Thursday 15 Jun 2023

MARK KLEINMAN THE MAN IN THE KNOW’S MUST-READ SQUARE MILE COLUMN P10

ENGLAND EXPECTS CHRIS TREMLETT’S PREVIEW OF A SPICY ASHES SUMMER P26

SODA FLOAT GOES FLAT

BIGGEST LONDON LISTING OF THE YEAR PULLED DUE TO ‘INVESTOR CAUTION’

LONDON’s markets were dealt a fresh blow yesterday as WE Soda dramatically ditched its plans for an IPO due to “extreme investor caution” just weeks after first announcing the move.

The Turkish-owned soda ash maker had delivered a boost to the beleaguered London Stock Exchange last week when it revealed what would have been the biggest float in London this year.

However, in a statement yesterday, boss Alasdair Warren said the float had been withdrawn.

“Investors, particularly in the UK, remain extremely cautious about the IPO market and this extreme investor caution in London meant that we were unable to arrive at a valuation that we believe reflects our unique financial and operating characteristics,” he said.

The company planned to raise at least £600m through the IPO for its parent Ciner Group, on an £7m+ valuation.

WE Soda said last week it had already received “considerable” interest from investors.

The initial announcement was hailed as a potential end to the market drought in the capital after a torrid start to the

year. Though some in the City yesterday said the pullout was more about the company than the capital, other analysts said the withdrawal from WE Soda would likely renew fears over London’s appeal for listings.

“This is a fresh blow for London just as confidence in the city as an IPO launch pad appeared to be edging back upwards,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Investors are understandably cautious given the nervousness surrounding the UK’s prospects with inflation still running so hot.”

She added that the uncertainty shaking the UK economy is “clearly off-putting” and firms considering IPOs may continue to “set their sights on New York instead”.

London Stock Exchange officials and regulators have been scrambling to revive the appeal of London after the bourse was dealt a series of high-profile snubs, including the move from British chipmaker Arm to float in New York.

The Financial Conduct Authority announced a package of reforms earlier this year to ease the IPO process, while top City figures have been looking to overhaul the “cultural attitude” of the Square Mile to tempt in more listings.

JESS JONES

BRITAIN’S competition regulator is set to scrutinise the tie-up of Vodafone and Three, announced yesterday.

The deal will create the largest mobile network in the UK, turning the market effectively into a ‘big three’.

Vodafone boss Margherita Della Valle said the merger is “great for customers, great for the country and great for competition”, but commentators warned last night the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was likely to turn a critical eye to the deal.

In 2016, the watchdog made clear their “serious concerns” about the merger between network providers Three and O2, leading the European Commission to block it.

The CMA will soon be on the phone

Pablo Pescatore, a telecoms analyst, said the failure of 2016 has set a precedent and this could be a “hard sale given that both companies have been outperforming the market for the last year or so”.

The firms said they were “levelling the competitive playing field” with EE and O2.

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Federal Reserve pauses interest rate rise campaign as US inflation subsides

THE US Federal Reserve last night held off on firing interest rates higher for the first time in over a year, electing to wait and see what impact prior increases have had on the world’s largest economy.

Chair Jerome Powell (pictured) and

the rest of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) kept borrowing costs unchanged at a range of five per cent and 5.25 per cent.

Fed officials’ decision to take their foot off the brake was charged by stateside inflation falling rapidly from its peak of just over nine per cent to four per cent.

Core inflation remains a concern, which the FOMC said could lure it back into rate rises in the summer if it persists.

“The committee would be prepared to adjust the stance of monetary policy as appropriate if risks emerge that could impede the attainment of the

committee’s goals,” it said in its latest policy statement.

The US’s rate hold stands in stark contrast to where the Bank of England is tipped to send borrowing costs in the coming months, with markets now expecting UK

interest rates to peak at 5.75 per cent.

UK gross domestic product figures out yesterday from the ONS showed the economy grew 0.2 per cent over the month to April, meaning Britain is still swerving that much-tipped recession.

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JACK BARNETT

CHARLIE CONCHIE

There are signs of a growing pushback against net zero targets

THERE is something in the air: a pushback against the charge to net zero, come hell or highwater. Yesterday, Shell said it would ‘stabilise’ its production; Exxon Mobil, separately, said they didn’t think society would bear up to the sacrifices necessary to hit net zero by 2050. Others in government have expressed scepticism about the cost of that process, not least when underdeveloped nations are unlikely to

STANDING UP FOR THE CITY THE CITY VIEW

be in any great hurry to close up the cheap energy production which is a) making them rich and b) powering a vast increase in living standards. We have written many times on these pages that the cost of going green is more significant than

people realise, even in an environmental sense. Indeed, in many ways –as Ed Conway, whose book Material World comes out today, has made clear –hitting net zero targets will require a sizable plundering of the raw materials that many believe should stay firmly in the ground. The amount of copper required in today’s generation of wind turbines is no joke. On the financial side, the hit to household budgets and living

standards could well be dramatic. Net zero by 2050 is, of course, the product of political grandstanding. It’s a noble and worthy aim but it’s fundamentally arbitrary. Far better would be for governments, diplomats and campaigners to mirror the pragmatism we are starting to see from the big energy majors, who have dumped the hairshirt and are now being honest about the fact that –despite their desires to go green –

LONDON’S COMMUTER CANINES Just another Square Mile pup on their way to the office. This one is taking the bus –it might be slower but at least there’s signal...

society wants cheap reliable energy and it wants it now. In the UK, the road to a greener future goes through the energy companies and the City of London. The capital is already a European hub for green finance and will remain in pole position for some time. Governments would be better to set aside the net zero cheerleading and instead look realistically at what the energy mix might be in a few years’ time.

WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING

THE FINANCIAL TIMES

RISHI SUNAK SET TO FACE PROLONGED RUN OF BYELECTION CONTESTS

Rishi Sunak has set in train two perilous by-elections in Tory seats next month but has been left guessing when he will be able to call a third contest in the seat held by former minister Nadine Dorries.

THE GUARDIAN SYNTHETIC HUMAN EMBRYOS CREATED IN GROUNDBREAKING ADVANCE Scientists have created synthetic human embryos using stem cells, in a groundbreaking advance that sidesteps the need for eggs or sperm –and could shine a light on genetic disesase.

THE INDEPENDENT JAILED THERANOS FOUNDER CLAIMS SHE CAN’T AFFORD TO REPAY VICTIMS Jailed Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has claimed she is unable to afford restitution payments of $250 per month to victims of her hoax bloodtesting startup.

PMQs: All the fun of the fair for Sunak and Starmer as peerage put-downs fly amok

IN

wake of

abilities, it’s unsurprising Sir Keir Starmer launched into what could have been a brutal takedown of BoJo’s peerage drama. It’s just a shame Starmer’s criticism of the ‘distracting nature’ of the honours row came from the Knight of the Realm himself, giving Sunak the gapingly-obvious opportunity to preen that Sir Keir should “know better”.

In a bid to divert from yet another ride on the Johnson merry-go-round, Sunak attempted the shooting range instead, blasting the Labour leader with criticisms of peer Tom Watson and harking back to

(checks calendar) 2015’s “chaos with Ed Miliband”. That ageing roasted chestnut still delivering a poll lead of (ahem) minus 14 something per cent.

Sadly his aim was amiss and –despite benches on both sides being close to standing room only and the press and public

galleries packed to the rafters –there was a distinct lack of energy, leaving City A.M. wondering if an exhausted Tory cohort is beginning to give up the ghost.

Ducking out of his party’s haunted house, however, Starmer landed a custard pie of his own as Sunak refused to say whether he would “buckle” to Iron Lady-impersonator Liz Truss and deliver gongs to her “Institute for Economic Affairs extremists”. However, with mortgage rates a growing concern – and the public’s ghost train ride of ever-growing interest hikes showing no sign of slowing down – it’s likely we could all be back at the fairground before too long.

THE

Boris Johnson’s endless headline-generating

Shell ditches oil production cuts and ups divis

CITY A.M. REPORTER

SHELL will ditch a plan to gradually reduce oil production over the coming years and choose instead to “stabilise” production until the end of the decade in a bid to focus on the most profitable assets of the business.

The bombshell announcement came in the same market update which revealed a 15 per cent dividend bump-up from the second quarter of this year.

CEO Wael Sawan will also move forward with share buybacks of at least $5bn over the second half of the year.

Shell confirmed it still plans to become a “net zero emissions energy business” by 2050, but a 2021 plan to gradually roll back production of oil appears to have gone by the wayside.

The firm will, however, invest $10 to $15bn (£7.88bn to £11.82bn) over the next two years to support the development of low-carbon energy including biofuels, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.

The move will anger

PHILIP Schofield’s affair with a young colleague wasn’t appropriate but ITV had no evidence of it, chief exec Dame Carolyn McCall told MPs yesterday. She was. answering questions from MPs about Schofield’s exit.

BoE expected to keep on hiking as UK economy proves to be resilient

CONTINUED FROM P1

The GDP figures join a string of recent data showing the UK economy is holding up well in response to 12 successive interest rate increases, which has raised concerns about inflation hanging around.

drop from March’s 10.1 per cent increase expected by the Bank and the City.

Numbers earlier this week revealed wages are growing at their quickest pace on record –outside of the Covid19 pandemic.

would mean a further five rate increases this year at least.

Speaking to Sky News yesterday, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the Bank has “no alternative” but to keep raising borrowing costs to curb price increases.

green-focused politicians.

Shell has been bruised and battered by the windfall tax, brought in on oil and gas firms which operate in the North Sea.

Though only around five per cent of its revenues come from the UK, it expects to pay more than £400m additional tax to the Treasury this year.

The firm is also expected to be affected by the slide in oil prices.

OPEC members are keeping supply limited, but it is doing little to boost the price of a barrel, which now sits around $70 to $80.

Last week, Shell confirmed it has decided to exit its home retail energy businesses in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands due to their poor Shell launched a strategic review of its European retail businesses in January, citing “tough market conditions”, shortly after Sawan took office as chief executive at the beginning of the

Prices in the UK rose 8.7 per cent over the year to April, a smaller

5G spending could see Vodafone’s tie-up with Three past regulator

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Head of financial analysis at AJ Bell

Danni Hewson said the increase in consumers will lessen competition even if the service is improved and the CMA will take into account “such dominance down the line”.

“The i’s have been dotted and the t’s crossed. But the devil is always in the detail, and the CMA will be interrogating every word, especially those in small print,” Hewson said.

In addition to the potentially increased competition, the CMA will also consider the combined firm’s investment into 5G infrastructure, said Olexandr Kyrychenko, partner at IMD Corporate, giving reason for some optimism.

Hargreaves Lansdown equity analyst Matt Britzman also believes hope could exist “given how challenging and expensive the 5G rollout is” and the merged firm’s plan to invest £11bn in expanding 5G.

Those figures have pushed financial market expectations of peak UK interest rates to just under six per cent from 5.5 per cent last week. That

Meanwhile, European Central Bank officials are expected to conclude their rate hike cycle today with a final 25 basis point increase to 3.5 per cent.

CEO Wael Sawan is “absolutely committed to upstream”

EEK Schofield’s affair ‘deeply inappropriate’ but we had no evidence, ITV boss tells MPs

British DIY investors pour back into technology funds in the US and Asia

CHARLIE CONCHIE

BRITISH do-it-yourself investors are pouring back into technology funds in a bid to cash in on a tech-fuelled market rally in the US and Asia. Stateside markets have rallied hard on the back of a surge in tech stocks in recent months as investor confidence turns back to so-called growth firms after a torrid performance last year. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 is trading up nearly 27 per cent over the past six months, pushed higher by the

sudden boom in interest in artificial intelligence and a surge in value for firms like chipmaker Nvidia, which topped a $1trn valuation in May.

Analysts at Hargreaves Lansdown said the market boost has seen British retail investors on its platform pour back into tech funds this year.

“In the US in particular, the tech top performers have posted spectacular gains – Facebook parent company Meta, electric vehicle behemoth Tesla and global artificial intelligent firm Nvidia,” said Emma

British tourism pleads for postBrexit help

GUY TAYLOR

THE UK TRAVEL sector has called on the government to address difficulties in employing British staff in EU holiday destinations, due to post-Brexit red tape and rising hiring costs.

Trade association Abta’s report found the number of UK workers in holiday roles in the EU has dipped 69 per cent from 11,970 to 3,700 between 2017 and 2023.

The cost of employing tour guides, chalet hosts and other roles has risen dramatically. In France, it now costs £880 more to hire each UK seasonal worker, the report found.

Overall, 61 per cent of UK travel companies said problems recruiting could reduce growth over the next five years, a concern that ranked higher than the effect of the cost of living crisis.

The findings will fuel growing calls among industry leaders to sort out post-Brexit regulations and restrictions, which have hit the travel industry hard.

Abta’s chief executive Mark Tanzer said: “It can’t be emphasised enough just how fundamental being able to work abroad is for the UK travel industry. Yet there are simple and sensible

solutions to overcome these barriers, and I’d urge ministers to make this a priority and take action urgently.”

Tanzer said: “A mutual mobility scheme needs to be put in place for young people starting in the industry – for Europeans wishing to work here temporarily and [vice versa].”

Aviation minister Baroness Vere, who spoke at the same event, responded to questions on the report by stating “it’s a Home Office decision”, but later added that her collaboration with border force on the issue was positive.

The UK’s outbound travel segment currently supports more than 840,000 jobs in the UK and contributes over £49bn a year in gross value added to the economy.

The sector is calling for a range of new policies, including additions to the current UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which they argue places stringent limits on the length of time overseas workers can stay abroad.

Given the €40bn contribution UK tourism makes to the EU each year, “it is in both the UK and EU’s interest to provide a policy framework that enables travel and tourism between the UK and EU to thrive,” the report said.

Wall, head of investment analysis and research at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Some of the most bought funds on the platform in recent weeks are techheavy Baillie Gifford American and Legal & General US Index, plus Legal & General Global Technology Index and Liontrust Global Technology.

Hargreaves Lansdown’s most-bought investment trusts had a similar tech tilt being the Allianz Technology Trust and Polar Capital Technology Trust. Elsewhere, Japanese funds have also proved a hit.

TOYOTA BOSS WINS VOTE

Toyota’s chair and former president Akio Toyoda survived a shareholder challenge on governance and climate policy yesterday, sending shares in the automaker up 6.3 per cent. It follows Toyota’s unveiling of a new electric strategy on Monday, which also nudged up shares. The outcome of the vote follows months of turbulence for the company, which had seen US proxy advisers Glass Lewis urge shareholders to vote against Toyoda –while concerns were also raised over the company’s environmental position and EV transition.

E.ON HIT WITH £5M FINE

Airbus raises 20-year delivery forecast as demand increases

GUY TAYLOR

AIRBUS has upped its 20-year forecast for the number of new aircraft it expects to deliver, estimating a total of 40,850 by 2042, up from 39,490 last year amid rising demand for fuelefficient jets.

The aircraft manufacturer’s forecast assumes a 3.6 per cent uptick in traffic growth over the period.

Airbus said the strongest growth would be seen in Asian markets, with aviation’s “centre of gravity” shifting towards the far east.

Post-pandemic growth in demand for aircrafts has so far been led by Asian markets.

The revised forecast also comes as airlines rush to replace their fleets with greener, fuel-efficient planes in a bid to gain competitiveness amid a period of pent-up demand.

“More and more people are flying for the first time than ever before, while emissions per revenue passenger kilometre have halved through technology and operational improvements over the last 30 years,” the group said yesterday.

Power supplier E.On Next has been ordered to pay £5m in compensation to more than 500,000 customers for “unacceptable” call services. Customers were forced to wait on hold for 18 minutes on average, while half of all calls were dropped, according to Ofgem. The regulator said E.On Next will pay £4m to more than 500,000 customers who were potentially affected, working out at £8 each. An E.On spokesman said the firm had already begun improving its services before the Ofgem review.

POUND HITS YEAR-HIGH

Pound sterling yesterday climbed to its highest level against the US dollar in over a year, driven upwards by investors betting that the Bank of England will surpass the Federal Reserve in its interest rate rise cycle to bring down inflation. Britain’s currency jumped around 0.7 per cent today to nearly $1.27, taking it to its strongest level against the greenback since April 2022. Sterling’s ascent has been fuelled by markets betting on the UK having to keep hiking interest rates to tame a tough inflation problem.

TSB Bank calls on Meta to make ‘urgent’ interventions on fraud

CHRIS DORRELL

TSB BANK has called on Meta to make urgent interventions to protect consumers from spiralling levels of fraud with customers at risk of losing hundreds of millions of pounds. According to current industry projections, consumers could lose up to £250m from Meta platforms in 2023 if no action is taken.

TSB data showed fraud instigated through content on Meta accounts for 80 per cent of fraud cases within TSB’s three biggest fraud categories.

TSB chief executive Robin Bulloch outlined a range of measures Meta should take to clamp down on fraud.

He said the firm should introduce a secure payment mechanism for Facebook Marketplace; stop unregulated firms advertising on

Facebook and Instagram; and issue a clear commitment to investigate and remove potentially fraudulent content within 24 hours.

Meta says it already has systems in place to block scams and noted advertisers had to be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to appear on their sites.

A spokesman for Meta said: “This is an industry-wide issue.”

The far east is leading growth for the air travel industry

Tech stocks like Meta and Tesla have seen a resurgence in interest IN BRIEF

Shaftesbury boosted as West End buzz returns

LAURA MCGUIRE

SHAFTESBURY yesterday delivered a confident update to the markets as a return to international tourism and its £4.9bn merger with Capco helped boost activity in London’s West End.

The two West End landlords merged last March, meaning Shaftesbury and Capco now operate under one ownership.

In an update ahead of its AGM today, the property owner reported strong trading across its retail and hospitality portfolio as customers returned to the West End, with sales in aggregate 13 per cent above 2019 on a like-for-like basis.

Footfall improved, with Shaftesbury crediting a return to international tourism, a post-pandemic lift and the coronation. The group said it predicts the boost to

“continue through the summer” as warm weather draws in shoppers.

New restaurant openings in China Town and Kingly Court in Carnaby Street also attracted new customers.

As workers return to the office, the group said demand for offices “remains healthy”, with its office scheme at 36 Carnaby Street now fully pre-let or under offer, representing £0.9m of income. Chief executive Ian Hawksworth said: “Against a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty, demand for space in our West End locations continues to be strong across all uses, with 173 leasing transactions completing in the first five months of the year, at rents on average six per cent ahead of December 2022

ERV providing confidence for rental growth prospects.”

BETTING ON EUROPE Ladbrokes owner Entain set to raise £600m to fund its takeover of Poland’s largest bookie

LADBROKES owner Entain told markets yesterday that it will raise £600m via the placing of shares which will help fund its latest acquisition of a Polish betmaker and other near-term deals. The betting giant said it would take over STS Holding S.A –Poland’s largest bookies with 1.5m customers across Europe – in a deal worth £750m.

City watchdog quizzed by MPs over Odey probe

CHARLIE CONCHIE

A GROUP of MPs yesterday called for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to reveal the depths of its previous probes into Crispin Odey (pictured) as the scandal surrounding the financier deepens this week.

Odey was accused of sexual misconduct by 13 women last week as part of an investigation by the Financial Times. He denies the allegations.

The chief of the influential Treasury Select Committee of MPs, Harriet Baldwin, has now written to FCA chief Nikhil Rathi demanding details of the “nature and intensity” of its “supervision and engagement with Odey Asset Management (OAM) over the last five years”.

“The FT paints a deeply negative picture of one powerful individual’s conduct regarding those two committee priorities and is potentially damaging to the reputation

of the entire sector,” Baldwin wrote to Rathi.

The FCA was reported to have been privately investigating the firm prior to the FT’s report and was reportedly given a report of Odey’s conduct in early 2021 after the firm took disciplinary action against him.

Baldwin asked the regulator to confirm whether it had received that information and what action it had taken in response.

The FCA has been set a deadline of Wednesday 5 July to respond to the questions from Baldwin. Top executives at the FCA are also set to be grilled by the Treasury Committee in person next month over their role in investigating OAM.

A spokesperson for the FCA said: “We understand the committee’s interest in this and we’ll of course reply shortly.”

House of Lords: Britcoin should not be introduced without parliamentary vote

CHRIS DORRELL

LAWMAKERS yesterday agreed the digital pound, or ‘Britcoin’, should not be introduced without proper parliamentary scrutiny.

Speaking in the House of Lords, Lord Forsyth said the notion that the Treasury and Bank of England could introduce the digital pound “without having proper parliamentary

HSBC picks up pace on sale of French business

CHRIS DORRELL

HSBC HAS agreed new terms for the sale of its French retail division to Cerberus-backed My Money Group, paving the way for the delayed sale to be completed early next year.  Under the new terms of the deal, Cerberus will invest €225m (£192.5m) into the business while HSBC will retain a €7.0bn portfolio of loans which were originally going to be transferred.

The bank said it will take a €100m hit from the costs of retaining the loans. It may sell this portfolio at a later date.

HSBC will also invest up to €407m in My Money’s holding company in exchange for a profit participation interest of 1.25 the amount it ends up investing.

The transaction is expected to lead to a pretax loss on sale of up to $2.7bn for HSBC, up from $2.3bn when the deal was first announced. This will be recognised in the second half of this year.

HSBC has been withdrawing from underperforming markets around the world in recent months, including Canada and Greece. It is aiming to pivot to Asia, where it makes the majority of its money.

scrutiny… is utterly ridiculous.”

The Bank of England and Treasury are currently consulting on the introduction of a digital pound.

Britcoin is a digital form of cash which will be created by the Bank of England. The Bank suggests it is “likely to be needed in future” as digital payments become more important.

Forsyth argued a digital pound would have an impact on a range of

different issues, including financial stability and civil liberties.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has provided a written commitment to holding a vote on its introduction but this has not been put into law.

Lord Bridges saidthe written commitment was a “step forward” but said he would “much prefer” it to be on the bill adding: “Who knows which government will be around”.

Robert Walters share price drops amid profit fears

LAURA MCGUIRE

GLOBAL recruitment agency Robert Walters shares nosedived yesterday as the staffing firm warned that its profits for the year would be “significantly” lower than previously anticipated.

Shares in the London-listed recruiter plunged to close down 12 per cent after the group posted a 10 per cent fall in net fee income rates.

Employers taking longer to make hiring decisions on potential candidates and reduced levels of “candidate confidence”, first flagged by Robert Walters in 2022, were blamed for the impact on trading.

“Recruitment market fundamentals such as job flow, candidate shortages and wage inflation remain solid, suggesting that when market confidence recovers there will likely be a return to meaningful growth,” the firm said.

The group also said it will look to take “appropriate cost reduction” to ease the short-term pressure.

The eponymous company has also recently waved goodbye to its longstanding chief and founder Robert Walters.

Last year the group racked in £1.1bn

in revenues as it was aided by a competitive market post-pandemic, especially in the tech sector.

However, in January it first issued a profit warning that its full year profits would be below prior expectations.

Economic uncertainty has impacted the jobs markets and has made employers more cautious about hiring.

Employees’ work attitudes have also altered post-pandemic with many candidates now looking for more flexibility and hybrid working.

“Businesses are watching their pennies in the current environment, and there has been a growing trend, particularly in the tech and telecoms space, to cut jobs to try to become leaner entities, particularly after circa 18 months of intense cost pressures,” Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell said.

“In this scenario workers are likely to stay put rather than look for a new job, for fear they might join somewhere new and become the ‘last in, first out’ candidate if cutbacks are made later on.

“That’s bad for recruitment agencies because they thrive when there is a high turnover of people moving jobs,” Mould added.

WARHAMMER-MAKER GAMES WORKSHOP SET FOR BOOST AFTER AMAZON DEAL

Warhammer-maker Games Workshop yesterday said it is expecting to post a boost in profits for the year as it feels the lift of a blockbuster deal with Amazon signed in December.

The figurines firm said its core revenue would come in at not less than £440m, up from £387m last year, while pretax profits were expected to jump to £170m from £157m last year.

The boost comes after a tricky update in January when the firm posted record sales but missed its targets.

The firm signed a lucrative licensing deal with Amazon in December, which will see its Warhammer figures cast on screen.

EDINBURGH WOOLLEN MILL GROUP STILL OWES £167M TO UNSECURED CREDITORS

Philip Day’s Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group empire is understood to still owe money to unsecured creditors following its collapse almost three years ago. The cluster of retail assets, which included Jaeger, Peacocks, Bonmarche, and Edinburgh Woollen Mill, fell into administration in 2020 but administrator reports for the brands now show that £167m owed to unsecured creditors has not been paid following the businesses collapse, according to reports in The Times. Documents seen by the outlet show each of the parties are due to receive dividends worth up to £600,000 (£1.8m in total).

PYREX MAKER FILES FOR US BANKRUPTCY SALES ARE BATTERED BY INFLATION

The maker of Pyrex and Instant Pot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as dwindling sales and high inflation have battered the business.

Instant Brands, which is US owned, is said to have much as $1bn (£790m) in liabilities.

Instant Brand, which trades in John Lewis and Argos, was impacted by a slowdown in spending post-pandemic as the public now have less disposable income to splurge on home appliances. Its 2,400 employees have not been impacted by the move.

To further help business operations has also secured $132.5m (£104.8m) in financing from its existing lenders.

Cineworld to file for administration as part of restructuring plan

SHREYAA NARAYANAN

BRITISH cinema chain operator

Cineworld is preparing to file for administration as a part of a financial restructuring plan, as first reported by Sky News yesterday.

The company is lining up Alix Partners to act as administrator to help with the transfer of ownership to its lenders, with an announcement expected to be made by the end of next week, a source told the outlet.

Cineworld declined to comment to a Reuters request, while Alix Partners could not be immediately reached.

The insolvency process for the holding company will not impact Cineworld's operations, Sky News added.

In May, Cineworld said it expected to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July, adding that its proposed debt restructuring had the backing of most of its lenders.The company had filed for US bankruptcy protection in September.

The cinema chain has suffered since the pandemic, with demand weakened

INTERVIEW

sides is promising. The polarisation has largely disappeared, he says, and when “you speak to Keir and you speak to current government” and you can’t work out “which way around” they are.

Khosla, it’s important to note, has not always been so impartial. He rarely appears in certain sections of the press without the prefix ‘Tory donor’. Donating is something he says he won’t be considering again.

RISHI Khosla is leaning off the side of a treadmill desk in an Oaknorth branded t-shirt, deep in conversation with cofounder Joel Perlman. He steps down and walks into a corner office at the firm’s glass-walled HQ, where an assistant brings in a stone bowl of frothy luminous green liquid. He pours it into a separate stone cup.

The scene, it’s fair to say, is straight out of tech founder central casting –one you might expect to see among the upper echelons of Silicon Valley rather than Soho.

But for the Oaknorth chief, that expectation is a large part of the problem. Khosla is among a class of founders at the vanguard of the UK fintech scene that, he feels, have failed to achieve celebration and recognition like their peers over the pond.

“If you ask the common person on the street today, who are the top British entrepreneurs, you’ll probably get Branson and Dyson –both guys who I admire,” he tells City A.M. in an interview. “But what about all the guys who have been building businesses in the last 10, 20 years? Right? I mean, no one probably knows their names.”

For Khosla, that lack of entrepreneurial cut-through points to a faultline in the British business psyche, one which he has taken on as something of a cause celebre.

Speaking at London Tech Week this week, he railed against the cultural challenges choking off growth in the UK’s entrepreneurial landscape. Dominating them were access to talent and a British aversion to success.

“Success is not celebrated in the business world here. If you’re successful, what people do is hide away,” he says.

SLOW BURN

This annoyance has been slow burning for Khosla. Business lender Oaknorth is his and Perlman’s second venture after they set up analytics firm Copal Partners in 2002, growing the firm to 3,000 people before selling up to US credit rating agency Moody’s in 2014. The pair landed upon the idea for Oaknorth after being “kicked out” of two commercial banks while on the hunt for a line of credit at their previous firm. That experience underscored what Khosla calls a “missing middle” in banking, one where companies at the so-called scale-up stage are poorly served by the offer from both the big commercial banks and the smaller specialised new crop of lenders.

The approach has clearly tapped into a need. Founded in 2015, Oaknorth has dished out £8.5bn loans since its inception, and by its own analysis helped create some 38,000 jobs in the process.

In its latest funding round in 2019 it fetched a valuation of $2.8bn (£2.2bn) and managed to shrug off turbulence last year to post pre-tax profits of £152.3m last year.

TECTONIC SHIFTS

But that growth, in Khosla’s view, has come largely in spite of the landscape around him rather than because of it. Khosla has led Oaknorth through a period of change in which its target small business market has been shaken by the tectonic shifts of a

TALL POPPY SYNDROME, TORY RHETORIC AND

“Do you know why? Because the media keep on putting the fact that I gave some money to a political party. Like it’s a tagline!”

BANKING CRISIS

Despite his new-found impartiality, Oaknorth has found itself in close proximity to the big political machinations of UK tech this year. Khosla launched a bid to buy the collapsed UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank in March as the government negotiated a shotgun sale of the firm, which ultimately went to HSBC. HSBC this week rebranded the firm as ‘HSBC Innovation Banking’ to much political fanfare and a personal celebration from the Prime Minster and Chancellor.

But while HSBC provided “full stability” to the market and he “fully understands” why they were the ultimate buyer, Khosla still maintains it was a mistake.

“When I look at it from the... perspective of fuelling the entrepreneurial environment in the UK, supporting growth companies, making the UK an innovation economy, supporting the

FOR FINTECH

design, we just didn’t build a [loan] book which had that exposure.”

Political tumult and the rhetoric of the Tory party have similarly damaged the once shiny appeal of the UK for fintech firms and talent, he argues, and Oaknorth is struggling to attract the staff to grow the company.

blow as both political parties mount efforts to reinvigorate the appeal of the country’s tech sector. Rishi Sunak, Jeremy Hunt and Keir Starmer have all taken to the stage at London Tech Week this week to mount their pitch to revive some of its lustre.

Khosla reckons the pitch from both

financing of those companies, I think it is absolutely the wrong decision,” he

In Khosla’s view, the move is the latest in a number of policy missteps and failed manoeuvres which are struggling to revive the UK’s appeal.

Ministers and stock exchange officials have been on a multi-year charm offensive to woo tech firms to the market, with a slew of reviews launched to try and make it a more welcoming home for growth firms.

Oaknorth’s listing would be a prized fruit of that labour, but he is blunt in his assessment of the progress made.

“Would we be open to listing in London? Of course, but show me a market which works, right? We need growth investors in this market to support growth companies.”

GROWTH MINDSET

Khosla’s complaint points to the wider efforts to reset the cultural narrative and appeal of the UK. The issue for Khosla is one of trying to knock down success. Fix that, and the rest will come.

“If [someone] creates a few £100m of value, and they get paid £10m a year, let’s celebrate it,” he says.

“Let’s make another 100 people think that they can be one of those people who gets paid £10m a year and strive for that.

“That's how we'll drive innovation. That’s how we'll drive hunger in people.”

Rishi Khosla has built a successful fintech lender. Now he wants others to follow.

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

We need growth investors to support growth companies

WHY THE UK IS LOSING ITS LUSTRE

Success is not celebrated here. If you’re successful, you hide away

‘IT SHOWED INSURANCE IS A TANGIBLE THING’

It can lead you astray,” says Rupert Moore with a chuckle as we discuss Japan’s variety of fried food options.

It’s a country he knows well - Moore, now UK CEO of Reinsurance Solutions for global professional services giant Aon, worked out there for the firm for 10 years.

And it’s to Japan he goes when I ask him about a piece of work he’s particularly proud of.

“The earthquake and tsunami in Japan in 2011 left huge devastation, and we represented a lot of the large mutual insurers and a number of large companies,” he tells me.

“There was one particular mutual that had seen their whole coastline of properties destroyed, but the majority of the losses were insured and when we went up there a few years afterwards the local team were hugely emotional, telling us about the damage to the community and how the insurance and reinsurance industries had enabled them to rebuild.

“There are countless examples across the world of this type of situation, but

that was just one that makes you feel pretty good about what you do - something to touch and feel; a tangible thing.”

Indeed insurance, at its heart, provides exactly that - help and support in tough times. But in London it’s more than that, with the insurance and reinsurance markets supporting and enabling global commerce. Simply put, without insurance, not a lot of business gets done - by de-risking investments, the industry provides the certainty for firms to get on and grow.

London remains its global centre, with Aon’s offices a stone’s throw from Leadenhall Market and the Lloyd’s building a key, beating heart of the industry. Moore is a ‘lifer’ - joining Aon as a graduate some 23 years ago. He’s spent 14 years abroad - Japan, Hong Kong, and three years in the US - and now back in London, he’s well-placed to opine on the changes to the industry over more than two decades, both in terms of the work and those working in the sector.

“I think probably the biggest change is how important analytics is,” he says. Over decades, Aon has increasingly invested in highly sophisticated data models and academic collaborations in order to assess its clients’ exposures, or the likelihood of a particular event occurring, and enable better decisionmaking. That’s become especially relevant in recent years when it comes to catastrophe insurance, with so-called severe weather events increasing in regularity.

“It’s true insight into everything from hurricanes to earthquakes - and what’s changed is how much time and effort and investment we put into those,” says Moore.

“When I first joined there wasn’t really a great deal of analytics technology in London, and now it’s front and centre.”

In that sense, it’s a sign of how much more sophisticated the industry has become - and the new skills the biggest players require.

“Different skill sets have become essential as the industry has become more technical and analytical,” he continues.

“We now need not only people who can transact business, but those who can create specialist tools such as financial and catastrophe models; the industry now draws upon a wide range of diverse skills.

“There’s also a huge demographic change taking place, with a lot of people retiring or about to retire - which to me looks like a tremendous opportunity for career-minded young talent.

“The grad scheme I joined more than 20 years ago had about 14 or 16 of us. Now we hire about 50 school leavers and graduates just for reinsurance, and about 250 across UK insurance.”

Those new starters, Moore reckons, will benefit from a sector which has always been collaborative. Career veterans are keen to pass on their knowledge to those who join the insurance and reinsurance industrieswhich Moore says are the “best kept secret” in the Square Mile.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity,” he says.

Certainly, it appears the old stereotypes of insurance are out of date in an industry that has become a sophisticated, multi-faceted London success story.

Aon’s Rupert Moore tells City A.M. why a career in the insurance industry is a rewarding opportunity

Different skills set have become essential as the industry has become more technical and analytical

MARK KLEINMAN

MARK KLEINMAN, CITY EDITOR AT SKY NEWS @MARKKLEINMANSKY

BREAKING BUSINESS STORIES AND ANALYSIS

No accounting for ICAEW’s tasty payoff

DON’T DO as I do, do as I say. That appears to be a fitting mantra for the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), which loves to virtue signal about the importance of effective corporate governance among its members.

Examples abound of backslapping and self-congratulation from the body. As an example, how about this corker from 2018, in response to a government consultation on executive pay?

“Boards need to put themselves in a position where they can be confident, open and fearless in publicly explaining who gets paid what and why,” it said.

“Individual board directors must feel able to deliver a public explanation regardless of whether or not an explanation is actually requested or required, or whether they are the chosen spokesperson.”

It’s only natural, then, that faced with an enquiry about why Michael Izza, its retiring chief executive, is to receive a six-figure payment when he leaves at the end of this year, its approach was to obfuscate and evade.

The idea that he would get a sum roughly

equal to twice his £492,000 basic salary was met with derision. Eventually, an insider suggested the actual amount was more like £250,000; yet the ICAEW refused to quantify it precisely, saying that we would have to wait until the publication of next year's annual report to find out.

The “terms of his departure are in

Anyone for an Eton mess? It was intriguing to read in the Daily Mail that the final round of interviews for the Provost of arguably the world’s most famous school was due to take place this week.

According to the newspaper, the two “key figures” on the shortlist are Sir Nicholas Coleridge, the former Conde Nast boss, and

compliance with his contract of employment,” was all it would say officially. Why Izza’s contract states that he should get a six-figure windfall purely for retiring is a mystery. It sounds highly inappropriate from a governance perspective.

The ICAEW has been at the centre of a long-running row about its retention of fines

general Sir Nicholas Carter, former chief of the defence staff. But I understand another name has also been in the mix: Dame Helena Morrissey, former boss of Newton Investment Management and former chair of AJ Bell, the retail investment platform. Morrissey, who couldn’t be reached for comment, has famously juggled her City career

imposed on the audit industry.

Asked last year whether a £13.5m penalty imposed on KPMG over its botched audit of Silentnight, the beds retailer, should instead be repatriated to the pensioners who lost out financially from its collapse, Izza is reported to have said that it wasn’t the role of the Accountancy Scheme to compensate them.

Instead, he has presided over an accumulation of fines from miscreants which has generated reserves totalling well in excess of £100m.

These funds, the body has said in the past, are used to aid its purpose of “serving the public good”. That’s not nearly transparent enough.

Virtue-signalling trade associations are, as the CBI has so vividly demonstrated, rightly being subjected to greater scrutiny.

In the case of the ICAEW, which also has a regulatory role, that’s even more crucial. The body is on the brink of a governance shake-up, having announced that it would appoint an independent chair for the first time.

The secrecy surrounding Izza’s payoff suggests that move is overdue.

with an all-consuming family life –understandably, given that she has raised nine children with husband Richard.

At £46,296-a-year, the annual bill for all of those offspring were they to have attended Eton simultaneously would have been close to £420,000. The arch-Brexiter and recent critic of the CBI is surely a formidable candidate to beat.

Bet on a new player taking reins of the Telegraph

Anyone but Boris: that probably sums up what

Rishi Sunak is thinking in relation to most things after the events of the last week, but nowhere would it be more applicable than the future ownership of The Daily Telegraph.

No sooner had Lloyds Banking Group seized control of the presses from the Barclay family than the former PM was being linked with a bid for control of the Tory-supporting newspapers.

Johnson, awash with cash from speaking engagements and with a surfeit of time on his hands after the resignation of his Commons seat, might well fancy using the Telegraph as a Sunakbashing vehicle in the run-up to next year’s general election –and then ride to Britain’s political rescue in its aftermath.

That idea looks rather more fanciful than Lloyds’s hopes of drawing a £600m price tag for the papers, though. The business has seen a commercial revival only partly driven by cost cutting

in recent years, and profits for the latest financial year are expected to show a significant uplift, according to reports. While some may scoff at the idea of newspapers still being regarded as trophy assets, the line-up of prospective suitors is certain to be long and prestigious. My money is on them ending up in the embrace of a proprietor new to the industry in Britain, and not being folded into the empires of either Rupert Murdoch or Lord Rothermere.

Police given powers to end Just Stop Oil slow marching in new legislation

JESSICA FRANK-KEYES

POLICE are set to get controversial new powers to stop groups like Just Stop Oil holding ‘slow walking’ protests. Government measures to make it easier to tackle disruptive protests have been approved, after a bid by the Greens in the House of Lords to kill off the law was defeated by 154 to 68.

Police will have the ability to intervene –when eco-protestors, such as Extinction Rebellion and Insulate Britain, block roads –beefed up.

“The public are sick of Just Stop Oil’s planned programme of deliberate disruptions to daily lives,” policing minister Chris Philp wrote on Twitter.

The statutory instrument, which came into effect at midnight, is part of

a bid to bring in the rules via so-called secondary legislation, after a prior attempt to introduce the changes under the Public Order Bill failed. A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said: “These laws now make protest illegal if police deem it causes anything other than ‘minor inconvenience’. Ask yourself, what protest has ever fitted neatly into a working day?”

Eton ponders

‘supermum’ Morrissey as school’s new Provost

THE NOTE BOOK

London deserves a real democracy

THE TORIES appear to have done a real botch-job of selecting their candidate for next year’s mayoral election. Most who were paying attention expected the final three or four to be a combination of Paul Scully, the minister for London and Sutton MP, social media star and former adviser Samuel Kasumu, techie and diplomat Daniel Korski and perhaps one of the party’s representatives in the GLA. As it is, neither Scully nor Kasumu made the final cut, a decision made by an interview panel. With no disrespect to those candidates who did make it –Korski, Susan Hall and the barrister Mozammel Hossain –it seems like a missed opportunity.

Kasumu offered new ideas –with a particular focus on housing which rode against his party’s increasingly Nimbyish tendencies. Scully has experience as a minister and knows the incumbent mayor Sadiq Khan well. It seems strange that two strong candidates who had already secured endorsements were not given a pass into the next stage of the

SUMMER ARRIVES

battle to take on the Labour candidate in a year’s time. It furthers the impression that London is suffering from a democratic deficit. At the practical level, the mayoralty and the GLA still lack the powers they need to govern the capital –particularly on tax and spend. That flows through to an apathy in the capital about both the top job and those who hold the mayor to account. It is high time that changed; London remains almost unique amongst global cities in being largely governed by central rather than local government, an issue which of course comes into starker light when the government of the day seems uninterested in the capital’s success.

Of the candidates, Hall has shown herself to be a thorn in the side of the mayor over many year. Little is known of Hossain’s positions. Korski, however, has made a real push in recent weeks and his fundamentally optimistic view of what a looking-to-the-future London does have some appeal. He looks the favourite to wear the blue rosette for now.

WHEN SPORT AND BUSINESS COLLIDE

When I started in business journalism, I found the easiest way to understand the City’s businesses was through the prism of sport. Take one example –when results aren’t going well on the pitch, even the most well-meaning club chairman is likely to give in to fans’ demands for the manager’s head. Ask the recently departed Nick Read (Vodafone) and Alan Jope (Unilever) if that story

Only an hour or so down the M4 lies Heckfield Place, a stunning country hotel not too far from Reading. It’s a delightful place with a Wind in the Willows feel, but the star of the show might be Hearth, an open-fire restaurant overseen by Skye Gyngell of Spring fame. We drove down at the weekend and the food is remarkable, with a host of small plates to start in which impossibly fresh vegetables drawn from the onsite farm take centre stage, tasting every bit like the first day of summer. Bigger dishes were just as good: a pancetta-wrapped saddle of rabbit was cooked perfectly, and the grilled lobster with curry leaves and quite extraordinary smoked tomatoes comes with our hearty recommendation. A strawberry fraisier for dessert was equally memorable. Guests staying at the hotel have the luxury of an afternoon swim in the lake on the grounds, but even for those not staying the night, Hearth –and its glorious terrace –is well worth the journey.

sounds familiar after their own brushes with activist investors. Occasionally, the worlds collide. Fans of Oakland Athletics on Tuesday held a ‘reverse boycott’ of the team’s baseball game against Tampa, turning up en masse to demand the owner sells the team rather than move it to Vegas. Will 30,000 fans holding ‘sell’ shirts force the owner’s hand? Personally, as a former regular in the Oakland bleachers, one hopes so.

CAN I QUOTE YOU ON THAT?

Ashes?

The one-word text message that England captain Ben Stokes sent to retired spinner Moeen Ali, asking him to come back for one more Test series. Stokes is already a case study in leadership. Let’s hope he adds to his legend this summer.

San Francisco commuters set for flying upgrade

GUY TAYLOR

FLYING air taxis will take to the skies in San Francisco as part of a collaboration between United Airlines and producer Eve Air Mobility, it was announced yesterday.

The partnership will see Eve’s electrical vertical takeoff and landing aircrafts (eVTOL’s) carry commuters to work in helicopterlike drones.

“Urban Air Mobility has the potential to revolutionise how United customers work, live, and travel,” Michael Leskinen, president of United Airlines, said.

“Eve’s proposed route is a critical first step towards making this allelectric and quiet commute a reality for Bay Area residents.”

The announcement follows a $15m (£11.86m) investment from the Chicago-based airline in September, and a conditional purchase

agreement of 400 eVTOLs, as part of its strategy to invest in new cutting edge, sustainable technologies.

“The Bay Area is perfect for eVTOL flights given its size, traffic, focus on sustainability, innovation and commitment to add other options for mobility,” Andre Stein, co-CEO of Eve Air Mobility, said. It is still some time until the first flying taxi flight will take place in the Bay Area, with Eve’s eVTOL’s scheduled to enter service in 2026.

£ Horse racing and sparkling wine are always welcome bedfellows, and I was pleased to meet both the Tote’s boss Alex Frost and the CEO of Kent vineyard Chapel Down, Andrew Carter, at a recent lunch. For all the negativity in the business pages at the moment, both operations are innovating their way to very successful futures and can rightly claim to be success stories directly rooted –quite literally –in Britain’s turf. Best of luck to them.

£ Another book arrives which goes straight on the ‘must-read’ list. Ed Conway’s Material World is a story of the raw materials that power the modern world. As the blurb puts it, “this is the story of civilisation”. Conway is one of the most adroit commentators on economics and business of our time and his columns on the complicated world of natural resources have been must-reads for years. It’s out today and if his previous work is anything to go by it will be a very well-deserved bestseller.

City of London update

New initiative s trengthens Square Mile diver sity

THE City of London Corporation has launched the City Belonging Project, an exciting new initiative to build a more inclusive and connected Square Mile.

The scheme launched with representatives from more than 160 of the City's leading organisations in attendance, including the Bank of England, Lloyds Banking Group, and Bloomberg. It will support and improve the links between diversity networks and help make sure the City’s institutions and events are open to all communities.

The City Belonging Project, along with its partners, will work to ensure events,

activities and spaces are more inclusive. And using its convening powers, the City Corporation will bring together groups and individuals from across the City to create and develop new inter-company networks.

To find out more or sign up for updates: https://belongingproject.city

Celebr ating music phot ogr aphy

PETE Townshend’s guitar flying through the air at Madison Square Garden and Liam and Noel Gallagher photographed during the making of the Wonderwall video are two of the remarkable images in a new City of London Corporation exhibition.

Taken nearly 20 years apart, those timeless photographs of The Who and Oasis taken by Michael Putland and Jill Furmanovsky will feature in ‘In The Moment: The Art of Music Photography’, which opens on 16 June at Barbican Music Library.

The free exhibition celebrates the 25th anniversary of Rockarchive.com as a collective of leading music photographers: cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/ libraries/barbican-music-library

Andy Silvester takes the notebook pen

Electric flying taxis are set to enter service in San Francisco in 2026, providing a quick and quiet commute

THE SQUARE MILE AND ME

FIRST JOB IN THE CITY?

When I was 13 years old, I worked at a fruit and veg stall in Wembley after school which led to me being “headhunted” by the convenience shop opposite to pack shelfs. They matched my hourly rate and threw in an egg and bacon sandwich, cheese and onion Walkers crisps and a fizzy drink per shift. How could I say no? I always say it was my first experience being recruited and negotiating a better package!

My first full-time job was at 16 playing professional football. I was paid £42.50 per week, which felt like a King’s ransom, as I was predominantly used to being paid with food...

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

Whether it’s the road sweepers in Leadenhall Market, stall holders, shop workers or FTSE 100 CEOs, I love the spirit of enterprise that you can find in every corner of the City. You can’t help but feel excited and inspired by it. I also love that the City is built on hard work and aptitude.

AND ONE THING YOU WOULD CHANGE?

There is a negative perception that the City is only for people from certain demographics, and is very much closed off to everyone else. The Square Mile should be for everyone and anyone who has the potential, desire and commitment to succeed, and we need to create the opportunities to ensure that this is achieved. This is something that myself and many others are trying to accomplish, and it is a big reason why I co-founded 10,000 Black Interns in 2020.

WHO’S THE BUSINESS FIGURE YOU MOST ADMIRE?

I have worked with, and for, some phenomenal leaders who have taught me a plethora of skills. If I had to pick one person, it would be Robyn Grew, the newly appointed CEO of Man Group. Robyn is an incredible person who has led with authenticity and has done impactful work around inclusivity, diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging.

WHAT’S BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT IN THE CITY?

When my wife was undergoing chemotherapy in 2018, I took a year off to focus on my family. The love and support that I received from clients and the wider City will forever remain with me, as it allowed my organisation to continue to successfully trade without me.

Additionally, in the summer of 2020 when I co-founded 10,000 Black Interns, my co-founders and I weren’t confident that we would secure 100 interns into paid roles, let alone 10,000. However, through the support of City-based companies, we were able

to secure over 2,500 paid internships within the first year. By the end of the summer, 6,000 paid interns, across 850 firms would have come through the programme. I am so grateful for the commitment and backing that has been shown to the scheme and proud that we have been able to make a difference.

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

Goodman Steak House in Old Jewry. I’m a creature of habit and have been going there for over a decade, to the point I was awarded my own signature knife. I tend to go for the medium rare ribeye, spinach, and depending on whether I’m watching my carbs or not, the fries.

AND IF WE’RE GOING FOR A DRINK AFTER WORK?

I love all the pubs and bars in Leadenhall Market, they’re lively, engaging, and you can always hear compelling stories from the market-

QUICKFIRE ROUND

FAVOURITE...

FILM: SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION AND DO THE RIGHT THING

BOOK: WHAT GOT YOU HERE WON’T GET YOU THERE, BY MARSHALL GOLDSMITH.

MUSICIAN: MY FELLOW IPSWICH FAN, ED SHEERAN DRINK: TEA OR COFFEE? COFFEE. A DOUBLE ESPRESSO FROM AUX MERVEILLEUX DE FRED

goers. My drink of choice would probably be a Guinness.

ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC FOR THE REST OF 2023?

Yes, I believe that the last few years have been difficult and we are still going through some challenges.

However, the City as a whole is fighting back. I would like to see the hospitality sector receive more support. Those restaurants, cafes and bars are the lifeblood of the City and help to make London an internationally desirable destination.

GIVE US ONE OPINION THAT SAILS AGAINST THE PREVAILING WISDOM

The City can be a place packed full of opportunity and can be somewhere that folks from all sorts of backgrounds can thrive and succeed. My story is proof, if you needed any. It is my mission to do everything I can to make sure that we demonstrate that the City can be for everyone, and not just a select few.

WHERE’S HOME DURING THE WEEK?

During the week, home is a flat near the City, so it’s a short walk to work. My day often starts at 5am with a walk to see my trainer at Ultimate Performance on Paul Street, and often finishes late

after attending events or meeting with friends, so it makes sense to be close. There’s something almost magical about being able to stroll through the City first thing in the morning just before it starts to come alive.

AND WHERE WILL WE FIND YOU AT THE WEEKEND?

You’ll find me at home in Suffolk during the weekend, or on the sidelines watching my daughters Beau and Lexi playing hockey, or my son Aston at a rugby match. Failing that, I’ll be watching the mighty Ipswich Town FC.

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

My good friend Wol Kolade, who is founder and managing partner at Livingbridge (Private Equity), gave me some excellent advice: if I want to spend quality time with my kids over the summer, I need to invest in nice holidays. This summer, I’m heading to Megnasi in Greece with my kids, my wife, mum and stepfather.

Each week we ask the City’s movers and shakers for their stories. This week, it’s recruitment supremo Michael Barrington-Hibbert of Barrington Hibbert Associates

Miners hoist FTSE as UK economy resumes growth

LONDON FTSE 100 jumped yesterday, led higher by industrial giants offsetting losses among retail and consumer-focused firms and housebuilders.

The capital’s premier index added 0.1 per cent to close at 7,602.75 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, was largely unchanged at 19,175.50 points.

Gains among the UK’s largest companies were concentrated in the raw materials sector, which represents a large share of the FTSE 100.

Miners Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Glencore all up by a range of four

per cent and 2.5 per cent, aided by gains in raw material prices.

London’s FTSE 100 has a heavy gearing toward companies that produce key inputs in production, like copper and nickel. When the sector rises, it tends to lift the overall index along with it.

Yesterday’s rises in the City came after numbers from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the UK economy is still continuing to dodge a much-tipped recession.

Gross domestic product in April jumped 0.2 per cent, a recovery from March’s 0.3 per cent contraction, although growth was weaker than the City expected.

Peel Hunt have rated marine engineer James Fisher a “Buy” as the group trades above expectations and the defence division shows improvement. Analysts were confident: “The defence sales pipeline remains strong”.

Analysts at Peel Hunt have rated steel construction firm Severfield a “Buy” following an excellent end to the year due to a strong core UK business. “The outlook is a confident one and remains assured of an in-line out turn,” said analysts.

Tabloid fuss over The North Face’s Pride campaign, but do the public care?

The North Face came under fire recently from news outlets including the Daily Express, Mail Online and The Sun for partnering with the drag queen Pattie Gonia for the second year of its “Summer of Pride” campaign. The coverage has drawn comparisons to the backlash similar faced by Bud Light in the US after it partnered with trans Tiktok influencer Dylan Mulvaney earlier this year.

But data from YouGov Brand Index UK suggests that the public aren’t particularly bothered by it. Between 23 May 2023 – when the ad launched on Instagram – and 10 June 2023, Buzz scores

Stephan Shakespeare

for The North Face (which measure whether consumers have heard anything positive or negative about a brand) saw a slight dip from 5.7 to 5.4 (0.3). But Impression scores, which measure overall sentiment, went from 34.5 to 38.5 (+4.0) over the same period.

These measures did hit a low of 28.3 on 5 June, but the brand rapidly made up the losses and now stand higher than that any point over this period. Similarly, Quality scores increased four points – from 40.5 to 44.5 – while customer satisfaction scores saw similar gains, rising from 17.7 to 22.0 (+4.3). Reputation scores, which track whether consumers would be proud or embarrassed to work for a particular brand, went from 29.3 to 30.7 (+1.4) – reaching a nadir of 25.6 on 6 June, but again recovering swiftly.

Stephan Shakespeare is the co-founder and CEO of YouGov

THE NORTH FACE’S BRAND HAS NOT BEEN DAMAGED BY TABLOID HEADLINES OVER THE PATTIE GONIA STORY YouGov BrandIndex: Quality, Impression, Satisfaction scores (1 week moving average)

OVER THE CHANNEL “The euro has broken above its recent range highs at 1.0820 ahead of today’s ECB rate meeting, where we can expect the ECB to hike rates by another 25bps, as it continues to play catchup to its peers on its own rate hiking cycle.”

MICHAEL HEWSON CMC MARKETS

OPINION

EDITED BY SASCHA O’SULLIVAN

Bailey holds the torch for a proud UK tradition - failing our monetary policy

SINCE the pandemic eased, the challenge facing governments across the world has been the return of inflation, with wages and price rises surging far beyond the 2 per cent that central banks have typically been trying to hit since the 1990s. While there have often been temporary factors that have contributed to high inflation, core inflation, which strips these out, remains stubbornly high. Indeed, in Britain it reached a thirty-year high this March of 6.8 per cent, which was not only higher than forecast but is 240 per cent above target.

Britain entered this period of resurgent inflation with unusual vulnerabilities. Brexit was explicitly sold to wavering voters as a way of increasing both wages and prices by reducing foreign competition, something that comes at a greater economic cost now outside of a low-inflation environment. The implosion of so many lowcost suppliers and our continued overreliance on natural gas means that domestic and industrial fuel will continue to be higher than what we were accustomed to.

But above all our enduring weakness has been monetary policy. The advent of the European Monetary Union has fundamentally changed Britain’s rela-

Simon Neville

MEDIA training for City types is almost always an exercise in explaining to terrified business leaders that not all journalists are like Jeremy Paxman. Most of the time, reporters want to understand more about what they are doing, rather than go out of their way to make them look stupid.

The natural instinct for companies when facing difficult questions is to keep their heads down and hope that the noise goes away. As Jack Doyle, former director of communications in Downing Street, famously wrote when the first press enquiries about Partygate were received: “just be robust and they’ll get bored”.

This strategy may seem like a safe approach but, as the government fallout showed, it has the potential to backfire enormously. Another example of the heads down approach reared into view over the past week at Odey Asset Management (OAM).

tionship with the continent, as now we have the unique ability in Western Europe to engage in competitive devaluation against our neighbours. It is an ability we have repeatedly made use of throughout the 2010s, which is why statistics on British economic performance have become so sensitive to if and how you correct for exchange rates. That’s why the markets responded so badly when they felt the short-lived Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng was threatening another, even greater dose, of the same medicine.

But beyond all this, the Bank of England has not successfully combated high inflation with interest rate rises like the American Federal Reserve did

in the 1980s or the Bundesbank consistently did in pre-EMU Germany. Until 1997 it was the Chancellor of the Exchequer that set interest rates and they typically chose fiscal rather than monetary solutions to combat high inflation. Indeed, when tasked with tackling rising inflation last autumn through monetary policy amid a sudden relaxation of fiscal policy, Threadneedle Street openly sat on their hands until the residents of Downing Street were persuaded to change course.

It cannot be stressed enough what a hammer blow interest rate rises place on an economy. They concentrate pain on the government, as well as those

individuals and companies that borrowed during the good times. This not only depresses their spending and reduces all our incomes, it encourages everyone to be more cautious. In the short-term banks pay for people and companies to park money in their vaults, but even when the crisis abates, there’s a lingering fear of being caught out owing too much money if the cost of borrowing increases again. Given that Britain has long struggled with there being too little investment in its industrial base or public infrastructure, the last thing we need is for people to become even more risk averse.

Sadly, it seems that too many people

City firms are still digging their heads in the sand over sexual harassment

The Financial Times reported allegations made by 13 women of sexual assault or harassment by Crispin Odey over 25 years, claims Odey denies. But even with blaring headlines, several major institutions refused to comment on their dealings with the business and what their future relationship would look like.

The status quo “no comment” is hardly an option with a story like this. Either other fund managers would continue to work with OAM despite the allegations or they would cut ties in light of them. There was no middle ground and, too slowly, those institutions realised they had to distance themselves from him.

Two fund managers announced on Friday they would cut back their dealings with Odey’s funds and another went public this week.

The executive board at OAM took until the weekend to announce he would be leaving and the Financial Conduct Authority started answering questions on an investigation it was conducting after a deluge of calls. But the allegations of Odey’s behaviour were not new. So, why did it take until now for these firms to act? Were these companies adopting the tried and tested method of “heads down, nothing to see here”? Had they seen the previous allegations – all denied by Odey - and decided that if it had blown over once, it could blow over again?

After Odey’s court case in 2021 over allegations of sexual harassment, where he was cleared of the charges, the Sunday Times reported separate allegations. Tortoise media also reported allegations on Odey prior to

the FT story and laid out the claims from four women to the financier and his company back in November last year. All allegations were denied.

When the scandal of allegations of sexual harassment unfolded at the CBI, they were quickly cut off. Meanwhile, investors kept using his services and the media remained hooked to him for comments.

The cut off point at which allegations lead to actions has been all too arbitrary. When Tortoise, a niche publication, reported four allegations, Odey’s board were seemingly unphased. But thirteen more in the FT warranted taking a stand.

One of the managers to eventually cut ties with the fund only sold off its final holdings in Odey Swan - a fund run by Odey - after the FT allegations were first published. OAM has subse-

have learnt the wrong lesson from Liz Truss, behaving as if her premiership imploded because she couldn’t say “pork markets” sweetly enough. Her aggression and maladroitness merely threw into stark relief the key problem facing our economy, and that is we need to get inflation, and therefore interest rates, under control so that the cost of government, corporate and individual debt doesn’t become unbearable to service.

The crisis Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng provoked was long coming, and it hasn’t gone away. There are no easy or simple answers to get our country out of this mess, but you cannot seek a solution without recognising the problem. There is simply no valid reason for the government to still be running a deficit when unemployment is less than 4 per cent and inflation is so high. Indeed, it is positively dangerous for this to continue while the Bank of England is raising the cost of borrowing to cool the economy down. Such incoherence may provoke a credit crunch as the little money people want to lend rather than save flows to the government rather than private enterprise.

The government can choose to close that deficit through lower public spending, or higher taxes, or securing greater economic growth through deregulation or closer alignment with Europe. But close it they must. Otherwise, before too long we’ll be right back in the same demeaning chaos as last October, and that really would be a disgrace.

£ Will Cooling writes about politics and pop culture for the It Could be Said substack

quently closed Odey’s Swan fund and stopped investors from withdrawing money from two others run by its subsidiary, Brook Asset Management, making it look more like a financial decision than a moral one. Have those other institutions pulling money out said they are doing it on a point of principle, or because they are worried that if they don’t, they may be stuck from withdrawing it because the funds end up frozen for an unspecified period of time?

For all the talk of the City having its own MeToo movement and the rise of ESG, it remains the case that money talks. Still, companies tend to only act when it is in their financial interests.

If a company’s financial future is at stake, that’s when it will act. If there is even the smallest of chances a business can ride it out, then they seemingly will.

It is right and proper that allegations like those against Odey, or the CBI, or any other senior business leader, see the light of day. But if companies remain wedded to the idea that the best instinct when facing difficult questions is to say nothing, then nothing will change.

£ Simon Neville is Media Strategy and Content Director at SEC Newgate, he was formerly City Editor at Press Association

The Bank of England is expected to continue to raise interest rates as living standards are eroded by inflation

WE WANT TO

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Why

we’re still failing women

[Re: Women ‘key’ to growth but are leading just 12 per cent of FTSE 250 firms]

As the shadow women and equalities secretary rightly points out, the generation of women born into the Equal Pay Act 53 years ago are yet to see gender parity, or anything close, with female executives at only 12 per cent of FTSE 250 firms. However, ‘empowering’ women to make it to the top is not simply a case of more flexible work policies but must start with an overhaul of hiring practices to nip inequalities in the bud. A lack of transparency propagates bias

and women start their careers on the back foot when there is a lack of diversity amongst the C-suite. A smaller pool of decision makers will benefit a smaller pool of individuals. Transparency is also the key to closing the gender pay gap. When negotiating salary for new job moves, women are often met with low-ball offers and are seen as the more affordable option. Discussions should focus on a candidate’s pay expectations, rather than their current earnings, to reverse this power imbalance. There is no lack of female talent, so why are few making it to the top? It’s time to pull back the curtain on our hiring practices and be open about pay.

Tanja Albers Partner, Major, Lindsey & Africa

WATCH ME STRIKE Junior doctors walk out from Wednesday to Saturday

Junior doctors in England are in the midst of a 72-hour walkout in a bid to convince the government to come up with a better pay offer. So far the government has offered 5 per cent; junior doctors want a 35 per cent pay rise. It follows previous strikes in March and April.

EXPLAINER-IN-BRIEF: FINTECH BANK WISE PLAYS A SMART GAME ON INTEREST RATES

Interest rates are currently at 4.5 per cent, and could rise further. In theory, it’s a good time to keep money in your account, because you’d get good rates on your savings. But with most high street banks that’s not the case. They very rarely pass on the full benefits to the customer, setting much lower rates compared to the Bank of England. Barclays has a 0.70 per cent rate on all Everyday Saver accounts; NatWest has 1.00 per cent on all balances going from £1 to £24,999. HSBC has a slightly higher one at 1.35 per cent on its

Flexible Saver accounts. Enter Wise, the fintech company competing with Revolut and Monzo. The money transfer firm has decided to “commit itself to passing on rising central bank rates to consumers” and has set its rate at 4.12 per cent, much higher than all traditional banks. It is a clear bid to convince people to save their money long term with them, a historically sore spot for fintechs, which have grown increasingly popular for everyday usage accounts.

ELENA SINISCALCO

Let’s

Brexit only added more bureaucracy and red tape for businesses

Matthew Lesh

IN 2011, David Cameron launched a ‘Red Tape Challenge’ and declared the need to “free businesses to compete and create jobs”. In 2021, pretty much exactly a decade later, Boris Johnson said the “time is now” to start working with businesses to deregulate the British economy. Last summer, Rishi Sunak pledged to scrap or reform “all of the EU law, red tape and bureaucracy” before the next election.

Despite all this rhetoric, the piles of legislation, regulation and guidance only seem to grow. Since just 2017, the regulatory burden on businesses has increased by an astonishing £22bn –and that’s just according to official government estimates that tend to viciously underestimate the actual regulatory costs.

Meanwhile, regulators seem incapable of making decisions in a timely manner. Sam Dumitriu of Britain Remade has calculatedt hat the time it takes for a decision on a major project grew from 17 months to 22 months between just 2012 and 2022. Perhaps that’s because the required paperwork is, frankly, extraordinary. The Jubilee Line extension, which began in 1993, called for a 400 page environmental assessment – Sizewell C required 44,000 pages.

That’s not all. Despite the rhetoric about regulatory reduction, the government is marching in the opposite direction. From the football regulator, renters’ reform, and gambling regulation to building standards, online safety, and AI the government’s default response to every question appears to be more regulation.

This is perhaps not difficult to understand – there’s always an impetus to ‘do something’ and safety is an ad-

mirable goal. The issue is that each piece of regulation imposes costs and often has unintended consequences. Governments often like to regulate because, unlike taxes that people directly pay, regulation costs are dispersed and thus relatively hidden. Indeed, incumbent businesses often support regulation, as the costs impose barriers to entry on potential competitors. But have no doubt, these costs add up, with each piece of additional regulation adding the cumulative burden on businesses and individuals.

Employment regulations, like minimum wages and working time limits, are meant to help workers; but they also increase operating costs and reduce working hours and wages. Planning rules are meant to ensure orderly development; yet have delivered a housing crisis, political strife, and a major infrastructure shortage. New environmental standards and clean-up mandates for water companies, recently passed through Parliament, are set to impose billions in additional costs on water bills. The upcoming ban on supermarket buy-one-get-one-free

offers could cost households £634 a year and will only reduce calorie consumption by one grape a day. Regulation also has broader impacts. It damages economic growth by stifling our productivity and, accordingly, household incomes. We make our businesses less competitive and reduce their ability to innovate. This particularly hurts lower income households, who tend to consume highly regulated products in greater quantities. Last year, the Institute of Economic Affairs calculated that an average family with two children could save £9,000 a year by cutting red tape across housing, childcare, and energy. The goal of regulation should be to achieve a stated objective – be it environmental protection or product safety – at the minimal possible cost for society. Unfortunately, the length and complexity of the rules have actively harmed this goal. It will take an entirely new, focused approach to repair the damage.

£ Matthew Lesh is the Director of Public Policy and Communications at the IEA

be honest,

Since just 2017, the regulatory burden on businesses has increased by an astonishing £22bn

Rishi Sunak has pledged to scrap or reform all EU laws before the next election

Connecting the Community

London calling! Industry’s big names are eyeing up the UK

DOZENS of crypto giants are sizing up a move to London, banking on the UK government creating a more welcome environment in the wake of a massive clampdown on crypto firms in the US.

Earlier this week, Andreessen Horowitz declared its faith in a favourable future climate by revealing it had begun the process of setting up a London base.

The venture capital behemoth – a major investor in cryptocurrency –said it will be opening offices in the City by Christmas. About 20 per cent of Andreessen Horowitz’s $35bn funds are understood to be in cryptocurrency, under the company’s a16z arm.

Although said to be in the pipeline for several months, the seeminglypertinent timing of the announcement comes days after US financial authorities began turning up the heat on cryptocurrency firms.

The Securities and Exchange Commission last week escalated its crackdown on digital assets by suing both Binance and Coinbase – the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges. The list of charges includes operating a crypto asset trading platform as an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency.

Andreesson Horowitz may be the first major name to announce it is making a move to London, but many industry insiders say it certainly won’t be the last.

Several large DeFi organisations have already made similar noises.

Most noteworthy was Binance itself. Speaking at a conference last month, the company’s Chief Strategy Officer, Patrick Hillman, dropped a hint that Binance bosses were keen to establish a presence in London. He added that the SEC were making it “very difficult to do business” in the US.

Previous attempts by Binance to gain UK regulatory authority have been rebuffed by the Financial

Conduct Authority in recent years, but the messages from Number 10 appear to be more favourable under Rishi Sunak’s premiership.

Coinbase insiders have also confirmed the California-based exchange has been a long-term admirer of the UK and that senior figures are keeping a close watch on the continually thawing attitude towards crypto and blockchain from the government.

The Prime Minister is a known

CRYPTO NEWS IN BRIEF

LESS THAN A WEEK TO GO

CRYPTO AM’s next conference and networking event – the ‘SOLSTICE: Unlocking Summer and Fifth Birthday Party’ – is only days away. The event, to be held at The Boisdale in Canary Wharf brings together some of the brightest and best-known figures in the world of crypto, blockchain, AI and digital assets for a day of discussion panels and networking. The day then makes way for a late-night party with more special guests and further networking in relaxing surroundings as we celebrate Crypto AM’s fifth anniversary. To join the conversation, network, and help us celebrate, get your ticket by visiting www.cityam.com/crypto-am-solstice.

HOORAY FOR HOLLY WOOD

BOSUN Protocol – a London-based, open-source, foundational infrastructure for facilitating decentralised commerce on Web3 - has appointed Holly Wood as Director of Business Development. Her role will centre around driving adoption of the protocol after Boson moved from closed beta to open access earlier this month. Prior to appointment, Wood spent 20 years refining her expertise working with luxury brands, fashion, and fine art. She also founded and manages HollyWoodLabs.io — a Web3 advisory agency based in London.

COINBASE IN TOP 10 UK SHARES

champion of FinTech, and even took to Twitter this week to hail Andreesson Horowitz’s announcement, gushing how he was thrilled a world-leading investor was moving to London.

Many within London’s crypto industry are now hoping the move will accelerate Rishi Sunak’s plans to “make the UK a global crypto asset technology hub” which he set out as Chancellor of the Exchequer in April 2022.

Markets hold steady following SEC crackdowns

THE crypto markets took another hit this week, as a recent clampdown by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) started to really take its toll. Although fears of total annihilation appear to have been unfounded, with the markets holding up relatively strong. Can they continue to hold the line?.

The majority of the damage has been in the alt coin market, with the likes of Cardano (ADA), Polygon (Matic) and Solana (SOL) seeing the biggest drops of

more than 20 per cent over the past seven days. Their price hit follows decisions by a number of exchanges to remove the ability to sell these and other coins named as securities in the SEC’s legal actions against Coinbase and Binance.

The price of Bitcoin is holding steady though, lingering around $26k – a drop of two per cent over the past week. All told, the general vibe seems to be ‘it could be (and has been) worse’, with crypto markets proving resilient and far

less pronounced than what happened during last year’s garbage fire. Bitcoin’s resilience seems to reflect the action in traditional markets, with the SP500 moving out of its bear market and into a bull phase on Thursday, pushing the index past 20 per cent from the lowest point in October last year. A market technically enters a bull market when a benchmark index such as the SP500 appreciates 20 per cent from its lowest point over a sustained period. Investors are possibly looking at the

next Federal Reserve meeting, with commentators saying the central bank will leave interest rates unchanged as inflation eases. The monthly change in US inflation data came in just below the expected rise of 4.1 per cent, which makes a strong case for the Federal Reserve to press pause on rate hikes.

SHARES in cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase rose to become the fourth most-traded shares in the UK over the past year, according to new +Insights data from May 1 2022 to April 30 2023. The data, extracted from Plus500’s new trading feature, revealed Tesla shares were the most traded in the UK during the 12month period. Amazon and NIO were second and third, followed by Coinbase. No other cryptocurrency company appeared in the national top ten. As well as Coinbase, the UK’s top ten stocks consisted of three auto manufacturing companies: Tesla, NIO, and Rivian; three technology stocks: Meta, Apple, Snap; one consumer discretionary stock: Amazon; one pharmaceutical: Aurora; and one energy stock; Uniper.

POND LIFE

IN a week when gains have been few and far between in the crypto markets, investors have been looking at which digital assets are making the quickest recoveries. Many eyes have been on yesterday’s upward movement from Ethereum token Marlin (POND) - a protocol aimed at scaling peer-to-peer networks by improving communication between nodes. The $53.8m market cap POND saw a rise of more than five per cent yesterday –one of the most impressive uplifts in the markets, and that’s despite a 20 per cent fall in 24-hour trading volume.

FOR ALL THE LATEST NEWS, VIEWS AND ANALYSIS HEAD OVER TO

LONDONTIME

TUDOR ROSE MECHANICAL WATCHMAKING KICKS UP A GEAR IN LE LOCLE P20

Edited by Alex Doak

THE XX FACTOR

One of men’s most magnificent flying machines finds itself in the ascendant still, reports Laura McCreddie-Doak

After five years, Breguet has finally relaunched its iconic pilot’s watch, the Type 20/XX, sure to instantly reopen connoisseurs’ wallets once again. Two new versions – the military-inspired ‘20’, and a dapper ‘XX’ more suited to civvy street –are each powered by a brand-new flyback chronograph movement, which Breguet has been working on for the past four years.

No watchmaker has such storied ties to aviation as Abraham-Louis Breguet’s Parisian brand, now based in Switzerland

at the top of the Swatch Group’s tree. When the French Aéronavale (or naval air arm, as British MoD would have it) unveiled its specs in tendering a new pilot’s chronograph in 1953, Breguet was already a major force in French aviation, Louis Charles Breguet having founded the Société des Ateliers d’Avaition in 1911, which supplied 55,000 aircraft and 110,000 engines to the military during WWI. The French MoD’s criteria included instant ‘flyback’ or ‘retour en vol’ to zero, on demand, during its stopwatch function’s

operation; timekeeping deviation of no more than eight seconds over 24 hours; reliable stop/start function for at least 300 operations, and a 35-hour-plus power reserve.

Breguet was not the only brand to make Type 20s, but it has become the name most associated with this marque. Over three generations it has refined and experimented with the design and for 2023, it reintroduces the flyback function, but in higher-end technological guise than ever. As you’d expect from one of Swatch’s

most active exponents of silicon componentry, the new calibre adds in a balance spring, escape wheel, and pallet lever horns all etched from the miracle material, friction-free and antimagnetic. The less-cluttered of the two dials is the military Type 20, with two subdials, ‘syringe’ hands, green luminescence, a retro ‘onion’ crown and fluted bezel. The civilian XX, by contrast, has three subdials, creamy coloured lume, spear-like hands, numerals on the bezel, and an over-sized crown. They both possess a date at 4.30,

which caused plenty of murmurs during the lavish launch in Paris last week –absent from the original and always the sort of thing to get forum users frothing. But this tiny detail aside, these next-gen models are gorgeous reminders of how Breguet manages to reference its past but still keeping an eagle eye on watchmaking’s horizon.

The Breguet Type XX 2067 and Type 20 2057 are available now in stainless steel, each at £16,400, breguet.com

4.9 REASONS TO HOPE BRITISH WATCHMAKING IS FINALLY BACK

Roger Smith’s second watch fetches multi-millions and breaks records, says Alex Doak

It may look like a Patek Philippe from the 19th century, but 'Pocket Watch No.2' was made between 1992 and 1997 – not by a Swiss atelier, but at the hands of a Bolton lad, in his parents' garage. Sold in 2004 to a US collector to fund Roger Smith’s commercial venture on the Isle of Man, No.2 was sold on Saturday in New York for a cool $4.9m, smashing its (admittedly coy) ‘in excess of one-million dollars’ estimate. It was especially coy

given the leading luxury-watch auctioneers had billed No.2 as nothing short of “the cornerstone of the 21st-century English watchmaking renaissance”. Phillips weren’t wrong. At just 22, a young lad from the northwest presented Dr George Daniels (1926–2011) – widely considered the greatest watchmaker of the 20th century, despite an output of just 27 masterpieces – with his first handmade pocket watch, in hopes of securing a coveted apprenticeship. “Not up to

scratch,” was the verdict. Daniels advised the precocious youngster to go away and start again as, in his words, a watch must look “begotten, and not made”. Smith spent the next five years perfecting his second pocket watch (securing said apprenticeship), which features a perpetual calendar and tourbillon with spring-detent escapement. If you need to know what all that means, look no further than Daniels’ definitive work, Watchmaking, which served as Smith’s sole

reference every evening, weekend, Thursday and Friday, in between three days a week on trade repairs at Ratner’s in Manchester.

The ‘Daniels Method’, whose legacy Smith perpetuates, is fundamentally impossible to industrialise. But $4.9m is more than anyone’s ever paid for a British watch, so if nothing else, there’s faith in these shores, with more promise than ever for the likes of Bremont, Garrick, Fears, Christopher Ward and others to come, on a global scale.

What’s ticking? WATCH NEWS

While Omega’s dressy diver hops time zones and date lines, fashion giant Saint Laurent makes a muse of a cult Girard-Perregaux digital from the Seventies, and London’s bricks-and-mortar retail scene gets immersive, courtesy of Bucherer

DIODE TO JOY

Saint Laurent throws a horological curveball in cahoots

with Girard-Perregaux

FULLY BUCHERER

If you go down to Selfridges or Covent Garden today, you’ll be sure of a big surprise. ‘Masterworks’ is a new exhibition concept launched in horological superretailer Bucherer’s brace of central-London boutiques. Billed as ‘a luxurious world full of wonder’, customers have the opportunity to spend some exceptionally rare me-time with a showcase of artisanal ‘masterpiece’ creations.

Masterworks draws from a curated spectrum of established brands as well as niche independents – which, given the 2,400strong employee Lucerne family firm’s ‘comprehensive’ roster, guarantees you’ll be face-to-face with watchmaking’s finest.

Names include Bulgari, Ulysse Nardin Girard-Perregaux, and even Hermès, whose

pictured ‘La Source de Pégase’ takes an iconic scarf pattern and does something far beyond a bit of silk printing. To wit: 52 baguette-cut diamonds framing a jigsaw of 800ºC-fired grand-feu champlevé enamel. The titular pegasus’s fan-shaped wings are crafted using the ‘straw marquetry’ technique, for which an Hermès artisan individually cuts sections of dyed and dried smooth rye, assembling each strand on a gold plate.

You could take in an exhibition or a show, or you could waltz into Bucherer and witness modern works of kinetic art in a zeropressure retail environment, before they disappear into a safe forever.

bucherer.com

INTO THE GREEN

If Omega’s beach-ready world-timer doesn’t have you setting sights on curved horizons, then nothing will

These watches are like a call to action,” enthuses Omega CEO, Raynald Aeschlimann, with characteristic verve, “So go for it! Step out into the world!”

You could do much worse, admittedly.

A 24-hour ring, demarcated into night and day sections, allows you to read the time in any of 24 time-zones, no matter where you’ve pitched up (adjusting for local time first, of course).

The ‘decade that taste forgot’ may have been challenging for mechanical watch retailers, with the advent of cheap quartz technology from the Far East, but ironically it was also the decade that Switzerland discovered… well, taste.

Case in point: Girard-Perregaux’s Casquette. Created in 1976, it broke conservative norms with its radical, tubular LED display, powered by the company’s very

own ‘quartz tech’. Not quite powerful enough to keep its Knight-Rider-red LED display constantly alight, you had to press a button to check the time, which wasn’t ideal given its side-view ‘driver’s watch’ format. Nonetheless Saint Laurent’s creative head Anthony Vaccarello is a fan, perhaps unsurprisingly given the pared-back cool the Belgian has brought back to the Parisian maison.

Taking custom-watch tsar George Bamford’s fanboy revival for the ‘Only Watch’ auction back in 2021, Vaccarello is running with the Casquette 2.0 Saint-Laurent 01’ in black ceramic and black PVDtreated grade 5 titanium, available in a scant 100 pieces via Rive Droite stores in Paris and Los Angeles.

Casquette if you can £5,105, ysl.com

Three dressy takes on Commander James Bond’s go-to field watch, the fittingly amphibian Aqua Terra, now have something special in common: a unique ‘worldtimer’ display, its North Pole forming the axis of each hand.

The Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M Co-Axial

Master Chronometer GMT Worldtimer 43mm (to give it its full, super-catchy title) is a bona fide waterbaby, good down to depths of 150m, yet still tricked out with ‘true’ world-time functionality rather than simply a secondary 24-hour ‘GMT’ hand.

Where normally CET would be marked as ‘Paris’, you’ll find the watch’s Swiss birthplace, ‘Bienne’ instead. But the main event is undoubtedly that laser-ablated northern hemisphere, topographically etched into grade 5 titanium and imperceptibly domed to mimic the curvature of the Earth.

Adding shine to the dial are hands and indexes in Omega’s proprietary ‘Moonshine Gold’: the gently glowing 18-carat alloy. £9,900, omegawatches.com

COMIC HANDS CALL IT NOSTALGIA, ARCH IRONY, MARVELVERSE MANIA… OR NONE OF THE ABOVE, AND SIMPLY EMBRACE A JOYOUS CRAZE NOW KEEPING TIME WITH HEROIC PRECISION

AUDEMARS PIGUET X MARVEL ROYAL OAK

CONCEPT TOURBILLON

‘SPIDER-MAN’

Say what you want about the so-hot-right-now zeitgeist, but there was a ‘Black Suit SpiderMan’ one-off in gold auctioned-off at the launch of this 250-piece watch in Dubai, and it fetched $6.2m –all in benefit of the First Book and Ashoka NPOs working to empower young people. And we’re happy to report that with great responsibility comes powerful (exquisitely open-worked) watch game.

CHF195,000, audemarspiguet.com

GOODWOOF X BAMFORD LONDON X

PEANUTS SNOOPY GMT

Limited to 80 pieces and every one doubtless ear-marked by the time of writing, the 11th Duke of Richmond – AKA former Earl of March and mastermind of motoring showcase, Goodwood – has buddied-up to fabulous effect once again with Bamford London, in collaboration with US cartoon legend, Peanuts. A titanium GMT watch featuring one of the world’s most beloved dogs, Snoopy benefits Mars Petcare in and around the noble estate’s newfound ‘Goodwoof’ event.

£1,850, goodwood.com/shop

RESERVOIR X LABELNOIR X POPEYE

Introduced to the world on January 17, 1929, by E.C. Segar in the “Thimble Theatre” comic series, Popeye seems particularly obsolete today, especially as tinned spinach has been proven not quite as iron-rich as once thought. Regardless, the Swiss watchmaker’s signature 240° ‘flyback’ retrograde hand (accompanied by digital hours window) lends itself well to the titular Sailor Man’s bulging arm, which indicates the running minutes.

£4,350, reservoir-watch.com

WORDS BY LAURA MCCREDDIE-DOAK

There’s a valley in the Swiss Jura mountains, bordering France, fondly known as ‘Watch Valley’. At the easternmost end you’ll find the gridded Art Nouveau streets of La Chaux-de-Fonds, Europe’s highest city and home to Breitling, Girard-Perregaux, Cartier et al.

Drive southwest to equally sleepy Le Locle at the other end and you’ll find Zenith, Tissot, Ulysse Nardin… plus new neighbour Tudor, whose building is kitted out in fire-engine red.

Completed in 2021 with four storeys totalling 5,500 square meters, it represents nothing less than the cutting edge in manufacturing mechanical wristwatches (still, ironically enough, working on principles coined in the 18th century).

It adjoins ‘Kenissi Manufacture’, Tudor’s mechanical-movement production facility, shared, believe it or not, with Chanel.

Other than “RED!”, the first thing to strike any self-respecting watch nerd will be, “how has it taken Tudor so long?” Surely with the vintage-flecked sports brand’s stratospheric rise in recent years, the mighty clout of its sibling (a certain Rolex) would guarantee an instant root-down in the ticking heartland of watchmaking?

The goal is to ‘verticalise’: watch-speak for mastering the industry’s 30-odd, impossibly precise, unforgiving processes under a single roof. This lofty goal is not simply to score bragging rights (there are far-more efficient marketing tactics than spending the tens of millions of francs required to tool-up and trainup) –it’s about independence.

TUDOR ROSE

Silicon Valley of their day, so while modern production processes seem futuristic, remember that the machines are still whirring in the same valleys as ever, to the soundtrack of the same cowbells.

At Chez Tudor, however, there’s an eerie hum added to the mix… It emanates from the in-house metrology (the study of measurement) department, complete with R2-D2-like robots shuttling trays of complete, cased-up and chronometer-precise ‘watch heads’.

Here Tudor pitches its tiny metal engines against magnets for the title of ‘Master Chronometer’. Watchmaking generally demands about 60 Gauss of magnetic resistance before accuracy starts to go awry (your fridge door, or thereabouts) –here they are subjected to at least 15,000 Gauss, which seems a touch OTT unless you’re an MRI scanner operative.

power millions of wrist-watches across the world) the likes of Oris, TAG Heuer and now Tudor have effectively been 'relearning' their craft, in-house.

There’s also been a shift in how the 100-plus components of a mechanical movement are tweezered together, then tested. Human hands are still necessary at every stage, but now in concert with micro-machinery on a considerably

larger scale. Long-gone is the chaletdwelling Geppetto stereotype –things now look more akin to Skynet’s laboratory in Terminator 2. Where things get next-level cuttingedge is in Tudor’s assembly and qualitycontrol department. Here, the traditional rows of hunched watchmakers, sporting lab coats and ‘loupe’ eye lenses, are interwoven by a fully automated Scalextric-like conveyor system. Each part-complete movement arrives at its next workstation via rolling rubber-

band tracks, riding colour-coded ‘cars’, fed by stacked magazines. The radio-frequency ID of each ‘car’ ensures every movement-in-progess’s traceability.

Existing within a waist-height spaghetti junction, this is man and machine in perfect concert (appropriately, the automation tech derives from bloodsample analysis labs).

PAST, PRESENT, PERFECT

The Jura mountains’ 19th-century watchmakers collectively formed the

But sure enough Tudor’s ‘MT56XX’ workhorse, complete with silicon implants (launched in 2015), was ripe and ready for these rigours, and a new edition of Tudor’s Black Bay diving watch now beats to the rhythm of its magnetconquering ‘MT5602-1U’ calibre (the suffixed ‘U’ is graphic wordplay on a magnet).

Rolex’s Anglophile founder Hans Wildorf registered the ‘Tudor’ name back in 1926, then sat on it for a full two decades before decding what to do: create more accessibly priced, but no less serviceable tool watches.

What we have now is a 21st-century affirmation of that mantra: the best-possible watch at the best-possible price. And seemingly life-proof, wherever our electronic future takes us.

Now settled in its fire engine red Jura Mountains retreat, Tudor is delivering on the promise of its lauded creator. Alex Doak finds out how.

GOING OUT

EDITED BY STEVE DINNEEN @steve_dinneen

GROUNDHOG DAY RETURNS –AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN

THEATRE

GROUNDHOG DAY

OLD VIC

BY ADAM BLOODWORTH

Fans of 90s film Groundhog Day, in which a beleaguered weather presenter wakes up on 2 February every day, will be pleased with this shiny, highenergy theatrical imprint, a restaging of the 2016 hit musical, which has a cultish similarity to the film.

Matthew Warchus’ production is similarly frenetic and chaotic, the director ambitiously copying the film’s structure by staging the same day over and over again. The style is so unusual and jarring that it takes 15 minutes or so to ease into the concept. A chorus line of singers and dancers appear and disappear over and over again in a replica of the Groundhog Day celebration scene at the top of the movie, shot in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. And like in the movie, the same scene of Phil waking up

every morning is staged multiple times. It’s done at such a speed that it feels abrasive and unnatural for the stage.

This kind of chaos is naturally better handled on screen, with the benefit of cuts and technological bells and whistles. But there is something courageous about the staging that has led this Groundhog Day to become a cult hit.

The plot follows weather presenter Phil Connors as he pursues a romance with producer Rita. Tanisha Spring and Andy Karl have a decently unfolding plotline with a good dollop of chemistry. There’s an especially effective scene in act two that exemplifies how Connors learns how to modify his behaviour day by day to engineer the romantic results he wants. (No one else in this universe repeats the same day over, it’s just him.) It feels pleasing, rather than creepy, to see Connors tweak his language to woo Spring more effectively with each passing attempt, gradually learning more about himself. There are also some compelling on-stage tricks: in one

SPECTACULAR MOVIE DESPITE EZRA MILLER CONTROVERSIES

THE

In the spirit of the film’s theme, here’s a very quick explainer of The Flash’s offscreen origins. Producer James Gunn was recently brought in to oversee a complete reboot of the DC Universe films using The Flash’s Multiverse time travel plot to essentially start from scratch. This turning point has been hampered by star Ezra Miller, who has been absent from marketing given their recent string of legal issues. (Arrests for disorderly conduct and assault charges.)

With all that in mind, it’s easy to forget there’s a film underneath all the headlines. Miller returns as Barry Allen, a young man with the superhero power of ‘super speed’. He’s struggling with his role as a hero as his father (Ron Livingston) sits in jail, wrongfully convicted of murdering his mother. Barry learns he can travel so fast that time reverses, leading him to attempt to travel back to stop his mother’s death.

Of course, it doesn’t go as expected, and Barry finds himself in an alternative world where no other superheroes exist, just as Kryptonian warlord General Zod (Michael Shannon) is invading. Barry teams up with another version of himself, and an alternate Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton), hoping to save this world and find a way home. If you haven’t been keeping up with the dreary recent DC output, fear not. The purpose of the story is to mix everything up, making for a time travel action/comedy

that is one of the most entertaining DC adventures yet. By being brave and breaking what has been built over the last decade, director Andy Muschietti (IT) creates a world where no one feels safe from the chop. Miller embarks on a reference filled dash through DC lore, spearheaded by amazing action scenes and a lot of affection for Keaton’s Batman.

It’s a delightful return which feels faithful to the 90s Tim Burton movies, bringing the character back in a way that makes sense. Little touches, like a small reference to Jack Nicholson’s Joker, will be a joy for movie nerds. The film falls foul of overplotting at times, particularly towards the end when the two Barrys try to undo the inevitable.

It’s an occupational hazard for these types of movies, but the script makes sure that its heroes (and audience) keep focused. We also need to talk about Ezra Miller. Their performance is charming, funny, and heartfelt. However, it’s hard to accept them as a loveable underdog given the knowledge of their recent controversies. Luckily, other members of the cast are there to brighten things up. Joining a buoyant Keaton is Sasha Calle as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl, a Kryptonian who is embittered by the treatment she has endured. The role is smaller than expected, but is powerful and sure to build hype. Elsewhere, cameos from the outgoing Justice League members feel tired and contractually obliged. Ending with a nostalgic sequence featuring a number of surprises, The Flash is a spectacular blockbuster that wipes the slate clean for an exciting future. Not everything in the DC Universe worked, but at least it can go out with a bang.

scene, Connors takes his own life, only to reappear alive again on another part of the stage.

But other parts aren’t as cosy: Andy Karl has carved his leading figure Phil in homage to the movie, in which his role was played by Bill Murray, and this Old Vic production comes complete with the cringey ’90s sexist humour, which feels forced and uncomfortable – even since this first hit the stage in 2016 the conversation has moved on.

Groundhog Day is pitted as a musical, with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin of Matilda, but the songs, like the humour, don’t stand up and by the second act, some of the solos fell positively flat. The lyrics are sometimes clunky too. In one line, Minchin tries to rhyme “mention” with “dementia.”

Ultimately, Groundhog Day just isn’t a piece of theatre: rather it’s a dizzying attempt at recreating a film. There are some high notes but the ferocious hauling in and out of set pieces and the general air of chaos ends up leaving you shaken but not particularly stirred.

RECOMMENDED

EXTRACTION 2

DIR. SAM HARGRAVE

BY VICTORIA LUXFORD

Action movie Extraction was a bold gamble for Netflix, which reportedly spent big on what they hoped would be their first big movie franchise. But while it boasted huge viewing figures, it’s not exactly talked about in

It’s no John Wick, but Extraction 2 still delivers where it counts –in thrills, kills and chills

DIR. ANDY MUSCHIETTI BY VICTORIA LUXFORD

BY STEVE DINNEEN

What a strange and brilliant change of direction this new trio of acted poems represents for mercurial playwright Alistair McDowall.

His philosophically dense sci-fi stories Pomona, X and The Glow all grappled with vast, existential questions but felt too big, too untamed, too unruly for the stage. All of It at the Royal Court gives up any semblance of a narrative structure, instead revelling in the sound and shape of words, and it soars as a result.

The excellent Kate O’Flynn is the glue that holds this linguistic tower together, putting in an astonishing solo performance that’s deft and clever from moment-to-moment and a remarkable feat of endurance when viewed as a whole.

Structurally these monologues remind me of Rebecca Watson’s debut novel Little Scratch, a free-flowing, abstract thing that exists somewhere in the space between poetry, prose and typographical illustration. Narratively there are echoes of Neil Gaiman in the merging of fantasy and mundanity, even flashes of Alasdair Gray’s sublime work of autofiction Lanark.

Split into three parts, we begin with a story about a young woman in wartime England who escapes her anxieties over starting adult life amid the spectre of bombing raids through pulpy fantasy novels.

Next comes In Stereo, a Kafkaesque tale of a woman obsessed with a stain on her bedroom wall, only to become unshackled from time (a recurring theme in McDowall’s work).

Smaller and more devastating is the title piece, All of It, which charts the inner monologue of a woman from the moment of birth to all the way through to her death. We watch her go from an angry, obsessive baby, to a hormonal teenager, then a wife, mother, grandmother and eventually a person gradually slipping away from it all.

It’s an outstanding piece of work, the meeting of a writer and actor at the peak of their powers, and unlike anything I’ve seen before.

DEATH AND THE CITY: THE CASE OF THE BLACKFRIARS MURDER

At 7.30am on a crisp summer morning in 1982, the body of Italian banker Roberto Calvi was found hanging from scaffolding beneath Blackfriars Bridge. His pockets weighted with rocks, it was assumed he had taken his own life –until his links with the Vatican, the Mafia, the Freemasons and even the CIA became apparent, uncovering a conspiracy that slowly unfurled over the next two decades.

Documentary maker Tom Donahue, the man behind This Changes Everything and Thank You For Your Service, picks up the case, taking what is essentially a police procedural and imbuing it with the cadence of a John Le Carre novel. We chatted with him from his LA home about Murder of God’s Banker.

HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE STORY?

coming out of World War Two, with these guys.

DID YOU COME TO LONDON TO SHOOT?

Yeah, all the shots in London were me and my director of photography. I love the City of London. It evokes so much history, it’s just incredible. I already knew London fairly well but I didn’t know about the separation between the City of London and the other parts of London, like the difference between the City of London Police and Scotland Yard. I heard rumours that there was a connection between the City of London Police and the Freemasons – that maybe that’s why Calvi’s murder was covered up – but I couldn’t find any evidence for that.

WERE YOU FINANCIALLY LITERATE?

animation, which was in vogue at the time, as one of the tools to tell the story. It means you don’t just have a dry story about finance. The idea was to evoke the neo noir aesthetic coming out of World War Two mixed with the garish lighting from 80s movies like Top Gun and Days of Thunder.

WERE YOU WORRIED ABOUT MAKING THIS DOCUMENTARY?

Not really. We met with a convicted murderer when we were doing our research, which was intimidating. But the case is 40 years old, it’s been investigated already and a lot of what we cover has already been written in books.

the same breath as John Wick. Nevertheless, Chris Hemsworth is back as Tyler Rake, a former SAS operative and extraction specialist drawn out of retirement for a special mission: to rescue the wife of a Georgian mobster.

If you’re looking for action, you came to the right place. Director Sam Hargrave made his name as the stunt coordinator for the Russo Brothers, and is responsible for a lot of breathless Marvel moments.

Given the director’s chair and a big budget, he makes the set pieces look a billion dollars. Hemsworth fights his way through a sea of nameless henchmen in a way that’s stunning to watch, even if your TV isn’t supersized.

The trade-off is, unfortunately, a lacklustre story. The plot’s setup is threadbare, with odd flashback sequences filling in why *this time it’s

personal*. Still, those pesky talking parts pass by quickly, and soon it’s time for everyone to dodge a sea of bullets while Hargraves’ camera defies physics. Had it been ninety minutes instead of over two hours, these lulls would have been easier to forgive.

Just as the director elevates slight material behind the camera, Hemsworth lifts things in front of it. He’s free of the goofiness of his Thor persona, and instead glares menacingly as he finds new ways to butcher mercenaries. There are notable appearances from Idris Elba and Olga Kurylenko, although they’re so brief they aren’t more than posh cameos.

As a light streaming diversion, Extraction fits the bill. Everyone involved delivers expertly crafted thrills that will be forgotten until “3xtraction” inevitably drops.

My producing partner studied to be a diplomat before he went into film. He heard about the story there, 20 years ago, and it stuck with him. He had this obsession with turning it into a documentary, and I was always against it. I was always like, “This story is way too complex to tell in 90 minutes or even two hours, it’s impossible. Even explaining it takes forever.”

Things are different now, though –we’re in this golden era of the docu series.

It was during lockdown that it hit me: “Oh my god, Murder of God’s Banker can actually work now, over a period of four to six hours.”

When you pitch something, you don’t know the entire story because you haven’t been paid to really look into it.

You have a sense of it but you’re making a lot up to sell the project.

Then you get greenlit and you’re like, “Oh, I have to make this work as a four part series”. You have to ask, “What is my story? What is the bridge I need to create before I can hang the ornaments?”

In a way this was the story of a pioneer: he was a money laundering pioneer. A lot of the problems we have today, you can see how they started,

I read 25 books on the topic to immerse myself in this whole world. I dedicated three or four months to reading: books on the Vatican, books on the Freemasons, books on the Sicilian Mafia. You have all these worlds colliding: the CIA, FBI, the mob, Cuba, the Vatican, the Freemasons of Italy. And of course, you have the rise of fascism in Italy, the court structures in London, the City of London Police. You have to figure out how all of these interact, which isn’t always how you would expect, like the CIA working with the fascists in Italy to try to keep the Communists out.

HOW DID YOU CHOOSE THE AESTHETIC?

The thing that made me go, “Wow, we could do this,” was the idea that we could use motion comic

WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE TAKE AWAY FROM THE DOCUMENTARY?

It’s about accountability. We have these huge, patriarchal organisations operating in secret, working together outside of the accountability of the public. You can’t let these huge institutions operate in secret. Whether they’re of God, or are just completely made up of criminals, they will end up being corrupt, because they’re not accountable to the public.

We’re talking about events that happened in the past but they can absolutely still happen today. It’s probably done a lot more now in the digital world. It may be endemic to our culture that we forget our history. There’s so much happening today, we forget how it connects back to our past.

That’s the stuff I love, looking at how we got here today because of things that happened in the past. It’s funny, there are all these wild conspiracy theories but these are true conspiracies. You don’t need to make this stuff up. It’s all so outrageous. Conspiracies happen, it’s part of human nature to conspire. That’s the big lesson to draw here. There’s a confluence of geopolitics, and its victim ends up hanging from Blackfriars Bridge.

£ Murder of God’s Banker is out now on Paramount+

There are all these wild conspiracy theories but you don’t need to make stuff up –it really happens

The director of hit new documentary Murder of God’s Banker about conspiracies, the Square Mile and meeting a murderer

Royal Ascot needs style rules

Royal Ascot is one of the greatest glories of the Season. It is the event which has it all: royalty, tradition, glamour, fashion, money (won and lost) and the centre of it all, the sport of kings. Bright silks, thundering hooves, legends written. It is, of course, an anachronism, but it is a glorious one.

If the racing is important, the fashion at Royal Ascot is at least as much so: it is known for exacting and rigorously policed standards as well as providing a stage for the display of finery.

The Royal Enclosure has the strictest prescriptions, requiring black, grey or navy morning dress for gentlemen and carefully regulated dresses or trouser suits for ladies. Hats are a must. And, to spice up the sense of conservatism, it was only in 1955 that divorcées were allowed in the Royal Enclosure, no matter how they were dressed.

This is, of course, the first Ascot Week since the death of the late Queen, who loved horses and horse racing perhaps more than anything else. Although he was once a keen polo player, one does not sense the same passion for the turf in His Majesty The King, but he will undoubtedly perform his public duties, and few wear morning dress more elegantly and easily than he does. This year the organisers of Ascot are trying to inject a note of contemporary dash and excitement into the venerable event. For the past dozen years they have issued a style handbook to guide the uncertain through

what is permitted and what is not; this year, it has been jazzily revamped as The Royal Ascot Lookbook and has become more inspiration than codification. It is divided into six “edits”: Luxe, Tailoring, Pre-Loved & Rental, Vintage, High Street and Emerging Designer.

As so often in the world of fashion, most of this advice is aimed at the distaff side. Racegoers are encouraged to “raid grandma’s hat box and scour charity shops” to assemble their outfits, and organisers hope it “encapsulates the zeitgeist of occasion wear dressing for the spring/summer 2023 season”. The Lookbook namechecks design grandees like Gucci and Favourbrook as well as insurgents like Jaquemus and Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY, and it makes a creditable effort to cater for a range of budgets without seeming penny-pinching or dour-faced. The aim, the organisers say, is to “look beyond the rules and regulations”.

I should not be too curmudgeonly.

Royal Ascot should be fun and racegoers should enjoy themselves and enjoy their outfits. Dress codes are not as popular as they were, seen now (quite wrongly) as restrictive rather than helpful, and people like to express their “individuality”. The late Queen was never the kind of conservative sartorial obstacle that her grandfather, George V, had been; he disliked trousers creased front-andback, preferring them at the sides, and persisted with frock coats when most had abandoned them for tailcoats. Nevertheless this is a new reign

and Royal Ascot is intimately linked with the sovereign, so a fresh chapter is inevitable and understandable. For gentlemen it is, relatively speaking, steady as she goes. Morning dress is ineffably elegant, allowing enough variation in colour to satisfy anyone this side of Harry Styles. Favourbrook is the approved supplier for Royal Ascot, but those who don’t already own an appropriate outfit can find excellent offerings in Edward Green or Oliver Brown of Jermyn Street, Huntsman or Gieves and Hawkes or their preferred tailor on Savile Row or the generational safety net of Moss Brothers.

The objection is this. People need to understand their brand and its value, and understand why it works. The Royal Enclosure at Ascot is iconic because it is a strictly regulated environment. It raises the sartorial bar high and carries racegoers with it, allowing them a small but significant degree of latitude to make their mark. And that is the whole point.

Everything is about the bottom line. I understand that. Royal Ascot may be a glorious expression of tradition and style but that means nothing if it does not pay. Knowing one’s audience,

however, is absolutely vital. Even in the leanest of times, the Royal Enclosure is unlikely to be undersubscribed, so the organisers are not wholly at the mercy of passing fads. Sometimes more prescription is actually better, making people dig deeper into their sartorial imagination. You want an example? Think of the most iconic meeting ever: “Black Ascot”, held in 1910 a few months after the death of Edward VII. The dress code for the Royal Enclosure was black, with the only concessions being white flowers and pearls. This stark but striking aesthetic was brilliantly mined by Cecil Beaton for the Ascot Gavotte in My Fair Lady (1964), and he picked up the Oscar for best costume design as a result.

Royal Ascot is not like other events. It is iconic, yes, and world-famous, but it is also redolent with the past, with 250 years of horseracing and royal patronage. Strict dress codes are, as tech bros like to say, a feature, not a bug. We should all lean into this, because, as the recent coronation of Charles III showed us, nobody does it better. Staying between the lines doesn’t need to be boring. In fact, it can be the guide to timeless, inimitable glamour.

Royal Ascot is encouraging attendees to “look beyond the rules” for fashion inspiration this year - but Eliot Wilson thinks a dress code fuels creativity

Sometimes a dress code is actually better - it makes people dig deeper into their sartorial imagination

Clockwise from the top, King Charles and Queen Camilla arriving at Royal Ascot; men in Morning dress heading to the enclosures; some of the eye-catching headwear worn to Royal Ascot

Royal Ascot runner goes Thunder the hammer THE VERDICT

Tom Marriott speaks to Jack Davison ahead of today’s ThoroughBid online auction of Royal Ascot runner Thunderbear

WALKING into the parade ring, or maybe even the winners’ enclosure, at Royal Ascot, with a horse running in your colours… the stuff that dreams are made of.

At 3:05pm next Saturday, Thunderbear will line up in the Jersey Stakes with every chance of making that dream come true for trainer and owner Jack Davison, as well as the winning bidder of the 50% share available in the speedy three-year-old.

Being auctioned online via ThoroughBid, a revolutionary online auction house for racehorses and bloodstock, from 9am-6pm today, the unique opportunity to own a big slice of the classy sprinter is set to spark a bidding frenzy.

Davison, who last year saddled Group One King’s Stand fourth Mooneista, is confident about his chances in the prestigious seven-furlong contest: “It’s really exciting to have a horse that I think can be a genuine contender at Royal Ascot. I’ve always thought that he was going to be a seven-furlong horse - even a strongly run seven should be right up his street,” said Davison.

Thunderbear’s most recent performance saw him finish a close fourth to proven top-level sprinter The Antarctic, a run that will have filled Davison with confidence: “It was a strong renewal of the Lacken Stakes; he had Shartash right behind him, who was one of the best two-year-olds in Ireland last year, and it was a good horse of Aidan [O’Brien]’s who won it.

BILL ESDAILE CITY AM RACING EDITOR

Thunderbear looks a seriously exciting prospect. He was brilliant at Nottingham and followed that up with an arguably even better run at Naas in the Group Three Lacken Stakes. The attraction to me is that he’s only a three-year-old and has a host of big potential days mapped out already, starting at Royal Ascot next week. I love the fact that Jack Davison is keen to hold onto half of him and this looks an opportunity not to miss. In fact, I’m in the process of putting a syndicate together to try and buy that available share. If you are genuinely interested then dust down your top hat and tails and reach out to me on twitter @billesdaile.

“There was no hiding place there and I was delighted with how he performed - I wasn’t surprised as I know he’s on an upward curve."

ThoroughBid is the UK’s first dedicated online bloodstock auction house and, founded in 2021, already has Punchestown and Cheltenham Festival winning graduates on its resumé, after Maskada and Its On The Line’s victorious efforts earlier this year.

Thursday’s winning bidder will benefit from the full racehorse owner expe-

CORNELIUS LYSAGHT RACING BROADCASTER

Not every good horse gets its show on the road straightaway, and it took a few near-misses before Thunderbear finally got his head in front, but patience is often well-rewarded in racing as has been demonstrated in his last two races. The Nottingham success was really quite striking with the horse travelling smoothly into the latter stages of the race after being held up, and he ended up disposing of some decent rivals from in-form stables in great style. Proving that was no flash in the pan, the performance in a proper, ‘grown-up’ race at Naas, looking as though further would suit, was another step forward. If he progresses again –and, considering the form he’s in, there’s absolutely no reason to think that he won’t – it looks highly likely he’ll play a significant role in some nice races in the future.

rience with their share in this Grouplevel sprinter, including the choice of racing colours and a very exciting season ahead as Thunderbear targets all the big sprint prizes.

“Whoever comes in to take the share can have the horse run in their colours,” Davison explained. “They will also have their name in the racecard and, hopefully, they’ve got a live chance heading into Royal Ascot.

“Thunderbear is ideal, he’s a flag bearer for me whom I would very

much love to keep around the place, and it’s just a great opportunity to bring some people into ownership at a really good level.

“After Ascot, races like the Haydock Sprint Cup, Stewards’ Cup and Champions Sprint back at Ascot are certainly on his agenda, and we’d love to campaign him overseas too; something like the Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai next year, while a long way off, is a nice target we’ve got in the back of our minds.”

To put this exciting opportunity into

further perspective, last year’s Jersey Stakes winner, Noble Truth, was bought as a yearling for an eye-watering €1.1million, while 2021’s winner, Creative Force, cost €400,000 and went on to win over £800,000 in prize money. We can’t predict how big the number will be on Thunderbear’s head when ThoroughBid’s online gavel comes down this evening, but there’s the potential for an affordable way into owning a runner on the biggest stage of them all.

THE AUCTION WILL RUN FROM 9:00AM TO 6:00PM BST TODAY, THURSDAY 15TH JUNE, WITH MORE INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON THE THOROUGHBID WEBSITE: THOROUGHBID.CO.UK YOU MUST REGISTER IN ORDER TO BID.

A 50% share in Royal Ascot-bound Thunderbear can be bid on via ThoroughBid today

Chris Tremlett

IT’S FAIR to say that one of the biggest moments in my career is synonymous with the phrase “Barmy Army wicket”, and there will be times during this Ashes series where England may need to rely on the crowd to keep them going.

I love the unwavering confidence head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes have in their approach. They need to have that to be successful, but there will be times in this five-Test Ashes series where things aren’t going their way and they need some reassurance that the fans still back the plan.

Whether that is a big run partnership between Australia batters Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne or a spell in which England concede three wickets inside a session, the Barmy Army can get them out of that rut.

THE EDGE(BASTON)

Fans can make more of a difference at Edgbaston, compared to Lord’s for example. A sunny morning with a couple of beers flowing can create one hell of an atmosphere.

The Eric Hollies stand is the party terrace and it’ll undoubtedly play its part in intimidating the tourists across the next five days – it should be great fun –in the same way the Barmy Army had their fun with Mitchell Johnson on the 2010-11 tour Down Under.

But they’ll also be vital for Moeen Ali, who is returning to Test cricket for the first time in two years.

He’s no slouch, and it is not like he hasn’t played cricket during that two-year spell, but he has not played Test cricket. Batting for 100 overs, bowling for 100 overs and fielding for 100 overs is a completely different challenge for players who compete in whiteball cricket.

Moeen will need a little bit of coaching throughout the day but he knows his role and I am sure he can make a difference.

ENGLAND’S EXTRA MAN

read: “Hopefully, the result is that we take the urn back, but the most important thing is that – whatever happens –you will be entertained.”

He’s right. Winning is important, it means everything. But at least if England do get beaten to the Ashes we’d have had fun watching it happen.

This style of Test cricket is exciting, it’s attractive and it makes it so difficult to say anything bad about this team.

There will be interesting roles for Joe Root, who captained the side to their 40 loss last time out, and the openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, given their upcoming internal battle against Aussies David Warner and Usman Khawaja.

The race to get off to a good start

ASHES IN STATS: 1882-2023

Draws 6 Wins 32

Wins 34

TOTAL ASHES SERIES

England can close the gap to one if they regain the Ashes this year

Draws 4 Wins 18

Wins 14

IN ENGLAND

Australia haven’t won an Ashes series in England since 2001

Draws 2 Wins 14

20

found themselves batting first in English conditions against India last week. There are so many mini battles coming across the next five days and the next five Tests. And that’s why the crowd can make all the difference.

Stokes would have been thinking about himself and the team during his legendary performance at Headingley in 2019, but there would also have been part of him desperate to please that buzzing crowd.

I know what it’s like to have the Barmy Army on my side, and I know they’ll get right behind England, Bazball and the campaign to regain the Ashes. Every cheering fan enjoying themselves will count.

IN AUSTRALIA

England haven’t won a single Test Down Under since 2011

ENGLAND AUSTRALIA 4 DRAW

FIXTURES

1: 16 Jun – 20 Jun, Edgbaston

2: 28 Jun – 2 Jul, Lord’s

3: 6 Jul – 10 Jul, Headingley

4: 19 Jul – 23 Jul, Old Trafford

5: 27 Jul – 31 Jul, Oval

Stokes penned a piece this week saying we will be entertained even if they lose. He’s right.

What’s next for the losers in the rush to embrace sovereign wealth?

ELITE runners focus on every step of every run. Us mere mortals seek displacement tricks to block out the pain. And so I found myself on a long run reflecting on last week’s extraordinary developments in sport that had Middle Eastern money at their core.

My mental meanderings were prompted by a radio interview. A producer had stumbled on my original Sport inc. book. Its subtitle – why money is the winner in the business of sport –wrapped up her agenda: LIV Golf, Karim Benzema to Al Ittihad, Manchester City winning the treble and a third Premiership rugby team going bust. “Are we losing something?” the presenter asked. Are we? Sport is glamorous, but that’s long been the case – think DiMaggio and Monroe. It’s certainly ubiquitous now, but only in the way that all entertainment is in the social media age. Standards seem higher, but who are we to say Ali wouldn’t have beaten Fury or that Bannister might not have bested Ingebrigtsen given the same shoes, tracks, sport science and training regime? Fitter, more technically accomplished stars aren’t guaranteed to produce greater thrills, whatever the hype. This is no reverie about bygone ages.

SPORT COMMENT

Ed Warner

League, as there will be no shortage of talent to replace them in Europe. There is now a scramble to dip into the oily and gaseous resources evidently earmarked by the controllers of Middle Eastern states for diversification into sport. The capitulation of the PGA and DP World Tours has wedged open the door for other owners of sporting assets to pile through.

WORLD CUP AND OLYMPICS

There are sports consultancies whose business models now rest largely on enabling Saudi Arabia to deploy its money effectively, not only in elite events but also grassroots activity. Their expertise is such that you can be sure there is coherence to the kingdom’s strategy, whatever you think of its tactical pursuit.

Football’s World Cup and the Olympics are the two big prizes. Expect both to be hosted or co-hosted by Saudi in the next couple of decades. The kingdom’s World Cup ambitions suggest its football investment is likely to prove more durable than other nations’ flirtations with expensive, marquee player signings.

The Olympics target bodes well for a number of the Games’ constituent sports, many of which could be “owned” for a fraction of the price of a top football club. A few hundred million dollars a year could create a thriving athletics circuit, bankroll World Athletics and transform the prize and appearance money for the best athletes – in effect, breaking the sport out of its reliance on a single quadrennial jamboree.

2023 RUGBY WORLD CUP BAROMETER

PLAYER OF THE WEEK Fly-half Romain Ntamack

Stakes might be higher now, but greed, corruption and cheating have been with us since the ancient Olympics. Think shoe money and blood doping in athletics’ so-called golden era, which coincided with it becoming professional. The waves of money Saudi Arabia and its neighbour states are sinking into sport will change where it is played, what we see on our screens, and who wins. More importantly, it will determine the losers – where sport isn’t played, what we will struggle to find online, and those that will sink back into amateur status or even disappear.

It was thoughts of these losers that fuelled my run. Not Rory McIlroy. Sure, he’s angry and maybe embarrassed. But there’s a chance now he may have a coherent, global calendar of events to play for eye-watering prize money deep into his golfing dotage.

Nor Andy Murray, who may be right that the Saudis will come for tennis next, but who will have the luxury of being able to decline playing in the kingdom itself. And not fans of those superstar footballers lured to the Saudi Pro

Imagine being a sport that is rocked by these shifting tectonic plates, is short of cash but does not fit into the grand strategy. How does British rugby (both codes), say, fit into a world where location is increasingly irrelevant and what matters instead is the money thrown behind its promotion? The Premiership isn’t currently functional with a salary cap of just £5m – chump change in the new world.

Around half of the world’s population live in liberal or electoral democracies.

Half don’t. Muscles are being flexed in the tussle for sporting power on both sides of this divide. Expect more expedient parking of ideals in the search for investment from the “wrong” side.

Niche, local, loyal, heritage and amateur aren’t always fashionable tags. Embracing them, though, may prove the route to a healthy future for those many sports inevitably left behind in the race for world domination. One foot in front of the other, step after step.

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

It may not have been one of his absolute best or a performance that provoked a viral outpouring of love on social media but Romain Ntamack – France and Toulouse fly-half – issued a lesson in pulling the strings during his side’s 4114 win over Racing 92 in the Top14 semi-finals. Up against Finn Russell it would be easy to get into a war of tricks, kicks and offloads but Ntamack was sublime; controlling the backline and ushering the forwards outside his “Petit General” and international half-back buddy Antoine Dupont. Sometimes flair needs to give way to pragmatism, and Ntamack last weekend oozed maturity. He could be guiding the hosts to their first World Cup trophy in the autumn.

WHO’S HOT WHO’S NOT

Sam Simmonds will not be at the World Cup after ruling himself out of selection for England. He was not picked for Monday’s training squad.

Queensland Reds winger Suliasi Vunivalu scored twice in his side’s Super Rugby quarter-final loss but the Fijian had the best game of his season.

Scotland’s Finn Russell’s usual magic wasn’t present as Racing 92 were crushed 41-14 by Toulouse in their Top14 semi-final.

Local, heritage and amateur aren’t fashionable tags but may prove the route to a healthy future

Former London Irish lock Adam Coleman has been called up by Tonga. The 34-cap Wallaby is set to switch allegiances.

BARMY ARMY WICKET

Chris Tremlett on how Ashes can be won off the field

FOOTBALL

From Big Five to Big One: Premier League leaving Euro rivals adrift

EUROPEAN football’s Big Five leagues are steadily being replaced by a Big One as the Premier League pulls away from its rivals, according to research published today.

The total revenue of Premier League clubs reached £5.5bn in 2021-22, around twice as much as its nearest challenger, Spain’s LaLiga, Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance reports. Revenue growth among the English top division also outpaced the rest of the Big Five, which also includes Germany’s Bundesliga, Serie A in Italy and France Ligue 1.

That financial dominance allowed Premier League clubs to smash their own spending records in both the summer 2022 and January 2023 transfer windows.

“There is no doubt that the Premier League is over the hill to a large extent,” Tim Bridge, lead partner for Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, told City A.M.

“It would take something seismic for any of the other leagues to compete in revenue terms but also in popularity terms. The way that the Premier League is consumed around the world compared with other leagues, it is very clearly the market leader.

“While never say never, it’s safe to say all those other leagues have got a real challenge on their hands to get anywhere near the Premier League.”

CRICKET

DONE DEAL

BBC and ITV to show Fifa Women’s World Cup

The total European football market grew seven per cent to €29.5bn in 202122, a rate outstripped by the Big Five, where revenue was up 10 per cent to €17.2bn and exceeded its pre-Covid peak. But the Big Five faces increasing competition from outside of Europe, following Lionel Messi’s decision to move to US Major League Soccer and a Cristiano Ronaldo-led influx of bigname talent to the lucrative Saudi Pro League.

“It costs more now to acquire an MLS franchise than it does to purchase a Premier League club in the bottom half, so there is a feeling that on certain metrics MLS has already challenged,” Bridge

added. “Saudi Arabia is a really interesting one. There is an established football system, well-followed clubs, attendances can be impressive. Some of the stats around Ronaldo’s move are incredibly impressive and challenge those across the Big Five leagues, so there is a feeling that what’s going on in Saudi is different to what we’ve seen previously.

Meanwhile, Premier League clubs yesterday voted to prohibit fully leveraged takeovers. They have also been given greater freedom to sign foreign players after the Home Office made it easier to argue the case if a signing does not meet points-based criteria.

Broadcasting duo the BBC and ITV will show the Fifa Women’s World Cup this year after concerns over whether the tournament would be shown in Europe at all. Fifa had threatened a European blackout if broadcasters were not willing to stump up a desired amount to show the tournament, which kicks off on 20 July and will be held in Australia and New Zealand. Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport, said: "We have shown every Women's World Cup on the BBC since 1999 and we are happy to extend our partnership with Fifa. The growth of the women’s game is extraordinary, demonstrated by the 28 million who watched BBC coverage of the 2019 Women’s World Cup and the huge audience of 17.4 million who watched our coverage of the Euro 2022 final last summer on TV.”

Bellingham seals Real deal for English record

FRANK DALLERES

REAL Madrid have confirmed the signing of Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund in what could become a record fee for an English player.

The 19-year-old England midfielder is believed to be costing the Spanish champions an initial €103m (£88m).

That fee could rise to as much as €133m (£113m), eclipsing the £100m Manchester City paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish in 2021.

Bellingham has emerged as one of European football’s hottest prospects since breaking into the Birmingham City team as a

schoolboy. He joined Dortmund in 2020 and went on to score 24 goals and provide 24 assists in 132 appearances.

Last season he was voted the best player in the Bundesliga as Dortmund narrowly missed on out the German league title on the final day of the season.

The all-action midfielder has also emerged as a key man for England, already winning 24 caps and scoring one goal.

Bellingham shone at last year’s World Cup in Qatar, where England lost in the quarter-finals to eventual runners-up France.

Liverpool were also interested in signing him from Dortmund but

pulled out of the race, leaving the way clear for Real Madrid to complete the signing.

He becomes the 21st Englishman to play in Spain’s top division, and the fifth to join Real Madrid after David Beckham, Michael Owen, Steve McManaman and Jonathan Woodgate.

Elsewhere, 37-year-old James Milner will join Brighton and Hove Albion from Liverpool when his contract expires at the end of this month. The midfielder won six major honours in eight years at Anfield.

“I’m very glad to welcome James to Brighton,” said Brighton coach Roberto De Zerbi.

Sangakkara: Bazball can bring joy to Ashes series

EXCLUSIVE

MATT HARDY

SRI Lanka great Kumar Sangakarra insists the Ashes still brings out the best in Test cricket and believes Bazball has restored “joyous expression” to the five-day game.

The former wicket keeperbatsman scored over 12,000 Test runs for his country and was captain in all three formats. A connoisseur of the game, the 45-year-old still recognises the Ashes, which starts on Friday, as iconic.

“The Ashes are exciting for cricket fans around the world,” he tells City A.M. “It’s the history and tradition of the legacy of the Ashes.

“I’ve been playing for Sri Lanka for

all of my life and commentating on the Ashes and World Championships. It doesn’t matter where you are, you always follow the Ashes with interest because of the quality of cricket and the quality of players. The contest brings out the best in Test cricket.”

As director of cricket at Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals, Sangakkara got a good look at England head coach Brendon McCullum from his time at the Kolkata Knight Riders.

McCullum was synonymous with white-ball cricket so his move to the Test match format surprised many, but not Sri Lankan Sangakkara.

“I don’t think I had the skill-set to be in a Bazball team but the new

innovations in Twenty20 cricket have helped cricketers open their minds to what is possible,” he says.

“Brendon McCullum, when he came from the IPL as head coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders, didn’t come and ask for the white-ball job [with England].

“There’s room for much more revolutionary tactics and innovation in Test cricket, it’s almost a blank canvas. He’s taken it to new heights and made it a free-flowing, attractive, joyous kind of

expression of all formats of the game which you never thought you’d see on a Test pitch.”

Sangakkara has captained his nation in World Cup finals and crunch Test matches, but every leader is different. England captain Ben Stokes has also led in World Cup finals, but never an Ashes series. Cummins, too, is new.

“I don’t have any advice for [Stokes and Cummins]. Even if I did, I doubt either will take it,” adds Sangakkara, co-founder of sports game Meta 11’s maker

“They’re both secure

Sangakkara scored over 12,000 Test runs

in the way they captain. Stokes is very player-centric, people-centric. Skill is a given. They don’t concentrate a lot on technique, they’ll talk about being a team, the team above everyone else.

“Cummins is a bowling captain, and how that influences his decision making in terms of will they bowl first, what will the pitches be like and will he bowl himself enough and really have the same attacking field like Stokes might have.

“Stokes will lead from the front and he will try and inspire the rest to follow. I don’t think that’s hard because he’s already inspired them through a whole year. The Ashes is inspiring enough. It’ll be a great contest.”

FRANK DALLERES

FOOTBALL

Premier League revenue was double its nearest rival in 21-22