Thursday 3 August 2023

LONDON’S BUSINESS NEWSPAPER

SHOWTIME FROM LONDON THEATRE TO MUSK’S ANTICS, THE LATEST IN DRAMA P14-15

FEVER PITCH

PRIVATE EQUITY SHOPS BUYING INTO EUROPEAN FOOTBALL LIKELY

TO

WANT A SAY OVER GOVERNANCE –INCLUDING THE END OF RELEGATION

MATT HARDY

PRIVATE EQUITY buyers flooding into Premier League and European football are likely to want more of a say over the rules of the game, top lawyers have told City A.M., including the potential introduction of ‘closed leagues’ without promotion or relegation.

The value of deals in Europe’s top five leagues – England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain –catapulted from €66.7m (£57m) in 2018 to €4.9bn (£4.2bn) in 2022. Recent deals include the £2.5bn purchase of Chelsea by a private equity consortium led by Todd Boehley, and the purchase of AC

Milan by US outfit Redbird for £1.2bn, itself buying from private equity house Elliott Advisors.

The Pitchbook report reveals some 35 per cent of top clubs across Europe have some level of private equity, venture capital or private debt participation either as majority or minority owners, with owners attracted by potential broadcast revenues and the value of the historic brands.

Tom Smitham, senior associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, said the increased investment from private equity firms could lead to pressure on regulatory and governance systems.

“In the future we would expect to

£57m 2018

TODAY’S THE DAY

Bank to issue interest rate hike decision

JACK BARNETT AND STAFF

THE BANK of England is expected to hike interest rates for the 14th time in a row today as it continues its fight against soaring inflation.

At midday today, members of the nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) are expected to knock on another increase to the UK’s official interest rate. Analysts are divided as to whether the MPC will opt for a 25 or 50 basis point increase –taking rates to 5.25 or 5.5 per cent respectively. Most yesterday thought the former more likely but either would represent the steepest rates since March 2008.

2022

£4.2bn

Private equity investment in European football Private equity investment in European football

see investors looking to more actively influence the evolution of football regulation (and indeed regulation in other sports) at national, European and international level in areas such as financial fair play structures, potential salary caps, closed leagues and multiple club ownership arrangements,” he said.

“Such regulations have the potential to significantly limit costs associated with running clubs, provide a more secure investment platform and open up further investment opportunities across multiple jurisdictions, all of which will be highly attractive to private equity investors.”

Today’s report states that over a third of Big Five clubs have US-based participation involved and that a deal for Manchester United – valued at $6bn (£5.1bn) – would see the valuation of dealmaking this year surpass €10bn (£8.59bn) for 2023.

Nicolas Moura, the author of the report, told City A.M. that the Premier League remains the go-to league despite the cost of forcing the door down.

“If you’re a billionaire buying for ego and prestige then I think you’re more likely to go for a Premier League club and pay a premium for [the likes of] Manchester United –but you’re getting move value in a league like France’s Ligue 1,” he said.

Just a couple of weeks ago, money markets thought Bank governor Andrew Bailey and the rest of the MPC would repeat last month’s chunkier rate increase of 50 points. However a sharper-thanforecast reduction in headline and core inflation rolled back bets on a larger move.

CPI inflation fell to 7.9 per cent in June, matching the Bank’s forecast and down from 8.7 per cent in May.

The Bank is almost certain to revise down its inflation projections in a new set of forecasts this week, indicating Prime Minister Rishi Sunak may meet his goal of halving the cost of living to around five per cent by the end of the year.

£ CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

When America sneezes... London stocks tumble after shock US debt downgrade

JACK BARNETT

LONDON’s FTSE 100 plummeted yesterday after a top credit ratings agency slashed its outlook on the US’s finances.

The capital’s premier index slumped 1.36 per cent to 7,561.64 points, while the domestically-

focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is a better reflection of the health of the UK economy, fell 1.33 per cent to 18,812.88 points.

Late on Tuesday, Fitch, one of the world’s most influential credit rating agencies, downgraded its assessment for the US’s debt position one level to AA+ from AAA.

The latter is the top rung on Fitch’s rating ladder.

Credit rating agencies use a tiered system to illustrate how likely they think a country is to repay its debts. Their assessments are closely watched by financial traders.

Fitch said “repeated debt limit standoffs” prompted the decision.

Back in June, US lawmakers after weeks and weeks of failed negotiations, voted to lift the cap on how much the government is able to borrow from $31.4 trillion. Without the agreement, there was a real risk the US would have failed to make good on some of its debt, likely sparking chaos in global

financial markets.

City traders seemingly absorbed Fitch’s fresh judgement poorly, ditching London-listed stocks. Just six stocks finished in the green on the FTSE 100 .

European shares also came under heavy fire, while Wall Street’s top indices all opened sharply lower.

VICTORIA SCHOLAR ON WHY THERE’S LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL P6

STANDING UP FOR THE CITY

It is time Britain rid itself of its entrenched tall poppy syndrome

BRITAIN has a tendency to chop down the tallest of our poppies, from growing tech businesses to promising young footballers. Some try to do that with one of our more appealing recent success stories: English wine. One recent article elsewhere said the red tasted like vimto and the good stuff was too expensive; buy French, seemed to be the lesson we were supposed to take.

What a tremendous shame that

THE

CITY VIEW

would be, and what an own-goal. Climate change, grim as it is, has delivered to the south east an industry that in time will deliver not just jobs and employment on the land and in related jobs in the making and selling of wine but create an entire tourism

industry just an hour or so from the capital. Such things should be celebrated, but politicians often struggle to see the benefits of these growing industries –seeing them instead as a cash cow.

Sparkling wine has received a welcome boost from recent tax changes, but the wider wine industry is squealing about the impact on their still products. The beer industry, an area in which Britain appears to lead the

world both in the quality of production and perhaps consumption, has suffered a similar fate.

The West End, an obvious asset to the wider economy, is now missing out thanks to the removal of tax-free shopping for tourists. Such a collection of own goals would be disappointing even in a country rocketing along at three per cent annual growth; it is downright stupid when we’re struggling for every tenth of a

ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME A section of a Roman wall in the City of London can now be seen for free at the new City Wall at Vine Street museum alongside other ancient artefacts

percentage point. All of this will sound familiar to a financial services industry that has for so long been treated at best as an afterthought and at worst as some kind of national shame.

Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak, thankfully, seem more interested in nurturing than exploiting the Square Mile.

Let’s hope that attitude becomes more commonplace across the economy.

WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING

THE FINANCIAL TIMES

UK TO ESTABLISH RESOLUTION REGIME FOR INSURANCE COMPANIES

The UK is pressing ahead with plans to create a resolution regime to deal with the failure of big insurance companies, mirroring the resolution regime for banks that was established in 2009.

THE TELEGRAPH SOARING MORTGAGE RATES HIT SOUTH EAST HARDEST AS HOUSE PRICES COLLAPSE

Homeowners in the South East have suffered the biggest jump in asking price discounts as skyrocketing mortgage rates hammer the commuter belt hardest.

THE GUARDIAN ENERGY BOSSES AT NO 10 SUMMIT WARN INVESTOR CONFIDENCE IS WANING

The bosses behind Britain’s multibillionpound clean energy rollout have warned the government that the UK’s difficult economic circumstances have taken a toll on investor confidence.

City

economists split on rate hike as peak comes into view

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Economists are split over how much more pain they think rate setters will heap on the UK economy.

Traders reckon two more rate rises are in the pipeline and that they will peak at 5.75 per cent. Cuts aren’t expected until the second half of next year at the earliest.

The factors the MPC must consider go beyond inflation and core inflation, which both eased slightly last month though remain worryingly elevated, to include the

HOW CITY INSTITUTIONS SEE THE BANK CALLING IT

housing market, insolvencies, retail sales and the labour market.

The housing market in particular is cooling. The news on the labour market is more mixed. The unemployment rate rose unexpectedly to four per cent in the three months to May.

However, wages are rising at their joint fastest pace on record and company insolvencies in England and Wales were the highest since 2009 during the second quarter of 2023, which could push the Bank to keep rates lower at 5.25 per cent for now.

DEUTSCHE BANK: It’s a close call, but we now think the MPC will settle for a 25 basis point hike, lifting Bank rate to 5.25 per cent. The significant upside to wage growth in May will likely be offset by the material miss in headline and services CPI.

NOMURA: Our view is for three more 25 basis point hikes (August, September, November) for a peak Bank rate of 5.75 per cent, before the MPC embarks on a cutting cycle, but not until the very end of 2024.

INVESTEC: This is a very tough call, but we see the committee favouring the 50 basis point option, partly as insurance against the upside risks stemming from the labour market, but also to enable it to get to ‘peak rates’ more promptly.

OXFORD ECONOMICS:

That investors are now narrowly favouring 25 basis points over 50 basis points gives the MPC cover to dial tightening down. We’re sticking with a prediction of another increase in rates in September.

BNP PARIBAS: With both the labour market and services inflation running hot and with only a few signs that momentum is easing, we don’t see a 25 basis point hike in August being the finishing line. We expect a 50 basis point hike in August.

War, what is it good for? BAE systems

GUY TAYLOR

BAE SYSTEMS yesterday reported profit of £1.23bn and upped its dividend by 11 per cent year-on-year, as it continued to cash in on increased defence spending amid the war in Ukraine.

Britain’s premier defence contractor saw an order intake of £21.1bn in the first half of 2023, resulting in a record order backlog of £66.2bn. Revenue shot up 11 per cent to £11bn. As a result, the firm upgraded its guidance for 2023, forecasting higher sales and earnings per share of between 10 to 12 per cent.

BAE said it had benefitted from an “elevated global threat environment” after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine saw states boost defence spending.

Chief executive Charles Woodburn said: “We’ve

Natwest sacked exec days after cancer surgery

CHRIS DORRELL

A FORMER Natwest executive was awarded £90,000 yesterday after she brought a case against the bank for dismissing her days after she underwent surgery for cancer.

delivered a strong financial performance in the first half of the year, thanks to the outstanding efforts of our employees.”

Woodburn later told analysts that the firm had benefitted from its “strong presence across all theatres of warfare”.

“I think that is definitely helping us in the current environment where global trends are pushing defensive security up government spending priorities... We’re seeing that come through in the numbers,” he said.

Shares jumped to close up over six per cent after the announcement yesterday.

Ascendant demand amid Putin’s war has ricocheted across the sector as a whole, with competitor RollsRoyce seeing shares skyrocket 20 per cent last week after it doubled its profit guidance.

Uber chased by HMRC for extra £368m in VAT as troubles continue

GUY TAYLOR

HMRC is pursuing Uber for £386m extra in VAT, after paying £615m to resolve a tax dispute last year.

Uber said that “UK tax authorities had disputed the amount and manner in which [it was] applying VAT to [its] UK business” since the restructuring of its business model last March.

It comes after a landmark High Court

Virgin Money expects £175m in share buybacks this year after rates boost

CHRIS DORRELL

VIRGIN MONEY’s net interest margin remained stable over the first half of the year, despite increasing competition in the market, as the bank said it anticipates a £175m share buyback at its end of year results.

The challenger bank launched a £50m buyback yesterday and said

it expects to deliver a £125m buyback with its full year results later this year.

“Given our strong capital position, we anticipate a total of [around] £175m of buybacks for FY23 with more to follow as we normalise our surplus capital position by the end of next year,” David Duffy, the bank’s chief executive, said.

The payouts come as Virgin Money

reported that its net interest margin (NIM) –a measure of the difference between what it pays out and receives in interest payments –increased to 1.93 per cent, compared to 1.91 per cent over the first half of the year. In contrast to many of its larger rivals, the bank said it expects its NIM to hold steady for the rest of the year. Its share price closed down just over two per cent.

ruling last year determined Uber’s drivers were employees, not selfemployed contractors, resulting in the firm adding VAT from March 2022.

After handing £615m to the taxman in November, the firm is now being chased for an extra £386m.

An Uber spokesperson said: “Uber is seeking clarity for the whole industry in order to protect drivers and passengers.”

Adeline Willis, a senior risk and compliance officer, was let go by Natwest in April 2020, eight months after a bowel cancer diagnosis and just days after she underwent surgery for the disease.

She later brought a multi-million pound case against the bank, arguing that without the dismissal she would have been promoted and her earnings would have risen.

London's Central Employment Tribunal ruled that Natwest’s decision was “tainted with discrimination”.

Natwest was ordered to pay nearly £90,000 in damages for Willis's losses until December 2020.

A Natwest spokesperson said: “We are sorry that there were things the bank did not get right and where we fell short of the standards our colleagues expect. We recognise the extremely difficult personal circumstances in this case and have taken steps to ensure this cannot happen again.”

Chief executive Charles Woodburn hailed the update

News of the tax bill comes as Uber this week reported its first ever operating profit

Challenger bank Virgin Money launched a £50m buyback yesterday

Asda could be faced with £1.2bn bill from 44,000 staff in equal pay case

LAURA MCGUIRE

ASDA IS at risk of losing £1.2bn in historic compensation payouts according to the union representing staff, after a leaked email appeared to strengthen their case yesterday. The email, which was obtained by ITV news, from lawyers Leigh Day, compared the knowledge and responsibility of female workers – who traditionally work on shop floors – to male colleagues who largely work in distribution centres.

SOMETHING IN THE AIR Aerial dancers set to impress as part of City spectacular

Leigh Day is currently bringing a claim on behalf of 44,000 Asda store workers for equal pay.

The case is about whether colleagues in Asda stores do work of “equal value” with colleagues in the distribution centres.

According to the outlet, the email showed that shop floor workers scored slightly higher in the comparison test than their warehouse counterparts, scoring 453 points. Those in the distribution centre scored 447.

However, the warehouse roles are

Ryanair hails record summer as Brits jet off

GUY TAYLOR

RYANAIR and Wizz Air both yesterday reported soaring passenger numbers as the record breaking summer travel boom continued, with the Irish carrier making history by carrying over 18m guests for the first time in one month.

Ryanair’s record breaking month saw its traffic grow 11 per cent from 16.8m the previous year.

Meanwhile its rival Wizz Air carried 6m passengers, representing a 26.6 per cent increase compared to July 2022.

Both low-cost carriers also saw strong load factors – the percentage of available seating capacity that has been filled with passengers – with Ryanair and Wizz Air reporting load factors of 96 per cent and 94.9 per cent respectively.

The results come amid a booming season of travel this summer, which has seen the aviation sector benefit from pent-up demand post-pandemic and resilient consumer spending on holidays despite the cost of living crisis.

Airlines have netted bumper profits so

far, with Ryanair flying past pre-pandemic profit levels to £572m in the three months to June. It did, however, lower its passenger forecast for the rest of the year in the same announcement, citing Boeing delivery delays. Meanwhile, long-haul specialist and British Airways’ owner IAG netted a colossal €1.25bn (£1.07bn) profit, while Easyjet has forecast record profits for the rest of the peak season. Shares in airlines have responded accordingly, with Ryanair, BA and Easyjet

reportedly paid between £1.50 and £3 an hour more.

Asda will have to justify why this is the case at a tribunal hearing next year. If they lose the case they face up to £1.2bn in compensation payout, workers union GMB – which is representing female workers –confirmed to City A.M.

The grocer could also face an increased pay bill of up to £400m each year.

Asda told ITV the report waspart of a complex case and was confidential.

BARTHOLOMEW Fair –the largest outdoor festival in the City of London for centuries –will kick off at the end of this month with internationally renowned performance artists and sculptors taking to the Square Mile, including acrobatics off the side of St Paul’s.

Gatwick strikes cancelled as pay deal struck

GUY TAYLOR

INDUSTRIAL action due to take place at Gatwick this weekend has been cancelled after the last group of union workers set to strike accepted an improved pay offer.

Unite members employed by Gatwick Ground Services (GGS) yesterday accepted an improved pay offer of 10.3 per cent.

As a result, disruption that was due to hit the airport between Friday 4 August and Tuesday 8 August will no longer go ahead.

Stansted becomes first airport in UK to reach pre-pandemic levels

GUY TAYLOR

and Gatwick still waiting for that fabled return to normality.

The union said workers would also receive “a significant market rate adjustment in their shift pay”, taking into account factors such as inflation.

up 24, 42 and 12 per cent respectively over the last year.

Wizz Air will report its first quarter results today.

Conroy Gaynor, travel, leisure and retail analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, noted that “fuel prices, albeit volatile, look more favourable this year, so, along with a planned decrease in nonfuel unit costs, should help Wizz return to profit, with the company forecasting €350m-€450m for the year to March.”

LONDON Stansted has become the first major UK airport to achieve above pre-Covid passenger numbers in any single month since before the pandemic, with this July the third busiest in its history.

According to figures shared with City A.M., total passenger numbers for the period hit 2.81m, which is 102 per cent of the volumes it served in July 2019.

It means the north-east London hub has beaten a slew of competition in its post-pandemic recovery, with other major hubs such as Heathrow

Gareth Powell, London Stansted managing director, told City A.M.: “This was our busiest July ever, and the third busiest month on record at London Stansted. This performance reflects our position as the number one airport in the UK for direct flights to Europe, as well as the great value, convenience and service we offer to passengers.”

Monday 31 July was the airport’s busiest day of the year to date, with 96,500 passengers, while Spain, Italy and Turkey proved the most popular destinations for holidaymakers.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is a significant pay increase for workers at GGS. From the outset our members have been rock solid in their determination to secure a fair pay increase which has resulted in a just settlement.

It follows employees from DHL, ASC and the airport services group Menzies all suspending planned action set to cause chaos during one of the busiest periods of summer.

Despite the positive news for the airport and passengers, Unite warned that further walkouts were likely. Three companies including Red Handling, Wilson James and DHL Gatwick Direct have all voted for further action.

Drax denies claim it cut production to avoid £639m

NICHOLAS EARL

DRAX has denied a claim that it shut down production at one of its biomass generators to avoid returning money to customers under a government agreed contract.

The power group slashed production at one of its biomass plants last winter, which was taxpayer-backed with a

customer payout

revenue cap, and instead shifted generation to the rest of its facilities to maximise profits amid record energy bills, according to Bloomberg.

A generator called ‘Unit 1, which burns wood pellets to provide energy, has received £1.4bn in green energy subsidies over the past seven years.

These subsidies contained a consumer safeguard, which stated that

if electricity prices passed a certain threshold, its earnings would be capped. Bloomberg reported that when bills rose, Drax lowered production at Unit 1 for weeks at a time, causing billpayers to lose out on as much as £639m.

However, Drax has denied the claim, describing the Bloomberg report as “false, inaccurate and misleading”.

Ryanair carried more than 18m passengers in July –a record for the firm

London Stansted said this July had been its third busiest in its history

THE NOTE BOOK

Little relief from interest rates yet, but there is light at the end of the tunnel

THEBANK of England is forecast to raise interest rates for the 14th time in a row today, lifting the bank rate to fresh 15-year highs. While expectations are for the central bank to lift the current bank rate from five per cent to 5.25 per cent, there is still a significant chance it could opt for a more aggressive 50 basis point move to 5.5 per cent. Even a 25-basis point increase would lift borrowing rates to the highest level since March 2008 but would mark a slowdown from June’s half a percentage point hike. The Monetary Policy Committee’s decision is unlikely to be unanimous, with policymakers divided over the extent to which the BoE needs to tighten monetary policy further to rein in inflation. New external MPC member Megan Greene, who will cast her first vote this week, is seen as a more hawkish addition to the committee than her predecessor Silvana Tenreyro, who voted against recent rate increases.

Greene has warned against “start-stop monetary policy”, which she says could mean ending up having to tighten rates even more. Meanwhile, dovish member Swati Dhingra, who has been voting to keep rates on hold since December, is

likely to do the same again today.

Forecasts for the peak of the interest rate cycle have retreated below six per cent recently, and some of Britain’s biggest lenders have been cutting their fixed mortgage deals.

These developments come after the UK’s headline inflation rate dropped by more than expected in June to 7.9 per cent, pointing to cooling domestic price pressures. Core inflation, which strips out some of the more volatile components, also eased to 6.9 per cent from 7.1 per cent in May.

Although inflation is finally starting to come down, UK CPI is still sharply above the central bank’s two per cent target. And there are concerns about second round inflationary effects from the labour market and a wage-price spiral after British wages rose at their fastest pace on record.

Monetary policy is a blunt tool that is notoriously bad at tinkering at the edges. Although more rate hikes may be needed, there is light at the end of the tunnel with the UK heading towards the peak of the tightening cycle, which could support risk-on sentiment and in turn UK equities.

Where the City’s

and shakers get a few things off their chest. Today, it’s Victoria Scholar of Interactive Investor

BARBIE SAVES THE BIG SCREEN

‘Barbenheimer’ has provided a much-needed boost to struggling cinemas. In combination, Barbie and Oppenheimer have achieved more than $1.1bn in global ticket sales since 21 July. It is expected that the Barbie movie alone could gross more than $1bn around the world once its stint at movie theatres completes. Pandemic lockdowns and the rise of streaming services like Netflix have weighed heavily on global cinema trips in recent years. However, this summer’s hype around Barbenheimer has convinced many movie fans to head back to their local cinemas.

£ This week, Uber reported its first ever operating profit and record trip numbers during the second quarter. Net income in the period hit $394m (£310m), outshining analysts’ expectations for a loss of $49.2m. This comes as a welcome development for Uber ,which has amassed losses of $31.5bn since 2014. Shares have surged more than 100 per cent over the past 12 months thanks to a broader rebound in technology after last year’s ‘tech wreck’. However, shares fell yesterday after it warned about rival Lyft’s effective pricing.

Mansion House reforms have sectorwide support, says boss of IP Group

CHRIS DORRELL

REFORMS to boost investment in the UK’s high-growth companies have support from across the sector, the boss of FTSE 250 IP Group told City A.M.

“There have never been more stakeholders across the sector – be it regulators, capital providers, the stock exchange and companies – saying that this is something which is important,” Greg Smith, chief executive of IP

WHAT I’M LISTENING TO THIS WEEK

Group said.

IP Group invests in high-growth tech and life sciences firms.

In response to concerns that the UK’s high-growth companies are leaving the UK, the government has taken steps to unleash a £75bn wave of investment into Britain’s private companies through the Mansion House Compact.

“We need to deliver growth in the UK. And one way to do that is to

ensure that we are making the most of backing our science base and are using our long-term capital to do so in an appropriate way,” Smith said.

“There’s a lot of common alignment around this being a jolly good idea,” Smith continued.

Smith was speaking after the company’s half-year results, in which IP Group narrowed its half-year losses to £54.5m from £309.8m in the same period last year.

£ Elon Musk will face a financial penalty from San Francisco authorities after putting up a flashing X sign on its X, formerly Twitter, headquarters building. Last week, Musk changed the microblogging site’s name as part of a company rebrand as it looks to reposition itself away from the globally recognised blue bird logo. Musk says he’s planning to create an ‘everything app’ with the company shifting beyond just 140-character messages, that bore similarities to birds tweeting to one another.

The High Performance podcast aims to provide “an intimate glimpse into the lives of high-achieving successful individuals”. This episode with journalist and broadcaster Emily Maitlis delves into her experience before, during and after her captivating interview with Prince Andrew over his ties to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Maitlis talks about the intense level of preparation she put into the discussion and why that contributed to the interview’s triumph, providing wider lessons about the importance of being ultra prepared to achieve success. She talks about the highs and lows of her time working on BBC Newsnight as well as her departure from the British broadcasting institution. Maitlis also discusses the challenges of juggling a dynamic career with motherhood and why running is an important part of her life.

movers

Smith said there had “never been more stakeholders” calling for reform

Rise in Panadol sales fuels GSK spinoff Haleon

JESS JONES

STRONG sales of toothpaste and painkillers contributed to healthy results for Haleon, the newly-formed consumer healthcare firm spun out of GSK last year.

In the first half of 2023, the Surreyheadquartered company’s revenue increased to £5.7bn, up 10.6 per cent compared to the same period last year, the group reported yesterday.

The uptick was driven by Haleon’s ‘power brands’ such as Sensodyne, Panadol, Denture Care and Otrivin nasal spray, which as a group grew 10 per cent in the six months to 30 June.

Sales were also boosted by a significant uptick in both pain relief and cold and flu medication in China, with the country finally coming out of Covid-19 restrictions.

Adjusted operating profit for the British multinational also rose to

£1.3bn, a rise of 8.9 per cent from the first half of 2022.

Haleon began trading on the London Stock Exchange last July after pharmaceutical company GSK separated its consumer healthcare business from the group.

“One year from listing, we are very pleased with Haleon’s first half results,” said Haleon chief executive Brian McNamara.

“Looking ahead, whilst we continue to expect a challenging environment given further pressure on consumer spending and global geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties, we remain confident in the resilience of Haleon’s incredible portfolio of category leading brands,” he added.

For the fiscal year 2023, Haleon have raised growth forecasts up slightly to between seven and eight per cent.

Despite the positive update, shares dropped to close down two per cent.

HALEON’S YEAR ON THE MARKET

The news beats Netflix in Ofcom media report

JESS JONES

TRADITIONAL news channels have beaten Netflix to secure the top spots on the nation’s television appetite as audiences increasingly drift to different media outlets, according to Ofcom's latest annual Media Nations report.

MAYBE there really is something to the quiet complaints of CEOs and board chairs that the London equity markets simply don’t appreciate value anymore.

After all, Haleon looks on paper a perfect candidate for an investor: recognisable brands, a never-ending demand for its services, and now thanks to the spin-off from GSK a leadership team whose sole focus is shifting ever more consumer healthcare products across the world. It seems something of a no brainer –not least with four profit upgrades across the year it has spent on the public markets.

The problem? GSK and Pfizer’s

significant share holdings in the business, with both expected to sell chunks of their shares over the coming months. That, naturally, puts downward pressure on a share price. It may be the case that Haleon have to just hold on tight as its rollercoaster start on the London Stock Exchange continues. A higher dividend yield would help. But compared to other consumerfocused peers like Unilever, Haleon’s management must be pretty pleased. AS.

BBC One emerged as the viewers' first port of call when switching on the TV last year, capturing 20 per cent of the audience, closely followed by ITV1 at 13 per cent.

Netflix was third with six per cent of individuals first turning to the binge-inducing streamer’s content.

The report revealed news accounts for 60 per cent of daily TV and video consumption, equal to nearly three hours per person each day.

However, Ofcom’s research also showed a concerning trend for traditional broadcasters, as the percentage of viewers tuning in on a weekly basis saw the steepest annual decline ever recorded, dropping from 83 per cent in 2021 to 79 percent in 2022.

Nick Swimer, partner at Reed Smith, said the report suggests “TV is not dead but certainly ailing”.

INVESTEC WEALTH AND RATHBONES TIE-UP GIVEN GREEN LIGHT

Investec yesterday confirmed that the proposed merger of Rathbones and its wealth and investment arm had secured regulatory approval. The financial services firm said it expects the deal to be completed on 21 September provided the City regulatory and the London Stock Exchange agree to admit the shares of the newly combined entity to the premium listing segment of the stock exchange. The two firms announced the £839m tie-up in April. The deal will create an “enlarged Rathbones Group” with £100bn in assets under management, making it one of the UK’s top money managers.

DATA ERASURE GROUP BLANCCO TO BE TAKEN PRIVATE IN £175M DEAL

Data-erasure specialist Blancco Technology Group yesterday announced it is set to be taken private in a cash takeover. US investment firm Francisco Partners will acquire the company in a deal which values it at £175m. The firm agreed to pay 223p per share for the tech group, representing a 25 per cent premium to the stock’s closing price on Tuesday. Shares in Blancco soared on the news, finishing to close up 22.91 per cent on the London Stock Exchange yesterday. Blancco said its board would unanimously recommend the takeover to shareholders, with owners of 46.6 per cent of its shares having already indicated support for the deal.

UK TO ADOPT GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY RULES IN GREENWASHING CRACKDOWN

The Government has announced it will adopt internationally-approved sustainability standards to help crack down on corporate greenwashing and bolster London as a global financial centre. In a statement yesterday, the Department for Business and Trade said the UK’s disclosure standards will set out rules on how companies share their sustainability-related risks and opportunities. Under the rules, firms face more pressure to publicly disclose their impact on the climate including on their Scope 3 emissions – which covers the products or services that they sell. The FCA will oversee disclosures from UK-listed companies

VR-VR-VR-UH Ferrari boosted by ultra-luxe consumers but investors left unimpressed

FERRARI yesterday upped its forecasts for the year ahead, as the luxury carmaker benefitted from cash-rich consumers’ ambivalence to economic conditions. Shares failed to rally, however, closing marginally in the red after a “disappointing” update.

Taylor Wimpey hit by rate hikes as profits plunge

LAURA MCGUIRE

SHARES in Taylor Wimpey continued to tick up yesterday despite the housebuilder reporting a near halving of profits for the first half of the year.

The housebuilder said operating profit had dropped 44.5 per cent in the period on the back of red-hot mortgage rates, which have shattered consumer confidence.

The London-listed construction firm also reported a 21.2 per cent contraction in revenues down to £1.6bn, compared to £2bn in the same period last year.

Profit before tax was also down 28.9 per cent to £237m.

“The first half of the year has been characterised by variable market conditions including substantially higher mortgage rates,” chief of Taylor Wimpey, Jennie Daly, said.

Investors seemed unphased, however,

SPORT England take on Wales in their first Rugby World Cup warm-up

PREVIEW AND OPINION ON THIS WEEKEND’S MATCH –AND WHAT’S AT STAKE PAGE 19

with shares bouncing to close up over three per cent after the update yesterday, though they remain at around half the value of their pre-pandemic peak.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson pu this down to “a modest upgrade to guidance [which] appears to have prompted a return of some confidence”.

The housebuilder’s

The housebuilder saw profits almost half in the first six months of 2023

order book also remained healthy at 7,688 homes.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said the results showed “glimmers of hope”in terms of future projects.  The results come amid a challenging period for the housing industry, which has been battling a decline in activity amid 13 consecutive interest rate hikes from the Bank of England.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

LEGAL AND PUBLIC NOTICES

SEARCH NOTICE

Re: Lau Kwok Leung Tso (“the Tso”)

We, the undersigned have instructions to represent the Tso in dealing with the Tso’s property and would like to invite Mr Lau Kwai Fong, the issue / son of the late Mr. Lau Shu Sang (deceased) to contact our Mr. Peter Yeung / Ms Peggie Ho at (852) 25861881 or peteryeung@hlly.com.hk so to arrange for a meeting of the Tso to resolve the matter regarding the disposal of the Tso’s property.

Hau, Lau, Li & Yeung

Solicitors

Unit 1720, 17th Floor Tower 1, Admiralty Centre, 18 Harcourt Road, Admiralty, Hong Kong

Tel: (852) 2586 1881

Fax: (852) 2596 0909

Andy Silvester meets Andrew Carter, the Chapel Down boss taking inspiration from England’s cricketers

ILOVE THEapproach. They’re challengers,” Andrew Carter tells me, as we discuss England’s Test cricket side from the Chapel Down terrace a couple of hours prior to the fifth Test at the Oval. Captain Ben Stokes has certainly rejuvenated England’s first XI, and in his own way changed the entire sport of five-day cricket with a bit of derring-do.

“That’s what we do, too, really.”

Much like England’s cricketers this summer, who defied scepticism that their particular brand of play would work against the might of Australia,, England’s growing sparkling wine industry has certainly proved people wrong in recent years.

Chapel Down has led the way; it’s the largest, and most profitable, in the market, and right now produces around 1.5m bottles a year with a plan to double that by 2026. All that in a part of the world that until 20 years ago was regarded as –at best –a backwater of the global wine industry.

Carter clearly takes pride in not just Chapel Down’s success but that of the wider English wine industry, centred today in Kent, Sussex and Surrey.

Having been managing director of Chase Distillery, sold to Diageo in 2021, it was the challenge of building the industry –and its market leader –that appealed to the likable, Buckinghamshire-born drinks veteran.

“I really wanted a big drinks legacy project. And creating a wine region in the south east of England is as big as it gets. In our respective lifetimes, we’ll have the best part of 100,000 acres of vineyards. We’ll be the next big global wine region,” he tells me.

The story of English sparkling is now, to a certain degree, wellknown. Parts of the south east have the same soil –the chalky terroir –as the champagne region of France, and climate change has created the right weather conditions for vine growth. English winemakers such as Nyetimber, Gusborne and Rathfinny have all come to prominence; and qualitywise, the proof is in the taste. Chapel Down, rather mischievously, held a blind tasting in Reimsthe heart of the Champagne region - earlier this

A LITTLE BAZBALL WITH YOUR BUBBLES?

mium-priced but we’re still at about a 20 per cent discount to French champagne,” Carter says. Waitrose offers a bottle of Chapel Down’s classic brut for the princely sum of £26.99 –Moet Chandon sits above the £40 mark. And whilst the taste profile differs a tad, Chapel Down’s crispness is at least more to your correspondent’s taste than its more famous French cousin.

And anyway, Carter says,“we could practically sell twice what we make. That’s the reality of the strength of the

brand that we have.”

Carter is a brands man. He’s been behind relationships with the English Cricket Board, the Boat Race, and Ascot. Chapel Down signed a three-year extension with the Berkshire racecourse last week, with the horse-racing fan and CEO in attendance.

“Awareness has gone from about 28 to 37 per cent of the population in the past year, and these sponsorships are part of that. It’s about putting the brand in front of as many English sparkling wine producers as possible. And it’s then about translating that awareness into penetration,” he says.

“We’ve got 14 per cent of English sparkling wine drinkers drinking Chapel Down. Compared to a Moet, with awareness of 80 per cent and penetration of 20 per cent, so there’s a long pathway ahead to keep building brand awareness.”

That long pathway also looks a lot like an opportunity. Chapel Down has just received planning permission for a new winery near Canterbury, and wine tourism is on the up, too –some

60,000 people a year visit Tenterdon, the brand’s original vineyard and winery complete with a well-regarded restaurant.

Looking ahead in a business that takes four years from vine-to-bottle –at least –requires investment. “I picked up a level of investment,” he says, when he took the job, with investors including Lord Michael Spencer. Expansion will require more –with the balance being a desire to maximise profitability in the near-term, with a plan to grow in the long-term.

Either way, the industry and Chapel Down is certainly growing up. “We’re in our teenage years,” reckons Carter.

“And when you’re in your teenage years you can experiment. When you’re in champagne, established for three centuries, there are so many rules and regulations.

“It’s nice to have that flexibility,” he says. With that, we wrap up, and look forward to watching the other English rule-breakers –this time on the field. Chapel Down looks set for similar success.

Arm aims for £55bn IPO valuation as potential anchor investors line up

JESS JONES

BRITISH chip innovator Arm has set its sights on a valuation target of $60bn (£47bn) to $70bn when it goes public, which could be as soon as September.

Arm is gearing up to float on New York’s Nasdaq in the first week of September, with pricing for the IPO to arrive in the following week according

to Bloomberg News. It hopes of raising $8-10bn.

Softbank, which owns Arm, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Bloomberg report, while Arm said it would not be commenting at this time.

The firm filed for a US stock market listing in April, snubbing the British government’s pleas to list in London.

Tech firms are increasingly swerving the UK to opt for US listings, with ministers and regulators in London now working on plans to help make the City’s capital markets more attractive.

Hermann Hauser, a key figure in the development of Arm’s first processor, blamed Brexit “idiocy” for the company’s decision to list in the US.

Arm snubbed the UK’s London Stock Exchange in favour of New York

Let us not forget, the English invented sparkling wine

THE SQUARE MILE AND ME

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?

My first job was doing shift work in a wool processing factory in Australia.

Whilst the conditions were tough, the people I worked alongside with on the factory floor were amazing and really embodied the value of hard work.

WHAT

WAS YOUR FIRST PROPER ‘CITY’ JOB?

My first real permanent ‘City’ job was at Grant Thornton back in 1999. Having moved back to London from Hong Kong, I was used to living and working in a dynamic global city, but I became totally in awe of the history and architecture in London. It still astounds me today –it’s a privilege to live in a city with such a history.

WHEN

DID YOU FEEL LIKE THE CITY WAS THE PLACE FOR YOU?

I spent almost half of my two decades at PwC leading the North West restructuring, advisory and insolvency team in Manchester, but moved back to the City about seven years ago.

Although I’m originally from Australia, I’ve always felt very at home in London and, these days, I can’t imagine living anywhere else. There is a real buzz about the City, especially now that more tourists are coming back post-pandemic.

ANY EMBARRASSING CITY FAUX PAS?

I’m sure there are too many to mention!

WHAT’S BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE CITY MOMENT?

Whenever I am by the Thames I always think of the history of London and the millions of people who have lived and worked here since pre-Roman times –it reminds you of the longevity of London as a city and that it has always been such an important nucleus for England and the UK.

WHICH CITY FIGURE DO YOU MOST ADMIRE, LIVING OR DEAD?

I think the impact Sir Adrian Cadbury had with the Cadbury report on corporate governance has probably had the most lasting impact on the City. Sadly one of the common themes of some insolvent companies is that their corporate governance and board room challenge has perhaps not lived up to the ethos Sir Adrian was promoting.

WHAT’S ONE THING YOU LOVE ABOUT THE CITY…

It’s hard to pick one thing! I think the visual mix of both historic

landmarks and modern skyscrapers makes the City really unique. Every day is a feast for the eyes.

... AND ONE THING YOU’D CHANGE?

Having the Waterloo and City line running on the weekends.

HOW OPTIMISTIC ARE YOU ABOUT 2023?

I like to look for the positives where I can. Clearly it’s been a tough few years for business, but the resilience that companies have shown has been nothing short of incredible.

I’m hopeful that with inflation starting to come down, interest rates stabilising (hopefully) and energy prices falling, it will give businesses and their funders greater certainty, and with that certainty a willingness to provide the cash that so many businesses need.

QUICKFIRE ROUND

FAVOURITE...

FILM: A BIT DATED BUT BLADE RUNNER

BAND: AS AN ANTIPODEAN I WOULD PROBABLY GO WITH INXS VIEW IN LONDON: DEFINITELY THE VIEW FROM THE SHARD!

TEA OR COFFEE?

TEA

WE’RE GOING FOR LUNCH. WHERE ARE WE GOING?

Brigade Bar & Grill on Tooley Street, which is right next to our More London office. The food is fantastic

and it’s set in a Grade II-listed fire station, which makes for a great atmosphere too. As a social enterprise that PwC has supported for many years, it also provides opportunities in the food industry for those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

AND IF WE’RE GRABBING A DRINK AFTER WORK?

I like Nine Lives off Tooley Street –which is a hidden gem near London Bridge.

WHERE’S HOME DURING THE WEEK?

I live near Guildford in Surrey. For me it has the perfect combination of access to the Surrey Hills, but also a very quick train link into Waterloo.

IT’S A SATURDAY AFTERNOON. WHERE WILL YOU BE?

I’ll usually be trying to improve my tennis game.

However, if I have given up in despair, then I’ll be enjoying lunch in one of the many amazing pub beer gardens in Surrey and the surrounding countryside.

YOU’VE GOT A WEEK OFF –WHERE ARE YOU GOING, AND WHO ARE YOU GOING WITH?

A week probably isn’t enough time to visit family back in Australia, so in the summer I’d pick somewhere like Majorca to soak up some sun, or the south coast of the UK (weather permitting).

We dig into the memory bank of the City’s great and good: this week, PwC’s head of insolvency David Kelly on his first job, a Tower Bridge restaurant and his Waterloo & City wishlist

CITY DASHBOARD

LONDON REPORT BEST OF THE BROKERS

YOUR ONE-STOP SHOP FOR BROKER VIEWS AND MARKET REPORTS ACHOO

FTSE 100: London index plummets after shock US debt downgrade

LONDON’s FTSE 100 plummeted during opening exchanges yesterday after a top credit ratings agency slashed their outlook on the US’s finances.

The capital’s premier index slumped 1.36 per cent to 7,561.64 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is a better reflection of the health of the UK economy, fell 1.33 per cent to 18,812.88 points.

Late on Tuesday night, Fitch, one the world’s most influential credit rating agencies, downgraded its assessment for the US’s debt position one level to AA+ from AAA. The latter is the top rung on Fitch’s rating ladder.

City traders seemingly absorbed Fitch’s fresh judgement poorly, ditching London-listed stocks. Just three stocks on the FTSE 100 were up

in

European shares also came under heavy fire. The pan-continental Stoxx 600 shed 1.35 per cent, while Germany’s Dax and France’s Cac 40 nosedived 1.46 per cent and 1.26 per cent respectively. Wall Street’s top indices all opened sharply lower.

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey, whose shares climbed nearly three per cent, said in fresh results out yesterday that pretax profit tilted 29 per cent lower to £237.7m in the first half of this year.

Among the worst performers yesterday was online supermarket and middle-class favourite Ocado, which shed 5.61 per cent, arresting a strong rally that has pushed its share price up around 50 per cent so far this year.

Pound sterling weakened 0.46 per cent against the US dollar.

Oil prices tumbled 2.5 per cent.

One housebuilder that is doing relatively fine amid the interest-rate-rise-induced housing market slowdown is FTSE 100-listed Taylor Wimpey. Although “higher rates have led to lower sales rates… the group is still seeing good levels of underlying interest. The order book stands at £2.175bn and 7,900 homes, of which 77 per cent are exchanged,” Peel Hunt noted.

A relatively subdued set of results for the three months to June from mid-tier lender Virgin Money UK yesterday meant it didn’t have much reason to ramp up its guidance. Despite that, shares in the bank leapt more than four per cent yesterday. As Peel Hunt analysts noted, it was a rare occasion when Virgin Money didn’t shock traders to the downside, likely pushing its shares upwards.

“There is a saying that when the US sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold. That is certainly true with how the US government’s credit rating downgrade has troubled markets globally.”

LAITH KHALAF, AJ BELL

OPINION

EDITED BY SASCHA O’SULLIVAN

Natwest learnt a hard lesson in leaving the on-camera rows to the politicians

Will Cooling

NIGEL Farage may have long left the European Parliament but in GB News he’s found a new bully pulpit watched by a small circle of the British public. And for the past month he has been talking about how Coutts, a prestigious subsidiary of Natwest, closed his account in a politically motivated decision.

This erstwhile populist’s campaign to be allowed to continue to access merchant banking has successfully forced Natwest’s chief executive officer to resign. But what has been overlooked throughout, is that Farage didn’t have to hound his former bankers on television to seek redress. He could have turned to the courts even before Alison Rose took leave of her senses and disclosed his personal financial information in defiance of company policy and data protection law.

The 2010 Equality Act has a poor reputation amongst many conservatives given its role in entrenching liberal attitudes towards minorities within the workplace. But it’s a far more subtle and nuanced piece of legislation than such critics allow. Rather than just protect women and minorities, it protects everyone against discrimination based on their age, sex, race, and sexual orientation. It also protects everyone

John Oxley

THE narrow result in the recent Uxbridge by-election has emboldened the Tories and sent Labour into a crisis of confidence. This is more driven by pre-election expectations than the reality of the result. On a broader reading, the Conservatives should be concerned about how poorly they performed in Uxbridge and what it indicates about their declining popularity in London. Sneaking through in Uxbridge by fewer than five hundred votes only seems like a win because of the current state of the party. Boris Johnson’s former seat was a safe one. It and its predecessor seats have been solidly blue since 1970. Johnson himself held it by more than 7,000 votes. To scrape it by less than 2 per cent of votes cast is a narrow escape, not a convincing win. Labour can still expect it to turn at the general election when turnout is higher and Conservative resources spread more thinly.

from discrimination due to their religion and other personal beliefs, albeit with some key caveats.

Rather than gossip with the BBC, Natwest would have been on firmer ground if they had played his accusations with a straight bat. They should have clearly and openly said that if Farage truly felt he had been discriminated against due his political beliefs, he should sue them for a breach of the Equality Act or enter binding arbitration on the same basis.

This would then place the burden onto Farage; to be protected under the Equality Act, a person’s belief must

pass several tests. Given his reputation as one of the foremost carnival barkers in the circus of British politics in the 2010s, Farage would face the not insignificant challenge of proving that the beliefs which caused Coutts to close his account were both sincerely held by him and part of a fully formed philosophical belief system. He would also have to provide evidence these beliefs were worthy of respect in a democratic society, which would require him to demonstrate that his views do not attack other people’s fundamental rights. There is a good chance that any such

legal challenge would fail at this hurdle, either because Natwest was able to prove that they didn’t discriminate against Farage due to his beliefs, or Farage being unable to prove said beliefs were protected in law. However, should it be established that legally protected beliefs of Farage did cause Coutts to close his bank account, that does not end the matter. Under the Equality Act it is legal to discriminate against people if it’s a proportionate means to achieving a legitimate end. Given that Farage’s account was closed as part of a process to manage both a boutique brand’s repu-

The Conservatives have a London problem, try as they might to ignore it

That the Tories are faring so badly in outer London seats should make the party really worry about its wider position in the capital. Uxbridge is the sort of seat that ought to be comfortable Tory. It is largely affluent and suburban and voted heavily in favour of Leave. Seats like this were the bedrock of Boris Johnson’s “doughnut” strategy to win the mayoralty, and failing here indicates that the Tories are really struggling in the capital.

This is born out by the polling. Recent figures suggest Labour have a commanding lead in London, nudging close to sixty percent vote share. Fewer than twenty percent of Londoners intend to vote Tory at the next general election. This could lead to a

catastrophic performance in the capital for the Conservatives.

Now the Tories hold three central London seats synonymous with financial heft – Kensington, the Cities of London and Westminster, and Chelsea

and Fulham. All three-look set to shift to another party in the next election.

So too will many of the richer seats on the periphery of the city. Some predictions show the party holding only a handful of their twenty-one current London seats, those that stick into Kent and Surrey and have majorities of over twenty thousand. This would be a far worse result in the capital than in 1997.

London’s politics has shown a remarkable decline for the Tories. In 1992, they held 41 of the capital’s seats. In 2019, even though they had a bigger national majority, they retained just 21. The party has only won two of the capital’s six mayoral elections and now controls only six London borough councils.

tation and the broader group’s compliance with anti-money laundering laws, it would take something truly extraordinary for them to not succeed in proving they were trying to achieve a legitimate end. That they offered him a less prestigious account with more limited access to credit, would also be strong evidence that the firm’s measures were proportionate.

But rather than rely on their strong position under the law, they fought Farage where he’s strongest. And in doing so they weakened their legal position, above and beyond Farage now having grounds to sue for breaches of data protection laws. The Equality Act has special provisions to protect those who sincerely complain about feeling that they have been the victims of discrimination, even if said discrimination is ultimately proven to not have occurred, or to have been legally justified. By responding to Farage’s allegations that they discriminated against him by revealing his personal information and causing the BBC to disparage his financial circumstances, Natwest may well have engaged in illegal victimisation of a complainant.

Nigel Farage has recently talked about entering ingo negotiations about having his Coutts account reopened. I’d be astounded if this wasn’t accompanied by a significant compensation package. Natwest have turned controversy into a crisis by eschewing litigation for media management. All companies would do well to learn from their mistakes.

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

This is perhaps unsurprising. London is younger, more diverse and has fewer homeowners than the rest of the country – pushing heavily into demographics that don’t vote Tory. Yet the party cannot simply dismiss this underperformance. It represents a significant long-term challenge for them.

London has such a significant block of seats that it is hard to win without a decent performance there. Losing traditional Tory parts of the capital means they have to pick up seats elsewhere. Equally, the Londoners of today are likely to flow out into the Home Counties in future, while the rest of the electorate will start to resemble London, both socially and culturally. Writing off these demographics today will make it harder to win in the future.

Uxbridge’s result was a lucky escape for the Conservatives, but celebrating it masks a bigger problem. The party has become increasingly alienated from the capital, both on its policy offerings and its outlook. This is reflected in electoral trends and could lead to devastating results in the next general election. Becoming so electorally disconnected from the capital could be a real challenge for the party, and raises big questions about how in-step they remain with Britain’s future.

£ John Oxley is a political commentator

Nigel Farage used his slot on GB News to rage against Coutts and Natwest

That the Tories are faring so badly in outer London should make the party worry

WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR VIEWS

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

An office job balancing act

[Re: The tide is finally turning on working from home - and so is the evidence, August 1]

The work-from-home vs. office debate has reached a stalemate. This binary view is too narrow; needlessly pitting bosses and employees against one another. It’s time to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

Sure, some studies may show that staff get more work done in the office and there are huge benefits to everyone being together in one place. But what about employee wellbeing? These are people, not just metrics on a spreadsheet. And there will be subjectivity based on professional experience, home environment, and company culture.

There are also gender issues that are too often ignored by work-from-home opponents. A recent survey showed that fewer than two-thirds of women (who are more likely to have caring responsibilities) would accept their dream job if it meant going into the office full-time. In contrast, 67 per cent of men would be happy to do so. We can’t ignore structural inequalities when considering flexible working policies.

Balance is the only way forward. We need to accept that time in the office and time at home are both incredibly valuable. This means creating offices where people genuinely want to spend time and collaborate, while also recognising the myriad of benefits some work from home days can bring. This ‘flexible hybrid’ approach offers the nuance and balance that will allow staff to thrive.

Jon Dweck Space32

The Bank of England needs to stop rising interest rates to avoid a painful recession

Damian Pudner

THE Bank of England is at a significant crossroads in the wake of the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank's quarter-point interest rate hike.

Today, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is poised to unveil its latest policy decision, an announcement that has stirred considerable speculation, with markets pricing in a 0.25 per cent rate hike.

But there is a rising undercurrent of dissent within the financial and political sectors questioning this apparent consensus among leading central banks.

Of course, the Bank of England has independence over monetary policy decisions, but that mandate to achieve its inflation target is set by the government. Therefore, the Old Lady is still very much accountable to Parliament when it fails to achieve this target.

Over the past two years, the Bank's inflation forecasting has consistently fallen short, and by a considerable margin, raising genuine questions over its credibility.

As late as the Bank of England’s November 2021 official inflation forecast, the central projection was that inflation would remain at 3.4 per cent in Q4 2022 and 2.2 per cent in Q4 2023. The Bank’s highest (although the least likely) official forecast was for inflation to reach 6 per cent to 7 per cent between Q4 2021 and Q1 2022.

EXPLAINER-IN-BRIEF: A RICKETY OLD PARLIAMENT

When Notre Dame burned down in 2019, keen-eyed politicos noted the threat to Britain’s own historical landmark - the Houses of Parliament. For years, governments have shafted the responsibiltiy to complete restoration works, largely because no one wants to lead the country from a random building in the backend of London rather than the iconic Palace of Westminster.

But yesterday, a leading expert on Parliament’s restoration warned that tens of

thousands of unexpected repair jobs were needed on the estate each year, according to PoliticsHome.

Last year, there were 44,726 unplanned reactive repair jobs. Dr Alexandra Meakin, an expert in Parliament’s restoration programme, said staff were “constantly having to react to all of these different unscheduled maintenence events”.

Last month, a glasss ceiling panel collapsed in Portcullis House, leading to water pouring into the building.

As we know, inflation reached 10.5 per cent at the end of 2022, which means that the Bank’s central – most likely – inflation forecast erred by more than 300 per cent. Of course, the war in Ukraine was not part of the calculations in November 2021, and the ensuing energy crisis has been blamed for the wild underestimations of the Bank of England.

But the MPC has consistently failed to predict or control inflation, and when we eventually learn lessons from the misjudged monetary policies of the Covid-19 pandemic, we must make room for recalibration of the Bank’s decision making.

The Bank will be undertaking a review of its inflation forecasting, led by the former US Fed Chair, Ben Bernanke. The challenge for Professor Bernanke will be enormous. The review should be used to challenge

“groupthink” at the meetings of the Monetary Policy Committee, as well as the benchmark model used by the Bank to make its projections; a model that disregards the amount of money as a useful indicator of future inflationary/deflationary pressures.

In the past 18 months, the Bank has progressively tightened monetary policy 13 times, elevating the base rate from almost zero to 5 per cent – its November 2021 Monetary Policy Report forecast Bank rate to remain at 1 per cent between 2022 and 2024.

Furthermore, the Bank is actively withdrawing money with its asset sales programme (so-called “quantitative tightening”), by £80bn per year, with £40bn in active gilt sales and £40bn in naturally maturing gilts that are not replaced.

Until recently, excess liquidity and the surge in personal savings during the pandemic provided a welcome buffer for household budgets. However, the current economic indicators exhibit worrying signs, most notably a contraction in money supply. By ignoring these warning signs, the

Bank might inadvertently lead us into a self-inflicted recession that is more severe, widespread, and enduring than many existing recessionary forecasts suggest. If the Bank wants to reassert its – very much damaged – credibility, it should not tighten monetary policy further.

While additional rate rises that appear to fight inflation may gain the Bank market credibility in the short term, it risks destabilising the economy over the medium to long term even more.

The Bank’s excessive money creation in 2020-21 led to an inflationary boom in 2022. At this stage, a slowdown and a market correction are inevitable. However, we do not want the Bank of England to overcorrect past mistakes and contribute to a longer and deeper recession; ultimately fostering the repetition of “boom and bust” cycles. Sometimes, to do nothing is the most sensible policy decision.

£ Damian Pudner is Director of the Institute of International Monetary Research. Juan Castaneda contributed to this article.

Andrew Bailey is expected to announce further interest rate rises today

The UK has always been competitive with the EU, and now there’s a new metric to go by: sleep quality. According to research by Bed Kingdom, Slovakian residents are the most well-rested. Brits ranked 19th outof 28.

RESTING EASY Britain one of the least well-rested countries in Europe

CULTURE

EDITED BY STEVE DINNEEN @steve_dinneen

AL MURRAY PLAY IS A ROYAL MESS

THEATRE

THE CROWN JEWELS

GARRICK THEATRE

BY ADAM BLOODWORTH

AlMurray made a career out of playing a working class pub landlord, but it turns out he’s funnier, and certainly more natural, playing a Hooray Henry. In The Crown Jewels Murray is King Charles II, and he’s royally good at it, gesticulating about the place and growling out his words with disdain, like the aristos do. He delivers his catchphrase, “so funnnneeeh” in the way only an actor who went to Oxbridge could. Why isn’t he playing toffs more?

It’s the only really energising thing about this new piece of writing by Men Behaving Badly creator Simon Nye, in an anotherwise underpowered show that doesn’t always know what to do with its frankly OTT cast of celebrity stars.

The Crown Jewels is based on a true story about a time during Charles’ reign when one Parliamentarian rebel robbed the crown jewels. Neil Morrissey from Men Behaving Badly and Joe Thomas from The Inbetweeners lead the rebel pack in the first act, alongside ringleader Colonel Blood, played by Aidan McArdle, as they infiltrate the king’s castle and charm him to get access to the jewels. There are some clangers in the script

early on, and director Sean Foley doesn’t always know where to place, or what to do with, his gaggle of A-Listers in terms of delivery. They often seem to just be hanging around on stage without much purpose in a first act that is slow off the starting block.

None of this talented troupe are really given enough time to workshop their characters; Thomas and Morrissey both feel underused, with Thomas thrown only the odd line. The plot, and look of the stages, often feel pantomime, and lack the energy or mishap needed.

Before act 1 is out, Murray saves the day with a hilarious delivery as king, engaging brilliantly with the audience. He does some decent acting too when the stealing jewel bit happens, and he’s got the best comic relief in the form of his submissive courtier sidekick, but it’s not enough against a meandering plot that, especially in act 2, feels like it slowly extinguishes itself.

Mel Giedroyc is another saving grace as both a French noblewoman and a British maid, decently careering between the two with the knowing smile that shows she’s in on the joke.

Carrie Hope Fletcher, also in dual roles, feels underused like Morrissey, but belts encouragingly every ten minutes or so, even if it all feels a bit incongruous.

They might offer the audience plates of swan, but that’s about the richest part of this comedy that feels too light on laughs and vibe to ever really get going

THE HANGOVER FOR ASIAN AMERICANS

RECOMMENDED

JOY RIDE

DIR. ADELE LIM

BY VICTORIA LUXFORD

There have been a slew of films recently that have found success with stories centring on the Asian-American experience. Crazy Rich Asians (2018) was a massive hit that brought a different perspective to Hollywood filmmaking, while films such as The Farewell, and Disney animation Raya and The Last Dragon continue to make audiences laugh, cry, and feel seen.

Adele Lim, the screenwriter behind Raya… and Crazy Rich Asians, makes her directorial debut with Joy Ride, an endearing and funny story about connecting with your past.

Ashley Park (Emily In Paris) plays Audrey, an Asian-American lawyer raised by white adoptive parents. She travels to China, where she believes she was born, to try to deal with a difficult client (Ronny Chieng), with her best friends – artist Lolo (Sherry Cola), cousin Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), and college friend Kat (Stephanie Hsu) in tow. Things become complicated when the client demands to meet Audrey’s birth parents, whom she has never met.

Produced by Seth Rogen and written by Family Guy scribes Teresa Hsiao and Cherry Chevapravatdumrong, the focus is on gross-out humour and the “vacation gone wrong” antics that made Girls Trip and The Hangover huge hits. Incidents like the group taking too much cocaine or accidentally flashing on a YouTube video won’t be for everyone, but at least the outrageous moments are balanced by a talented cast.

The four stars have wonderful chemistry, a necessity given a script that requires characters who can switch on a dime between melodrama and comedy.

All four succeed in their own way: Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All At Once) excels as an actress desperate to rediscover her promiscuous past, while Non-Binary actor Sabrina Wu is delightful as an awkward K-Pop enthusiast. And Park offers a glimpse at the life of someone disconnected from their culture, unaware of Asian-American reference points having been brought up in a predominantly white community. Layered writing and game performances make Joy Ride a memorable romp that will have you wiping away tears of laughter before feeling a lump in your throat. It’s a great portrayal of the messiness of life, friendship, and family.

RECOMMENDED

PARIS MEMORIES DIR. ALICE WINOCOUR BY VICTORIA LUXFORD

Moving on from unimaginable terror is the subject of French drama Paris Memories, a fictional mystery grounded in real events. Virginie Efira plays Mia, a woman who takes shelter from the rain in a Paris restaurant. By tragic coincidence, it becomes one of the targets of the 2015 Paris shootings.

The event leaves Mia traumatised but unable to remember what happened. Piecing together fragments of that night, she tries to ascertain what happened in order to move on.

As with her previous film, 2020’s Proxima, director Alice Winocour brings a human focus to a much larger story. Her brother was a survivor of the attacks, being present at the concert hall where the majority of murders happened. Winocour doesn’t focus on that night, only showing Mia’s limited viewpoint. Instead, it’s a fascinating drama about the questions asked in the aftermath.

Mia wonders why she survived, struggles with an accusation that she locked others out of a bathroom to save herself, and strikes up a romance with one of the fellow diners from the night (Benoît Magimel).

Winocour and her star offer a thoughtful meditation on tragedy, saying volumes through very modest means.

EDITOR’S PICKS

ANSELM KIEFER –FINNEGANS WAKE AT WHITE CUBE BERMONDSEY

This exhibition, made up of paintings, sculptures and installations, is designed as a response to James Joyce’s inscrutable 1939 novel of the same name. You walk through fields of rubble and barbed wire, passing the dried remains of sunflowers and cabinets containing the decaying remains of unreadable books. If it sounds like the nightmare of an Irish literature student the day before an exam –that’s exactly the vibe, although it also riffs on the artist’s previous work, creating a fascinating and utterly unique exhibition.

PLAY VIDEO GAMES AT THE SCIENCE MUSEUM

Whether you’re into the multiplayer action of classic Halo or the solo thrill of the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, the Power Up exhibition at the Science Museum will have something for you. There are sections for Mario, Sonic, rhythm games and even VR, as well as a potted history of home gaming consoles, making this a broad and deep cut through the recent history of a medium that’s worth more than the film and music industry combined.

THE X-PHILE: ELON MUSK’S ADVENTURES WITH TWITTER

Where to even begin? Over the last week Elon Musk changed the name of his $44bn toy from Twitter to, simply, “X”. In doing so he unleashed yet another torrent of confusion and indignation, something the eccentric billionaire must surely be somehow feeding upon, vampirelike, such is the frequency with which he invites it. But even in the grand scheme of Musk’s grand schemes this is a Big One. In an online world where brand loyalty is everything, changing the name of a major social network is... bold. Even stupid.

“X is the future state of unlimited interactivity,” announced new CEO Linda Yaccarino, “centred in audio, video, messaging, payments [and] banking.”

The move was so sudden that police were called to Twitter –sorry, X –headquarters when workmen set about removing the iconic bird sign; it turned out the “unauthorised” work hadn’t been cleared with the building management. Eventually, though, the new X logo was triumphantly raised over the Market Street headquarters. Not just any X, either, but one that strobed painfully throughout the night, pulsing the letter into the sleepless eyes of everyone in the building opposite. A slew of complaints inevitably followed, which, combined with the fact building inspectors hadn’t signed off on the permit-less structure, meant the X was dismantled just three days after its erection. “I should just buy all the buildings around X Headquarters so we can put the sign back up,” joked a Musk parody account with almost 700,000 followers.

Nobody, though, could stop Musk from changing the logo on his own website. Overnight, just as it once inexplicably changed to the Dogecoin dog, the famous bird was banished into the ether. Musk even

commandeered the handle @x from San Francisco-based photographer Gene X Hwang, who had registered it all the way back in 2007; Twitter reportedly offered him “some merch” in return. Hwang now tweets from the decidedly less cool handle @x12345678998765. “All’s well that ends well,” he tweeted from the new account, although I’m not sure that’s really true in this case.

Musk has history with the 24th letter of the alphabet, scrawling it over everything he owns like a teenage skater doodling the “Cool S” on his pencil case. Most obviously it’s in the name of his rocket company SpaceX but it was also the name of the online bank he founded in 1999 (x.com) and it’s woven into the naming conventions at Tesla, where cars were branded “S”, “3,” “X,” and “Y”, combining to spell “S3XY”.

And there is something cool about the letter X, used in maths (and 90s TV

shows) to represent the unknown. There’s an elegance to its typographical simplicity: those bold, intersecting lines with their pleasing symmetry. It’s a shame everyone else already had the same thought. There’s a good chance you’re reading this article on an iPhone X, for instance, and there’s an outside chance you’re looking at it on an Xbox. And companies from Xerox to Exxon have been trading on X’s inherent cultural cache for decades.

Indeed the letter X is so prevalent in the tech world that Musk may face a legal battle to hang onto it: Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta already owns a trademark for a white and blue X relating to the field of “social networking services”.

And then there is the... other problem. X has become synonymous with another major international industry: pornography. In his attempt to own one 26th of the alphabet, Musk is now facing off against some of the filthiest websites in the world, not least xvideos.com, the most popular smut peddler that’s ever existed, with 3.3bn monthly visitors (it’s the only porn channel to break the top 10 most visited websites, ahead of even PornHub). Shortly after the rebrand, Musk suspended the official @xvideos account, which would presumably conflict with his plans for videos on X.

What does all this mean for users?

Probably not much in the short term. It’s just more proof that the company formerly known as Twitter has become the plaything of a mercurial billionaire, further removed than ever from the “global town square” once envisioned by Musk.

I’ll leave you with an elegy from celebrity chef Raymond Blanc: “I understand everything changes, but what a shame to lose this unique little tweeting bird which we all came to love. All this to be replaced by an uninspiring X.”

The sign strobed throughout the night, pulsing the letter X into the sleepless eyes of everyone in the building opposite

In the week that Twitter became X, we examine one of the most disruptive spells of Elon Musk’s short reign

Steve Dinneen

Life&Style Editor

The negroni is under attack!

The negroni has been branded the ‘woke’ drink of choice. Our drinks expert Eliot Wilson thinks that’s a load of...

We have been drinking cocktails for a long time. The first recorded use of the word which didn’t refer to a horse’s tail is in 1798 and was mocking the drinking habits of the prime minister, William Pitt the Younger. (Premiers don’t hit the bottle heavily these days: Thatcher liked to unwind with glasses of Bell’s whisky and Wilson grew too fond of brandy, but there hasn’t been a toplevel toper since Churchill.) But the multi-page lists of today are a far cry from the first mixtures of spirits, sugar, water and bitters.

You can’t go far wrong with simple combinations of two or three ingredients: a dry martini, an old fashioned, a Sazerac or, in these heavy summer days, a Negroni, that deliciously easy mixture of gin, red vermouth and Campari in equal measures. Like all good cocktails, the Negroni, probably invented in Florence just after the First World War, packs a telling and boozy punch. It balances the bitter and the sweet and can take you from the blaze of midday to the baize of a casino at midnight.

But wait! GB News, the channel for those who like their current affairs maundered by the pub bore, has declared anathema on the drink. It is now another identifying mark of everything GB News hates, and Mark

ABOUT TOWN

Dolan, who identifies as a comedian but is not even the poor man’s Mark Dolan, recently condemned the “pompous, woke, Negroni-swilling establishment media elite”. Perhaps he is paid by the word.

GB News has many satisfying targets at which it can aim, as there is much which is overblown, precious and absurd in modern society, but Negroni? If it had chosen something self-consciously modish — the espresso martini or the too-nasty-tobe-retro Mai Tai — it would have found a soft spot with the tip of its rapier. But the Negroni is invincible.

The classic cocktails, of which there are maybe a half-dozen, have survived because they are good recipes which do their job well. They have strong characters and have proven themselves over decades, sometimes shifting slightly to accommodate

OUTDOOR SHAKESPEARE

Nothing says ‘summer in London’ like an outdoor Shakespeare show and a homepacked picnic. Whiling away a summer’s evening in the park with the Bard is certainly one of our favoural pastoral pastimes. This year Romeo & Juliet is playing at The Temple outdoor venue in Wanstead Park on 27 August at 7pm and the same show is playing in East London’s Springfield Park from 5 -7 August from the East London Shakespeare Festival. If you aren’t so into the Bard then why not go to Kew Gardens for their version of Alice in Wonderland, performed against the verdant backdrop of all those lovely gardens? Bliss.

WATCH A FILM ON THE RIVER

How about cruising down the river with one of your favourite classic movies on in the background? Well, a new boat experience is offering just that. Film screenings of Dirty Dancing, Mamma Mia!, Top Gun, Notting Hill, Elvis, The Big Lebowski and Crazy Rich Asians are all taking place during summer, in association with Time Out. To book your cruise visit the Movies on the River page. There’s food and drink on board too, and the opportunity to sit back, relax and take in some of the capital’s finest views in a whole new way.

ENJOY A WEEKEND IN MARGATE

Margate has attracted creative types for years now, so it’s hipsterisation is hardly new. But this year the town has even more reasons to visit. There are a load of new openings to check out within a stone’s thrown of the seaside. New hotel Margate House has just nine seriously stylish guest rooms, eclectically designed and super close to the beach. Artisanal pizza restaurant GBPizza-Co has reopened. Also try Angela’s for phenomenal seafood. Historic theme park, Dreamland Margate, has also reopened for the season, and this year houses an original Banksy installation.

trends but staying true to their origins. James Bond turned to the Negroni when, rarely, he tired of a martini; Orson Welles, on first tasting one, declared in that “mighty Wurlitzer of a voice” that “the bitters are excellent for your liver, the gin is bad for you. They balance each other.”

Innovators are forever trying to update or modify or “reimagine” cocktails. Don’t. You are the sort of person who wonders what the Mona Lisa would look like with a nose ring. When you drink a cocktail you are reaching back in history, nodding at some of the world’s most formidable drinkers, the Bright Young Things and the Beautiful People. You should not only respect a cocktail’s heritage but steep in it, let it wash over you. This September sees the 10th anniversary of Negroni Week (12-18 September), so get in training now and be

match-fit for an Indian summer with an Italian flavour.

WHERE TO GET A NEGRONI

TERMINI

BAR

This Old Compton Street bar is a Soho institution despite only opening in 2015. It is tiny but has the marbletopped bar and baristi in white jackets which the milieu demands. They have experimented but stick with a house Negroni served in an elegant coupe, and let it work with bocconi of prosciutto, salami and coppa. By the time you leave you will want a motorino and virtually qualify for an Italian passport.

CECCONI’S AT THE NED

Mention of The Ned will cause some to shy. I know the Ned can be… well, a little “bridge-and-tunnel” for some, but wealth managers have to drink somewhere. The rectangular marmoreal bar will give you moral and physical support, there is live music in the centre of the former bank’s cavernous atrium, and Cecconi’s was founded in the 1970s by the former manager of the legendary Cipriani in Venice. You shouldn’t need to know more than that.

THE DONOVAN BAR

Housed in Brown’s Hotel on Albemarle Street, The Donovan is a perfect example of a hotel bar simply getting everything right. The plush velvet upholstery reassures you of tradition and reliability, but the nods to its nominal inspiration, Terence Donovan, make you feel like you could still be a roguish snapper in Swinging London. “Drinks Maestro” is the world-famous Salvatore Calabrese, who made his first cocktail at the age of 12. Things are just proper here. You can even have a Negroni made of vintage ingredients, if £200 starts to seem reasonable.

CELEBRATE QUEER JOY

Granary Square at King’s Cross has put up a striking outdoor gallery featuring 50 portraits of queer people and all examine the theme of queer joy. It’s free to view and its curators call it “unfiltered queer self-expression that is vital to the LGBTQ+ community” with the aim of highlighting “the feeling of Queer Joy.” The exhibition runs until 31 August at The Outside Art Project. Queer Britain, the UK’s first dedicated LGBTQ museum which opened in 2021, is a short walk away so visit that at the same time. Granary Square also has loads of brilliant restaurants, plenty with outdoor seating, so go and make an afternoon of it.

GO TO THE NEW SERPENTINE

The Serpentine Pavilion’s summer show is always a good excuse to visit this gallery, tucked away in a g gorgeous part of Hyde Park. For 2023 their 22nd summer show is entitled A Table. By French-Lebanese artist Lina Ghotmeh, it is about her aspiration to take what she calls humankind’s “primal” relationship with Earth and make it sustainable. Inspired also by her life having interesting conversations around a dinner table, the artwork, which you can walk around, features one big circular table at the centre. A cafe sells organic food to be eaten on site.

Innovators are forever trying to update or modify or ‘reimagine’ cocktails. Don’t. You are the sort of person who wonders what the Mona Lisa would look like with a nose ring

MicroStrategy bosses eyeing up even more Bitcoin assets

MICROSTRATEGY Inc appears to be shaping up to add even more Bitcoin to its colossal crypto cache.

Already the world’s largest publicly-traded holder of the leading digital asset, the ‘enterprisesoftware’ maker revealed in trading figures that it had returned to profit.

Last year, MicroStrategy was forced into a write-down during the second quarter of trading, owing to a demise in cryptocurrency prices.

However, the 34-year-old company this week boasted a net income of $22.2 million ($1.54 per share) by the end of Q2 2023. A year earlier, shares had plunged to $94.

MicroStrategy’s founder Michael Saylor, who stepped aside as CEO to become ‘executive chairman’ during the losses, is a massive Bitcoin enthusiast. The 58-year-old regularly appears on TV discussing the merits of cryptocurrency, and remains one of Twitter’s most vociferous contributors on digital assets.

He’s also the driving force behind his company’s voracious appetite for buying Bitcoin.

This week’s company reports show more than $361 million in Bitcoin was acquired – its biggest purchase since November 2021 when Bitcoin reached its all-time high of $67,567.

At that point, MicroStrategy held Bitcoin to the value of $4.53 billion. According to this week’s statement, a further $361.4m was added in Q2 of this year, while more purchases were made last month.

A total of 152,800 Bitcoin are now

held by the Virginia-based firm.

That figure now looks likely to swell again after this week’s filing stated MicroStrategy was looking to raise up to $750 million via share sales for ‘general corporate purposes’ – a phrase regularly interpreted as creating working capital and purchasing digital assets.

Entrepreneur Saylor suddenly began ploughing into Bitcoin three years ago, declaring that businesses

were destined to shrink under a global rise of inflation. He shifted to crypto as a way of reducing cash holdings.

After turning MicroStrategy into the world’s biggest publicly-traded holder of Bitcoin he gave up the CEO reins to Phong Le last year, stating he wanted to give more time to the company’s digital asset strategy as executive chairman.

Despite the purchases, and the re-

CRYPTO NEWS IN BRIEF

BINANCE SETS UP IN JAPAN

BINANCE has launched a dedicated platform in Japan.

The crypto behemoth acquired the local licensed crypto exchange service provider SAKURA Exchange BitCoin Inc (SEBC) in November last year. Since then, Binance chiefs have been working closely with relevant stakeholders and industry associations to prepare to build a compliant Web3 ecosystem in Tokyo. Binance Japan began onboarding new customers this week ahead of migrating existing Binance customers after August 14.

ANIMOCA GETS HI

WEB3 financial app ‘hi’ is to receive a huge investment from metaverse and gaming specialist Animoca Brands. Animoca has agreed to invest $30 million in ‘hi’ and collaborate on a number of initiatives to amplify the utility of fungible tokens and NFTs within the Web3 space.  The partnership is expected to lead to deep integration between Animoca Brands’ ecosystem and hi’s innovative services aimed at driving Web3 mass adoption.

With a strong focus on boosting the ecosystem, anchored by the hi app and the hi protocol (hiP), the two companies say they will work to provide developers with a unique human authentication mechanism through hiP’s proof-ofhuman-identity (PoHI) solution.

cent higher values of Bitcoin, MicroStrategy’s report closed by stating its operations were still not in profit. Although returning to an upward curve, the company suffered a quarterly operating loss of $26.7 million.

Curiously, during MicroStrategy’s conference call to deliver its filings, CEO Phong Le also took the opportunity to announce he would assume the responsibilities of the chief revenue officer who had ‘resigned’.

Bitcoin springs into life as Cardano preps update

BITCOIN bounced back above the $30k mark again early yesterday morning for the first time in more than a week, before quickly retracing and settling at around $29,400 by the afternoon. Ethereum has been similarly flat, with other alt coins also showing little sign of life.

The flat price performance follows last week’s announcement by the US Central Bank that they will be raising interest rates to a 22-year high, as had been previously expected.

“Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate

pace. Job gains have been robust in recent months, and the unemployment rate has remained low. Inflation remains elevated,” the Federal Reserve said in a press statement following its decision to raise interest rates by another 0.25 per cent.

The Fed is targeting a long-term inflation rate of two per cent. By raising interest rates, the US Central Bank is essentially aiming to slow the US economy and bring down inflation.

Is there a man to resuscitate the market?

A saviour who can fire adrenaline into the heart of a stumbling whinge of a week for

crypto investors? Michael Saylor is back in town and he is looking to be that man, with his company, MicroStrategy, announcing plans to sell $750 million of shares, “to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of Bitcoin and working capital”. There was also big news this week for Cardano, with its Mithril update preparing for launch. With Mithril, Cardano’s network will supposedly become more efficient, streamlined, and capable of supporting a wider range of applications and use cases.

“App developers will be able to deploy

RICHARD HEART CHARGED

CRYPTO ‘influencer’ Richard Heart lived a life of outrageous luxury after scamming crypto investors out of millions of dollars, according to charges issued by the US Securities and Exchange Commission this week.

“Heart called on investors to buy crypto asset securities in offerings that he failed to register. He then defrauded those investors by spending some of their crypto assets on exorbitant luxury goods,” Eric Werner, Director of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office, stated. “This action seeks to protect the investing public and hold Heart accountable for his actions.”

AMP RAMPS IT UP

light clients and mobile applications or streamline sidechain operations,” said IOHK, the company behind much of the blockchain tech on Cardano.

“Mithril will also empower stake-based voting applications and governance solutions, regardless of the protocol’s complexity,” the company added. Exciting times.

LOW-cap ‘loss covering’ token Amp has sparked into action this week, charging upward by almost 10 per cent. The Ethereum-based crypto, which is designed to cover losses if a BTC or ETH payment fails due to unconfirmed or long transaction times, was last night 14 per cent up in the 24-hour chart, while hitting a 32 per cent monthly rise as it traded at $0.0027.

Trading activity has also hit 97 per cent ‘buy’, while 24-hour trading volume in the $113.4 million market cap token surged to a remarkable 430 per cent.

FOR ALL THE LATEST NEWS, VIEWS

ANALYSIS HEAD OVER

THE PUNTER

Bill Esdaile previews day three of the Qatar Goodwood Festival Blue Rose Cen looks Head and shoulders above Nassau rivals

PANAMA hats, strawberries and cream, and overseas raiders are the three certainties of Glorious Goodwood year-on-year.

And despite this year’s persistent rain which has kept ribboned headwear and fruit bowls away, international runners have still hit our shores to try and take a swing at the best we have to offer. However, in this year’s Group One Nassau Stakes (3.35pm), it almost feels as if the British runners are playing away from home as BLUE ROSE CEN, at a bestpriced even-money, looks like a formidable opponent at the top of the market.

Trained by Chantilly-based Christopher Head, the three-year-old filly by Churchill is unbeaten in five runs since

last September, a streak of victories that has included Classic success in both the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas) and Prix de Diane (French Oaks) on her last two starts.

If winning two Classics wasn’t enough, the third from her French 1000 Guineas win, Sauterne, was just denied in the Group One Prix Rothschild last weekend and the fourth, Kelina, comfortably won the Group Two Prix de Sandringham on her next outing.

Furthermore, all five of her recent successes have been on ground no quicker than good-to-soft, and thanks to the downpours throughout racing on Wednesday, the Sussex Downs will provide perfect conditions for the three-

time Group 1-winning filly to thrive. Looking at her five opponents, Nashwa, although very impressive last time out at Newmarket on good ground, has been inconsistent since her win in last year’s renewal and Al Husn hasn’t got the strongest form in slower conditions. With the eight-pound weight-for-age allowance on her side, plus the fact that three-year-olds have been victorious in six of the last eight runnings of the Nassau Stakes, it should be a rosy day for all connected to Blue Rose Cen.

It’s not just the French raider who will appreciate the cut in the Goodwood ground today as in the lucky last, the World Pool Handicap (5.55pm), ANOTHER BAAR is a tempting each-way

proposition at around 16/1.

Trained by Adrian Keatley, the three-yearold by Mayson will have a visor applied for the first time having looked a tough ride for Joe Fanning last time out at Hamilton.

Generously, the handicapper dropped him two pounds for the effort to a mark of 83 which is just five pounds above his last winning mark at Beverley in June.

Since his seasonal reappearance in April, connections have been keen to keep their £70,000 purchase on slower ground when possible, something he seems to relish based on his first time out victory on soft at Ripon and promising third on good-to-soft at Newmarket in July.

The gelding returns to five furlongs tomorrow, a move that should see him at

his optimum conditions as he has the speed for a good sprinting test over the minimum distance, but the give in the ground will bring out his ability to stay over further trips as well.

Out of Rapid Recruit, a Fast Company mare who herself is out of the Group Three-winning mare Daunting Lady, Another Baar could still be well-handicapped off his current mark and is partnered by Fanning once more, a jockey who knows him well.

POINTERS

Blue Rose Cen 3.35pm Goodwood

Another Baar 5.55pm Goodwood

Beckett’s Promoter looks box office in Goodwood opener

IT’S ANYONE’S guess what the ground will be like ahead of the opening Kincsem Handicap (1.50pm) today, but it’s almost certain that it’s going to be hard work.

It looks a very tricky puzzle to solve, but I think I’ve found one who ticks plenty of boxes in the form of PROMOTER

Ralph Beckett is a real dab hand

at improving horses hand over fist and I’m confident his inmate will prove a lot better than a mark of 89.

He was last seen when running on for fifth in a handicap on Derby day and that race has worked out remarkably well, with the second, third and sixth winning since, while the winner, Torito, finished a close-up fourth in the Group Three Hampton Court at Royal Ascot.

It was a performance that can also be marked up as it came on good-to-firm ground and he should be seen in an even better light on a softer surface here.

I can see him being really wellbacked, and going off much shorter than the current 12/1 that’s available.

He’s the main selection, but I’ll throw a couple of others in a World Pool Quinella as plenty in here have solid claims.

The first is PERFUSE, who looks a perfectly solid favourite.

He didn’t get home over 1m4f at Royal Ascot last time, so the step back in trip looks a wise move and his pedigree suggests he will turn out to be a fair bit better than a mark of 94.

The other I like the look of is Richard Fahey’s HAVE SECRET

He’s run really well in two hot

handicaps this year and has form on soft ground, so won’t mind the likely testing conditions.

POINTERS

Promoter e/w 1.50pm Goodwood Perfuse, Promoter, Have Secret (World Pool Quinella) 1.50pm Goodwood

Blue Rose Cen became a dual Classic winner with victory in the Prix de Diane under Aurelien Lemaitre

THE PUNTER

I spy a soft ground lover in Espionage

STAMINA will come to the fore at Goodwood today.

The usual sight of sun beating off the rolling Sussex Downs at this time of year has been replaced with grey clouds and lashing rain, and that’s seen track conditions quickly deteriorate.

Having started the five-day meeting on the good side of good-to-soft, the going changed to soft, following the first race yesterday and things are going to be very testing today.

That won’t worry Irish master trainer Aidan O’Brien, though, who fields ESPIONAGE in the Group Three Gordon Stakes (3:00pm).

Ballydoyle went on the hunt for heavy

going at Saint Cloud last year and were almost rewarded when the scopey son of Galileo finished a close second in the Group One Criterium International.

He was put away for the winter after that effort over a mile and returned, again on testing ground, over 1m3½f in a Listed contest at Roscommon.

Ryan Moore’s appearance at Roscommon was a vote of confidence for the colt, given it was his first trip to the tack in his 23-year career, and the pair predictably came home in front at odds of 11/10.

Stepping into Group Three company holds no fears for a juvenile Group One runner-up, particularly given the step up in trip and favoured testing conditions, and the 13/8 has to be snapped up.

It’s not the strongest of fields, but Chesspiece looks the possible joker in the pack. He’s a thorough stayer who’s also shown he handles a softer surface and looks a more reliable alternative than Artistic Star.

Despite being earmarked early on in his three-year-old season as a possible St Leger horse, Artistic Star didn’t appear to see out this trip in the Derby or at Royal Ascot. Later on in the Jaeger-Lecoultre Nursery Handicap (4.10pm), GRAY’S INN could be just about the best-handicapped horse running at Goodwood this week. Having finished fourth in the Listed Star Stakes at Sandown just seven days ago, she’s set to go up by more than a stone in the handicap on Saturday, so

it’s a shrewd move from Jack Channon to run her again before then.

She’s shown her liking for some cut, notably two starts back when her and the runner-up pulled 12 lengths clear of the third on soft ground at Chester, and she should be hard to pass.

None of this has been missed by the bookies, who make her a 5/2 chance in this 14-runner contest, and there will be others in there that are better than their current marks, but she stands out like a sore thumb.

Her closest rival, in the betting at least, is Lincoln Legacy.

She’s got a nice profile as a six-furlong winner stepping up in trip with only two starts under her belt and will surely

prove better than her mark of 77, but she’s got a lot on her plate with Gray’s Inn officially 17lbs well-in.

Doddie’s Impact is quite interesting too.

He switched yards from Robyn Brisland to Clive Cox after winning the Brocklesby on soft ground but ran flat on his first start for Cox after a three-month break.

The son of Pearl Secret, a sire who relished soft ground in his heyday, should be fitter for that and would be dangerous if bouncing back to form over this new trip.

POINTERS

Espionage 3.00pm Goodwood Gray’s Inn 4.10pm Goodwood

Emaraaty can leave Alice in wonderland after Richmond

GOODWOOD was blasted with heavy rain yesterday which will ensure the ground will be testing again this afternoon.

That poses a challenge for the twoyear-olds lining up in the Group Two Markel Richmond Stakes (2.25pm). Sketch, one of the market leaders, is yet to race on anything slower than good, while plenty of the others have only experienced quicker conditions.

When the ground gets bad at Goodwood you can get funny results and I’m going to take a chance on HALA EMARAATY at around 12/1 for up-and-coming trainer Alice Haynes.

This son of Kodiac won on debut at Ripon on soft ground and then beat subsequent Windsor Castle winner Big Evs at Ripon on good-to-firm. His last two runs have been slightly disappointing, but they were both on

quick ground and over five furlongs.

I’m hoping the return to a soft surface combined with the step up to six for the first time can see him bounce back, with Tom Marquand an interesting jockey booking.

He looks a good each-way bet and I will also throw him into a World Pool Quinella with a couple of other runners.

Simon and Ed Crisford have already been in the Goodwood winners’

enclosure this week and VANDEEK looks another live chance.

An expensive son of Havana Grey, a lot went wrong on his debut at Nottingham last month, but he still managed to get the job done on good-to-soft ground.

BOBSLEIGH was only a shorthead behind Tuesday’s Vintage Stakes winner Haatem when sixth in the Coventry Stakes.

He won the Woodcote Stakes prior to that and simply didn’t appreciate the drop back to five furlongs in the Super Sprint last time.

POINTERS

Hala Emaraaty e/w 2.25pm Goodwood Vandeek, Bobsleigh, Hala Emaraaty (World Pool Quinella) 2.25pm Goodwood

Ryan Moore and Aidan O’Brien team up with Espionage in today’s Gordon Stakes

Bill Esdaile previews the rest of day three’s action

England’s path to potential World Cup glory getting clearer

MATT HARDY

THE Lionesses’ route to a potential World Cup final will become a lot clearer today with the final two group games taking place in Australia.

South Korea take on Germany and Morocco play Colombia with places in the last 16 at stake.

England knew, after they demolished China 6-1 on Tuesday, that they’d take on Nigeria in their first knockout game at this World Cup.

But now Sarina Wiegman’s side know that a win against the African nation will set them up for a quarterfinal in Sydney on 12 August against either Jamaica and the winners of Group H – likely South American nation Colombia.

In a shock for the World Cup thus far, a 0-0 draw between Jamaica and Brazil yesterday knocked the South American champions out of the World Cup.

They would have been stiff opposition for the Lionesses, though England beat them in the Women’s Finalissima at Wembley on penalties earlier this year.

“There’s a lot of feelings of course,” Brazil manager Pia Sundhage said yesterday after their elimination. “In the locker room there’s many sad players and coaches.

“At the end of the day I’m responsible for the result. Of course I'm not alone,

but the way we have worked and have prepared is something I need to look back on and see if we could have done things differently.

“We put in a lot of work but at the end of the day it’s Jamaica [who progress to the last 16]. It’s not a big distance between failure and success.”

It is the latest in a series of shocks at this World Cup which include the loss of co-hosts New Zealand in the group stages and failure of Canada to progress to the last 16.

Beyond that, England are likely to line up in a potential semi-final against hosts Australia, Denmark or France, plus former winners Germany or Morocco depending on their Group H outcome in a match scheduled for 16 August.

They’d then be pitted against the best of the other side of the draw in the final on 20 August

Brazil have been knocked out of the World Cup

in Sydney, should they get there.

Potential opponents include the reigning champions the United States and 2019 finalists the Netherlands.

There’s a long way to go for the Lionesses but their potential path to World Cup glory is starting to become clearer.

Up next, though, is Nigeria on Monday morning.

‘The Wrexham Effect’ causes betting to soar

WREXHAM AFC’s meteoric rise to fame, thanks to the docuseries ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ has caused sports betting to skyrocket in a phenomenon that has been dubbed the ‘Wrexham Effect’.

Gambling giant Entain’s UK sportsbook reported a nearly 60 per cent surge in bets during the National League’s 202122 season compared to 2017-18 – the 2019-20 season making a poorer comparison point due to Covid.

Bets on rival club Notts County FC, which placed silver behind Wrexham AFC’s gold in the 2022-23 National League season, increased 89 per cent from the previous year.

Since Hollywood legends Ryan

Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought the Welsh football club in November 2020, Wrexham AFC has soared to heights of global stardom.

Across the pond in the US, the number of Betmgm bets placed on any Wrexham game skyrocketed by 3818 per cent from the 2020[21 season to the 2022[23 season.

Google Trends data even revealed that Wrexham AFC became one of the most searched for teams in the US, surpassing Major League Soccer.

The ripple has even made it to Australia.

Entain said bets on the club’s football games between 2019[20 and 22[23 grew 781 per cent.

Premiering last August, ‘Welcome to Wrexham’, is an American series

documenting Reynolds and McElhenney’s journey learning to run the world’s third oldest professional football club.

NBA bets shot up 46 per cent after Netflix’s ‘The Last Dance’ aired in 2020, while Formula 1 drove a 142 per cent US betting increase following the popularity of ‘Drive to Survive’ series on Netflix in 2022.

Dominic Grounsell, chief commercial officer at Entain, hailed the shift in sports engagement.

He said the success of behind-thescenes style sporting docuseries “highlight the importance of finding new and innovative ways for fans to interact with sports and support their favourite teams,” which they can extend with a bet.

JESS JONES

INVESTOR AIL L RETTA INSTRUMENT

TO AFFORD CAN OU SHOULD CONSIDER Y PROVIDER. 71% OF LEVERAGE. ARE COMPLEX CFDS

THE HIGH RISK TAKE TA

OU UNDER Y WHETHER OSE MONEY S L ACCOUNT WITH AND COME S UR MONEYY.

TR WHEN OSING MONEY L OF HIGHRISK K A WHETHER AND WORK CFDS WITH ADING CFDS

TANDHOWSTA

OUR MONEY Y LOSING OF ISK K

RAPIDL OSINGMONEY Y YOU THIS

TO DUE DLY LY

Scrap The Hundred, the Ashes shone for me

SPORT COMMENT

I’VE had a tough summer so far on behalf of readers, dragging myself from Ashes to Ashes – a day at each of the five men’s Tests plus one of the women’s T20s.

From the maddening Rubik’s Cube of ticket application ballots last autumn, through the tyranny of rail strikes, to the final dose of cricketing contrasts at the Oval as Bazball broke down Zzzball. And all over before August so as to accommodate the fool’s gold that is The Hundred. What do we know now about cricket that we might not have fully appreciated six weeks ago?

OPINION

THIS is it for England, their World Cup gets real from this weekend. There is no easy fixture against Wales, there’s no friendly against the neighbours from over the Severn Bridge. It always has been, and always will be, war.

And with Steve Borthwick set to name his final World Cup squad next Monday – far earlier than any of his northern hemisphere competitors –this weekend is the final chance for players in that particular 23 to impress the boss.

And if you’re not named in the starting side for the match in Cardiff? Well it either means you’re an integral part of Borthwick’s plans to such an extent that you’re not worth the risk, or it means you’re out.

There will be a lot of sitting on your hands hoping after this weekend, because it’s a singular phone call or discussion that will make or break your World Cup dream.

WINDOW FOR ERROR

The sport gets tougher and tougher in these moments, because the window for making mistakes narrows.

A red card here or pulled muscle there could be the difference.

England have given themselves an interesting schedule, home and away to Wales, away to Ireland and home to Fiji at Twickenham.

It is a fascinating balance of sides but for the latter three everyone will know England’s squad, which could be both an advantage or disadvantage.

Wales, who name their squad later in the month, have a brutal schedule with two matches against England and one against the world champions South Africa.

Wales will be right in at the deep end for the whole of August. It could be overkill.

But in England, with what will be a more settled squad as the weeks go on, I want to see adventure and creativity.

You cannot win a World Cup without it. You cannot challenge the likes of France and New Zealand if you take to the pitch with the opposition knowing

The Ashes brand remains incredibly strong – sufficient certainly to encompass the women’s as well as traditional men’s series

A compressed set of five men’s Tests may be hard on players’ minds and bodies but is great for fans, creating a powerful narrative with momentum.

The women’s format needs adjusting. Starting with the single Test gives its losing side a mountain to climb.

Move it to between the T20s and ODIs.

Better still, leave it at the start and put a second Test at the end, to balance point-winning opportunities.

Don’t tinker with the narrative about retaining versus recapturing the Ashes. So what if a drawn series means one side ‘wins’ and the other ‘loses’ in Ashes terms? It works nicely, just as it does for the Ryder Cup. Even if the actual urn never leaves Lord’s.

Don’t add reserve days. ‘Managing’ the weather is an integral part of the captaincy challenge.

The human frailty of umpires has been laid bare. Too many decisions were reversed on review. Technology needs to have a bigger role in future –assuming of course that it is genuinely accurate.

TIME WILL TELL

Match fee fines do not solve the problem of glacial over rates. Look to Major League Baseball which has sliced an hour off average game times this season by introducing a pitch clock. Penalise bowlers with free hits if they don’t start their run-ups within a set time after the previous ball is dead. And limit batters’ nonsensical mid-session equipment changes and impromptu drinks.

Headingley needs serious investment; Edgbaston has the best atmosphere; Lord’s feels as though the game’s administrators are seriously out of step with today’s fans (and that’s nothing to do with the Bairstow

ENGLAND MUST FIND FRENCH FLAIR

stumping farrago); the Barmy Army trumpeter now seems institutionalised rather than authentic – time to be dropped?

The unpredictability of the game remains its joyous, beating, propulsive heart – especially over the long cycles from session to session and from day to day.

Certainly, Australia proved England men’s aggressive, entertaining style of play can be neutralised. Time will tell whether other countries adopt the English way, the Aussie approach or something in between. Or whether they can even be persuaded to pay greater attention to the red ball

game, sufficient to ensure Test cricket remains more than just the Ashes.

We don’t know either if these twin Ashes series have whetted appetites for The Hundred this month, or whether the third year of this divisive competition will see it extend its second year slide in attendances.

My bet is The Hundred will pass largely unnoticed and very much under-loved this summer.

The sooner it is scrapped the better. Let’s have the 2027 Ashes across six and a half weeks of school summer hols please –now that my mates and I have grandkids to introduce to the game.

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

Test match cricket is still the peak

chances and they play with unpredictability. England and Wales, right now, do not.

So in these eras – of Steve Borthwick and Warren Gatland – there must be some of that.

I believe England have a better chance of

But I like that, I like the desire by Gatland to force this on his players. He has the time to do so. It starts now, the run-in for the World Cup, and England and Wales must show some develop-

ment for their opposition later this year in France to even take notice of them.

It is a case of turning up and playing to be seen, to be noticed.

This weekend is about laying down a market to be judged against for the rest of the warm-ups and into the World Cup.

I’d like to think we’re going to see two new sides willing to explore their potential. Alas, I imagine I’ll be disappointed.

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

Follow Ollie on Twitter and on LinkedIn

ENGLAND’S WARM-UP FIXTURES

WALES

5 August, Principality, Cardiff

WALES

12 August, Twickenham, London

IRELAND

19 August, Aviva Stadium, Dublin

FIJI

26 August, Twickenham, London

Ed Warner

RUGBY COMMENT

Ollie Phillips

Gatland has more time than Borthwick

England to face mixed Welsh team in first warm-up match

MATT HARDY

ENGLAND will go up against a blend of inexperienced and veteran players on Saturday as they get their Rugby World Cup warm-up schedule underway against Wales in Cardiff.

Head coach Warren Gatland named his squad a day earlier than planned and has combined uncapped players with centurions in a 23 containing 672 international Wales caps.

Steve Borthwick will name his England squad this morning with it expected to feature the likes of Lewis Ludlam, Ollie Chessum and Danny Care.

The former Leicester coach, whose first match in charge of England came in February, will name his World Cup squad on Monday.

Ospreys back-row Jac Morgan, aged 23, will captain Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday as Wales get set to face England twice in two weeks before hosting the reigning world champions South Africa later this month.

“I have been really pleased with the players’ effort and commitment in Turkey [most recent training camp], Switzerland and the mini camps in Wales, but now it is about putting what we’ve been training into prac-

tice,” Gatland said.

“There is some great competition among the squad in all positions, and we’ve selected a team this week with a few debutants because we want to give them the opportunity to see what they can do.

“There is a lot to play for over the next three matches, and everyone is still in contention to make that final squad for France.”

Gatland and Borthwick have been in their roles as head coaches of Wales and England for the same number of games, but Warren has previously had experience with Wales and took them to the semifinals of the last World Cup in Japan as head coach.

Records broken as 650,000 attend Ashes

Jac Morgan, 23, will be captain for their match against England

Former England prop Henry Thomas appears on the bench for Wales having switched allegiances while there are four other uncapped players.

Gatland is expected to announce his final squad later this month ahead of group matches against Eddie Jones’ Australia, Georgia –who beat them last year –Fiji and Portugal.

£ OLLIE PHILLIPS COLUMN P23

THE men’s and women’s Ashes series saw a combined attendance of 655,000 this summer as records were shattered over the last six weeks.

Nearly 545,000 fans attended the five men’s Tests –at Edgbaston, Lord’s Headingley, Old Trafford and the Oval –with every one of the 25 days sold out in advance of the series, something that did not happen in either 2005 or 2019.

The average attendance per day at the men’s Ashes was 23,734, equivalent to more than the capacity of Fulham’s Craven Cottage.

The women’s Ashes saw 110,000 fans attend across the seven matches –one

Day Internationals.

Furthermore, nearly 18m tuned in to Sky Sports coverage or BBC highlights across the series, setting new records for the famous clash between England and Australia.

“The 2023 summer will go down as one of the most enthralling we’ve seen,” the England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould said.

“The Ashes has captivated the public imagination once again, but this time it has been different, with the Women’s and Men’s series taking equal billing and fans being treated to some stunning cricket throughout.

“Although both series were drawn, we

ball series wins for the Women’s team and a Men’s team who have changed Test cricket, ‘walking the walk’ as Ben Stokes has said, and getting so close to staging the most remarkable comeback.

“We are fortunate that we have such wonderful support for the national side, which will undoubtedly continue as we look forward to more international cricket later this summer”

England men are not in Test action until they head to India for a five-match series early next year. They are then in action next July as they host the West Indies.

English cricket’s next target is this autumn’s One-Day World Cup.

LIV PARTY BACK IN STATES

So the breakaway party is back around the table, and with more power than ever.

And though the US Justice Department have said they’d review the deal, and are doing so in Congress, it appears that little will get in the way of the merger going through.

LIV Golf has hopped on a plane across the pond after a two event hiatus in Europe. Greenbrier plays host as West Virginia becomes the latest state to entertain the Saudi-backed golf tour. But since the LIV Golf travelling party left the United States last, for events in Spain and the United Kingdom, the circuit agreed to a stunning merger with the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.

So how does the US golfing public react to its return, given the collective hatred for it from many across the pond before the merger?

And how do players react to being back in the States and part of the conversation once again?

We are yet to know

whether players who operate on the LIV Golf circuit will be allowed at next month’s Ryder Cup but it’ll undoubtedly be in the minds of the likes of Ian Poulter and Brooks Koepka, who through ability or character will be desperate to take part. But this weekend is a chance for another name to thrust themselves into the LIV Golf winning circle and claim $5m (£3.9m) in the process.

Australian Cameron Smith won the last event in London and will be aim-

ing to be just the second golfer, after Talor Gooch earlier this year, to win back-to-back tournaments.

The Brits, too, will be desperate for a win. Paul Casey’s solo fourth in Mayakoba remains the best performance from a Briton thus far in 2023.

Britain and Northern Ireland make up a contingent of six golfers, the second biggest represented nationality after the United States. Yet they’re without a win.

Greenbrier forms the first leg of backto-back LIV events, the second leg will be held in Bedminster, as the series begins to look towards the Team Championship final in Miami in October.

So all aboard the plane to West Virginia, because the reception for LIV Golf’s return to the States is something that’s almost unmissable for the circuit’s friends... and foes.

Smith won the last event in London

GOLF Circuit returns Stateside for first event since golf merger news, writes Matt Hardy