Tuesday 2 May 2023

LONDON’S BUSINESS NEWSPAPER

VENI, VIDI, VINO WE TAKE A TOUR OF THE NEW FINE WINE INVESTMENT MARKET P12

PUTTING A GLAZER ON THE DEAL SHEIKH JASSIM LOOKS FOR UNITED DEAL P20

ALL CLEANED UP

JP MORGAN PICKS UP FIRST REPUBLIC TO STAVE OFF BANKING SYSTEM CONCERNS

GUY TAYLOR, CHARLIE CONCHIE AND CITY A.M. REPORTERS

JP MORGAN yesterday announced it had acquired the bruised and battered First Republic Bank in a deal brokered by the US government.

In what amounts to the second biggest bank failure in American history, First Republic saw confidence drain away last

week after announcing it had seen more than $100bn in outflows.

The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) effectively took control of the bank over the weekend, with the deal to shift just shy of $100bnworth of deposits and more than $200bn of assets onto JP Morgan Chase’s books, costing the Wall Street giant $10.6bn.

The FDIC said it would take a hit of

around $13bn to its deposit insurance fund and that depositors would be protected. Shareholders in what was America’s 14th biggest lender at the turn of the year, meanwhile, have been wiped out.

JP Morgan said they didn’t seek out the deal but had been invited to bid in an auction alongside other Wall Street players, with the firm’s boss Jamie

Dimon saying “our government invited us and others to step up, and we did”.

Although the collapse of First Republic comes closely on the heels of Silicon Valley Bank’s demise, Signature Bank’s sign-off and the rescue of Credit Suisse by UBS, Dimon played down fears of a banking crisis.

“There are only so many banks that were offsides this way,” he told analysts,

referring to banks that were overly exposed to rising interest rates.

“This part of the crisis is over,” he said. Analysts tended to agree.

Philip Richards, a senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, told City A.M. yesterday that he didn’t expect “any material impact” on the UK or European banking sector when markets open after the 1 May break.

Coronation set to give London a boost –though bank holiday hurts City hospitality

weekend, figures from the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) show.

PUBS across the UK are bracing for an influx of visitors to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III this week, with some trade groups suggesting the sector could see a multi-million pound boost from increased sales.

UK pubs will see £120m-worth of extra takings as people flock to pubs during the bank holiday

Some 62m pints are expected to be poured.

Trade bodies expect almost 2m people to descend on London alone to watch the event from pubs or restaurants.

Around 1.75m visitors are expected to flock to London’s West End over the course of the bank holiday weekend, bringing in £50m,

according to the New West End Company, which represents 600 restaurants, hotels, and retailers.

“The West End’s recovery is on track, but in order to ensure it remains globally competitive, the UK needs to increase its appeal to high spending international visitors,” said

The benefits of the coronation may not be felt in the Square Mile, though, with the bank holiday hitting lunchtime trade.

However, Martin Williams, the man behind Gaucho and City and Wharf favourite M Restaurant, said there is a chance the coronation “will prove to be a long-term tourist attraction for the capital”.

Williams and Corsi both also called for the government to reverse its decision to end VAT-free shopping for tourists, which Burberry chair Gerry Murphy last week described as a “spectacular own goal” for the UK economy.

ABBY WALLACE AND CITY A.M. REPORTERS

Dee Corsi, the group’s chief

Road to a greener future goes through oil majors –like it or not

OIL majors will update the market this week, allowing us to add a third idiom to a list that includes something about bears defecating in forested areas and the Pope remaining unimpressed with Lutherian teaching: when BP and Shell report bumper profits, politicians are going to get involved, and loudly. As we report today, most expect healthy numbers out of the two energy giants. Both continue to

STANDING UP FOR THE CITY THE CITY VIEW

benefit from outsized oil prices, with whatever their most recent haul comes to only adding to a windfall in recent years. The Conservatives have already introduced a levy on these profits, borrowing more from Jeremy Corbyn than Adam Smith,

and Labour are no doubt itching to get their hands on the prized goose to see if they can squeeze out another golden egg or two. The wisdom of such a measure has already become apparent: the UK’s largest North Sea oil and gas operator has effectively hit pause on all development, on the grounds it’s no longer profitable. Another win for Treasury wonks, that, but the politics of the issue make a reversal regrettably unlikely.

Chief amongst the critics of these so-called excess profits will be the ever more extreme climate campaigners, who fail to see the need for a transition to a greener future and would presumably rather see us simply turn off the global economy for a few years. Other more ‘sensible’ talking heads will conveniently forget that these same energy companies saw losses well into the billions during the Covid-19 pandemic, when we don’t recall

MAY DAY National workers’ rights day sees France set back on fire. A minister claimed police faced attacks from ‘extremely violent thugs' protesting the pension age reform.

mass protests demanding a bailout. Little credit will be given to either BP or Shell for the cash being invested in newer, climatefriendly technology, investment which will take years to pay off, with no guarantee it will. Nor will too many find time to congratulate the longer-term investors who are happy for boss class to do so. Yet even the briefest reflection reveals one obvious truth: the road to a green future goes through BP and Shell.

WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING

THE GUARDIAN

PRIVATE JET SALES LIKELY TO REACH RECORD NUMBER THIS YEAR, REPORT SAYS

Sales of private jets are likely to reach their highest ever level this year, placing an increasing burden on the planet, while many owners escape aviation taxes and there are few curbs on the greenhouse gases emitted. The number of private jets has doubled since 2003.

THE TELEGRAPH LIZ TRUSS HIT WITH £12,000 BILL FOR SUMMER PARTIES AT CHEVENING HOUSE

The former PM has been asked to pay for costs incurred during time spent at Chevening whilst foreign secretary. The bill includes missing items such as a bathrobe and slippers. A source said the estate was Truss’s “mini number 10”.

THE TIMES

KHARTOUM AT ‘BREAKING POINT’ FOR MILLIONS OF TRAPPED CIVILIANS

Fierce fighting in Sudan has entered a third week, in violation of the latest ceasefire pledge and with the United Nations warning the humanitarian situation is at “breaking point” for civilians trapped in the violence.

Analysts: Don’t blame pension funds for stock market angst

CHARLIE CONCHIE

A DIRE outlook for the UK economy is the primary cause of the UK’s capital markets decline and the role of pension funds in causing the malaise has been “overstated”, a top analyst group has said.

A major slide in investment from pension funds into listed UK firms has been pointed to as a key driver of decline in the UK’s stock market, with senior City figures recently calling on Jeremy Hunt to accelerate consolidation among pension funds so as to unlock a wave of investment.

However, analysts at London-based research outfit Capital Economics have warned that the significance of pension funds has been “overstated of late” and the sluggish performance of the UK economy was the primary cause.

“There is likely to be more than one explanation for the gap in stock market valuations,” the Capital Economics analysts said.

“An alternative explanation, for example, that appears more plausible to us, is that investors may simply be more downbeat on the long-term growth prospects of the UK (and eu-

rozone for that matter) economies, to which the earnings of their respective stock markets are naturally more exposed.”

The pressure to unlock pension cash comes amid a scramble from political figures and officials to stem a flood of firms who are moving away from London as they chase higher valuations in New York, with Arm and CRH

Hunt called for ‘big reform’ on pensions

among the firms to snub London for the US.

The government has commissioned a series of reviews in the past three years in a bid to encourage investment into UK eq-

Some blame for the slide in investment has been apportioned to accounting rule changes in 2000, which require firms to disclose the deficits of their defined

benefit pension schemes as financial liabilities in their accounts.

The move triggered a shift in investment from equities into bonds, with just four per cent of the UK stock market now held by pension funds – down from 39 per cent in 2000, according to a new report from think tank New Financial.

Capital Economics analysts said, however, that the lowly valuation of listed UK firms “doesn’t appear to tally with the timing of the accounting change” and any reform to UK pension regulation would be “unlikely to be a silver bullet”.

Margin pressure on grocers with food price hikes

LAURA MCGUIRE

FOOD inflation reached new highs in April, soaring 15.7 per cent, according to new data, with the cost of convenience food such as ready meals and coffee beans increasing due to supply chain woes.

While overall shop price inflation fell slightly by one per cent in the month to 8.8 per cent, food prices remained at record highs, largely due to pressures in the supply chain, figures by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) revealed.

Fresh food inflation, such as vegetables and fruits, accelerated 17.8 per cent, up from 17 per cent in March –the highest inflation rate in the fresh food category on record.

“Food prices remained elevated given ongoing cost pressures through-

out the supply chain,” Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said.

“The knock-on effect from increased production and packaging costs meant that ready meals became more expensive and coffee prices were also up due to the high cost of coffee beans, as well as key producer nations exporting less,” she added.

It comes as retailers across the UK have been battling to win increasingly choosy costconscious shoppers, largely through loyalty card schemes and price matching offers.

Earlier this month, Sainsbury’s revamped its Nectar card, slashing the prices of hundreds of items in store for card holders to rival Tesco’s clubcard and boost shoppers’ confidence.

Grocers are struggling to maintain margins in the teeth of supply chain inflation and squeezed consumers.

Home REIT set for change with new adviser

CHARLIE CONCHIE

SCANDAL-STRICKEN social housing investor Home REIT is set to appoint a new investment manager this week as the field of potential suitors narrows to two, City A.M. has learned.

days

John Lewis to halve size of London HQ amid lax hybrid working rules

LUCY KENNINGHAM

JOHN LEWIS will cut its office space by over 50 per cent as the company seeks to drastically cut costs and benefits from a loose hybrid working approach. The John Lewis Partnership, which also owns Waitrose, first announced its plans to move offices last year, waiting until the lease of its current Victoria HQ ran out.

Recession, what recession? Firms shrug off economy fears to focus on growth

JACK BARNETT

BRITAIN’s small businesses are turning their attention away from worrying about whether the country will slip into a recession to focus on growth, a new survey out today shows. Confidence among the country’s small firms –which drive output –climbed sharply from its depths at the end of last year, according to the

Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

While still in negative territory at minus 2.8 points, the FSB’s confidence index leapt from minus 45.8 points in the final three months of 2022.

The findings are the latest set of data to indicate the UK will probably dodge a recession this year.

Martin McTague, national chair at the FSB, said the “data shows that small firms may be about to turn the

corner and rebound after the pandemic and the energy crisis, with confidence recovering alongside improved optimism for Q2”.

Separate research from consultancy BDO found worker shortages are hobbling business growth.

“More than two fifths (44 per cent) of these businesses say their number one workforce issue is the cost of hiring,” the firm said.

Now sources have revealed the retailer is looking for an office of 100,000 sq ft versus its current 220,000 sq ft residence, according to reports in The Times. John Lewis claims the move reflects the space its staff need. Fewer are coming into the office as there is no company-wide stipulation on the ratio of office to home-working days. It comes at a troubled time for the firm, with losses swelling to £230m.

The former FTSE 250 firm has been interviewing firms to take on the role of investment manager after parting ways with adviser Alvarium amid a breakdown in the firm’s property portfolio and tenant base.  Under Alvarium’s management, just 23 per cent of Home REIT’s tenants paid rent to the firm while its portfolio was revealed earlier this year to require some £15m to £20m to refurbish.

Bosses at Home REIT are now set to appoint a new investment manager this week, with Londonbased firm Atrato and global real estate investment manager AEW being the two firms still in the running, a source close to the discussions told City A.M. “Things are going to move very quickly as soon as [the new investment adviser] steps in,” said the source. “From day one, they will start doing some very radical things.”

Staff at the partnership are not subject to any minimum number of office working

Nearly two in five small businesses expect their income to jump over the current quarter

The future of the UK’s crypto regulation calls

CHRIS DORRELL

THE GOVERNMENT’s consultation on crypto regulations closed over the weekend with figures in the crypto industry welcoming proposals for greater oversight of the sector.

The government hopes the regulations will turn the UK into a digital hub.

Historically, crypto firms have shown scepticism about plans to regulate a sector that was set up to exist outside of mainstream regulations. More recently, the industry has changed its tune.

KNOCKBACK Sony shares fell five per cent yesterday despite firm’s high predictions

Stablecoins, especially those backed by fiat currencies, will be the main focus in the first phase of regulation. Bear said the crucial questions for stablecoins are “the nature of the reserves and the ability to redeem, particularly in times of stress”.

The second phase of regulation will focus on broader crypto activities, like trading and investment of cryptoassets.

The government’s plans follow the EU’s new Market in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations, passed earlier in April. MiCA imposed strict rules and limitations on stablecoins issuers and required exchanges to keep client funds separate from company funds.

Bear suggested there will be “a large amount of consistency” between the two regulatory systems.

Ashurst’s Bradley Rice said that while the UK could not afford to move too slowly, there could be advantages to following others.

SHARES in Sony fell 4.8 per cent yesterday after its annual profit outlook fell short of market expectations. It comes despite the group’s ambitions to sell a record 25m units of the PS5 in the next year.

Paid-for articles on Twitter is Musk’s latest monetising scheme

AI set to play role in 14m job losses by 2027

ABBY WALLACE

ALMOST 14m jobs will be lost globally within the next five years as a result of stunted economic growth, advancement in smart technology and the rising cost of living, according to new research from the World Economic Forum (WEF). Some 83m jobs will be lost in the next five years, while 69m jobs will be created, a loss of two per cent on current employment levels.  Investment in green transition would be the strongest factor in job creation, the report said, while slow growth, supply shortages and rising cost of living would hamper job creation.

The impact of advanced tech (including artificial intelligence) on job creation would be net positive for the next five years, the research found, with more jobs gained than lost. The analysis suggested secretarial roles are most at risk. Economists have argued advanced technology could help reverse a more than decade long trend of slowing productivity growth by helping workers palm off remedial tasks to computers to free up time.

Arm finalises US listing in blow to UK ambitions

ABBY WALLACE

SOFTBANK-OWNED chip design firm

Arm has filed for a US listing in a move which cements its decision to thwart London markets for the US and paves the way for one of the largest initial public offerings (IPOs) of the year.

Softbank yesterday confirmed that Arm had submitted a draft registration statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Saturday to list its shares in the US. In a statement, Softbank said the size and price range for the proposed offering had not yet been confirmed.

Reports said the company was aiming to raise between $8bn (£6.4bn) and $10bn.

The Cambridge-based chip

manufacturer announced it would pursue a US listing in March, in a blow to the UK’s efforts to spur a listing on the London Stock Exchange and encourage more tech firms to float in the UK.

Successive government ministers, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, held talks with Softbank to persuade it to consider a London listing.

Arm was listed in London before it was snapped up by the Japanese conglomerate for £24.6bn in 2016.

The news comes amid an exodus of firms from London, with building supplier CRH last week saying it would press ahead with shifting its listing from London to New York, while London-listed gambling company Flutter also won shareholder approval to launch a secondary listing in the US.

BA owner IAG set to profit off bounceback

THE AVIATION industry will be looking ahead to British Airways owner IAG’s quarterly results this week, as the airline conglomerate looks to close in on pre-pandemic profits. Analysts at HSBC expect IAG to report this Friday that capacity sits at 96 per cent compared to pre-Covid levels in 2019.

The group has been eyeing a 90 per cent rise in profits this year to upwards of €2bn, as major airlines continue to gain from an uptick in booking thanks to pent-up demand and holidaymakers’ resilience to the cost of living crisis.

Despite the positive forecasts, analysts at HSBC are still anticipating that most European airlines will not yet reach pre-Covid levels of profit this

quarter, due to ongoing cost pressures. IAG reported a “strong recovery” for its 2022 final year results in February, though concerns remained over its ability to weather high fuel costs. Friday’s results come at a busy time for the group, amid a protracted row over the Civil Aviation Authority’s ruling on the Heathrow passenger price cap along with speculation over IAG’s recent acquisition of Air Europa.

GUY TAYLOR

‘Pearl clutching’ on way as oil firms set to report

NICHOLAS EARL

BRITAIN’s oil majors will once again be in the headlines this week, with BP and Shell both updating markets. BP emerged from its shareholder showdown unscathed last week, fighting off rebellious activists with overwhelming support for its watered-down climate plans.

Not even the environmental protestors storming the stage rattled the energy giant’s mild-mannered chief executive Bernard Looney, who persisted with his claim that fossil fuel exploration and cutting emissions was an ‘and’ question rather than an ‘either or’.

But while its oil and gas production

targets and climate goals have courted much controversy, investors ultimately care about making money.

For BP and Shell, who report earnings today and Thursday respectively, we can certainly expect another round of hefty earnings, but investors will be keen to see how

£9.17bn respectively over the first three months of this year. While this is a slight dip on last year’s final quarter, when companies posted record full-year earnings, it is a like-for-like jump compared to the first three months of trading in 2022. It is also comparable to the rates of profit made in 2008 when oil was at $145 per barrel.

Whatever happens, with analysts expecting healthy headline profits, political attention is likely to once again be focused on the oil majors.

Heineken gives landlords cheer with multi-million refresh fund

LAURA MCGUIRE

robust these profits are as gas and oil prices return to normal levels after being driven to record highs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Stateside fossil fuel players Chevron and Exxon Mobil posted monster earnings on Friday of £5.27bn and

“We are likely to get the usual cacophony of quarterly pearl clutching,” said CMC Markets’ Michael Hewson over the weekend, “completely deaf to the fact that it is the policies enacted by politicians that have prompted energy prices to rise as they have.”

ON THE MEND AND ON THE UP Barclays chief at ‘95 per cent’

BEER giant Heineken is set to invest some £40m in its pub estate group.

Almost a quarter of businesses within its Star Bar & Pub group will receive the boost – with 100 of the 570 it owns scheduled for revamps averaging £200,000, each of which the

firm says will create around 600 new jobs. Most are considered ‘local’ pubs. Lawson Mountstevens, Star Pubs & Bars’s managing director, said: “We know from previous economic downturns that when customers’ disposable income is squeezed, they look for an exceptional experience when they go out.”

Vue taps up Birch and Cliffe as cinema firm attempts to put on a summer blockbuster

CITY A.M. REPORTERS

CINEMA firm Vue is set to tap two well-known City names to bulk out its board as it plots its next move.

Henry Birch, who was formerly boss of Very and is now chief executive of casino operator Rank, is set to join the firm’s board, in news first reported by Sky News’ Mark Kleinman over the weekend. He will be joined by Katrina Cliffe, a banking executive with high-powered spells at Lloyds and American Express, per Kleinman’s report.

The firm has rebounded from the Covid-19 pandemic faster

and more effectively than other cinema chains, completing a debt for equity swap earlier last year.

It operates more than 200 sites across the globe.

Tim Richards, Vue’s founder and CEO, told Sky News that the new directors’ experience would be “hugely valuable as we continue to build on our steady recovery and ensure we’re well-placed for the future”.

Dates: Saturday, 13 May & 03 June 2023

Spaces

Speculation has mounted that Vue may consider a float in the near future, with analysts telling Kleinman –a City A.M. columnist –that the appointment of the new directors made a mediumterm exit, possibly through an IPO, more likely.

Rival Cineworld has been forced to restructure a sizable debt pile in recent weeks, with plans to sell the international wing of the business now reportedly shelved.

The Dutch beer giant is turning on the taps to give its pub estate a fresh lick of paint

BARCLAYS boss CS Venkatakrishnan –better known as Venkat –said he is back at ‘95 per cent’ energy levels after a cancer scare last year, when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. In an interview with The Times, the bank boss also said he believed private investment would be needed to power UK growth in part due to the government’s own financial constraints.

Former Very boss Henry Birch

BP will report this week alongside longtime rival Shell

THE NOTE BOOK

Cause for optimism in Deutsche Bank’s swoop for Numis?

IF the City has a collective mood, it is safe to say it has not been an overly cheery one in recent times. At a recent private dinner of CEOs, to which I was kindly invited to join, the overarching theme was a nervousness that London is wobbling a little, at least when it comes to capital raising. Public comments by Sir Nigel Wilson this weekend –that UK financial services had “fallen back a bit” –adds to the grumbling.

Into this mix, though, came a rather unexpected vote of confidence in the capital. Deutsche Bank’s £410m purchase of Numis, the small and mid-cap broker, certainly raised my eyebrow. With London’s IPO market rather thin currently, why is the German giant picking up a firm which specialises in raising equity capital? Well, to listen to Deutsche, it’s because they’d still rather expand their presence in London than anywhere else in Europe, describing it as still the pre-eminent hub on this side of the Atlantic. It certainly marked a

TIME FOR THE CITY TO SHINE

change from what appeared a largely consolidatory tie-up between Finncap and Cenkos.

The question now for London is how we close the gap on New York, and indeed keep Singapore at bay.

The Chancellor’s Edinburgh Reforms will no doubt help, with the changes to Solvency II the most eye-catching. The nature of economic cycles too suggests that the capital will not remain too long in the doldrums.

But –reversing the old adage that death occurs by a thousand cuts –it will be the smaller, perhaps less headline-grabbing moves that give the capital’s firms a boost.

Luckily, there’s plenty of ideas –in the past four years the government has commissioned and received reviews into listing rules, capital markets and the future of the fintech industry. It would be welcome if the reviews conducted by Mssrs Hill, Austin and Kalifa turn into concrete changes –rather than gathering dust on the shelves of Treasury civil servants.

The sight of Royal super-fans lining the streets of London this weekend, camping down for days to ensure they get the best spot, certainly took me by surprise. But as someone who has travelled to Barrow, Carlisle and Morecambe in recent years to watch AFC Wimbledon, I can hardly criticise. Good luck to them –and to the capital’s hospitality businesses, who deserve a boost after a miserable couple of years.

£ One of the barriers to office workers returning to the City more than three times a week is the cost of commuting. Perhaps the government could look to the continent, where Germany has just introduced a monthly €49 train pass, valid for unlimited travel on all services. It’s a costly subsidy but with the economy powered by cities, it’s likely to be an investment that pays off if it leads to higher footfall. The Germans don’t always do it better, but they’ve nailed this.

£ Last week, speaking on a panel at an event for recruiters in the City, I was asked a question about the impact artificial intelligence might have on journalism. It’s a fair question and one whose answer will likely come in the passage of time. But perhaps the question should be flipped back on those asking. With a range of clerical jobs potentially on the block as the technology improves, recruitment firms specialising in back-office roles may have to do some thinking, too.

EATING OUR WAY TO THE TOP TABLE

CAN I QUOTE YOU ON THAT?

We have cut CO2 emissions by 40 per cent since 2010

Tory chair Greg Hands on the party’s green credentials. Fair play: it’s quite an achievement.

One often ponders what the biggest risks to London’s economic future might be. A slow IPO market? New York’s ability to raise capital for growing firms? No doubt they’re issues but I’m always inclined to think the answer is maintaining the capital’s extraordinary talent base. Vital to that is our hospitality industry, and indeed, London’s vibrant cultural life more generally; nobody truly wants to live in Frankfurt, after all. So, in no particular order, a list of the new-ish restaurants I’ve been to in the last couple of months that will ensure the best and brightest still want to live here: Italian Brutto in Farringdon, Mexican-inspired Zapote in Shoreditch, Okko on Broadway Market for ramen, and Sons and Daughters in Borough for exceptional sandwiches.

City A.M.editor Andy Silvester takes the notebook pen with his latest thoughts on the Square Mile’s future

ECONOMICS City A.M.’s

Take your seat for central banks’ final act

THIS is the final act in central banks’ aggressive interest rate hike cycle. Well, so say most analysts.

“There’s a growing sense that the recent banking stresses will leave their mark on the global economy, even if the acute phase of the crisis seems to be over,” Dutch bank ING’s experts said in a note recently, referring to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Credit Suisse and, just yesterday, First Republic Bank.

“Cracks are starting to form in the most interest-sensitive parts of the economy after what, in many cases, has been the most aggressive central bank tightening cycle in decades,” they added. Markets have a slightly different take than the wonks in the research arms of investment banks and consultancies.

Britain’s yield curve –which incorporates every bet on the country’s official interest rate –suggests we’re headed for a five per cent rate peak. Analysts meanwhile think they’ll end up a bit lower than that,

WHAT I’M READING

Huw Pill, the Bank of England’s chief economist, sparked fury last week when he said people need to just “accept” they’re poorer. In essence, he was trying to prevent socalled second-round effects from emerging out of the inflation crunch. Wrong move, Capital Economics wonks reckon. Instead, he should focus on influencing “overall inflation expectations in the economy by setting expectations for the level and direction of interest rates”. Since the Bank’s first rate rise in December 2021, they’ve kept pushing back against market expectations. “If the Bank had sounded more hawkish” earlier on, it could’ve curbed inflation expectations sooner, Capital Economics added.

somewhere between 4.5 and 4.75 per cent, depending on who you ask.

There’s unity, though, in suspecting the Bank of England will send rates 25 basis points higher at its next meeting on 11 May.

That same day, we’ll get fresh economic forecasts from Threadneedle Street.

Doubtless another upward revision to economic growth is in store and an inflation forecast that shows it’ll be back to the two per cent in around a year (the Bank’s trademark).

Governor Andrew Bailey and his team are grappling with the toughest inflation crunch of any rich nation –it’s still in the double digits at 10.1 per cent, aided by falling wholesale energy prices taking a while to feed through to bills thanks to the regulator-managed price cap.

There’s been calls to pause hikes now to avoid piling too much pressure on households and businesses. To do so risks denting the Bank’s inflation fighting credibility even more though.

Sentiment toward the Bank is pretty poor after its chief economist Huw Pill told Brits to “accept” they’re poorer due to the huge price surge. Economically literate though Pill’s remarks may have been, they were never going to go down well with the public. Anger will probably mount after what’s likely to be a 12th straight rate rise.

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s in a better position than Bailey. Inflation in the US has been falling since last summer, mainly because the world’s largest economy has been less exposed to the massive energy shock in Europe.

One more rate rise on 3 May of 25 points to a range of five and 5.25 per cent and that’s it for the Fed. Then Powell and co will keep rates there, probably until the autumn, before launching cuts.

Powell is trying to avoid fashioning too sharp a slowdown while bringing inflation sustainably back to two per cent –the infamous “soft landing”.

Ongoing concerns about the health of the regional American banking sector will probably stop the Fed from carrying on tamping down on spending. First Republic Bank’s shares tanked last week after it said in its results over $100bn was pulled from its vaults in the first months of this year. It was handed over to JP Morgan yesterday.

European Central Bank (ECB) officials clearly don’t want to be the lender of last resort for the eurozone anymore.

They are intent on firmly putting the era of cheap money in the common currency bloc to the sword with a “higher for longer” approach, keeping borrowing costs at their expected peak of anywhere between 3.5 and four per cent well into 2024.

The size of the ECB’s move on Thursday is contested among market participants.

Japanese investment bank Nomura ditched its call for a 50 basis point increase at the end of last week. ING reckons it’ll be a 25 point jump.

Now, outside of the big three, the hiking push is tipped to carry on. Sweden’s Riksbank opted for 50 basis points last week. Norway’s Norges Bank could go for 25 points on Thursday.

The Bank of Japan has ignored global inflation taking off. It decided last week to keep rates negative.

Inflation has been falling steadily in the rich world. If economists’ forecasts are correct –they rarely are –that it’ll be back to around two per cent by the end of the year, then central banks can sit tight after this round of rate rises. In fact, soon consumers and firms can look to the future with something like glee, with rate cuts “on the horizon,” ING put it.

Brits returning from their jet-setting Easter holidays and coming back to the daily grind lifted spending at Pret stores at the end of last month. The ONS said in-store Pret transactions jumped 30 percentage points in the City in the week to 20 April. Manchester registered a huge 49 percentage point increase. In that same ONS release, data from Revolut found overall card spending –cast over a similar time frame –dropped seven percentage points, mainly driven down by lower “entertainment” consumption. Petrol prices falling away from their dizzying heights also pushed down spending in that category. Experts think the UK’s GDP slowdown will stem from poor spending.

ANNOUNCEMENTS LEGAL AND PUBLIC NOTICES

CITY of LONDON

The PLANNING ACTS and the Orders and Regulations made thereunder

This notice gives details of applications registered by the Department of The Built Environment Code: FULL/FULMAJ/FULEIA/FULLR3 – Planning Permission; LBC – Listed Building Consent; TPO – Tree Preservation Order; OUTL – Outline Planning Permission Yarnwicke Building, 119 - 121 Cannon Street, London, EC4N 5AT 23/00307/LBC

Installation and display of new signage; installation of replacement doors; removal and replacement of existing mesh with new louvres; and other associated works.

Ocean House, Fur Trade House, Queensbridge House, 10 Little Trinity Lane, London, EC4 23/00389/FULL

Application under section 73 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 to vary condition 41 (Approved Plans) of planning permission (application no. 11/00572/FULMAJ) dated 23 December 2012 to retain minor material amendments to the external facade.

19 Holborn, London, EC1N 2JS 23/00392/FULL

Installation of a replacement shopfront and reopening of existing blind windows to the side elevation along Dyer’s Buildings. 88 - 92 Moorgate, London, EC2M 6SE 23/00408/FULL & 23/00409/LBC

Temporary removal and storage of the retail windows at 88-92 Moorgate to create a temporary access route, enabling consented works approved under planning permission ref: 20/00673/FULL and Listed Building Consent ref: 20/00674/LBC.

You may inspect copies of the application, the plans and any other documents submitted with it on-line

or telephone 020 7332 1710.

Anyone who wishes to make representations about this application should do so online: Any observations must be received within a period of 21 days beginning with the date of this notice (unless otherwise stated) and will be taken into account in the consideration of this application.

In the event that an appeal against a decision of the Council proceeds by way of the expedited procedure, any representations made about the application will be passed to the Secretary of State and there will be no opportunity to make further representations.

economics editor Jack Barnett takes a deep dive into the state of the economy in his weekly column

YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

BOTTLING UP REAL VALUE?

and protests,” analysts at wine trading platform Liv-Ex said in a note. “The disruption in transport and supply chains is strongly felt, as railways and refineries are among the sectors striking.” Uncertainty has dealt a blow to some of the most steady performing areas of the market. The Rhone 100 index, compiled by Liv-ex and regarded by analysts as one of the most stable regions in the fine wine market, recorded a fall of 4.9 per cent at the start of the year.

LONGER-TERM VALUE

Analysts at Liv-ex point to the longerterm picture as proof of its resilience, however. Over five years fine wine has delivered average returns of 41.4 per compared to FTSE 100’s 8.2 per cent to the end of the first quarter of 2023. Fine wine has also outstripped residential property over the past year with an average growth of 3.8 per cent against property’s 1.6 per cent.

Aficionados are also now predicting a bump in prices as volatility shakes equity markets and slackening Chinese Covid-19 restrictions restore demand for fine wine.

Charlie Conchie asks whether fine wines remain the investment they once were

FINEwines stored in oak barrels and stashed away in climate-controlled cellars may have been growing all the more delicious over the first few months of 2023.

But one quality has proved more unpredictable – price. Fine wines, which have proved a safe bet for investors looking to hedge against volatility over the past three years, stalled in price in the

ANNOUNCEMENTS

first quarter of 2023.

A global index of fine wines compiled by investment platform Cult Wines recorded a 42.5 per cent rise between the end of April 2020 and the end of 2022, but the index dipped 0.48 per cent in the three months to the end of March, as a sluggish January and March offset a more steady February.

Analysts say that prices have stalled across all areas of the market after a

bumper few years of returns.

“The present market downturn is likely a manifestation of price consolidation, leading to a generalized slowdown across all wine-producing regions,” Olivier Staub, chief investment officer for Cult Wine Investment, told City A.M. “Buyers displayed increased selectivity concerning elevated prices, seemingly pursuing wines offering the most compelling relative value.”

LEGAL AND PUBLIC NOTICES OPINION

Time

building –with London’s empty statue plinths

DAN KORSKI ON WHY IT’S TIME THE CAPITAL CELEBRATED LIVING LONDONERS PAGE 14

THE POLITICS OF WINE

The market has also been unsettled by political volatility in both France and the UK. An inflationary hike in alcohol duty by Jeremy Hunt in March was met with disdain from the drinks industry and widespread strikes in France have snarled supply chains.

“Following plans from the government to raise the retirement age, France has been plunged into a chaos of strikes

“We expect the activity to pick up especially in [the second half of the year], when the unwinding of China’s lockdown starts to show both for China and for other affected Asia trade,” Matthew O’Connell, chief of wine-trading platform Live Trade, told City A.M. “This comment should apply to both activity and also prices, which could well resume their gains.”

A new vintage out of the storied wine region Bordeaux could spur prices further, he added.

“Bordeaux has been uneventful for much of the last year, but the new vintage is being reported as a new benchmark, something which should shake the segment up a bit,” O’Connell said. That may be something to savour.

This new vintage is being reported as a new benchmark

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Week ahead: Spending holds up as UK house prices continue to slide

BRITAIN’s better than expected economic performance since the turn of the year is poised to have lured consumers into splashing the cash on their credit cards, new numbers out this week are tipped to show.

Families are tipped by markets to have borrowed £1.3bn in March, which would signal spending in the UK is holding up pretty well despite the economy stuttering.

Britain is largely tipped to skirt a recession this year and unemployment is poised to increase only slightly, strengthening households’ confidence to repay debt.

The numbers, from the Bank of England on Thursday, will also provide insight into how the UK’s housing market is responding to the central bank’s 11 straight interest rate increases.

While likely recovering in March, de-

mand for home loans has dropped substantially over the past year, mainly due to mortgage rates soaring.

Data from building society Nationwide today will also show how that slowdown in demand is impacting house prices. Markets reckon they fell again, by 0.5 per cent, over the last month.

In what will be a shortened week for London traders due to the bank holiday, investors’ focus will zero in on whether the US Federal Reserve raises borrowing costs for the ninth time in a row tomorrow. European Central Bank officials are expected to follow the Fed in lifting rates on Thursday.

Topping the corporate agenda this week is British Airways owner IAG, posting results on Friday, while Lloyds and Natwest post today and Thursday respectively. BP and Shell also update investors today and Thursday respectively.

Listed industrial property vehicle Industrials REIT posted “strong rental growth” in the fourth quarter and showed “no signs of a slowdown”, analysts at Peel Hunt said. Occupancy rates were stable at 92.3 per cent, with 120 leasing transactions concluded at an average uplift of 27 per cent. The firm is set for a takeover by Blackstone and Peel Hunt says investors should hold the stock with a target price of 165p.

Rentokil was “substantially outperformed” by its main global competitor Rollins after the firm revealed 11.4 per cent revenue growth in the first quarter of its financial year, analysts have warned. In the first quarter of the year, Rentokil’s North American Pest Control business, which makes up 55 per cent of group revenues, saw sales growth of just 4.9 per cent. Peel Hunt say hold the stock with a target price of 629p.

NO REST FOR THE WICKED

“City traders have got a load of shortened weeks coming up, kicking off this week. Top of billing are some big FTSE 100 earnings, including HSBC, Lloyds Bank, BP and Shell. Same amount of work, fewer days it is then.”

JACK BARNETT, ECONOMICS EDITOR

OPINION

EDITED BY SASCHA O’SULLIVAN

The many empty statue plinths in the capital should honour living Londoners

Daniel Korski

LONDON is the kind of place where you can notice something new every day. I was walking through Cavendish Square not too long ago and noticed, for the first time, an empty plinth in the middle of the garden, a record of a no longer standing statue.

Inscribed on the base is a dedication to the Duke of Cumberland, who is also known by his nickname the Butcher of Culloden for his suppression of the Jacobite Rising during which he and his men committed large scale atrocities on and off the battlefield. The brutal general disappeared from the plinth as long ago as 1868, and only returned temporarily in 2012 cast in soap. His statue has rightly not been restored with public money, yet it is a shame the plinth isn’t used to celebrate someone or something. But who, or what?

Statues have been a contentious topic with the destruction of monuments in the UK and the US – from the toppling of slave-trader Edward Colston’s statue in Bristol, to the defacement of statues venerating Christopher Columbus and Confederate leaders in Boston, Miami and Virginia.

I’m not in favour of removing, let alone violently toppling, statues. I’m Jewish and if I wanted every statue in

London depicting someone who harboured antisemitic views removed there would probably only be a small handful of statues left at all. These statues are part of our history, for good and bad. More time and money should be spent on contextualising and artfully reinterpreting existing statues to reflect what we have learnt from our past and celebrate London today. A good example is the new monument honouring victims of the trans-Atlantic slave trade on West India Quay.

Managed in the right way, public statues and monuments can help create a positive sense of place. They have the potential to inspire, challenge, and represent our society and its achievements, political struggles, and

contentions in the public realm, sparking debate about our past and future. However, an audit of public sculptures and monuments across the capital has shown that, out of almost 1,500 20 per cent are dedicated to named men but only 14 of which are men of colour; twice as many statues feature animals than named women and only three sculptures are dedicated to named women of colour.

There are only a handful of statues dedicated to people still alive and positively influencing London. These are pretty much limited to football legends, Michael Caine, Jazzie B and Nicola Adams. Citywide, London should have more tributes to the living.

Our capital seems to think it's a little too much for one's ego to have a statue unveiled during their lifetime. There are no general rules for statue commissioning, but some councils have a 20 year principle whereby two decades must pass before a statue can be erected in tribute of a person or event. This guideline makes sure the legacy of those represented endures with the permanence of their bronze castings.

There is another way to ensure an installation is still relevant: London's empty plinths are all potential Fourth Plinths of Trafalgar Square.

The Fourth Plinth has hosted the temporary display of contemporary sculptures since 1998. But it was the portrayal of people not ordinarily

Artificial intelligence could save London from losing our competitive edge to the US

ACORNERSTONE of London’s success in recent years has been the focus on digitalisation and innovation. These twin pillars have helped build the City into one of the world’s most advanced markets.

Indeed, recent competitiveness benchmarking report from the City of London Corporation showed that despite geopolitical shifts, a challenging global macroeconomic environment, and difficult financial market conditions, London remains a world leading financial centre.

But that competitive advantage is under threat like never before. Recent research by SCM Direct suggested that Britain’s top 100 companies would be worth towards £500bn more if they moved their stock market listings to New York.

The UK has a dynamic venture capital sector, but we must do a better job of incentivising capital into our innovative start-ups so that they list in London, rather than elsewhere.

We mustn’t dig our heads in the sand and ignore this threat. We need to accept that we need to do better, be more attractive, more innovative, if we are to excel in the future.

The Future Growth Fund, targeting up to £50bn of private sector defined contribution pension schemes, would inject transformational capital into industries such as fintech, biotech, life sciences, and green technology.

Finding new sources of capital so that British companies can both startup and scale-up without leaving our shores, is just one of several issues.

The future of our economy is digital. We must therefore ensure that we

have the right regulatory environment, one that does not stifle innovation. Regulation can help technology grow. To paraphrase Goldilocks, regulation must be “not too hot and not too cold, but just right”.

Conversations led by the Financial Conduct Authority on reviewing corporate governance structures and replacing the current rules with a single listing category with one set of requirements are positive steps forward.

I have no doubt that by focusing on innovation we can find a path to prosperity once again.

One of the areas we need to show leadership is in artificial intelligence.

At a time when everyone, everywhere, is looking to stimulate economic growth, PwC has predicted that UK GDP will be 10.3 per cent higher in 2030 because of AI. That’s the equivalent of an additional £232bn –greater than the annual cost of the NHS in England – making it one of the biggest economic opportunities in a generation.

The second is digital cross border payments. New technologies are revolutionising financial services. As we explore this new frontier – with UK pilots currently taking place – it will be vital that we follow a path that allows innovative technologies to thrive and protects consumers through agile and proportionate regulation.

The third is cyber security. Last year, UK cyber revenues hit over £10bn. This growing industry supports almost 2,000 businesses, employing nearly 60,000 people. As the world becomes more geopolitically unstable, cyber security will only grow. It is vital that we in the UK ride this developing wave of success so that our critical national infrastructure can endure any storms that come.

By striking the right balance of innovation and regulation, the City has a real opportunity to become the world’s leading tech capital.

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

found cast in bronze that really helped the Fourth Plinth become a household name. For Antony Gormley’s One & Other, 2,400 people chosen at random spent time on top of the plinth. Turner Prize winner Rachel Whiteread has suggested an end to the everchanging cycle of the Fourth Plinth as many artworks have since been kept in storage at great expense. What this problem really calls for is a need for a sustainable, regenerative approach to innovation and creativity.

Learning from this, our city should pay tribute to the best of living London with statues, 3D printed with sustainably recycled plastic, that are temporarily positioned atop empty plinths across the capital. Every few years these statues would be recycled and reincarnated into the next tribute.

Rather than chosen at random, like Gormley’s work, the individuals represented by these statues would be London’s real changemakers of today. Perhaps they could be used to draw more attention to the people the Mayor of London awards aim to pay tribute to but which currently end up going largely unnoticed by the wider London community.

The rejection of a statue for the late Queen on the Fourth Pillar demonstrates London’s love of the transient, adaptive relevance of the artworks. These plinth-toppers could inspire and unite Londoners, bringing the amazing yet quite ordinary people that are making our city greater to the forefront of the public’s attention. Who do you think deserves this kind of tribute?

NURSING

£ Daniel Korski is CEO of Public First and has launched the Greater London Podcast

Edward Colston’s statue in Bristol was replaced with a Black Lives Matter campaigner

A WOUND Pat Cullen has said the nurses strike could go on ‘for years’ if the government refuses to change its attitude to negotiating with the unions. The boss of the RCN union said the cycle would continue to repeat itself after 28 hours of strikes on Monday

Chris Hayward

WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR VIEWS

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

A diet of AI education

[Re: Time moves fast in AI years, and Britain is nowhere near ready, April 25] Britain is unprepared for AI. Government and governance can help, but AI is a global phenomenon, much like Covid-19 and climate change. In this context, I believe for every hour we invest in regulation and control, we should invest 1,000 hours in education and innovation.

AI has no more superpowers or intellect than humans. It can just do some things faster. We can benefit from

overall societal progress if we dispel the hype and provide clear education for everyone, including ministers and officials, on AI’s benefits and limitations. Education can unlock the potential of AI. We need to educate everyone, at all ages, on what AI is, what it’s not, the potential dangers, and how to use it responsibly. English is the hottest global programming language - let's use it to our advantage.

I'm convinced that prioritising learning now can de-Hollywoodify the narrative and get us further faster and safer. Covid-19 was something to protect us from, AI can help us build better tomorrows for all.

Dave Williams (a human) UK&I President Slalom

DECISIONS, DECISIONS Brits

Tucker Carlson’s playbook for news-by-soundbite will succeed beyond Fox News

IT IS a measure of the penetration of our culture by the United States that Fox News’s decision last week to fire Tucker Carlson, the host of its nightly politics show, piqued the interest of Brits too. Fox News isn’t available in the UK without a VPN, but the channel thrives on its cannibalisation for social media platforms. Carlson is a phenomenon in US politics, a raging, incredulous caricature.

The network has not had a good month. A fortnight ago, it settled a legal dispute with Dominion, a manufacturer of electronic voting machines and software which several Fox hosts and their guests alleged had been manipulated to prevent President Trump winning re-election last November. The deal involved Fox admitting that some of its claims were “false” and making a payment of $787.5m, one of the largest sums ever disclosed in a US defamation case.

We probably didn’t need research to tell us, but it turns out indecisiveness is now almost a formal ailment. According to Oracle, Brits are the biggest victims of ‘decision distress’ in Europe with 83 per cent of people reporting they’re being asked to make more decisions than ever. Quelle horreur!

EXPLAINER-IN-BRIEF: THE END OF THE PRINTWORKS ERA

Last night was the last time for the foreseeable future the lovers of techno music were able to enjoy the offerings of an iconic London venue, before it is turned into office space.

Depending on what time you’re reading this, there might even still be a few straggling partygoers leaving the doors of Printworks. One of the last major unconverted industrial spaces in London will now be 158,000 square feet of office space. The closure comes in spite of a

petition signed by 10,000 music fans before planning was approved by Southwark Council last July.

But there is yet hope for the fans of the South London venue.

The Printworks owner Broadwick Live said it would look to reopen following the redevelopment of the site. They said they were ‘in talks’ with owner of the land British Land over the future of the venue.

In the meantime: adieu, Printworks.

The fallout engulfed Carlson. He left Fox News with immediate effect, though the precise reasons are unclear: was it because he had peddled the Dominion lie, or because of a separate suit alleging sexism and anti-Semitism surrounding his show? Or was the truth that Rupert Murdoch, had simply tired of his omnifarious show pony and decided to demonstrate that noone was indispensable?

The axe fell and Carlson was gone, along with his executive producer Justin Wells, a Fox veteran. So ended a seven-year partnership which had delivered ratings gold. Tucker Carlson Tonight immediately outperformed its predecessor, On The Record, and handily beat its CNN and MSNBC. In 2020, it became the highest rated show in US cable news history, with an average nightly audience of 4.3 million. It was dominant among voting age Americans and it was even the current affairs talk show of choice for Democrats, according to Nielsen/MRI Fusion.

And yet. If it was Murdoch’s intention to prove that no individual was bigger than Fox News itself, he may have miscalculated. On the one hand, the station felt Carlson’s absence like a lost limb: viewing figures instantly fell by 21 per cent, and, in the 25-54 demographic, the rebranded Fox News Tonight fell behind CNN. The first of a series of interim hosts, Brian Kilmeade, a briskly offensive one-time informal

sounding board for the Trump administration, was heavily criticised. One Carolinian voiced Murdoch’s worst fears: “No Tucker, no Fox”.

Meanwhile, Carlson posted a video to Twitter last Wednesday at 8pm, his Fox News timeslot, a simple but professional to-camera piece. After the usual aw-shucks epiphany that “most of the debates you see on television” are “stupid” and “irrelevant”, he praised the power of “honest people saying what’s true, calmly and without embarrassment”. Here is the kicker: that video was watched by 1.8 million people within an hour. The previous day’s edition of Fox News Tonight brought in only 1.7 million viewers.

Corporate heft and financial strength are still the guns of the US media war. Fox News will survive the loss. But Carlson’s modus operandi has always been in the sound bite, in repeating again and again what his viewers want, on what drives the outrage, whether that be on cable TV or on social media. Name recognition, in which Carlson beats all comers, has huge importance, as does content. Ominously, he identified some of the subjects currently neglected: civil lib-

erties, emerging science, demographic change.

The networks are already attuned to producing material which can be easily clipped and amplified on social media. Indeed, it seems to be the gamble of right wing shows here in the UK as well. It is a testament to this that Piers Morgan, whose TalkTV show has 30,000 regular viewers by traditional standards, has instead been boasting of reaching one million YouTube subscribers. These are viewers reeled in by the Carlson-style soundbites, unlikely to watch a whole hour of the British broadcaster, but content to consume short clips, under ten minutes, of the most fiery bits of the show.

Tucker Carlson has more depth than the far-right idiot savant he can sometimes seem. If anyone can wage a news insurrection which puts the major networks on the back foot, it is surely the blinkingly outraged contrarian that Time magazine called “the most powerful conservative in America”. Especially when he has the power of the disillusioned internet on his side.

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

Eliot Wilson

Tucker Carlson was kicked off of Fox News last week

break down when asked to make a choice

Printworks,

IT'Snot an exaggeration to say there is nothing like Printworks. For music fans, the venue feels Cathedral-like, with its towering ceilings, but also because of the relationship people have with the building.

In the 6,000-capacity Canada Water venue, the last industrial building of its kind in central London, lighting rigs a hundred metres high are programmed to plummet down, sometimes to a few metres above dancers' heads, like the flailing limbs of a robot, to enhance the party. From the dancefloor, the space is so chasm-like that light and sound creates a mirage, making it unclear whether the stage is one hundred metres away or two hundred.

This expanse has served as London's premier nightlife venue for the past six years, retaining its original features from when the building was as a printing press for the Daily Mail newspaper. Above heads are the machines that would haul pages of the paper from one part of the building to another.

It's been described as "a cornerstone of culture" for the capital, but Printworks closed yesterday, amid new plans to turn the site into office space. It will retain its original features but will be renamed The Grand Press. Most interestingly, amid the obviously sad news, there have been rumours Printworks may make a return. Architectural plans for the redesigned space tease a cultural element that will take over the "rear half of the building's famous press halls," subject to planning permission.

It is an obvious blow to the arts to lose a dedicated and world-leading space, but it makes sense that landowners British Land would invest in a cultural offering. The arts hugely bolster the UK economy, with every pound of public funding going into the arts brings in £5 in tax contributions, according to the Arts Council, bringing an annual return of £2.35 billion to the Treasury. British Land has a history of using office space to generate income through arts, with a recent project generating £40 million.

Printworks' closure comes at a time when it has never been more important to save London's cultural venues. "As we say goodnight to this iconic space, we recognise that clubs and venues across the country are in crisis," writes Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association. Recent figures show 32% of clubs have closed since 2019, and only 865 nightclubs remain in the UK, with 10 nightclubs closing permanently every month.

Simeon Aldred, a founder of Printworks who says he's never missed a show, reveals to City A.M. he has ambitions to return Printworks to the building in 2026 if plans are approved by the council and the local community. "We can't make any

THE LAST DANCE

assumptions that because we've been doing this for six years we're entitled to this," says Aldred. "Both organisations [British Land and Broadwick Live who run Printworks] are committing to trying to keep the essence of the iconic press halls. Obviously there are lots of significant changes to the building but that essence of the press halls is what we're trying to work through, but it is quite a detailed planning process."

The

"Will you still be able to dance at Printworks? Yes," he says. "Will you still be able to enjoy electronic music at Printworks? Yes. But might you also see ballet here, orchestras here, jazz performances here. But maybe in a new, modern electronic format."

"Printworks will always be a venue for electronic art," continues Aldred. "Just to be really, really clear, if through planning we are lucky enough to bring some

form of culture back to Canada Water then electronic art in all their forms, whether that's DJ EZ or visual art created through electronics, all that will be part of our future here at Printworks. It's what made us famous." So famous that pioneers of electronic music in the States have visited, then gone back home and created their own vision of a Printworks-style club in New York. "There are lookalike venues opening around the world because of Printworks," says Aldred, talking about Navy Yard Clubhouse in New York and Arca in Sao Paulo, both built following Printworks. "They literally called and said, 'We saw Printworks and went to find

mock up image of the new project, pegged to open in 2026, looks like a shopping centre, so how does Aldred imagine a venue for dance music and expression, i.e. Printworks version 2.0, might fit with the vision?

one of London's most important cultural venues, closed yesterday. Its founder tells Adam Bloodworth his hopes for the future

Above, the atmosphere at Printworks; left, founder Simeon Aldred

factories in Sao Paulo.' That's an absolute honour."

On some shows, 25 per cent of ticket holders have been international, says Aldred, one of the stats he's most pleased with from the six year project.

"It's reminding the world where dance music we're familiar with now came from," he says. "As well as Detroit, and the black communities of America, it's Essex and Manchester. Like we did with rock 'n' roll, we expanded on it and exploded it."

Aldred hopes this will be the last insecure phase for Printworks, which they hope will become not just a template for how to make a good music

venue, but a permanent one. Culture is too often pushed to the back by redevelopment plans, partly because there is a narrative peddled (with goodwill) by companies like Appear Here, who offer creatives discount rates to take over temporary spaces. All art is good: but this model sends the message that culture can only ever be temporary.

"Everyone used to say fill in the gap," says Aldred. "Permanency is so, so important. Some of the best work we've done here, having the London Symphony Orchestra here three weeks ago, that's not a profitable show," he says through laughter. "It helps us stretch our legs culturally. Having permanency

allows us to take risks, and experiment. We're a totally commercial organisation so we have to have the commercial with the less commercial in the mix."

In the interim, Broadwick Live have over 15 projects across the UK, with many in the regions, and they're in discussions with landlords over "multiple" venues within the M25. "It's not a battle but we've definitely got some work to do," he says.

But at the time of writing, Aldred was preparing for one final dance. For spending time with his team, "in a basic family sort of way."

"Yes, I've got sadness," he says. "But I've got hope as well."

THE MOOD ON THE FINAL NIGHT

It’s hard to give justice to how impressive it is when you first step foot in Printworks’ iconic main hall. That vast, long dance floor, flanked on both sides by balconies packed with people. The light show bathing the crowd in swathes of neon colour. The DJ booth at the far end, raised above the crowd like a pulpit, lit from behind by 100ft projections. If someone were to design the perfect, money-is-no-object ‘mega club’ – a cursed term but one that feels apt for Printworks – it would probably look something like this.

Printworks has sold out virtually every night since it opened in 2017 but demand for tickets for the closing weekend was absurdly high. I spoke to a bloke from Glasgow, a group of lads from Germany, a girl from Singapore, all over to bid farewell to what has become one of the most successful and respected night clubs in the world.

On the Friday night the soundtrack was provided by Radio 1’s Danny Howard, the excellent Maya Jane Coles and, the pick of the bunch, Black Coffee, who whipped the already feverish crowd into a state of shared bliss. Several thousand people crammed onto the dance floor, arms in the air, throwing shapes to the sound of pounding house music. This is what clubbing is all about. Printworks will be sadly missed by people across the world –soon may it return.

Yes I've got sadness, but I've got hope as well

Double winner Gooch earns £7m in a week

IF THERE is one player who has benefited most from joining LIV Golf then Talor Gooch must be a strong contender, having trebled his career earnings in less than a year.

Gooch became the first player to win back-to-back tournaments on the big-money breakaway circuit on Sunday when he beat Sergio Garcia in a play-off in Singapore.

The $4m (£3.2m) first prize, plus around $700,000 (£558,000) for helping the RangeGoats claim the team crown, took the 31year-old Amer-

GOOCH’S LIV GOLF PRIZE MONEY

ican’s earnings this season alone to $9.9m (£7.9m).

That is almost as much as the $10.4m (£8.3m) he won in last year’s first season of LIV Golf, where Gooch recorded four top-10 finishes and helped to win the team championship.

Both sums top the $9.3m (£7.4m) that he earned in five years on the PGA Tour, where he won just once after progressing from North American feeder tours in 2017.

“It’s one of those days that I’ll remember,” said Gooch, whose victory in Adelaide the previous week means he won $8.7m (£6.9m) in just eight days.

“I grew up watching Sergio [Garcia]. He’s one of the great-

est golfers of this generation. To go and battle with him and come out on top is something I’ll never forget.”

Gooch won with a birdie at the first play-off hole after he and Garcia shot 67s to finish on 17 under par, one ahead of Brooks Koepka.

His windfall highlights the sums on offer on the Saudi-bankrolled LIV Golf tour, where payouts are due to top $400m (£320m) in 2023, its first year as a fully-fledged league. He currently sits top of the individual standings, ahead of Peter Uihlein, Charles Howell III and Koepka. If he can stay there at the end of the season he stands to earn an $18m (£14.3m) bonus. Although his wire-to-wire win in Adelaide was worth $4m, Gooch ended up pocketing around half of that once the Australian taxman had taken his share.

“It sucked that 47 and a half per cent

GOLDEN SIXTY TOPS RECORDS

BEN CLEMINSON

GOLDEN Sixty became the highest earning racehorse of all time when winning £1.2m after taking out the FWD Champions Mile at a packed Sha Tin Racecourse on Sunday morning.

Francis Lui’s brilliant seven-yearold, who has won 25 of his 29 career starts, was always well placed by regular partner Vincent Ho and won comfortably from Beauty Joy. His career earnings, according to current exchange rates, are now £15.1m, eclipsing Winx who won just over £14.5m in her stellar career. It was a day of records at Sha Tin with Golden Sixty eclipsing Beauty

Generation’s eight Group 1 wins when collecting his ninth, while Ho claimed a fourth Champions Mile in succession to become the race’s leading rider. The 32-year-old pilot is coming over to the UK for a couple of weeks this summer to ride at Goodwood’s World Pool meeting and the Shergar Cup and he was understandably thrilled with his pride and joy.

“It’s always my honour to be on him,” said Ho.

“I’m happy for the horse and happy for the crowds that come to support him. He’s just an amazing horse.

“He’s going as well as ever. There’s no sign of him dropping in performance.”

Golden Sixty was the middle leg of

was withheld for Australian taxes, unfortunately,” he told podcast Fore The People. “I am by no means complaining, but once you cut it all up, let’s just say that it’s a lot less than four.”

Gooch benefited to the tune of $7m (£5.6m) from being part of Johnson’s dominant 4Aces last year before making a close-season switch to Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats.

He appears to have brought the golden touch with him, helping them to their first team victory in Singapore and lifting them to fourth in the team standings.

“We’ve been talking about being up there on the podium,” Gooch said. “I’ve been telling them how much I’m going to spray them in the face with champagne for a long time now.

“We knew it was coming and it was only a matter of time.”

a Group One treble for Hong Kong, with Lucky Sweynesse running away with the Chairman’s Sprint Prize and Romantic Warrior bouncing back to take the FWD QEII Cup.

Connections of Lucky Sweynesse are now considering a tilt at The Everest at Randwick in Sydney in October.

The final Group One turned into a precession for Romantic Warrior who was winning this race for a second year running.

James McDonald is now three from three on the son of Acclamation.

“How good are the Hong Kong horses? They’re flying today,” said the New Zealand jockey. “He’s a worldclass horse and put in a performance just like he did in December.”

GOLF

American’s success on the LIV Golf circuit has seen him treble his career prize money in under a year, writes Frank Dalleres

Talor Gooch won in Adelaide and Singapore

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Sheikh Jassim pledges extra $1bn in Man Utd takeover battle

FRANK DALLERES

THE QATARI bid for Manchester United, led by Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, hopes to swing the takeover battle in its favour with the promise of an extra $1bn set aside for investment in the club.

The $1bn (£800m) is additional to Sheikh Jassim’s offer for the club, which values United at around £5bn, and would be ring-fenced for spending on improving their Old Trafford stadium and Carrington training ground as well as transfers, industry sources told City A.M.

British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s rival offer is believed to value United slightly higher, although it is for only a shade over half of the club while Sheikh Jassim has proposed a full buyout of the Glazers and minority shareholders. Both bids are understood to value United at £5bn or more, a significant premium on the Premier League club’s current share price and a world record sum for the sale of any sports team.

Chemicals tycoon Ratcliffe’s offer is believed to involve borrowing and would give the Glazers, who own 69 per cent of the club, the chance to retain a stake. Sheikh Jassim’s bid is said to be debt-free.

The chair of Qatar Islamic Bank’s pledge of an additional $1bn investment has similarities with Todd

RUGBY UNION

TALOR’S MADE

How Gooch trebled his career prize money in a year on LIV Golf tour PAGE 19

WOUNDED BY WOLVES Wolfsburg beat Arsenal in Euro semi-final

Pauline Bremer netted a 119th minute winner as Wolfsburg beat Arsenal 3-2 (5-4 on aggregate) last night in their Women’s Champions League semi-final in front of 60,000 fans at Emirates Stadium in north London. Stina Blackstenius put the Gunners ahead in the 11th minute before Jill Roord equalised for the German side.

Boehly’s winning bid for Chelsea last year, which included a promise to inject a further £1.75bn into the club, on top of the £2.5bn purchase price.

United’s sale process, like Chelsea’s, is being handled by US merchant bank the Raine Group.

The Glazers are expected to examine the third-round bids this week, with suitors keen to wrap up any deal by early May in order to plan for the summer transfer window.

Several institutional investors have offered financing, bid for a minority stake or both, should the Glazers wish to retain control of the 20-time English champions.

Supporters have

called on the Glazers to sell up in full, 18 years after the family bought the club for £790m in a highly leveraged takeover. Since then they are estimated to have taken more than £1bn out of United in fees and dividends.

Thousands of United fans made their point in a march before Sunday’s win over Aston Villa, which tightened their grip on a top-four place in the Premier League.

Sections of Old Trafford cheered during the game when United manager Erik ten Hag picked up a green and gold scarf synonymous with a campaign to oust the Glazers.

Wolfsburg striker Alexandra Popp thought she’d secured the winner for the away side but Jen Beattie netted in the 75th minute as the regulation 90 finished 2-2 (4-4 on aggregate). Arsenal were looking to be the first English side to reach a final since Chelsea in 2020-21 and the first English winners since the Gunners won in 200607 but Bremer’s extra-time winner sealed Arsenal’s fate. Wolfsburg will face Barcelona in the final in Eindhoven on 3 June.

Arteta: ‘It’s not over. We have fire in the belly’

MATT HARDY

ARSENAL manager Mikel Arteta insists they can still win the Premier League despite falling behind Manchester City in the title race.

The Gunners tonight face a Chelsea side without a win in five games under interim head coach Frank Lampard as they look to stay on the toes of Pep Guardiola’s City. Having lost 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium last week, and following City’s 2-1 win over Fulham at the weekend, Arteta’s side are now chasing their Manchester rivals.

“We can still achieve the Premier League because there are five games to go and a lot of things are going to

D-Day for Worcester as deadline for purchase just hours away

MATT HARDY

TODAY IS D-Day for former Premiership rugby club Worcester Warriors, with the deadline between proposed owners Atlas Consortium and administrators Begbies Traynor set to expire.

The administrators, who took over the club in September, swapped contracts with Atlas – led by former Worcester chief executive Jim O’Toole and ex-player James Sandford – on 1 February with the intention of the deal being completed and signed off within 90 days. Last week in a progress report Begbies Traynor confirmed that 2

May, was the deadline for the deal to go through, while also confirming that the club were in the process of losing access to the Premiership’s central funding pot.

Sandford did not reply to a request for comment on today’s deadline, amid suggestions that the Atlas consortium was still looking to raise the required funds.

If the purchase goes through, Atlas plan to merge the club with Stourbridge RFC and work themselves back into the Championship.

But the Rugby Football Union has said teams cannot buy a place in the rugby pyramid.

happen still,” Arteta said. “When I look at it, this is not over. It is not in our hands any more. What is in our hands is to try and win the games we have left and the rest is down to City. I have not had to pick up the mood of the players. They keep the fire in the belly.”

A win against a struggling Chelsea at Emirates Stadium would take Arsenal back to the summit of the Premier League table, albeit they would be ahead by just two points having played two more games.

But in what is usually a hotly contested London derby, Chelsea are huge underdogs given their record since sacking Graham Potter. A 2-0 loss to Brentford last week followed

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Premier League defeats by Brighton and Wolves as Lampard looks to resurrect a club he once starred for. But the former Blues midfielder has said tonight’s opponents are still able to win the title.

“If they’re wounded they could have a big reaction, if we can make things difficult, it could be different,” Lampard said. “They’re fully in it. Manchester City are in incredible form, but they’re in it.

“They’re [Chelsea] low on confidence and low on performance. I’ve been here in periods where confidence is low. We managed to get it back through hard work, level of the squad, we changed managers a lot.”

US sports power couple join Burnley ownership group

MATT HARDY

NFL STAR JJ Watt and USA women’s footballer Kealia Watt have invested in Premier League-bound Burnley

The Clarets, who have secutred their return to the top flight by winning the Championship under former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany, have added the couple to their ownership group.

JJ Watt is a three-time defensive player of the year who retired from the NFL in 2022, while wife Kealia is a former United States women’s international football player.

They said: “When you invest in a club that’s been around since 1882, you

must have great respect for its history and tradition. We understand that not only are we investing in the squad and manager, we’re investing in the town and its people.

“We take that responsibility very seriously and intend to work hard in earning their trust and support.”

Burnley chairman Alan Pace, boss of the club’s US owners ALK Capital, said:

“Were absolutely delighted to welcome JJ and Kealia into the Clarets family.

“Both bring an incredible amount of top-level sporting pedigree and success, as well as ideas and connections that will be invaluable in helping us to continue telling the Clarets story to an international audience.”

Both Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe value the club at £5bn or more