that is going on in British basketball right now which is why I am really excited to join the London Lions,” said Anunoby.

Norman leaves door ajar for PGA peace talks

LIV GOLF chief executive Greg Norman has opened the door to peace talks with the PGA Tour on the eve of the upstart circuit’s event in Adelaide this week.

More than a year of fighting over access to the game’s top male players appeared to have left relations between the two tours in irreparable condition.

Norman remains characteristically bullish about the future of LIV Golf, which has evolved into a fully-fledged league in its second season.

But in a series of media appearances to mark the first LIV event in his native Australia, the former world No1 has appeared to be in conciliatory mood.

“Somebody came in and offered com-

SPORT COMMENT

Ed Warner

IHAVE largely kept my counsel on the shambles at UK Athletics since I left in 2017 but reports that the governing body is at risk of collapse have flipped my switch.

Five years encompassing five chairs and six CEOs (some permanent, others interim), unnecessary politicking, pursuit of vanity projects, timidity and simple sloppiness have laid it low. All entirely avoidable.

Dramatic language has been used to describe the financial challenges that UKA faces, including talk of unpaid coaching staff and a possible redundancy programme as a remedial action. Whatever the facts, it seems that the organisation is running on fumes. And yet in 2016 UK Athletics had reserves of £4.5m, built up over a decade. Our events team was heading into the hosting of two World Championships that sold 1m tickets and beat budgets to the benefit of their public funders and UKA itself – a rarity in any sport.

UKA does not enjoy any membership fees, which instead go to the four grassroots athletics bodies in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Its revenue instead comes from UK Sport (to fund Britain’s elite teams), staging events and sponsorship. The latter hangs off the success of those events and GB athletes.

MODEL DESTROYED

In my time, our financial model revolved around delivering athletics competitions of sufficient quality to generate rights fees from TV and pull in event sponsors. We even built an inhouse team to do this, replacing an expensive outside agency.

I spearheaded a bitter battle to secure a 50-year rent-free deal to use the London (Olympic) Stadium, providing the venue for those events and major global championships. The result? Profit of comfortably over £2m a year from events, with sponsor income on top. All to reinvest in athletics.

The CEO through my tenure as UKA chair, Niels de Vos, made clear on his departure that the new leadership’s priority should be to negotiate an early renewal of our broadcast deal with the BBC. This was worth around £3m a year, with the Beeb picking up all production costs on top. I gave the same advice to those who asked.

This fee was vital oil in the financial machine for events. And yet the exist-

LIV Golf’s CEO and commissioner softens tone on possible rapprochement with rival tour, writes Frank Dalleres

petition to the PGA Tour, they didn’t like it,” Normal told Australian news wire NCA.

“But it’s not going to stay this way forever, because we’re not going anywhere. So somewhere down the line in some way, shape or form, the two parties have got to come to the table.”

In a separate interview, he told the Telegraph: “Yeah, maybe we should sit down and talk. It’s going to happen somehow and somewhere down the line. And why shouldn’t it be sooner rather than later? They must realise by

now that we aren’t going away.” It marks a shift in tone from a man who accused the PGA Tour of “deafening hypocrisy” earlier this year and ruled out any negotiations with the sport’s main circuit in September.

SMASH HIT

LIV Golf suffered a blow to its tussle with golf’s legacy tours when it lost a UK legal challenge against sanctions levied on players who took part in their events in defiance of the European-based DP World Tour. But the per-

formance of two of the circuit’s biggest signings, Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson, at the Masters this month boosted LIV’s claims to be recognised by the Official World Golf Rankings.

And the tour’s first visit to Australia, which is also home to LIV star and Open champion Cameron

Norman had previously said talks were dead

DEMISE OF UK ATHLETICS IS A SCANDAL

been struck. Granted, it was likely to be at some lower value than before. But the BBC now only foots the bill for production costs. Smart negotiating. At a stroke, the model was destroyed.

LACK OF AMBITION

One of my early successors, still pre-

dium each year.

He asked what I thought he might be able to negotiate from the landlord (effectively London’s mayor) and/or the owners of West Ham United as a oneoff payment to tear up UKA’s lease and walk away.

Instead he wanted to focus on hold-

Smith, has proven a smash hit with spectators.

More than 70,000 tickets have been sold for the $25m tournament, which starts on Friday, prompting organisers to open Thursday’s pro-am to the public for the first time.

“My homeland has been starved of top-class golf. We might have two LIV events in Australia next year. Who knows,” Norman added.

“But we are already aware that there has been that much interest that Adelaide will be the gauge for our events going forward.”

ing events at a revamped Alexander Stadium in Birmingham post-Commonwealth Games. I was dismayed at this lack of ambition, but nevertheless figured such a deal could be worth £25m to the others.

It would remove the hefty cost and time of reconfiguring the venue each summer and free up West Ham to host lucrative pre-season tournaments. Post-pandemic, I heard a number of just £15m was being mooted in discussions. But whoever leaked over the weekend that this year’s Diamond League meeting might lose as much as £500,000 will have wounded UKA’s negotiating position still further – perhaps fatally.

West Ham United, whose own ownership future has a degree of uncertainty, will now feel that full control of the stadium is likely simply to fall into its lap, gratis.

FOOLISH

Vanity projects? Try the development of a Performance Innovation Centre at Birmingham is reportedly massively over-budget. Why this outlay when UKA’s athletes already access the elite facilities at Loughborough University

£4.5m

UK Athletics reserves in 2016. By last year it had fallen to less than £500,000

and money is so tight?

The politicking I cited earlier involved the four home nations athletics bodies wanting a bigger say in the running of UKA, attracted no doubt by its perceived riches.

How foolish they must feel today after they won their scrap and are now much more directly responsible for its crisis. Seats on a board are only fun when the going is good.

Ironically, the latest CEO, Jack Buckner, was two decades ago one of the architects of the structure of the sport that the home nations were railing against. For many years his name raised hackles in certain traditionalist athletics circles.

But there is no doubt that he has track and field at heart as a former elite athlete. He is also in decent odour with UK Sport, having overseen British Swimming’s medal success at the Tokyo Olympics. This is likely to prove critical right now as UKS is the most likely white knight.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

Politicking, vanity projects, timidity and sloppiness have laid it low