Tuesday 9 May 2023

RECESSION-PROOF? HOW A CHAIN OF CLAPHAM PUBS KEEPS POURING THE GOOD TIMES P11

LORD MAYOR CORONATION A SOFT-POWER TRIUMPH P14

BRING ME SUNSHINE

HIGH STREET RETAILERS BEMOAN SEEMINGLY ENDLESS GRIM WEATHER

RETAILERS already bruised by the impact of the cost of living are now being held back by Britain’s unpredictable weather, as per the latest closely-watched update on the health of the high street.

Retail sales rose just over five per cent last month compared to the same period last year, but with inflation running at record levels, that increase masks a fall in volumes in both food and non-food items.

Weather depresses footfall and also delays the purchase of summer

wardrobes, a key period for retailers as Brits stock up for social occasions.

“Retailers hope sales will improve over the warmer summer months, especially as consumer confidence stabilises and inflation begins to ease,” Helen Dickinson, chief of the British Retail Consortium said.

“However, [retailers] continue to face huge cost pressures from a tight labour market, high energy prices, and other rising input costs, with many retailers reporting lower profits this year as a result,” she added.

“Retail sales held steady in April with

five per cent growth on last year, but against a background of higher inflation year-on-year, masking how much is actually healthy growth for the sector,” Paul Martin, head of UK retail at KPMG, said. “Consumer demand has so far been fairly resilient to the twin drags of high inflation and high interest rates, but as government energy support comes to an end for many, savings start to dwindle and other household bills rise, it is likely that the next few months will continue to be challenging as the consumer tank

empties,” Martin added.

“Much hinges on whether soaring food inflation can be brought under control enough to allow consumers to comfortably start spending again on nonessential items.”

It comes as a consumer spending report published by Barclays has further highlighted the impact growing inflation has had on consumers’ purses.

The public spent 7.6 per cent less in restaurants in April than they did in March, and sales in clothing declined 2.3 per cent for the third month in a row.

REALPOLITIK

Minister under fire for Hong Kong trade trip

CITY A.M. REPORTERS

A LEADING Hong Kong rights activist, exiled in London, has described the first visit of a UK minister to the territory since 2018 as “unimaginable”.

Dominic Johnson (pictured), a business minister, was in Hong Kong this weekend “as part of [his] mission to promote the UK as a leading destination for investment and trade”.

“Hong Kong is one of the world’s leading international finance centres and we have shared interests from financial services to infrastructure and sustainability,” he tweeted.

The visit was criticised by Nathan Law, a leading figure in Hong Kong’s 2014 Umbrella Movement and subsequent prodemocracy protests. Beijing responded with a crackdown on basic human rights.

Johnson said: “I am clear we will not look the other way on Hong Kong or duck our historic responsibilities to its people [and will] call out the violation of their freedoms and hold China to their international obligations.”

The UK’s investment relationship with Hong Kong was worth over £93bn last year, according to figures released by the government in collaboration with the visit.

Revolut’s battle with ‘extremely bureaucratic’ regulators goes up another notch

CHRIS DORRELL

REVOLUT boss Nik Storonsky spent the coronation weekend amping up his fight with the UK’s regulators, as the challenger bank continues to wait for its banking licence.

Storonsky described the regulators as “extremely bureaucratic” and said

that should he consider floating the firm, it would be in New York rather than London.

Business secretary Kemi Badenoch was said to be seeking a meeting with Storonsky amid fears that the bank could shift its HQ. Revolut applied for its full banking licence in January 2021, a

process which normally takes less than a year.

Smaller rivals, such as Monzo and Starling, have already secured banking licences. The hunt for full authorisation has proved a speed bump to its growth in the past two years, but Storonsky argued the delay was “not really us”.

The comments will come as a blow to attempts from both regulators and the government to attract firms to the City of London.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt previously singled out Revolut as a “shining example” as he expressed his ambition to turn the UK into the next Silicon Valley.

Last week, the Financial Conduct Authority unveiled a series of measures to attract capital to the City, including scrapping ‘standard’ and ‘premium’ listing and moving towards a disclosure-based system.

In a statement, Revolut said: “We’re a British company and London is our home.”

LAURA MCGUIRE

STANDING UP FOR THE CITY

City needs a whole ecosystem to attract the best and brightest

SOFT power success or waste of time and money? We’re more inclined to side with the Lord Mayor than some on Twitter when it comes to the weekend’s festivities. Clearly, the coronation was always going to kick off an almighty debate on the role of the Royal Family in the twenty-first century; but regardless of one’s views there, what is unarguable is that a global audience saw even a rainy London look magnificent.

Early indications are that it did wonders for the West End’s hospitality and retail businesses, and they need all the help they can get.

The question for our leaders now should be how to ensure that London looks as good as it did in

those TV pictures to business leaders and talented youngsters across the world. Last week’s announcement by the FCA of listings reforms are a start, as are the Edinburgh reforms, but they will not in and of themselves make the UK “the best place to do business” as the government so endlessly puts it. That will require a whole ecosystem to move towards a more modern, tech-infused City economy. Speak to some tech

bosses in the UK and their issue isn’t necessarily a regulatory one –for the sake of this column we can park Revolut to one side –but a question of institutional knowledge in the Square Mile. There still aren’t enough analysts, for instance, spending quality time getting to know London’s fastest growing tech businesses; and institutional investors and fund managers are naturally put off investing in things about which they know relatively little.

DYNASTY King Charles and Queen Camilla have expressed their ‘heartfelt thanks’ for the three-day celebrations after the release of the official coronation photos yesterday

Capital continues to be available for smaller raises but big money cash calls inevitably require stateside intervention. Those looking for a silver bullet are likely to be left waiting.

The good news is that in the Lord Mayor, now back at his day job after the weekend, the City has a figurehead who understands the need to drive cultural change, rather than tweak at the edges of regulation. Let’s hope he wins the battle of ideas.

WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING

THE FINANCIAL TIMES

THE CITY VIEW RISHI SUNAK FACES TORY DISSENT OVER POLICY ON CHINA AND UK HOUSING

The PM is facing criticism from the right wing of the Conservative party over his “shameful” China policy and his failure to build more homes, as he tries to limit the fallout of last week’s dire Tory local election results in England.

THE INDEPENDENT LABOUR TO CRACK DOWN ON FOREIGN BUYERS OF BRITAIN’S HOMES

A Labour government would impose new restrictions on foreign buyers of property in the UK as part of a push to help more young Britons on to the property ladder, including raising stamp duty on overseas buyers.

THE GUARDIAN INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM AT RISK FROM ‘CORPORATE TIMIDITY’, SAYS TINA BROWN

“Corporate timidity” is undermining investigative journalism as news outlets reduce spending on original reporting in favour of material that is cheaper to produce, the former editor of Vanity Fair has warned.

Mixed feedback for regulator’s new enforcement proposals

CHRIS DORRELL

PLANS TO encourage self-reporting from financial firms under investigation have received mixed reviews from regulation experts.

Under proposals set out last week, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) said subjects under investigation could halve their fines by cooperating early in the investigation.

The so-called ‘early account scheme’ is designed to provide “greater clarity” and “introduce options for speedier investigatory outcomes.”

Financial regulation partner at Ashurst, Nathan Willmott, said the

changes will mean the PRA will be “outsourcing much of the investigation of potential wrongdoing”.

“This reflects what we are already increasingly seeing in the way the PRA is conducting its enforcement investigations,” he added.

He argued it would likely speed up investigations and lead to more ‘quick and dirty’ fines.

The proposals come shortly after a rare fine was issued under the Senior Managers Regime. In April, TSB Bank’s chief technology officer Carlos Abarca was fined £81,620 for failures relating to the bank’s botched merger of IT systems.

Financial regulators have increasingly sought to hold individuals to account for their decisions rather than fining the company.

Fladgate partner Douglas Cherry, said the consultation “underscores the importance of culture at PRA-regulated firms” and “the emphasis on individual responsibility shows the continued commitment to ensuring that leaders have responsibility for Bank regulatory compliance”.

Cherry argued the proposals would be a positive step to improve the clarity of the system.

However, CMS partner Robert Dedman argued there could be problems

if the firm agreed to settle but individuals chose to fight. “The PRA could end up in a similar position to the SFO in recent DPA cases, where the facts agreed with the firm are later undermined by legal proceedings brought by individuals,” he said.

Harvey Knight, partner at Withers, warned: “The onus on each subject of the investigation to produce their own detailed factual account of the matters under investigation… is going to be a tough ask of any individual subject.”

This was especially true if individuals are having “to self-fund their legal costs together with the potential for conflict with the bank’s lawyers”.

Other commentators argued the move would not have much of an impact. Sara George, partner at Sidley Austin, argued that most firms don’t contest PRA enforcement decisions as most firms need to have a good relationship with the regulator.

“While a 50 per cent reduction in the penalty for wrongdoing is no doubt very welcome, it is unlikely to lead to significantly more or earlier settlements with firms than there are at present,” she said.

The proposals form part of a wider consultation on its approach to enforcement. The consultation closes on 4 August.

BoE set to hike interest rates, for twelfth time

JACK BARNETT

THE BANK of England is poised to intensify the strain on households and businesses’ finances by hiking interest rates for the twelfth time in a row this Thursday in a bid to bring down inflation, City analysts are betting.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is anticipated to kick rates 25 basis points higher to 4.5 per cent, their highest level since October 2008.

Bank governor Andrew Bailey and the rest of the MPC are likely to be lured into the decision by inflation remaining stubbornly high and the economy consistently defying the Bank’s downbeat projections.

Fresh figures out on Friday are expected to show GDP grew 0.1 per cent in the first three months of this year, above the Bank’s forecasts, putting the country on track to dodge a recession in the first half of this year.

Inflation numbers for March shocked the City and the Bank by staying in the

double digits – where they’ve been since last summer – at 10.1 per cent.

Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy price movements, held steady at 6.2 per cent, signifying the Bank could have to tighten policy more to unpick tough price pressures from the UK economy.

“Stronger data supports the hiking cause. Most notable releases include the upside surprise to March core inflation, a strong pick-up in underlying wage momentum, generally ongoing strength in labour market activity, a rise in consumer confidence, and a more resilient looking housing market,” analysts at Japanese bank Nomura said.

“The MPC can justifiably argue that the criteria for tightening monetary policy further that it set out in the March policy statement have been met,” consultancy Oxford Economics said.

Markets reckon Bailey and co will stop raising rates at around the five per cent mark.

Services sector to help avert UK reccesion

BRITAIN’s economy is running at its strongest level in nearly a year, powered by households continuing to splash the cash despite the cost of living crisis, in another sign the country will skirt a recession.

A new survey out last night from consultancy BDO revealed output growth in the UK reached its highest level in eight months in April.

The company’s production index hit 99.8 last month, far above the 95 point

Former BoE deputy Paul Tucker calls for regulatory overhaul to battle bank runs

CHRIS DORRELL

BANKS should be required to keep enough collateral with the central bank to cover all of their short-term deposits, an ex-Bank of England wonk has said.

Speaking to the Financial Times, former Bank of England deputy governor Paul Tucker said: “It would mean that, subject to a bank being

fundamentally insolvent, central banks could 100 per cent cover a run.”

Tucker suggested the collateral could take the form of government bonds and other high quality assets. The central bank would monitor the value of the collateral, demanding more if the assets’ value fell too far.

“It could leave [central banks] with a lot less risk than now,” said Tucker, who is now a fellow at Harvard.

“At the moment, it seems the taxpayer still needs to come to the rescue even when a bank’s problems should be obvious (the US cases), or there was plenty of notice that decisive remedial action was needed (the Swiss case).”

The comments come as regulators attempt to adjust protections to reflect the risks posed by new technologies in the wake of recent bank collapses.

threshold that separates growth and contraction.

Bumper activity in the UK’s services sector –which generates about £2 in every £3 in the country –has hoisted the overall economy away from the bleak forecasts of a tough recession tabled at the turn of the year.

Figures out this Friday are also anticipated by the City to show gross domestic product (GDP) to have edged 0.1 per cent higher in the first three months of this year, putting the country on track to avoid a technical

recession in the first half of 2023.

BDO’s manufacturing output index slipped to 82.94 in April, “its worst performance in almost three years,” the firm said. By contrast, the services index jumped 4.53 points to 98.22, taking it to the highest level since August 2022.

“A tale of two sectors has emerged over the past few months as the resilience of the UK economy relies almost solely on the outlook for the improving services sector, BDO partner Kaley Crossthwaite said.

Service industries include the retail, financial and public sectors, as well as business administration, leisure and cultural activities

JACK BARNETT

Tucker stepped down from the Bank of England in 2013. He is now a fellow at Harvard

CMA wrong to block Microsoft deal, says public

ABBY WALLACE

A QUARTER of the public thought the UK competition watchdog was wrong to block Microsoft’s $70bn deal to acquire Activision Blizzard, a new poll has found.

One in four of the public were opposed to the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) decision to block the deal, while just 16 per cent thought it was the right move, a recent poll from Censuswide found. The regulator blocked the deal last month, citing concerns it would lessen competition in the UK cloud gaming market by giving Microsoft control over where Activision games are available.

The deal followed a consultation process in which Microsoft had proposed a string of remedies and the CMA had set aside concerns that the deal would stifle competition in the console gaming market.

DO I HAVE TO? Basset hounds on show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

City law firm tells partners to cough up

ANNA MOLONEY

JUNIOR partners at City law firm

Withers will have to contribute up to £42,000 each in a newly announced cash call.

Microsoft has already said it will appeal the decision, while Activision said the regulator’s decision was a “disservice to UK citizens”.

Billionaire businessman Warren Buffett also said the CMA was wrong to block the merger.

The watchdog’s move comes as the UK plans to toughen up UK regulation of some of the world’s largest tech companies. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill will give sweeping powers to the CMA to target big tech firms, block mergers and levy fines if they do not follow certain rules.

“These findings demonstrate that competition decisions can be out of step with the public’s aspirations for access to innovative products and services,” Jon McLeod, head of competition and antitrust at DRD Partnership, who commissioned the research, said.

The findings reflect the “slippage in trust” in UK regulators, McLeod added.

The London-headquartered firm, which specialises in services for high-net worth individuals, said the decision was taken to allow junior partners to be “more fully involved” with the business.

“We have asked junior equity partners to provide a capital contribution for the first time of between $25,000-$52,500 (£19,780£41,538), depending on seniority, so they are more fully involved in the ownership of the business,” Withers said in a statement.

The decision marks the first cash call from a major London law firm amid the current economic slump, with speculation other firms could follow.

Withers, however, said the decision was taken two years ago.

The law firm added that it had not issued a general cash call, with no changes made to the capital requirement for senior equity partners.

THOUSANDS of dogs headed to the Big Apple on Sunday for the annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, the US’ second oldest continuous sporting event. Dogs must to be on display in their assigned locations (show benches) during the entire show.

Small firms at risk due to fixed price deals: FSB

AUGUST GRAHAM

MORE than one in 10 small companies signed up to a fixed-price energy deal during peak prices last summer, leaving them with bills well ahead of what the market is offering today, an influential group has said.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said that around 93,000 small companies now say they might be forced to close down, downsize their business or radically restructure, and called on some of them to be given new contracts.

Last year, when prices were at their highest, companies were encouraged by the government to sign up to fixed-term energy deals which locked in the price of the day for a year or more.

This was designed to allow businesses to benefit from the government’s energy support scheme.

But that support was abolished after six months and replaced by a much less

generous programme. This has saddled some companies with bills they simply cannot pay. These firms should be given new options, the FSB said.

The FSB said it thinks around 13 per cent of its members fixed their energy bills in the second half of last year. Around one in 10 of these now think they might have to close or otherwise change their business.

FSB policy chair Tina McKenzie said: “If ending the successful support scheme is on the basis that wholesale energy prices have gone down, then our research sheds light on just how many small businesses have been overlooked as they are entangled in high fixed tariffs.

She added: “The least energy suppliers should do is to allow small businesses who signed up to fixed tariffs last year to ‘blend and extend’ their energy contracts... We’d also like to see the government and Ofgem support this initiative.”

Butcher hopes for rare success after former Asda boss’ rescue

LAURA MCGUIRE

FARMISON & Co will restart selling its upmarket meats this week as a consortium led by Asda’s former chief look to bring the embattled brand back to life following its rescue deal last month.

The luxury butcher said it will begin selling online this week.

It has also re-engaged talks with key

Royal Mail CEO could leave this week –reports

ANCHAL RANA

ROYAL Mail’s parent could announce the UK postal services firm’s CEO Simon Thompson’s exit as soon as this week, Sky News reported yesterday.

The report said the exit plan could be delayed beyond this week but that an announcement will be made before the annual results of its owner, International Distributions Services, which are due on 18 May.

Thompson, who has served as CEO of the postal company since 2021, has overseen a turbulent period amid industrial action.

leaders in operations as part of a plan to “re-recruit over 50 people” and has reopened its Ripon headquarters.

In April, Farmison fell into administration and 75 staff faced redundancy.

Executive director Andy Clarke said: “It will be some weeks yet before we have our full ranges back online but we thank all of our customers who’ve sent us messages of support.”

Last week, he was forced to appear for a second time for the Commons select committee, after being accused of misleading MPs over the tracking of postal workers.

The media report comes weeks after Royal Mail reached an agreement with its largest union, the Communication Workers Union, following a long-standing industrial action over pay and conditions.

Royal Mail declined to comment on the report when contacted by Reuters. Reuters

The North Yorkshire-based online butcher is beginning a phased re-opening

Lack of chargers stunts cabbies’ green ambitions

GUY TAYLOR

TAXI FIRMS have called for more action from government and City Hall to address failures in London’s electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, which they argue is slowing the transition to electric fleets.

“There’s work to be done on infrastructure,” Liam Griffin, CEO of Addison Lee, told City A.M.

EV taxi sales have surged since 2018, when TfL introduced guidance that all new cabs must be “zero emissions capable”. However, multiple groups contacted by City A.M. argued that problems with the current charging set-up are slowing the sector’s move towards greener vehicles.

“When we signed up to this, there were all sorts of promises of the amount of chargers that will be available in London and they haven’t materialised in the way that we’ve been promised, so that has affected some of the drivers’ appetite to take on electric

vehicles,” said Griffin.

Bosses at Uber, which has committed to a completely green fleet, are also concerned.

“Drivers often tell me that accessing reliable charging near their homes is critical to their decision to switch to an electric vehicle,” Andrew Brem, Uber’s UK general manager, said. “The uncomfortable truth is that the richest boroughs in London currently have the best access to charging.”

Data from Uber and the taxi firm Freenow reveals that the most common areas London cabbies live are Tower Hamlets, Newham, Brent, Redbridge, Greenwich, Dartford and Barking and Dagenham. Meanwhile Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, Wandsworth, and Richmond have the most chargers.

Mariusz Zabrocki, Freenow’s UK general manager, said that it is a “paradoxical situation”, in which those who have the most need for EV chargers are often the furthest away.

Virgin Galactic set to take flight later this month

CITY A.M. REPORTERS

SPACE TOURISM company Virgin Galactic Holdings yesterday said that a four-member test flight will take place in May and that it aims to launch its first commercial flight in late June.

Shares jumped four per cent after the company said the May mission would be the final test of the spaceflight system and astronaut experience before it opens up for commercial services.

the World Health Organization ended Covid-19’s global emergency status

BioNTech moves on from Covid-19 with search for new vaccinations

LUDWIG BERGER

GERMANY’s BioNTech, Pfizer’s partner on Covid-19 vaccines, yesterday said its first-quarter net income plunged on lower demand for the Covid-19 shots as it widens its work on cancer and other diseases. BioNTech, which reported it had built up an €18.6bn ($20.55bn) balance of cash and receivables at

Medical cannabis firm Kanabo to bring in City grandee in boardroom reshuffle

LAURA MCGUIRE

THE FIRST medical cannabis company to list on the London Stock Exchange is set to draft in a financial services veteran as its chair and unveil a multimillion pound fundraising initiative this week.

Kanabo Group, which creates medical cannabis for conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis and operates a

telehealth service approved by the NHS, is set to announce today that Ian Mattioli will become its new nonexecutive chairman, as first reported by Sky News’ Mark Kleinman.

Mattioli who currently heads up pensions and wealth management company, Mattioli Woods, is also set to invest £500,000 in Kanabo shares as part of a cash call.

Insiders told the outlet that

shareholders and existing management will also be participating in the share sale.

Mattolio, who is also non-executive chairman of K3 Capital Group, will replace David Tsur, who has chaired Kanabo since it went public in February 2021 as he moves to become deputy chair.

It comes as the group posted significant revenue growth last year.

the end of March, has pursued a string of takeovers and alliance deals to broaden its work on cancer treatments.

The company, which is also working on other vaccines against infections such as tuberculosis and shingles, said its quarterly net profit dropped to €502m, down from €3.7bn a year earlier, as Covid-19 vaccine demand plunged.

The company, backed by billionaire Richard Branson, had in May last year delayed its commercial service to the first quarter of 2023 due to the supplychain crisis and a labour shortage.

After completing a lengthy upgrade for its centrepiece tourist spacecraft in February, Virgin Galactic re-opened ticket sales for spacecraft flights, setting the price at $450,000 (£356,000) per person with an initial deposit of $150,000.

“Returning to space is what we have all worked towards,” said Mike Moses, president of spaceline missions and safety, who oversees the commercial spaceflight programme.

Kanabo acquired The GP Service to expand UK patients’ access to medical cannabis

Timing not right for bank ringfencing changes, say some City experts

CHRIS DORRELL

EXPERTS have warned that the recent banking stresses demonstrate the importance of the ringfencing regime as the government’s consultation comes to an end.

Treasury ministers are keen to push forward with changes to how banks are forced to separate their retail and commercial activities with, for instance, investment banking operations. Changes include reducing the number of firms subject to the rules by increasing the threshold at which the rules kick in to firms with £35bn-worth of deposits rather than the current £25bn.

Anindya Ghosh Chowdhury, director at Mazars, argued that although there are benefits to reforming the ring-fencing regime, the timing was not right.

“The timing of this change is of concern as the alternate approach to safeguarding financial stability – resolution – is largely untested,” Chowdhury told City A.M.

Resolution regimes were developed after the financial crisis to make it easier to deal with a collapsed bank without falling back on bailouts.

Many suggest it performs the same role as ringfencing by ensuring banks are not ‘too big to fail’.

These concerns have previously been voiced by professor John Vickers, one of the architects of the ringfencing regime.

In March he told City A.M. “recent events have shown that it [resolution regime] doesn’t necessarily work as advertised when push comes to shove.”

Vickers argued that “the fundamental UK architecture of ringfencing should remain the same”.

HSBC has deployed billions in China over the last few years as part of an Asia pivot

HSBC to buy out Asian fund management partner: report

SELENA LI

HSBC has agreed to buy out its China fund management joint venture partner, two people familiar with the matter said, as the Asia-focused bank pushes ahead with expansion in the world’s second-largest economy.

HSBC, which currently owns a 49

BOOKIE ORDERED TO COUGH UP Danish athletes 1, Bet365 nil

KKR profits hit by fall in global dealmaking

CHIBUIKE OGUH

KKR yesterday said its after-tax distributable earnings fell 26 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter due to a sharp drop in asset sales from its private equity portfolio and lower transaction fees.

Here we go again: Crunch talks over future of US debt ceiling –with DC in gridlock

NOAH EASTWOOD

THE US government faces running out of money by early June if Washington leaders fail to reach an agreement on raising the limit on the amount of debt the federal government can borrow.

Joe Biden (pictured) is set to have a showdown with congressional leaders of both US political parties today, who are at loggerheads over proposed spending cuts, as the deadline looms to lift the $31.4 trillion

borrowing cap.

Republicans, who hold a majority in the House of Representatives, have said they will only increase the borrowing limit if the Democrats commit to drastic spending cuts over the next 10

But the US president has insisted that the debt ceiling must be raised without preconditions, accusing the Republicans, who voted for increasing spending under the Trump administration,

of having double standards. Without an agreement in place, the US risks defaulting on its national debt, a scenario described by the US treasury secretary Janet Yellen as a “catastrophe”.

“It’s Congress’s job to do this [raise national debt]. If they fail to do it, we will have an economic financial catastrophe that will be our own making,” she said in an interview with ABC last week.

The Republican speaker of the house Kevin McCarthy will meet with President Biden and other congressional leaders at the White House for crunch talks in an effort to reach a compromise.

per cent stake in HSBC Jintrust Fund Management, has signed an agreement with Shanxi Trust under which the Chinese state-owned company will sell its 51 per cent holding in the joint venture to the bank, said the sources.

HSBC declined to comment when approached by Reuters.

KKR and other private equity firms cashed out on fewer investments during the quarter as inflation, higher interest rates, geopolitical tensions and financial market volatility weighed on dealmaking. After-tax distributable earnings, which represents the cash available for paying dividends to shareholders, fell to $719.3m (£568.4m), down from $974m (£629.8m) posted a year ago. That translated to after-tax distributable earnings of 81 cents per share, which exceeded the average analyst estimate of 74 cents per share, according to Refinitiv data.

Sustainability Habit Limited

We are setting up a new green retail bank with an investment focus on Nature Based Solutions to meet the climate change challenge.

We are looking for the following:

• Investors to capitalise the bank.

• Staff to deliver the banking licence application and then run the bank once the licence is in place.

• SME and/ or Sole Traders to apply for loans for any viable nature-based solution with a commercial return on investment component.

• Customers from the public to open retail bank accounts (modest monthly fee) to support this climate change initiative.

If you are interested in this new venture in any of the above categories, please contact Sustainability Habit Limited for more information.

Contact Details:

Tania Reynolds CEO

Sustainability Habit Limited

email: taniareynolds@sustainabilityhabitlimited.co.uk Mob:07894305916

Promoting a healthy lifecycle promotes a healthy planet because the whole earth is greater than the sum of it’s parts. (Winner of best strapline BCS Green IT Awards 2022)

ONLINE gambling service Bet365 must pay compensation to 23 Danish athletes, including soccer star Christian Eriksen, for using their names and photos on social media without consent, Denmark’s Maritime and Commercial Court ruled yesterday. The owner of Bet365, Malta-based Hillside, was ordered to pay 4.7m Danish crowns (about £500,000) to the athletes, including badminton player and Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen, and football players Simon Kjaer and Kasper Schmeichel.

Getting a train over the May bank holidays?

SERVICE CHANGES:

28 April to 1 May and 27 to 29 May

Most of the rail network remains open, however some services will be affected as we make improvements to the railway. So, be in the know before you go.

KHAN’T BE COMPLACENT

Jessica FrankKeyes runs the rule over the Tories eyeing City Hall

LONDON Conservatives are set to agree a candidate by the end of July to face off against Sadiq Khan in next year’s mayoral elections, it has emerged.

Tory chiefs met late last month and agreed to fast-track the process, as campaigning begins to ramp up ahead of the City Hall vote to be held in May 2024.

Rumours include former MP Justine Greening and – perennially – Tory peer, Apprentice judge and first lady of football Baroness Karren Brady, while fellow TV personality Judge Rinder and London Assembly member Emma Best have ruled themselves out of the race.

Splits in policy on expanding the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) across the capital are expected to become a key battleline, while some warn the contest itself will be a tough fight.

Former No10 advisor Samuel Kasumu has pledged to deliver a referen-

dum in the affected boroughs, whereas City Hall transport spokesman Nick Rogers says he will scrap it entirely. Both Kasumu and Rogers have de-

clared their intentions to run to be Conservative candidate, alongside fellow London Assembly member Andrew Boff.

Rogers told the Telegraph: “London-

ers, especially outer Londoners, are going to expect the Conservative mayoral candidate to have a strong view against ULEZ expansion.

“The mayoral election, if it was me as

the candidate, would itself be a referendum on ULEZ expansion because my policy would be to reverse [it].”

Speaking to City A.M., Boff said his party needs a “distinctive London voice” to make its mark.

“It’s got to be someone who articulates a particular London message,” he said. “If we can do that, we will beat Khan. By any measure, he’s been a dreadful failure.”

Meanwhile minister for London, and Sutton and Cheam MP, Paul Scully has said he is “seriously considering” entering the race – and is widely thought of in Westminster as having the campaigning experience required.

“What ULEZ has done is really raised the issue of the failings of the mayor, in outer London especially, among those who hadn’t noticed he wasn’t doing much for them,” he told City A.M.

Incumbent Sadiq Khan will be running for an unprecedented third term as mayor, after nailing down the Labour nomination in December.

Hackney councillor Zoe Garbett is running as the Green’s mayoral candidate, and also as a London Assembly candidate, with hopes the party will secure a fourth London-wide member. The Lib Dems, meanwhile, are expected to have a candidate in place by the autumn.

Paul Scully MP

Andrew Boff, London Assembley member

Sadiq Khan was first elected mayor in 2016

Samuel Kasumu, former No10 advisor

Asos hopes cost cuts can return share growth

HENRY SAKER-CLARK

ONLINE fashion giant Asos is expected to post another half-year loss and shareholders will hope for signs of improving demand from cash-strapped shoppers. It is amongst other fast-fashion retailers who have become heavily pressurised over the past year by a brutal combination of rocketing costs, supply chain disruption and weaker consumer spending.

The FTSE 250 company has seen its share drop by almost half since this time last year as a result, following two profit warnings in 2022.

However, the group’s stock has stabilised in recent months and has pushed forward with efforts to slash costs in order to bolster profitability. Investors will be keen to see how its plans to return to profit have been unfolding when it updates the market with its figures for the past six months

tomorrow.

Experts at AJ Bell said Asos is expected to post a similar loss to the £16m deficit it posted a year ago. However, the company is hoping its cost reductions will drag it to a profit for the full year, before the impact of any inventory write-downs.

This year, Asos said its turnaround plans aimed to drive £300m of profit and “cost mitigation measures” over the half-year.

This includes moves to shut three storage warehouses in the UK, Europe and US, as well as trim office space and reduce its number of brands.

Cost-cutting became essential for Asos after pressure on consumer budgets hit sales over the past year.

Brits ate out for the ‘big lunch’ on Sunday but the halo effect of the coronation is expected to last beyond the weekend’s festivities

Sunak backs coronation protest policing

SAM BLEWETT

RISHI Sunak has backed the Metropolitan Police amid accusations that the arrests of protesters were a deliberate attempt to “disrupt and diminish” dissent during the King’s coronation.

on “what they think is best” after claims they were cracking down at the behest of politicians.

after being detained on suspicion of causing a public nuisance or breaching the peace.

PA

Shareholders will be keen to see whether signs of easing inflation and higher wages are leading to any indications that sales could soon return to growth.

The Prime Minister yesterday insisted that officers act independently of government based

Graham Smith, chief executive of the anti-monarchy Republic campaign group who was detained on Saturday, accused Scotland Yard of having “every intention” of arresting demonstrators.

The force made 64 arrests on coronation day, with 46 people bailed

Sunak backed the force’s efforts during the “dazzling spectacle”, after volunteering at a lunch club during the national Big Help Out drive on the coronation bank holiday. “The police are operationally independent of government,” the Prime Minister said.

PA

HARDLY UP THE JUNCTION

FEWLondon neighbourhoods can stir up conversation –or opinions –like Clapham can.

Known for its cringey nightclubs and sprawling array of trendy coffee shops, the area has long served as a first home for junior account execs and recruiters arriving in the capital to begin their careers and get a taste of city life. It’s also got a strong Antipodean presence –including, at one point, an unknown actress by the name of Margot Robbie in a house share of six.

Have economic concerns put an end to all-day sessions, post-Common pints or misjudged trips to the infamous nightclub Inferno’s? Not a bit.

You only need to speak to Mark Reynolds and Tom Peake, the owners of Three Cheers Pub Co –a chain of some of Clapham’s most popular bars –to get an understanding of how lucrative supplying booze to London’s young workforce, keen to shake off the stresses of their 9 to 5s, can be.

Since 2003, the pair have grown to operate nine pubs across south-west London along with their fellow childhood friend, Nick Fox. Some of their most popular bars –The Avalon and The Abbeville in Clapham, or The Bedford in Balham –can see queues spilling down the road each Friday and Saturday night. Staff pull up to 17,000 pints each week in pubs across their estate.

“Over 20 years we’ve seen pretty strong trade year-on-year. We’ve always been busy. If I had to pick any place to open a pub or a bar I think Clapham would be pretty high up on that list,” Peake said.

Decades of gentrification have tranformed Clapham from another south

London high street into a haven for professionals looking for a quick commute into the City. Even the 2008 financial crisis didn’t stop that –Reynolds and Peake say the area, and their business, rode out that period of economic stress thanks to the stabilising presence of the Northern Line.

“It’s a dynamic space because of the young people,” Reynolds said.

“We didn’t really notice the recession of 2008. The only time we’ve really struggled is when we’ve been forced to close because of Covid-19,” Peake added.

As the group gears up to celebrate their 20th anniversary in June, Reynolds, a Clapham local, credits the success of Three Cheers to “location, location, location”.

staying local on a Friday night instead of traditionally splashing their cash in the City.

“On a Friday, people tend to start [coming to the pub] earlier. We get more people coming in here at five or six o’clock, whereas in the old days, they used to get back from the city, go home, have a shower, and then come out at sort of 7:30-8p,” Reynolds said.

However, as energy bills and food shortages continue to rise, both Reynolds and Peake confessed they have not been immune to the struggles most small pub groups are facing at the moment –though they remain confident about the outlook for Three Cheers, with revenues per year remaining at £17m.

“We’ve been quite fortunate on the energy prices, as we signed a fixed contract, but it’s all going one direction, no question,” Peake said. “It’s not a time anyone’s able to be complacent. We managed to sign a contract on our energy supply in 2020, before prices started going ballistic. So we’ve been very lucky.”

Dream holiday through Australia or New Zealand?

“This was our sort of stomping ground and our patch. And I think we just capitalised off of it,” Reynolds explained.

Over the past few years demand to live in Clapham and its surrounding areas has skyrocketed, with the average price of a room to rent in the area now costing £900 per month. Moreover, as hybrid working continues to prove popular, the pair said they have noticed a trend of people

Like many businesses, the pair admit they have had to raise prices, adding 20p onto the price of a pint both last October and in April. However Peake said that they are now experiencing a “cooling off” on costs.

Peake said: “I’m already talking to Massimo, my executive chef, about vegetable oil prices dropping. So hopefully, we are seeing the start of prices moving downwards.”

Vegetable oil might be trending downward, but for all Clapham’s critics, things look to be moving ever upwards for the area’s pubs.

Dates: Saturday, 13 May & 03 June 2023

Spaces are limited.

●

This was our stomping ground and our patch

Tom Peake, Mark Reynolds and Nick Fox have built a mini-empire of pubs in and around south-west London

ECONOMICS

WHAT I’M READING

The economy’s better-than-feared start to the year is beefing up households’ confidence in their personal finances. According to investment bank Deutsche Bank’s household survey, which comes out every couple months or so, families are much more optimistic about their income levels in the coming months. That’s feeding their savings appetite, with the survey revealing saving intentions had jumped four points. Poorer and middle income households were the most likely to expect to step up savings, which is odd given they’ve been the hardest hit by soaring living costs. Richer households’ intentions were down slightly, Deutsche Bank said.

YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

Brits pulled a record £4.8bn from banks after SVB and Credit Suisse failures, figures from the Bank of England last week unveiled. That’s a lot of cash. Part of that would’ve been driven by concerns about the health of the UK banking system. Lots of money piled into the government-guaranteed National Savings and Investments scheme, which offers a full backstop on all capital compared to lenders’ £85,000 insurance. Others would’ve piled into gilts to benefit from comparatively higher returns. Speculation has gathered pace about the Bank of England forcing lenders to hold back more cash to withstand future bank runs.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

You should never bet against UK house prices

minus 2.7 per cent, there were tentative signs of a recovery with prices rising by 0.5 per cent during the month.”

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

To their credit, it’s easy to see why experts were warning of a similar house price correction to that which Britain experienced in the early 1990s.

Mortgage rates had still yet to fully abseil from their stratospheric highs reached after Liz Truss’s haphazard £45bn taxcutting mini budget.

The rate on a typical two-year mortgage jumped to 5.79 per cent from 2.38 per cent over the year to January 2023, according to data provider Moneyfacts. A similar rise was recorded for five-year mortgages.

MORTGAGE RATES HAVE RISEN SHARPLY HOUSING AFFORDABILITY HAS BEEN TIGHTENING

House prices had cumulatively advanced more than 10 per cent since the pandemic –which fashioned a unique surge in demand for large properties with gardens and located outside cities.

Installation of new toilet AHU to the roof and relocation of existing A/C units next to the plant

Code: FULL/FULMAJ/FULEIA/FULLR3 – Planning Permission; LBC – Listed Building Consent; TPO – Tree Preservation Order; OUTL – Outline Planning Permission 57 Andrewes House, Barbican, London, EC2Y 8AX

23/00294/LBC

Internal refurbishment of kitchen; alterations to

19 Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 1AA

23/00368/LBC

Removal of heritage hanging signage from front elevation, repair works and works of making good to external elevations, and internal works to decommission the bank including removal of stud

Basildon House, 7 - 11 Moorgate, London, EC2R 6AF

23/00401/FULL

Basildon House, 7 - 11 Moorgate, London, EC2R 6AF

23/00402/LBC

New and replacement plant to the roof of Grade II

13 - 15 Leadenhall Market, London, EC3V 1LR

23/00410/FULL

Change of use from retail snack bar/coffee shop

(Class E(a)) use to a drinking establishment with

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

Anyone who wishes to make representations about this application should do so online: date of this notice (unless otherwise stated) and will be taken into account in the

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

Under those conditions, lots and lots of buyers were predicted to couch their home ownership dreams for another day.

There’s two key metrics of affordability in the housing market: how much the average price is as a multiple of average earnings and what share of typical households’ monthly budgets is spent on mortgage payments.

Both have been severely stretched. A price correction looked then a very reasonable wager.

The housing market is also highly sensitive to joblessness projections which, headed into 2023, the Bank of England reckoned would be near five per cent by the end of the year, a chunky increase. There was also real concern –and still is –about families absorbing the sharpest hit to their living standards on record, crimping their capacity to push ahead with home purchases.

In sum it was all fairly bleak. But just as the UK economy has defied gloomy predictions –the Bank thought we were headed for a drawn-out recession, a call it has ditched –so has the housing market.

Figures from the Bank last week revealed some 52,000 mortgages were approved in March, above expectations.

“Demand is likely to continue to recover

as mortgage interest rates fall, with some buyers currently holding off in the hope of securing a more attractive mortgage deal later on in the year,” estate agent Savills said in its latest market update.

Joblessness has also held at multidecade low levels –albeit flattered by an exodus of older Brits from the workforce –which should strengthen banks’ confidence to extend home loans.

Consumer confidence is on a decent run.

So all in on rising house prices? The fundamentals suggest there are still reasons to suspect house prices will eventually end up a lot lower by the end of the year. As Andrew Wishart of Capital Economics points out, “the decline in mortgage rates from their spike after the ‘mini’ budget is now over”.

Bank governor Andrew Bailey and co are tipped to raise interest rates for the 12th time in a row on Thursday, probably by 25 basis points to 4.5 per cent.

The difference between what lenders pay to secure funding for mortgages and what they charge on those products has

crimped substantially, meaning they could start raising rates to widen margins.

First time buyers still have little incentive to enter the market. Help to Buy is over (though Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is reportedly mulling bringing it back with a fresh lick of paint) and home purchases are still more expensive than renting, leaving a pool of demand untapped.

Penny-pinching Brits might be more motivated to replenish savings they’ve used amid the cost of living crisis rather than stump up the cash for property. And there’s a risk lenders retreat from the credit market if there are more US banking failures after Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic.

Right now, the trajectory of house prices is anybody’s guess. Bleak recession forecasts have been canned because the economy has performed much, much better than everyone anticipated. Could the same happen to house prices? Homeowners will certainly be hoping so, even if those looking to buy for the first time might wish otherwise.

City A.M.’s economics editor Jack Barnett takes a deep dive into the state of the economy in his weekly column

CITY DASHBOARD YOUR

Week ahead: Bank set to hike as UK dodges recession

BRITAIN is set to have officially avoided a recession in the first half of this year in a sharp turnaround in fortunes for the country’s economy, figures out this week are expected to reveal.

Gross domestic product (GDP), which measures the amount of goods and services produced in the UK, is anticipated to have risen 0.1 per cent in the first three months of this year.

The data, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Friday, will, if they show what the City expects, confirm the country dodged the official definition of a recession (two straight quarters of contraction) in the first half of this year.

Britain’s economy has outperformed projections released at the turn of the year. Bank of England officials reckoned the economy could suffer a drawn-out recession in 2023, as did those at the Office for Budget Responsibility. Those bets have been canned.

Resilient consumer spending and decent business investment have powered GDP away from the depths of those forecasts.

Numbers from S&P Global and CIPS, in their purchasing managers’ index

out last week, showed the services economy, which generates around £2 in £3 in the UK, is functioning at its strongest rate in a year.

In February, the Bank thought GDP would shrink 0.1 per cent in the first quarter, forecasts which it is anticipated to upgrade on Thursday alongside what is also likely to be the 12th rate rise in a row, probably by 25 basis points to 4.5 per cent.

But economists highlighted strike action that has been a permanent fixture of 2023 so far will have pegged back the economy’s upward trajectory.

“We think the drag from strikes will have offset any strengthening in activity in other sectors, leaving GDP flat in March,” analysts at consultancy Oxford Econom-

Meanwhile, pressure on consumer finances is expected to have held back retail sales last month, numbers from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG today are likely to show.

On the corporate docket this week, online fashion giant and FTSE 250 listed ASOS posts results tomorrow, while aerospace firm Rolls Royce updates markets on Thursday.

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TWELFTH TIME’S

Halma announced plans to acquire Polish sewer tech firm Sewertronics for £36m on Friday. Sewertronics repairs wastewater pipelines without the need to dig a trench –tech with a growing market due to increasing populations and the impact of climate change. Analysts at Peel Hunt rate it a ‘hold’ with a target price of 2,100p.

Intercontinental Hotels’s first quarter figures, released on Friday, were up significantly on last year. Peel Hunt analysts noted Q1 2023 is the “last period to benefit from an easy Covid-19 comp”. Analysts at Peel Hunt rated it a ‘hold’ with a target price of 5,750p.

Results at owner International Consolidated Airlines Group, released on Friday, were significantly ahead of consensus estimates. The firm also raised its full-year guidance. Analysts at Peel Hunt noted leisure demand has continued to recover much more quickly than business. The analysts rate it a ‘hold’ with a target price of 165p.

A CHARM “Is this the beginning of the end or the end itself? That’s what people in the City will be asking after what is widely tipped to be a 12th straight interest rate rise by the Bank of England on Thursday. We’ll likely be in that odd scenario again where the Bank is forecasting inflation to be below target in the coming years but still raising rates.”

JACK BARNETT, ECONOMICS EDITOR

OPINION

EDITED BY SASCHA O’SULLIVAN

The advance of India ahead of China offers new ground for a Global Britain

Eliot Wilson

TWO weeks ago, a global milestone was passed, with a relatively muted reaction to the changing demographics of the world: India had moved ahead of China to become the world’s most populous nation. The population of India is now estimated to be 1.429 billion, with China lagging behind on 1.426 billion. Together they are home to more than a third of humanity. This is big news. Since the United Nations started keeping records in 1950, it has been axiomatic that China is the biggest country in the world. Nor is this a blip: China’s demographics look horrible. The fertility rate, at 1.2 births per woman, is among the lowest in the world; nearly 15 per cent of the population is aged over 65; and those aged 25-65 outnumber younger people by two to one. If the worst projections prove correct, the population of China could halve by the end of the century. The train is thundering down the track, and the only question is how big the impact will be.

By contrast, almost all of India’s demographic indicators are positive, and, to invert a recent phrase, it has plenty left in the tank: its population is likely to keep growing for several decades. By 2100, there could be two billion Indians, dwarfing a China sub-

ject to ageing and shrinkage. Even in today’s hyper-sophisticated, globally interconnected economy, quantity has a quality of its own. This doesn’t mean we count China out. It remains a manufacturing giant with strong exports, and its authoritarian government can pull economic levers that democracies could only dream of. But growth has slowed, investor confidence has been dented by repeated lockdowns and state interference in the private sector, and Xi Jinping’s shift in emphasis from growth at all costs to “high-quality growth”

has set the country an additional challenge. In the UK, India is not in especially good odour at the moment. Bilateral friction has been grinding for some time; when the BBC screened a documentary earlier this year which was critical of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, the broadcaster’s offices in New Delhi and Mumbai were raided by tax officials. A government spokesman condemned India: The Modi Question as “propaganda and anti-India garbage, disguised as documentary”. That will have to be a temporary

froideur. In the post-Brexit world, if the government is serious about putting flesh on the bones of “Global Britain” (that ticking time bomb left under UK foreign policy by one Boris Johnson), India must be the lynchpin of our “East of Suez” approach. Our foundational foreign and security policy document, the Integrated Review, was “refreshed” in March, and points the way in some areas: there is a “UK-India 2030 Roadmap”, we are waiting for the eighth round of negotiations over a free trade agreement and we have pledged to support the India’s Indo-Pacific

The pomp and spectacle of the Coronation is a display of our soft power to the world

AS THE eyes of the world turned to the UK on Saturday for the Coronation, I was honoured to follow in the footsteps of my predecessors, walking in the procession.

Lord Mayors of London have participated in the coronation of new monarchs since at least the fourteenth century. And, as we made our way through the nave of Westminster Abbey, I was aware that I wasn’t just representing the office of the Lord Mayor, but the whole Square Mile.

Our inclusion in this special event reflects the City’s enduring importance in the life of the nation. The City is not only an historic hub, but a modern-day hive of culture and commerce, accounting for one in five financial services jobs and generating some £85bn every year.

During the procession I carried the Crystal Sceptre - our oldest and most precious treasure, gifted to the City by King Henry V in 1420 as a “thank you”

Nicholas Lyons

for funding his campaigns in France. Over the centuries, the sceptre has remained an embodiment of the lasting connection between City and Crown. The Royal Family are long-time supporters of the City’s trade guilds. The City Corporation and participating livery companies gifted the embroidered screen which enshrouded the King as he was anointed with holy oil by the Archbishop of Canterbury during the most sacred element of the ceremony.

I paid tribute to the memory of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by wearing the distinctive Lord Mayor’s robe donned by my predecessor,

Sir Rupert De la Bère, at her Coronation in 1953.

Though maintaining many traditions, the King requested a simpler, shorter, more diverse ceremony that reflects the modern UK. And that balance was struck.

Some question the need for such a spectacle, but major events like these foster unity and bolster our soft power overseas. After a challenging period, it was wonderful to see communities coming together to watch history happen and share a slice of “Coronation Quiche”. The Coronation, and the City’s involvement in it, will be talked about during my travels to key markets for a long time to come.

At this time of reflection and renewal for the monarchy, we can debate its merits in an open - sometimes impassioned - way precisely because we live in a democracy. For me, constitutional monarchy underpins the political stability, independence of the judiciary and respect for the rule of law which makes the UK such an at-

tractive place to do business.

The monarchy connects us to our past and helps create a distinct national identity that is invaluable for our sense of belonging. Its importance for tourism was evidenced by the scores of visitors we welcomed this weekend. By hosting incoming delegations and making international trips, the monarch also creates connections essential for diplomacy and trade.

As the Princess Royal said in a rare interview, the monarchy gives a degree of long-term stability “that is hard to come by any other way”.

King Charles III now occupies a position he’s been working towards his entire life as our country’s oldest new monarch.

His service in that role will undoubtedly be the subject of many dinner table debates, but meanwhile I know the City and the Crown will remain as close as ever.

£ Nicholas Lyons is Lord Mayor of the City of London Corporation

Oceans Initiative. But these institutional bones need an animating spirit. We have a prime minister whose grandparents were born in India and Pakistan, and a first minister of Scotland whose parents came from Pakistan. There are 1.5 million British Indians. Our relationship, while tangled and full of knots, is a very old one (in fact Iron Age Celts were trading with India). The foreign secretary, James Cleverly, visited India in March for the country’s G20 presidency and made several promising announcements, including that the UK will appoint a tech envoy to the Indo-Pacific. But we need to effect a shift in sentiment too.

Combining blunt pragmatism and a human dose of sentiment is a very British knack, and we need it here. Dry tables and figures will not breathe life into what David Cameron called a “new special relationship”. Somehow, we have to explore the long-standing connections between the UK and India—where English is the second most spoken language—in a way which emphasises the positive aspects while remaining, as one Indian newspaper put it, “authentic”.

If we can find our shared instincts, our common habits of thought and speech and our profound cultural ties, we can breeze past the queue and extend a hand to an old friend which has become the region’s powerhouse: dynamic, young, ambitious, creative and democratic. That prize would be a huge contribution to making Global Britain a reality.

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

CORONATION

India is now the most populous country in the world, with 1.429 billion people

NATIONS European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen was in the UK over the weekend as King Charles III was crowned, but she’s looking to be keep the trade bloc throne and shore up the support of European leaders ahead of an election next year

WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

A crude answer to energy woes

[Re: Windfall tax will hurt UK’s climate ambitions, oil boss warns, May 4]

Gilad Myerson of Ithaca Energy repeats some specious arguments for government support of the expansion of legacy energy that the IEA and IISD warns must halt.

North Sea crude such as Rosebank is not an 'alternative' to imports, nor 'lower carbon intensity', but instead adds to global emissions.

Approving Rosebank could gift the foreign owners (Equinor and Ithaca) 3.75bn in allowances, with a net loss for the UK exchequer. Further, the carbon it contains would cause about

40,000 climate deaths before 2100, applying the 'mortality cost of carbon'.

Chris Skidmore MP, author of the government's Net Zero Review, says 'the government must say no to Rosebank, and instead give the green light to energy efficiency, rooftop solar, onshore wind and other forms of clean energy supply'. Redirecting policy that way would indeed provide greater benefit to UK businesses, consumers, balance of trade and government revenue than would prolonging the decline of a moribund petroleum basin.

If the owners object to the Energy Profits Levy, another option is a carbon extraction tax and tariff in the hundreds of dollars per tCO2e to discourage production and consumption.

Cedric Knight

NIGHT-MAYOR London night Czar takes trip to the city that loves sleep

As the middle classes rush to degree apprenticeships, poorer British kids miss out

Eliza Filby

IMAGINE a family with two daughters, both of university age. One is a creative type and has chosen to study English at a top-tier university in one of the UK’s premier (and expensive) towns. The other daughter has always been a more practical person, loves maths and has set her sights on doing an apprenticeship degree albeit at a less prestigious university whilst living at home. One of them will emerge out of university with minimum £30k debt and no guarantee of a job. The other will graduate with no debt, be paid a decent salary whilst studying and will have employment waiting for her when she finishes.

It’s not a question of which made the better decision, the dilemma rests with the parents: how do they possibly support them equally throughout their lives when it comes to nuptials, housing, babies, even inheritance? How do you do that when one has had such an obvious catapult into early adulthood and the other has not? The English graduate is at a disadvantage for doing everything she was told to do; pass exams and get to a good university. And she will be burdened by student debt that is linked to the base interest rate. In five years, that means a £50k debt would increase to £69,800.

Both these girls are in a hugely privileged position. And let us not forget that there’s always been a huge disparity in outcomes when it comes to tertiary education, but the rise of degree apprenticeships is disrupting the value and cost of higher education.

EXPLAINER-IN-BRIEF: WHO LIKES TO DRINK LIKE BRITAIN DOES?

If you’re still nursing a hangover from a boozy bank holiday weekend, you might be surprised to know that despite what everyone says, the Brits are not the heaviest drinkers in Europe.

Russia wins first prize with the highest levels of alcohol consumption and related issues, according to research by Abbey Care Group. A heavy drinking culture can also be found in Belarus, Latvia and Lithuania, which come second, third and

fourth on the list. Eastern Europeans seem to have a very high alcohol tolerance - perhaps a too-good one.

Ireland beats the UK in fifth position, but it’s not really a prize you want to win, with 38 per cent of deaths in road accidents in the country involving alcohol.

Brits finally appear in tenth position, with 40 per cent of the population admitting drinking “heavily and episodically” over the course of a month.

ELENA SINISCALCO

Degree apprenticeships started in 2015, formed as a way of shaking up tertiary education, creating degree-worthy apprenticeships and training students in critically needed digital skills to plug the much complained-about “skills gap”. The backing of steemed companies such as Rolls Royce and PwC gave them credibility even if they are still not fully appreciated by the educational profession - with 64 per cent of teachers saying they would not recommend it to high achieving students. They are however increasingly endorsed by a much more important constituency: parents and students. In 2021, they made up 43,000 out of 500,000 university places offered, but are now harder to get into than Oxbridge.

Unsurprisingly, they are growing in favour amongst Gen Z who want to

avoid debt and desire instant employability. Tough economic conditions have made this generation savvy about money and wary of the promises of education. Many of these apprenticeships are in digital skills, reinforcing their relevance for a generation most exposed to AI bots.

Middle class parents are putting prejudices aside too, knowing that it could save them money and create an economically self-reliant 21-year-old; a rare breed in the 2020s. This is especially attractive for Gen X, who aren’t as rich as Baby Boomers and cannot afford a generation of Boomerang dependents living at home in their 30s.

Even anecdotally, you will probably be aware of the extreme lengths that parents go to to get their children into decent primary schools; move house, cross counties, discover faith. Well, we’re beginning to see similar levels of parental pushing when it comes to degree apprenticeships. I’ve heard of parents indulging in cringey professional networking and LinkedIn-stalking on behalf of their children. Just as private school fees increased and out-priced the middle classes (they have quadrupled in 20 years), so these parents began to infiltrate respectable, cheaper state op-

tions. We are seeing a similar pattern with degree apprenticeships to the detriment of those lower down the economic scale.

Degree apprenticeships now make up 26 per cent of all apprenticeships but the number of those from lower economic backgrounds taking up these opportunities has declined. In an odd twist of history, those from poorer backgrounds are now more likely to go to university than to be on these apprenticeships. Worse still, apprenticeship opportunities overall have fallen. Condemning middle class parents for being too pushy does not solve the problem here. The onus is on companies to ensure that an adequate number of those from lower income households are part of the take up; currently it is only 5 per cent. The government also needs to incentivise more and more businesses (both big and small) to expand these opportunities. In an era of high interest rates, the prospect of university debt isn’t just something that graduates think about when they see their wage packet; it is now front and centre of students’ minds (and their parents’) when they start to apply.

£ Dr Eliza Filby is a generations expert

Degree apprenticeships made up 43,000 of 500,000 university places in 2021

Maybe she was seeking advice on 24/7 Greggs stores, but if Amy Lamé, the London Night Czar, was looking for inspiration for a 24 hour city, Sydney ain’t it. The city famously once brought in (now repealed) ‘lockout’ laws in the central business district to stop people entering clubs after 1.30am.

TRAVEL

Unlimited

If you want attention, just lower your coconut,” grins the enthusiastic, affable young man who’s just showed me and my boyfriend to our villa. I don’t lower my coconuts for just anyone, but it turns out he’s telling me how my Do Not Disturb sign works, Bawah-style: it’s a pulley system attached to a coconut shell which dangles outside the front of the handsome, bamboo-walled, teak-floored structure which we’re to call home for the next few days.

As low-tech as this system sounds, it turns out to be typical of this new, eco-friendly resort, composed of a cluster of six tiny private islands, which are also a designated marine conservation area. Located within Indonesia’s Anambas archipelago, 150 nautical miles north of Singapore, they’re so small that they were only discovered by chance. And not because some unfortunate, Robinson Crusoe-type was swept there by a storm; more prosaically, it was when Singapore-based, British shipping entrepreneur Tim Hartnoll came across them while yachting around the area – as you do. Apparently uninhabited for decades, if not longer, thanks to a lack of fresh water, these striking, dark green, jungly hillocks were ripe for thoughtful, sensitive development.

After arranging to lease them from the Indonesian government, Hartnoll oversaw the instalment of the likes of reverse osmosis machinery, which desalinates water; a long landing jetty connecting to the biggest island, where coral was moved where necessary and replaced by hand to avoid upsetting the delicate eco-system; a permaculture garden where they produce their own vegetables, herbs, and, er, compost; and thirty-five luxurious beach, garden, and over-water suites. These share design features such as decks constructed from leftover wood, covetable recycled copper bathtubs and sinks and a profusion of accessories, like lampshades, hat stands and tables, made from the likes of rattan, rope, driftwood, and shells. The water supply for all of these is heated by solar panels.

Construction took nearly six years, and facilities on the main island include a small spa, two bars, the casual Boat House restaurant, where you can dine barefoot while sitting on a swing, and the more formal Treetops, where, as the name suggests, you are eye-level with the foliage. Of the bars, the Grouperi is at beach level, next to a jade green infinity pool, and Jules Verne isreachable by a staircase which spirals right up into the trees.

Bawah’s most brilliant concept, however, is that once you have paid the slightly eyewatering price – the starting rate per night is just north of a grand and a half – everything else is included, as well as your transfers: by ferry, then, excitingly, by seaplane, from Singapore. Everything, that is, except alcohol, although most of this is kept at reasonable, London-level, prices (props to the South American couple we journeyed over here with, however, who stocked up on duty free Champagne and Chilean Malbec beforehand). So that’s as many meals, and as many courses, as you can eat, which, when the food is freshly made from as many local ingredients as possible, is almost more of a challenge rather than a suggestion; a whole host of watersports, from kayaking to stand up paddleboarding and catamaran sailing; activities from island

FANTASY ISLAND

THE TRAVEL HACK

British Airways has last-minute deals for May, including a couple of nights in four-star Villa Gale Cascais hotel in Lisbon with return flights and luggage for £289 per person. Britishairways.com

cruises to picnics on a deserted beach; and a daily spa treatment at the deeply chic Aura, which looks like a Viking longhouse if it were designed by Prada. If you are worried that you might get bored of going to a spa and having a blissful, dreamy massage or relaxing facial every day, I can unequivocally tell you no; no, you will not. Even my boyfriend, who is to attending spas what I am to watching Premier League football, gets addicted worryingly fast, debating whether he needs an ‘Inner Reset’ (full body massage with oils’ or, ahem, the ‘Explorer’s Relief’ (relax – it’s just a neck, back and shoulder rub). Were we the type of people to get up with the sun, we could also do yoga on the sprawling pavilion to the sounds of birdsong and the sweet scent of flowers in the air; it’s almost enough to make me wish we are.

Life settles into a hazy, drowsy, pleasura-

ble routine. Beaches? There are thirteen of them, including the one our garden suite, which looks like a posh safari tent, all canvas roof and bed draped with white net curtains, overlooks. One morning we try the picnic-on-a-deserted-island concept. Delivered there by skiff, the beach we land on is facing completely the opposite way from the main resort, so frolicking au naturel is practically compulsory. I say practically; I prudishly keep my bikini firmly on, which is just as well as soon afterwards we’re waved at by a friendly passing kayaker. That could have made eye contact over dinner later…awkward. Later in the day, we stir ourselves for a snorkelling trip to the aft of another of the islands. Under the sea’s surface, all is coral reef, and the utter delight of exploring this underwater universe lasts far longer than the hour or so we spend actually doing it. Sea turtles and blacktip

spa treatments and gourmet food keep Laura Millar happy on a fab trip to an Indonesian island

Some fish have the disinterested gaze of the commuter, some swim with purpose and some lazily flap one fin

Intrepid, one of the first travel companies to launch experiential travel, is launching their first ever tour in Albania, with the trip going out in September.

The 9-day expedition will go to parts of the country rarely visited by tourists, including protected national parks, and will involve cycling to Pelican Island, hiking to Tragjas farm of Sofo and Dhurata, a boat trip and a visit to the “town of a thousand windows”. intrepidtravel.com; 0808 274 5111

sharks can be spotted here (unfortunately not by us), but the profusion of other neoncoloured, striped, spotted, big, small, and downright microscopic-sized sea life keeps us absorbed. I’ll never get bored of poking my nose into fishes’ private lives as they traverse the sea bed; some have the disinterested gaze of the commuter, some swim with purpose, and some lazily flap one fin before hurrying up with both. I particularly love the ones which look like they’ve been dipped in petrol, shining with bright, iridescent colour. And I absolutely adore the variety of types of coral, which range in type from the delicate, spindly kind you see printed on posh wallpaper, to massive lumps which look like brains, or cauliflower, alongside others which resemble oyster mushrooms, or frilly anemones… No wonder people buy aquariums.

The downright adorable staff address everyone by name, and clearly want you to have the best time possible, ever. How can you not, when the sea fringing these islands is a startling, clear turquoise, and some of the food is fished straight from nearby waters, and the black, velvety sky at night reveals an endless set of the most twinkling stars you’ve ever seen? When the seaplane arrives on the day we’re due to leave, I almost consider hiding the pilot, Captain Mike’s, keys. Bawah, it’s been a (leisurely) blast; I’ll dangle my coconuts for you any day.

NEED TO KNOW

Abercrombie & Kent offers four night trips to Bawah Reserve with two nights in Singapore en route. They will plan your flights and transfers too. abercrombiekent.co.uk. For more info, visit bawahreserve.com

HORWOOD HOUSE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE THE LONG WEEKEND

THE WEEKEND: Imposingly sat in the rolling green of Buckinghamshire’s countryside, Horwood House is a Grade II listed manor which has just undergone an extensive £6-million, 18-month long facelift. There is plenty to discover nearby and in half an hour you can be facing down a Rhino at Woburn Safari Park or maxing out your credit card in Bicester Village. For those of a patriotically historical persuasion, Bletchley Park, where topsecret Allied codebreakers helped win World War Two, is only 15 minutes’ away but with its on-site spa and spacious restaurant you may not be tempted to leave Horwood. Clearly popular with the commuter crowd, there is a conference centre feel to parts of the building. Harried looking people in suits can seem an odd juxtaposition when you are languidly leaving the spa in your robe, but they seem to disappear when evening falls. Or maybe they are at the bar, which even on a wet Monday evening was buzzing.

THE STAY: For that English period drama feel, book one of the three country-chic suites on the top floor of the 110-year old Manor House itself. Each have their own dining and living rooms, as well as enormous super-king beds and art deco bathrooms with double sinks and walk-in rain showers. The views across the grounds are superb, be you overlooking the long tree-lined driveway, the sculpted garden and lilypond or the surrounding fields. My only gripe would be the large smart TVs, which had not been linked to the internet and so were not actually “smart”. Bah, humbug! Anyhow, onwards, and a range of

TOP TIP

Make sure to book in a treatment while you are here as the massages are excellent.

Taking note of my personal preferences I was prodigiously pummelled until every knot in my back was loosened

other bedrooms have been added, offering executive suites with working spaces and terraces. All guests have access to the spa with its swimming pool, sauna, steam room and gym as well as the manicured grounds, central to the home’s history which once employed 16 gardeners and was the birthplace of TV gardener Percy Thrower. Take a stroll along their nature trail or hike across their 38-acre grounds.

THE FOOD: Harry’s Bar & Kitchen is a lofty, relatively informal restaurant named after the house’s Head Gardener Harry Thrower. There are excellent vegetarian and vegan dishes available, which makes a nice change from the one mushroom risotto you can sometimes find. Ember cooked leeks and coal roasted beetroots abound, but the meat is still the star, beginning with the Chef’s recommendation of the charcuterie board as an ode to Frederick Denny, whose success in the bacon trade led to him building Horwood House to begin with. All the meat is sourced locally from The Buckingham Butchers and the steaks, which were perfectly grilled, are aged for 30 days in a bespoke Himalayan Salt Chamber while still on the bone. The wine list is fairly generous too. I’d recommending skipping breakfast and filling up on afternoon tea at the spa instead. A tower of tiny sandwiches, sausage rolls, fluffy scones with jam and clotted cream and dainty cakes arrived and I took to a sleep pod to digest afterwards.

NEED TO KNOW

Rooms start from £77 per night, with the Manor House Suites from £427. Full body massage is £80; horwoodhouse.co.uk

These manicured hotel grounds are perfect for spring, finds Libby Brodie

It’s too soon to call Man City No9 best ever, Lianne Sanderson tells Frank Dalleres

THE POOL of strikers whose statistics measure up to Erling Haaland’s goal scoring record is even smaller than the Uefa fan club at Manchester City.

Dixie Dean’s 63-goal haul in 1927-28 remains the benchmark for a single season in English football but there is another, less frequently cited tally that Haaland is still to equal.

Lianne Sanderson smashed 52 goals in just 38 games in 2007-08 as she helped Arsenal to win the quadruple – not bad for someone who claims hitting the net wasn’t her strongest suit.

“I wouldn’t even say that scoring goals was the thing that I was good at,” former England star Sanderson, now a leading pundit and commentator, told City A.M.

“When I went to play in the USA I played No10 and was more of an assister. I love scoring goals but I didn’t have that fire in my belly where I’d be angry if I didn’t score.”

Haaland has already set a new record of 35 Premier League goals in a single season and has racked up 51 from 45 games in all competitions for City so far this term.

He can equal Sanderson’s mark when City visit Real Madrid in a mouthwatering Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday.

The Norway international’s feats have already sparked debate about whether he is the best marksman in Premier League history, but Sanderson believes that tag is premature.

“Sometimes people suffer with recentism and they forget Alan Shearer, Andy Cole and all of these amazing players because it’s all about the now,” she said.

“I have so much respect for Erling Haaland. When people come to the Premier League they are often talked about not being up to speed.

Erling’s brilliant –but not the greatest of Haal time

“I never had any doubt that he’d be fine but I don’t think anybody saw him breaking the numbers like he is.

“It will still take a little bit more for me to say that he is the best there’s ever been in the league because I think it’s a disservice to Shearer and those centreforwards. If he can consistently do that for 10 years, then absolutely.”

MAGNITUDE

Sanderson will be dusting off her shooting boots, four years after hanging them up, for a charity match at Selhurst Park on Bank Holiday Monday 29 May.

Goals 4 G.O.S.H. is also set to feature former pros Anton Ferdinand, Jay Bothroyd and Wayne Routledge, celebrities and reality TV stars raising money for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

“The game is amazing but being able to go to the hospital and deliver the money to the children is very special,”

said Sanderson, who is making her third appearance in the annual game.

“That’s when you realise the magnitude of what you’re doing. It’s something I feel passionately about.”

Sanderson helped to raise £25,000 last year and enjoyed the bonus of leading her team to victory in the fixture in her native south London.

Fundraising has already exceeded that sum this time around, and the ever-competitive former Chelsea, Juventus and DC United player, 35, is eyeing more success on and off the field.

“I always want to win whatever I

“I prepare like I’m playing a game. I’m nowhere near as fit as I was when I played but you never lose your touch and I still want to win. But the most important thing is the money

For more information and to buy tickets for the Goals 4 G.O.S.H.

https://goals4 gosh.komi.io

People suffer with recentism and forget Alan Shearer and other amazing players

Goals scored by Lianne Sanderson in 38 games during 2007-08 season

FOOTBALL

Carlo plotting downfall of ‘unstoppable’ Manchester City

DALLERES

CARLO Ancelotti has challenged his Real Madrid team to beat an “unstoppable” Manchester City side when the Champions League heavyweights collide in the semi-finals on Tuesday.

Treble-chasing City have hit top form in the run-in and head to the Spanish capital with 15 wins and a draw from their last 16 games.

Top scorer Erling Haaland has sent records tumbling with 51 goals in 45 appearances, including 12 in nine in the Champions League.

Real Madrid mounted an improbable comeback to dump City out at this stage last year, however, and head coach Ancelotti believes they can upset the odds again.

“The plan is to play a complete match, try to get the best of what we have on a physical, motivational and technical level,” he said.

“Bearing in mind that the decisive game will be the second leg, we want to take a small lead. We will try to do it. It is a game that demands a lot from everyone. When you reach a semi-final in a competition like this, it’s normal.

“He is a very dangerous player, but talking only about Haaland means not talking about a very complete team, who defend well, who attack and who have ideas.

“We are not planning a game to stop Haaland, but to stop a team

FORMULA 1

that seems unstoppable.

“I think we can have options to have a match that is even, competitive and that we can win.”

Real Madrid go into the tie fresh from winning the Copa del Rey, their third trophy this term after the Club World Cup and European Super Cup. Influential midfielder Luka Modric started on the bench in Saturday’s final with Osasuna but Ancelotti confirmed that he would return to the XI for the visit of City.

Pep Guardiola rung the changes as City beat Leeds United 2-1 at the weekend but could recall Jack Grealish, Rodri, John Stones and Ruben Dias in Madrid.

FOOTBALL

LIONS TAMED Millwall blow lead on final day of Championship to miss out on play-offs and a shot at promotion to Premier League

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager leads Ancelotti 5-3 in their eight previous meetings, but the Italian has prevailed in their two previous knockout ties.

On tonight’s clash being an act of revenge for last year’s exit, Guardiola said: “We are not here for revenge.

“It is another opportunity. One day we will get it, we will get to the final and win it. It didn’t happen last season as we played Real Madrid and in this competition they know exactly what they have to do.

“Last season it was [like] the end of the world but here we are again.”

Verstappen hits back at jeering

F1 fans after Miami triumph

FRANK DALLERES

FORMULA 1 world champion Max

Verstappen insists he was only booed at the Miami Grand Prix because he is successful.

Verstappen underlined his and Red Bull’s dominance with a third win in five races this season in Florida on Sunday.

But the Dutchman’s race was soured by audible jeers aimed towards him both at the pre-race presentation and on the podium.

“If I am driving at the back nobody will be doing anything in terms of a reaction,” Verstappen said. “It is normal when you are

winning and they don’t like who is winning. This is something which is absolutely fine for me as long as I stand on the top step of the podium.

“That is the most important thing. I take the trophy home and they can go back to their houses and have a nice evening.”

Verstappen, who won in Miami despite starting from ninth on the grid, made no secret of the fact that he did not enjoy the pre-race spectacle.

“Some people like to be more in the spotlight, and some people don’t. Personally I don’t. So for me, what they did was not necessary,” the two-time champion added.

Millwall squandered a 3-1 lead in a 4-3 defeat to Blackburn yesterday in the Championship to miss out on a play-off spot in England’s second tier. The south Londoners began the day inside the top six but conceded three second-half goals to finish the season eighth. Sunderland pinched the last play-off place and will face Luton, while Middlesbrough will play Coventry City. The winner of the final on May 27 will join Burnley and Sheffield United in the Premier League next season.

FOOTBALL

Everton climb out of relegation zone with win

MATT HARDY

EVERTON yesterday climbed out of the Premier League relegation zone with an impressive 5-1 win away to Brighton and Hove Albion.

The victory offers Sean Dyche’s Toffees a survival lifeline as they moved from 19th to two points clear of the drop.

Abdoulaye Doucoure opened the scoring for the travelling side inside 40 seconds before adding a second on the 29-minute mark.

Brighton keeper Jason Steele directed a shot into his own net to hand Everton a 3-0 lead at half-time.

The Toffees added their fourth and fifth through player of the

match Dwight McNeil after Alexis Mac Allister converted a chance to net Brighton’s only goal.

Brighton remain seventh in the Premier League table but are now eight points adrift of Manchester United in the hunt for the Champions League qualifying spot for finishing fourth.

Roberto De Zerbi’s men are now also in danger of dropping further off the pace with Aston Villa just a point behind them and Brentford a further four beyond the West Midlands side.

Elsewhere in the Premier League Fulham put five past Leicester City in a 5-3 win as the Londoners looked to cement themselves inside the top

CRICKET

half of the table. Willian opened the scoring with the first of two goals for the Brazil international before Carlos Vinicius netted to give Fulham a 2-0 lead.

Tom Cairney put the home side 4-0 up at Craven Cottage with a goal either side of half-time before Harvey Barnes netted the first of his two goals for Leicester to reduce the deficit to three.

Willian added his second of the night before a late James Maddison penalty and a second score from Barnes completed the eight-goal thriller.

Round 36 of 38 gets underway on Saturday with the title, and relegation, still on the line.

England cricket trio to offer insight at board meetings

MATT HARDY

ENGLAND’S three cricket captains are set to be invited to sit in on board meetings, according to reports.

Men’s Test captain Ben Stokes, oneday captain Jos Buttler and women’s captain Heather Knight are set to be invited by the England and Wales Cricket Board and chairman Richard Thompson as part of wider plans to develop the game. The trio have previously sat in at least one board meeting.

Having become chair in September 2022, Thompson has slowly been altering the ECB board and has so far replaced two thirds of the 12 roles.

The governing body of cricket in Eng-

land has previously come under fire for its lack of knowledge from players at board level.

It is hoped the playing trio will offer an insight at the highest level of governance, according to the Telegraph.

It is a big year for the ECB this summer, too, with the board hosting both the men’s and women’s Ashes.

The men will host Australia across five Tests this summer while the women will play their long-standing rivals across all three formats.

The ECB are also reportedly questioning the future of The Hundred and are battling with reports surrounding the possibility of players signing full-time contracts with the IPL.

‘Erling’s brilliant –but not the greatest of Haal time’

FRANK

Ancelotti began his second spell at Real Madrid in 2021