Tuesday 22 August 2023

BUSINESS WITH PERSONALITY

TRUCK YEAH! WE TAKE THE NEW FORD RANGER RAPTOR FOR A SPIN P16

THE NOTEBOOK MARKET MUSINGS FROM VICTORIA SCHOLAR P10

SIGNS OF OPTIMISM? Sun’s out, stocks out: UBS chief

CHRIS DORRELL

CITY sentiment may not be matching the improved summer weather but one global banking executive believes a turnaround is on its way.

The “clouds have started to lift” on the global economy and investors are beginning to warm to the idea of backing stocks again, according to a top dog at UBS.

NEGATIVE EQUITIES

The firm’s Global Wealth Management’s investment chief Mark Haefele said the strains of rising interest rates globally had begun to cool as the US central bank toned down the speed of its rate hikes.

“We saw two serious and acute risks to markets in the first half of this year –weakening corporate profits and falling real wages – as the Federal Reserve pressed ahead with the fastest rate-hiking cycle since the 1980s,” Haefele wrote.

“But recently, the clouds have started to lift, with recession risks receding and the equity outlook more balanced.”

The Fed is likely now done raising interest rates, and a majority of economists now expect the central bank to wait at least to the end of March before cutting them, according to a recent poll of top economists by the news agency Reuters.

Tech firm looks at direct listing on London’s bruised and battered stock exchange

CHARLIE CONCHIE

A COMPLIANCE tech firm which helps financial firms navigate regulation is plotting a move on to London Stock Exchange, in a boost to the City after a barren first six months of the year, according to reports.

RTOP, which runs a technology platform helping clients with regulatory compliance, is planning a direct listing on the London Stock Exchange, Sky News reported.

A direct listing involves firms listing existing shares directly on the market rather than issuing any new shares.

The move is being overseen by RTOP’s Italian owner The Avantgarde group and was expected to value the firm at around £60m, Sky News’s Mark Kleinman first reported yesterday.

The fresh listing comes amid a torrid time for London’s capital markets which have struggled to

attract new floats in a volatile 12 months on the public market.

Just 18 firms floated in the first six months of 2023, raising £593m, as firms shelved IPO plans or opted to float overseas, according to data from EY.

The downturn has prompted a period of soul searching in the

Square Mile as policymakers and lawmakers try and revive London’s appeal.

A new float from a tech firm would be considered another small boon to efforts to boost the City after CAB Payments, a fintech payments firm, floated in early July.

Individual climate action is futile if big polluters simply roll on

LIKE A ropey old pullover, pulling at the threads of Britain’s net zero efforts can sometimes do more damage. Take our roads, for instance.

STANDING UP FOR THE CITY THE CITY VIEW

Over the past decade –in truth more like the past two or three years –even the country’s most committed petrolheads have come round to the idea of electric cars. Our black cab fleet has almost overnight gone green. Uber drivers will be obliged to be

clean as a whistle, too, in just a couple of years. It’s quite a feat. And it may not be as transformative as many would hope.

You might drive down to the supermarket in your suspiciously quiet lean green machine but

it’s highly likely that whatever you buy there will have got there on an old-school, highpolluting HGV. As we note in our feature today, the logistics industry is waiting for a government steer on what the future looks like before it invests billions in a new, costly fleet. HGVs contribute an outsized proportion of roadbased emissions, so –regrettably –your choice makes very little difference indeed.

Now, every little helps. It’d be churlish to say otherwise. But the myriad government schemes to encourage slightly more energy efficient choices by individuals are not matched by honesty, or strategic thinking, about the bigger priority: making sure stuff still works, in a greener way, without piling inordinate costs onto the consumer. If the cost of moving your aubergine from depot to supermarket doubles in price, it

BRIGHT-EYED AND BUSHY-TAILED ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in Dunstable, the UK’s largest zoo, yesterday held its annual weigh-in photocall, with ring-tailed lemurs among the participants

‘Serious’ concerns: Ofgem demands Ovo tackles unresolved customer complaints

NICHOLAS EARL

OFGEM has ordered one of the UK’s largest energy firms to improve its customer service after ‘serious’ concerns have been raised over waiting times and a backlog of unresolved complaints.

This follows both the Energy Ombudsman and Citizens Advice Scotland contacting the regulator regarding the supplier’s handling and resolution of complaints.

The market watchdog has opened compliance engagement proceedings with Ovo Energy, the UK’s fourth

largest supplier, setting expectations and improvement targets to reduce the time it takes for issues to be resolved.

An Ofgem spokesperson said: “There are no excuses for poor customer service and Ofgem has made this clear to all suppliers. Where concerns are raised with us, we will follow up and take appropriate steps.

“Ovo has assured us they are taking steps to address the concerns raised by the Energy Ombudsman and Citizens Advice. We will monitor the situation and expect to see things improve. However if they do not we will consider further steps, including the possibility of

enforcement action and fines.”

It has previously taken action against suppliers for customer service failings identified by a series of market compliance reviews of the energy market. However, the regulator has not managed to identify any non-compliance from Ovo, with no disciplinary action or fines being meted out to the supplier.

An Ovo spokesperson said: “Ofgem did not identify any non-compliance from OVO on this matter. We continue to place serious emphasis on the support we provide to our customers and have assured Ofgem of this.”

is unlikely that logistics firms nor the supermarkets are simply going to absorb that cost. That’s one example, and even that pales into nothing against the cost of keeping the lights on in a more sustainable way. Going green costs money. The government, of whatever party or stripe, needs to be clearer about the big policy decisions if it’s to demand Mrs Miggins dumps her Moggie Minor for an electric bike.

WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING

BRICS GROUP LOOKS TO EXPAND AT SUMMIT DESPITE DIVISIONS AMONG MEMBERS

Leaders from developing countries representing almost half the world’s population including China and Russia are to meet in South Africa for a key summit to reinforce their alliance.

THE FINANCIAL TIMES BLOOMBERG OVERHAULS MANAGEMENT WITH MARK CARNEY TO LEAD NEW BOARD

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg has appointed a chief executive to his media and financial services empire and installed a board of directors headed by the former BoE governor.

THE INDEPENDENT

RUSSIA’S ROUBLE SINKS TO 16-MONTH LOW AMID INVASION OF UKRAINE

Russia’s central bank is due to hold an unscheduled meeting to discuss the level of its key interest rate – in the wake of the rouble falling to its lowest value for more than 16 months.

Calls for food security plan as last ammonia plant shutters

NICHOLAS EARL

THE GOVERNMENT must come up with a long-term strategy to protect food supplies following the closure of the UK’s last remaining ammonia plant, a trade association has said.

Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, has raised concerns over CF Fertilisers’s decision last month to permanently shut down ammonia production in Teeside.

Ammonia is a key raw material in the production of nitrogen fertiliser, an essential for crop production.

CF Fertilisers, a subsidiary of the US-based CF Industries, was the only domestic producer of ammonium nitrate fertiliser. It now intends to continue to produce ammonium nitrate fertiliser and nitric acid production at the site, but will rely on imported ammonia from the US. Tom Bradshaw, deputy president of the National Farmers Union, said the closure was “concerning” and urged the government to look at how this shift to a reliance on imports could impact domestic food production. A government spokesperson called the closure “a commercial decision”.

THE GUARDIAN

Griffith: Finance industry ‘jewel in crown’ for UK

CHRIS DORRELL

CITY MINISTER Andrew Griffith has said that the financial services industry remains a “jewel in Britain’s crown that even the doomsters cannot deny” after jobs in the finance sector hit a record high.

Figures out last week showed that the number of jobs in financial services climbed to a record high of 1.2m in the first quarter of this year, which is 34,000 more than the end of 2022.

Griffith told the Daily Mail: “Our vision for Britain as the most open, innovative and competitive financial centre in the world is bearing fruit.”

The comments come as the government attempts to boost the City’s standing amid growing concerns that it is losing its status as a leading financial centre after Brexit.

A number of firms – most prominently the semiconductor firm Arm –

have abandoned the capital for listings in other cities around the world.

Onerous rules have also been blamed in part for the loss of some of the most high profile IPOs.

The problems are more long standing though, with figures from the UK Listing Review showing that listings in the UK have reduced by 40 per cent in the years since 2008.

In response to this problem, the government has launched a slew of reviews to reinvigorate the City’s capital markets.

These include changes to the listing regime and attempts to direct funds from British pension funds into domestic startups.

Although Brexit is often blamed for the City’s slump, many of these reforms would have been impossible inside the bloc. Griffith said the reforms show that the UK had “seized the opportunities of Brexit”.

The comments signal an acceleration of Klarna’s plan towards so-called superapp status

Klarna going ‘all in on AI’ to fuel superapp push

CHARLIE CONCHIE

KLARNA is “going all in on AI” as it looks to push beyond its buy-now paylater bread and butter and take on banks on cheap lending, its global chief has said.

Sebastian Siemiatkowski said the Swedish firm would be ramping up its investment in AI in a bid to roll out

new shopping and lending products for customers that could undercut bigger banks as part of the firm’s drive into new products.

But the uptick in investment has prompted some fears of a wipe-out in some jobs.

Siemiatkowski said Goldman’s estimate that 300m jobs could be at risk from AI was “probably realistic”.

However, a spokesperson said that Klarna did not expect any layoffs as a result of its use of AI. “We don’t anticipate shrinking headcount,” they said.

Klarna’s diversification push comes as the firm’s core deferred payments products have come under scrutiny as lawmakers look to shield shoppers from mounting piles of debt.

FTSE 100 bosses receive £500,000 pay bump amid cost of living crisis

JESS JONES

THE SALARY of FTSE 100 chief executives surged by 16 per cent in 2022, according to new figures out today.

The figures, collated by think tank the High Pay Centre (HPC), revealed the median pay for the bosses of the UK’s top 100 firms reached £3.91m in 2022, a £500,000 jump from £3.41m in 2021 – the highest median pay since 2017.

Astrazeneca boss Pascal Soriot

received the highest salary last year, raking in a total of £15.32m.

He was followed by BAE Systems’s Charles Woodburn and Albert Manifold, head of building material company CRH, who took home £10.69m and £10.38m respectively.

The only female FTSE 100 boss to make the top 10 highest paid bracket was Emma Walmsley, chief exec of pharmaceutical giant GSK, at £8.45m.

The median salary of the FTSE 100 bosses was 118 times the median pay check received by a UK full-time

Jackson Hole in focus for clues on US rate hikes

CHRIS DORRELL

CENTRAL bankers from around the world will descend on Wyoming for the annual central banking jamboree later this week, with markets looking closely for any signals about the future direction of interest rates.

Last year, the discussion focused on the near certain recession that commentators thought would develop in the face of rapidly rising interest rates. This year, however, the outlook seems more sanguine with many advanced economies withstanding the pressure of rising rates.

“Markets seem content to buy into the view that central banks can engineer a return to the ‘Goldilocks’ scenario which has served risk assets so well over the past decade or so, namely modest economic growth, modest inflation and relatively low interest rates,” AJ Bell’s investment director Russ Mould commented.

The topic for discussion is ‘Structural Shifts in the Global Economy’, pointing

to the way in which economies have surprised policymakers with their resilience.

This has been particularly true in the US, where growth has beaten expectations in the face of the fastest monetary tightening cycle in recent history. GDP grew by 2.4 per cent in the second quarter, even as consumer spending slowed, thanks to strong business investment.

The surprisingly strong economic performance has raised hopes that central banks will be able to pull off a so-called soft landing, where inflation returns to target without tipping the economy into recession.

Currently markets are almost certain rates will be kept constant at the US central bank’s next meeting in September, although there may yet be a hike in November. Looking beyond that, most traders think that the Fed won’t start cutting rates until next year.

Powell’s headline speech will be delivered on Friday morning.

Despite the attention that will be devoted to it, US economists at Deutsche Bank said it was unlikely that Powell would send “strong signals about the near-term policy path”.

worker, up from 108 times in 2021. During a cost of living crisis, “it is surely not desirable or sensible for companies including some of Britain’s biggest employers to prioritise a half a million pound pay rise for executives who are already multi millionaires,” HPC director Luke Hildyard said. But the new pay data also comes amid an ongoing debate in the City about competitive pay, with Fortune 500 CEOs in New York paid an average salary of $15m (£11.7m) compared to the FTSE 100 bosses’ £3.4m.

COMPETITION WATCHDOG CLEARS BROADCOM’S

£54BN DEAL FOR VMWARE

Chipmaker Broadcom’s proposed purchase of cloud tech company VMware has been cleared by the UK competition watchdog. The $69bn (£54bn) deal – the largest the CMA has ever investigated – raises “no competition concerns”, the regulator said yesterday. The CMA had looked at whether by owning VMware, Broadcom would be able to spy on its competitors who used VMware services. But the watchdog said “this is unlikely to be a concern, in particular since information about new product adaptations only needs to be shared with VMware at a stage when it is too late to be of commercial benefit to Broadcom”. While both firms are US-based, the CMA said it had a duty to scrutinise the deal due to the use of the firms’ software by UK businesses.

The insurer said it would use new tech to “supplement”, not replace, underwriting

Aviva’s UK unit experimenting with AI for ‘quicker solutions’

CITY A.M. REPORTER

THE HEAD of Aviva’s UK unit has revealed that the insurance giant is experimenting with artificial intelligence across its business.

Adam Winslow, CEO of Aviva UK & Ireland General Insurance, told the Insurance Post that virtual assistants and chatbots were the “obvious next step” for offering customers “quicker solutions to whatever their query is”.

“There are things that AI will be brilliant at – that you can expect us to embrace – and there are things that AI

Ripple Energy unveils record £20mplus fundraiser for new solar farm

NICHOLAS EARL

RIPPLE Energy has raised over £20m for its new solar farm – the largest amount generated by a UK co-operative society for a single green energy project, City A.M. can exclusively reveal.

The renewable specialist’s latest venture, Derril Water Solar Park, is a proposed 42MW project based in

Devon, which will be home to 70,000 panels with the potential to power around 14,000 homes when it is completed in late 2024.

Over 8,800 households have chipped in to become part owners of the solar development – with the share offer closing on 22 May earlier this year.

The exact figure has not yet been finalised, but the total is forecast to be

over £20m. This surpasses the £13.2m raised ahead of its last project, the eight-turbine Kirk Hill Wind Farm in Scotland, which was the previous record fundraise for a co-op. Ripple boss Sarah Merrick told City A.M. solar panels were becoming increasingly popular due to soaring fossil fuel prices driving up wholesale costs for consumers last year.

might candidly not be so good such as anything that requires emotional support or anything to do with vulnerable customers,” he said.

“There are no plans to replace any underwriting with just technology today. It is just a question of supplementing,” he said.

He added that there are cases where “human interaction, empathy and care” were crucial, such as when making a claim after a car crash.

Meanwhile, Winslow has reportedly been in talks with motor insurer Direct Line to become its new boss.

GOLDMAN WEIGHS SALE OF INVESTMENT ADVISER IN REFOCUS ON ULTRA-RICH

Goldman Sachs is weighing the sale of a part of its wealth business catering to high net worth clients as it shifts its focus back to serving the ultra-rich. The Wall Street bank is evaluating alternatives for its registered investment adviser unit, called Personal Financial Management, which manages about $29bn (£22.8bn), it said in a statement yesterday. Goldman bought the registered investment adviser for $750m in 2019 when it managed about $25bn in funds. The purchase aimed to broaden Goldman’s client list beyond the ultra-rich, but the unit has remained a small part of the bank’s wealth business. The potential divestment comes as CEO David Solomon looks to turn around the firm’s loss-making consumer arm.

Solar panels have

The median pay for a FTSE 100 boss reached £3.91m in 2022

IN BRIEF

Powell’s speech on Friday will be closely watched by markets

UK firms asked to disclose China investments

JESS JONES

A HOST of British firms have been asked by the government to hand over information on their investments in China, as the UK looks to take stock of its business ties to the state amid increasing geopolitical tensions.

The government confirmed yesterday that a survey was sent to a number of UK firms last month seeking to understand investments across 17 sectors, including robotics, communications, transport and cryptography.

China was not the only focus in the survey, which was first reported by Politico, as it also asked questions about investments in other countries including Australia, Canada and even the US.

The survey follows US president Joe Biden’s new national executive order that looks to regulate US firms’ investments in Chinese tech sectors.

A spokesperson for the Department of

CLEVER CHAPPY Foreign secretary James Cleverly to visit China this month

ANALYSIS

Business and Trade told City A.M.: “The Prime Minister and president Biden have rightly put our economic security at the forefront of UK-US cooperation, as seen at the signing of the Atlantic Declaration.

“This executive order on outward investment gives important clarity on the US approach. The UK will consider these new measures closely as we continue to assess potential national security risks attached to some investments.”

The Atlantic Declaration, inked by Biden and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in June, commits the countries to stopping technology investments in “countries of concern” and fuelling advances in their military departments.

It is only eight years since David Cameron, then prime minister, invited Xi Jinping for a pint at his Oxfordshire local, talking up a new age of UK-China relations. Relations between the two governments have since soured.

THE FOREIGN secretary is to make a long-delayed visit to China before the end of this month, according to numerous reports. The news came on the same day an internal Foreign Office memo emerged which saw diplomatic staff told not to refer to China as a “hostile state” lest it upset already strained top-level relations.

Modest rate cut does little to shift fears of Chinese slowdown

JAMES SILVER

A SMALL cut in lending costs failed to convince markets that Chinese authorities had a grasp on the scale of the country’s economic slowdown yesterday. The one-year prime rate –effectively, the country’s short-term interest rate –was cut by 0.1 basis

points, but the long-term rate –the five-year prime –was left well alone. Analysts had expected a more dramatic move as the country deals with a property crisis.

Brokers at global banks ranging from Deutsche Bank to Nomura to Morgan Stanley have all cut their forecasts for the Chinese economy this year.

Russia was once described by Winston Churchill as a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Britain’s foreign policy towards China is moving into that category: a strange mix that suggests we still haven’t quite cracked how to respond to the world’s second-largest economy. Yet for all of our deliberate dancing, it is surely the case that the Chinese government has already made its mind up about which side we’re on. After all, it’s not that long ago that Huawei was booted out of our mobile networks, and China’s participation in Sizewell C has already been kiboshed. It is hard to see a Foreign Office missive telling staff to be slightly less rude about the country making much of a difference.

Whether China cares or not, however, is a different question. It certainly appears that we are finally approaching the end of the boom-boom years. We may soon find out whether the predictions of many economists –that a larger middle class may become less willing to put up with curbs on their freedom if the pay-off of bumper growth is no longer there –will come true.

CITY A.M. STAFF

Mass tech layoffs ease but hiring slow to rebound

JESS JONES

THE EPISODEof mass job cuts across the tech sector appears to have drawn to a close, with some research firms halting their regular data updates on tech layoffs.

Tech analysts at Bernstein Research said the “magnitude of tech layoffs” has settled after its peak in January, in an email sent to clients last Friday seen by City A.M.

It read: “The cost-cutting playbook is largely over for the companies that can afford to pivot back to growth again.”

Bernstein also recently said it had ended its monthly data updates on layoffs in the tech industry, which they have run for around a year.

Using data from Trueup.io, an online tech job marketplace, their final update recently showed fewer than 5,000 tech job cuts so far this month, with forecasts for the whole of August

reaching 11,000.

This is far below the 76,000 jobs lost in January this year, according to data from Layoffs.fyi.

In the first six months of this year there were more than 300,000 job losses across the sector.

In a recent email to clients, Bernstein said: “Tech layoffs have slowed to a trickle. When will the hirings start to re-accelerate?”

Soon, could be the answer. Statista data from July suggests by 2025 there will be over 678,000 additional jobs available in the UK’s digital sector.

London will have the highest amount of any region, with over 261,000 new tech and IT jobs, followed by the South East with more than 129,000.

Speaking to City A.M. Roger Lee, founder of Layoffs.fyi, said: “Tech layoffs are down from their peak earlier this year, but they still remain elevated.”

TECH

HAVE SHRUNK IN 2023

27,000

London SMEs bet big on tech investments

JESS JONES

LONDON’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are ramping up their tech budgets, allocating over half of their annual revenue to technology investments, according to a report by Barclays.

In the capital, SMEs are directing an average of 54 per cent of their annual revenue to tech investments, such as data analytics and artificial intelligence tools, as they try to counter rising costs and interest rates by increasing productivity.

Colin O’Flaherty, head of SME at Barclaycard Payments, said it was “promising” to see SMEs investing in technology to “future proof” their operations.

The retail sector was especially keen to embrace new technologies, with two-thirds of SMEs in the capital doing so, including by establishing specific tech teams. Much of the shift is driven by consumers favouring online shopping, with the research showing 70 per cent of consumers use the internet to guide their shopping decisions.

Mark Zuckerberg laid off 10,000 workers as part of cost-cutting measures at Meta

Khan using a ‘sledgehammer to crack a nut’ with ULEZ, says minister

GUY TAYLOR

SADIQ KHAN’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) policy is using a “sledgehammer to crack a nut”, the minister for London has claimed.

Paul Scully told TalkTV: “I think the further you get out of the city… Clearly the less impact something like the ultra low emission zone is going to have.

“You can see here when the mayor and his deputy mayor are doubling down on this sledgehammer to crack a nut, which is going to affect businesses, charities and the lowest paid people in and around London,” Scully added.

Scully’s comments follow reports in The Telegraph this weekend that Khan had attempted to discredit and silence scientists who found that ULEZ had little impact on air pollution in the capital.

Private emails revealed the mayor’s deputy for environment and energy had emailed Imperial College professor Frank Kelly to say she was “really disappointed” the college had published findings ques-

tioning ULEZ’s efficacy.

Kelly, the director of Imperial’s Environment Research group – which has received £800,000 from Khan’s office since 2021 – subsequently agreed to issue a statement that ULEZ had helped to “dramatically reduce air pollution”.

Scully ceded the “original ULEZ” would have an impact but slammed the attempts by Khan to attack the study.

The ULEZ scheme enforces a £12.50 levy on drivers whose emissions fail to meet certain environmental standards.

Labour leader Keir Starmer recently backtracked on proposals to introduce similar zones throughout the country.

Khan successfully threw out a High Court challenge in July from five Tory-led councils over his proposals to expand the zone across all of London’s boroughs.

However, to appease opponents he has introduced a £160m ‘scrappage scheme’, which provides grants to certain groups to scrap or retrofit polluting vehicles.

The Mayor of London’s office was contacted for comment.

Pension shake up to give firms access to £50bn

JESSICA FRANK-KEYES

PUBLIC firms could be permitted to withdraw up to £50bn from staff pension schemes if government plans for a sweeping shake up of the industry’s rules go ahead.

Sunak said the recent fall in price rises showed his plan to halve inflation was working

Just eight per cent of voters credit Sunak for inflation fall

JESSICA FRANK-KEYES

JUST EIGHT per cent of voters believe the government can be given credit for the recent fall in inflation, polling by YouGov has revealed. Inflation dropped to 6.8 per cent last month, which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak claimed showed his plan was working. Sunak made five key pledges to the

public in January, including vowing that he would halve inflation –meaning it would need to drop to 5.3 per cent – by the end of the year. But pollsters at YouGov found just eight per cent of the public believe government actions were responsible for this drop. Instead, most (38 per cent) believed inflation had fallen due to outside factors, such as the drop in global oil and gas prices.

Returns on investments in government bonds – known as gilts –have seen workplace pension schemes go from being well in the red to significantly cashed up over the last two years.

It is thought firms including HSBC, Natwest, Sainsbury’s and Tesco are among the FTSE 100 groups that could be beneficiaries, according to The Times.

It comes as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt hopes to encourage UK pension schemes to make riskier investments in a bid to fire up Britain’s growth and productivity potential.

Actuary consultants at Barnett Waddingham found pensions schemes belonging to the FTSE 350 have a total of £50bn in surplus assets – above the 105 per cent funding the Pensions Regulator requires for them to be self-sustaining.

Horizon 22: London to open highest free viewing gallery in Europe this autumn

JESS JONES

LONDON is preparing to level up its skyline game with the unveiling of Horizon 22, Europe’s highest free public viewing gallery.

Anyone who wishes to make representations about this application should do so online:

observations must be received within a period of 21 days beginning with the date of this notice (unless otherwise stated) and will be taken into account in the consideration of this

Set to open its doors this September, Horizon 22 is perched on Level 58 of the towering 22 Bishopsgate – City of London’s tallest building.

Horizon 22 is “yet another huge vote of confidence” in London as a “global business hub” and a “sevenday-a-week destination”, said

Shravan Joshi, chairman of the City of London Corporation planning and transportation committee.

“On top of the much-needed office space that 22 Bishopsgate provides, I am delighted that we can now widely share its free to access, public viewing gallery, which promises some of the best possible views of London,” Joshi added.

From the viewpoint, 254 metres above ground, visitors can see London landmarks such as the Gherkin, St Paul’s Cathedral and

the iconic Leadenhall Building, dubbed the ‘Cheesegrater’. Accessible by two “high-speed” lifts, the main viewing gallery has an 8.4 metre high ceiling to maximise daylight and improve energy efficiency, as well as enhance the experience for visitors.

Phillip Shalless, senior asset manager at AXA Investment Managers, whose clients own 22 Bishopsgate, said he hopes Horizon 22 will become a “must-see destination” for anyone visiting or living the capital.

The viewing gallery, perched on top of 22 Bishopsgate, will offer panoramic views of the city

Gold prices slump ahead of Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole Symposium

NICHOLAS EARL

GOLD prices failed to revive in yesterday’s trading, with investors awaiting the mood music from a key central bank summit later this week.

Persistent concerns about high inflation and a robust US dollar have weighed down the precious metal, easing from last month’s rally.

While prices peaked at $1,988 per ounce on 20 July, they have since dropped nearly $100 to $1,889 per ounce –a near five month low –with

the safe-haven asset struggling for backing amid expectations of further hikes from the Federal Reserve.

One further rate hike has been priced in, with the Fed expected to end its campaign of rate raises at the current range of 5.25 per cent to 5.5 per cent. However, there are concerns following last week’s publication of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting that it could implement multiple interest rate hikes.

Attention is now turning to the annual meeting this week in Jackson

Fears of strikes in Australia send gas prices flying

NICHOLAS EARL

GAS PRICES rose across the continent yesterday after labour unions in Australia announced plans to strike in less than two weeks – raising the prospect of disruption to vital shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) ahead of winter.

Unions on the North West shelf gas platform, which is operated by Woodside Energy and feeds Australia’s largest LNG plant, have confirmed strike action could begin as soon as 2 September.

There are fears strike action could spread to other facilities in Australia, with workers at Chevron’s Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG facilities currently voting on whether to grant unions permission to call for strike action, with first results due by Thursday this week.

Collectively, Woodside and Chevron’s facilities supply about 10 per cent of the global LNG market.

As it stands, European Union gas supplies are topped up at 91 per cent capacity, with the countries slashing consumption rates in the summer heatwave while also stocking up on LNG from Australia, US and Qatar.

British Gas owner Centrica recently secured a bumper £6.2bn LNG deal with

US fossil fuel producer Delta Midstream, building on the UK and US signing an energy and security partnership last December.

However, the latest threats of industrial action have spurred fresh concerns about supply competition between Asian and European buyers for cargoes.

Prices on the Dutch TTF Futures benchmark have risen 5.6 per cent to 38.45 per megawatt hour, while domestically, the UK Natural Futures benchmark is up 6.7 per cent at 97.01p per therm – more than double pre-crisis levels.

Australia is one of the world’s top exporters of LNG, which Europe has relied on to stave off blackouts amid a Russian supply squeeze on gas flows.

LNG is natural gas that has been reduced to a liquid state, through a process of cooling before it is later converted back into a gas for use. Demand for LNG is booming across the West, with Global Data predicting more ships will be carrying LNG than oil supertankers within the next five years.

“Offshore Alliance members don’t take industrial action lightly, but Woodside is really leaving them with little choice here,” union spokesperson Brad Gandy told news agency Reuters.

Hole, Wyoming, where Fed chair Jerome Powell is expected to make a speech on Friday outlining his views on the US economy.

Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, said gold traders would closely watch the symposium. “The global bond market selloff has sent gold prices sharply lower over the past month but that could stabilise if we get a dovish Fed Chair Powell and as long as China doesn’t disappoint with the next wave of stimulus,” he said.

TIME FOR A RAIN DANCE Panama Canal owners limit shipping through vital sea lane as drought conditions hit water levels

Wind-powered cargo ship sets off on

maiden

GUY TAYLOR

voyage in decarbonisation drive

A CARGO ship that makes use of giant sails set out on its maiden voyage yesterday, as industry watchers cheered the new ship’s potential to help decarbonise the shipping sector. Pyxis Ocean, chartered by US-firm Cargill, uses British-made sales dubbed ‘Windwings’, which are fitted to the deck of the ship and measure up to

37.5 metres in height.

Estimates suggest the technology could help decarbonise the average vessel by up to 30 per cent, as the shipping sector looks to cut fuel consumption ahead of looming deadlines set by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) – the UN body that regulates the sector.

Cargill, one of the world’s biggest ship charterers, claim it could save 1.5

tonnes of fuel per sail, per day.

The Pyxis Oceans’ test run will see it sail from China to Brazil, with the performance of the Windwings closely monitored to determine whether there is potential for industry-wide adoption.

Jan Dieleman, president of Cargill’s Ocean transportation business, said the journey to decarbonisation was “exciting” but noted investing in the tech “doesn’t come without risk”.

The wind-powered Pyxis Ocean has set sail from China to Brazil

Lower-than-normal rainfall in central America has seen water levels in the reservoir that powers ships through the Panama Canal fall to alarmingly low levels. Authorities controlling the canal, through which vast swatches of the global shipping industry moves just-in-time goods, have begun to limit the number of vessels which can travel through in order to conserve water.

The safe-haven asset has been weighed down by a strong US dollar

THE NOTE BOOK

The only thing being built is negative momentum

Rising interest rates, high inflation and the cost of living crisis are starting to take a serious toll on the UK housing market. Just this week, data from Rightmove pointed to a marked slowdown in house prices and buyer demand, echoing similar figures out recently from Nationwide and Halifax. According to Rightmove, asking prices fell by 1.9 per cent in August, the biggest monthly drop since 2018, with home sales down 15 per cent versus 2019 before the pandemic. The number of properties listed for sale on Rightmove slumped 10 per cent versus 2019.

During the pandemic, the housing market boomed thanks to the stamp duty holiday and as households sought to acquire greater square footage with more outdoor space further from city centres with extra rooms for at-home offices.

However, since the post-Covid revival in inflation and the aggressive stream of rate hikes from the Bank of England in response to tackle this problem, the housing market has been feeling the squeeze. Monetary tightening has made it considerably more expensive to borrow, plus many potential sellers are choosing not to list their properties at all, given the increased difficulty in achieving their

TRAVEL FAR AND WIDE

desired selling prices.

This is having a knock-on effect on the rental market with many wouldbe buyers heading to the lettings market instead. But the surge in demand from tenants has pushed up the cost of renting to the highest level since comparable records began in 2016, rising 5.3 per cent in the year to July, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Falling house prices also has a negative wealth effect on homeowners, by reducing the value of what’s likely to be the most valuable asset they own, discouraging spending in the economy.

The dynamics in the housing market is weighing on housebuilders’ stocks. This week, Crest Nicholson cut its fullyear profit outlook by almost a third to £50m. It highlighted worsening trading conditions and weakening transaction levels. And with elevated core inflation and record wage growth, there’s a growing likelihood that high interest rates are here to stay, prolonging the pain. Crest Nicholson’s negative update punished other stocks in the sector like Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon, Berkeley Gorup and Barratt Development ,which slumped to the bottom of the FTSE 100 yesterday.

ANNOUNCEMENTS LEGAL AND PUBLIC NOTICES

CITY of LONDON

Global travel is expected to grow sharply over the next decade. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, the industry will be worth $15.5trn by 2033, or 11.6 per cent of the global economy, up over 50 per cent from $10trn in 2019. The report suggests travel and tourism will employ up to 430m people in 10 years, accounting for around one in every nine jobs globally. China’s travel economy is expected to overtake that of the United States, which is currently the biggest in the world.

£ Since Brexit there have been concerns about the City of London with companies opting to list in New York instead and with rival European cities hoping to overtake it. Despite this, the number of jobs in UK financial services has hit a record high. According to the ONS, positions in financial and insurance activities reached 1.235m in Q1, up 34,000 versus Q2 2022 and above the prior peak of 1.209m from 2008. Since the pandemic, jobs are higher by 119,000 versus the Q3 2020.

£ Goldman Sachs has cut its outlook on stocks in China for the second time in three months. It expects fullyear earnings per share growth to hit 11 per cent for the MSCI China Index, down from its previous guidance for 14 per cent and its 12-month index target has been reduced from 70 to 67. Analysts point to its “ailing housing market and its potential contagion to the real and financial economies” as reasons behind their increase caution. This comes after several big banks, including JP Morgan and Barclays, cut their fullyear China GDP forecasts.

THIS TELLING OF SACKLER DRAMA STICKS IN THE THROAT

undermentioned streets will make several Orders on 31 August 2023 under Section 14(1) of the Road

Great St Thomas Apostle (Garlick Hill to Queen Street) ---- Footway Works

Lambeth Hill (Castle Baynard Street to Queen Victoria Street) ---- Mobile Crane

Primrose Street Mobile Crane

St Mary Axe (Leadenhall Street to Undershaft) --- Works

Threadneedle Street Utility Works

Rolls Buildings (Junction with Fetter Lane) ---- Mobile Crane

Ian Hughes

CAN I QUOTE YOU ON THAT?

Dr George Dibb, head of IPPR’s Centre for Economic Justice, warns about the risk of recession

Painkiller is a highly popular Netflix series about some of the origins of the opioid crisis in the United States. The partly fictionalised drama covers the rise of Purdue Pharma which manufactured and aggressively sold Oxycontin, an addictive painkiller, which turned into a billion-dollar drug and contributed to the surge in opioid use in America. The success of Purdue made the Sackler family, which founded and owned the business, into one of the richest families in the world at the expense of hundreds of thousands of lives. According to Barry Meier who wrote the best-selling book Painkiller which inspired the show, an estimated 250,000 Americans died from overdosing on prescription painkillers between 1999 and 2017.

CITY of LONDON

undermentioned streets made several Orders on 17 August 2023 with the exception of Wilson Street

Cornhill (Gracechurch Street to Mansion House Street) Lombard Street (King William Street to Mansion House Street), Mansion House Street (Poultry to Prince’s Street), Poultry (Cheapside to Mansion House Street), Prince’s Street (Mansion House Street to Lothbury) COL Scheme Works

Great Tower Street (Junction with Byward Street) ---- Utility Works

Old Bailey (Junction with Ludgate Hill) ---- Utility Works Newgate Street (King Edward Street to Warwick Lane) ---- Mobile Cr

22 August 2023

“Viktor Hovland’s form is great news for Europe ahead of the Ryder Cup.”

SAM TORRANCE’S GOLF COLUMN PAGE 17

Real risk that a recession may soon overtake price rises as the main economic concern

UNGLAMOROUS, unloved and probably mostly forgotten, Britain’s trucking sector is nonetheless vital to the UK’s economy.

The logistics industry is worth around £13.5bn, with over 60,000 road freight businesses currently operating in Britain, according to figures from the Road Haulage Association (RHA).

And whilst the UK has a developed rail freight network, as it stands, 98 per cent of all food and agricultural products are transported by road freight, making trucking critical to the operation of the entire country.

But they are also a vital obstacle to the country’s climate goals, with HGVs currently producing nearly 20 per cent of all transport emissions in the UK, despite making up only 1.5 per cent of vehicles on the road.

Logistics groups are facing an uphill battle as the industry struggles to transition over 300,000 heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) in the UK to zero-emissions –and hit two fast-approaching 2035 and 2040 bans on the sale of fossil fuel lorries, weighing up to 26 and 40 tonnes.

Huge progress has been made in the sales of commercial and passenger electric vehicles (EVs), which are critical to automakers hitting their own looming 2030 targets.

But some in the HGV sector believe that the same progress may not be possible with heavier vehicles, due to a combination of the weight of EV batteries, charging times and pressure on the national grid.

NO CLEAR SOLUTION TO SOLVING HGV CHALLENGE

In the view of Scotland-based Hydrogen Vehicle Systems (HVS) –a start-up bankrolled by the billionaire, Asdaowning Issa Brothers and which is responsible for designing the first British-built hydrogen HGV – hydrogen is the solution.

“It’s low-hanging fruit for industry to make a big difference. But if it’s not moving fast enough, something needs to be done to address it,” Pete Clarke, HVS’s co-founder and head of design, told City A.M.

“Brilliant headway has been made with battery technology in passenger cars and light commercial, but the same progress is definitely not being seen in medium commercial...

KEEP ON TRUCKING TOWARDS GREENER LOGISTICS SECTOR

HGV drivers travel huge distances and carry heavy payloads when trucking freight on British roads, meaning the added charging downtime for electric vehicles would have a significant impact on operators’ bottom lines.

“They run on day and repeated night shifts back-to-back so they can’t afford downtime in many cases being put on charge, so many truck operators at the moment, who are trialling greener equivalents, for instance, are having to buy in some cases two HGVs to counter one,” Clarke explained.

The weight of EV batteries, which is sometimes as high as five tonnes, also poses problems as HGVs are legally limited by the amount of load they can carry.

Truck operators could therefore be forced to choose between running an illegal vehicle or slashing their capacity, further denting margins.

INDUSTRY SEEKS CLARITY FROM GOVERNMENT OVER HYDROGEN PLANS Richard Hulf, managing partner and an expert in hydrogen at the investment fund Hydrogen One, said that the fuel would have a “singular role” in converting HGV trucks, as well as heavier planes and trains.

In his view this would be complementary to battery-powered electric vehi-

total lack of hydrogen charging points presents another rather substantive block on progress.

Jon Regnart-Russell, senior policy adviser at trade body Hydrogen UK, argued hydrogen would be “fundamental” to achieving net zero in “hard to electrify modes”modes of transport.

“Large long-haul HGVs are one of the most challenging areas for developing zero emission options due to their long journey distances, heavy payload requirements and fast refuelling requirements – making hydrogen a clear solution for the sector,” he explained.

Michelle Gardner, deputy director of policy at the industry body Logistics UK, told City A.M. that “significant uncertainty remains surrounding the most suitable alternatives, such as battery electric or hydrogen”, with hydrogen still “incredibly expensive, with a

gistics UK members urgently need government to begin road trials to determine what infrastructure is needed to support these alternatives and a clear plan from the government on how that will be implemented.”

The government is set to announce road trials of zero emission HGVs in the coming months, and is targeting 10GW of hydrogen production domestically by the end of the decade. Whether this is enough to shift sentiment from concerned investors remains to be seen.

A Department for Transport  spokesperson said: “We’re working closely with the freight and logistics sectors to help decarbonise while supporting jobs and continuing to grow the economy. To help achieve this, we’re investing in the rollout of zero emission HGVs on our roads, as well as their refuelling and recharging infrastructure.”

Domino’s set to close Russian arm after attempts to find a buyer fail

AUGUST GRAHAM

THE RUSSIAN arm of fast food chain Domino’s is likely to close after its London-listed parent company decided to put it into bankruptcy. Apparently failing to find a buyer for the Russian business, DP Eurasia said it has decided its subsidiary should instead file for bankruptcy.

The franchise runs around 170 Domino’s pizza sites in the country, and had previously said it was “evaluating its presence” there.

The Russian economy has been hit by sanctions since President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine last year.

Although DP Eurasia has not been named by Ukraine as one of the International Sponsors of War – a list

which includes businesses such as Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Yves Rocher and Mondelez – it has faced criticism for continuing to do business in Russia.

The company yesterday said the “increasingly challenging environment” had “compelled” it to terminate the attempted sale process of DP Russia as a going concern.

The pizza restaurant has faced criticism for continuing to operate in Russia

Net zero is a pipe dream without green trucks. It’ll come at a cost if it comes at all, find Guy Taylor and Nicholas Earl

Heavier vehicles could force trucking companies to cut down on their commercial loads

CITY DASHBOARD

London indexes fall amid housing sell-off and China intervention

LONDON’s FTSE indexes yesterday fell amid a housing sell-off and a limited policy intervention from the Chinese central bank to boost its creaking economy.

The FTSE 100 index slipped into the red to trade at 7,258.03 while the midcap FTSE 250 index fell 0.87 per cent to 17,938.91. Indexes in Paris and Frankfurt saw gains, however.

Investors have been keeping a close eye on events in China, where a series of negative data releases have sparked worries the world’s second largest economy may be facing a prolonged slowdown.

In a bid to boost the economy, the Chinese central bank cut the key one-year loan prime rate (LPR). But economists had predicted the central bank would also cut the five-year LPR, which was kept constant, sending mixed signals.

Experts suggested China’s weak cur-

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rency prevented the People’s Bank of China from making more aggressive interventions.

Nevertheless, the move helped to support oil prices, leading to strong gains for oil giants BP and Shell, which rose 1.1 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively.

In the UK, concerns continued to grow around the housing market. House prices fell by 1.9 per cent in August, the biggest August dip since 2018, according to Rightmove. However, falling prices were not enough to entice new buyers, with the number of sales falling 15 per cent compared to the same period pre-Covid. The data reinforces the picture of a stumbling housing market.

On the FTSE 250, housebuilder Crest Nicholson fell around eight per cent after it lowered its guidance amid the market turbulence.

Analysts at Peel Hunt see a positive future for popular home furnishings retailer Dunelm. With 173 physical stores across the UK, Dunhelm’s digital transition is now gathering pace, with web traffic doubling over the past two years, and group revenues and market share set to increase this year. Peel Hunt analysts maintained the firm’s ‘buy’ rating and target share price of 1,375p.

Software service provider Idox yesterday announced it had bought the geographic information systems data provider Emapsite as part of a near £16m deal. Analysts at Peel Hunt said good performance from Idox’s past acquisitions led it to believe that it will be able to “drive profitable double-digit growth” at Emapsite. The firm reiterated its ‘buy’ rating and target share price of 83p.

“UK housebuilders were the worst performing sector yesterday. A profit warning from UK housebuilder Crest Nicholson has reinforced the challenges facing the housing market in the months ahead with interest rates set to be hiked further next month.”

MICHAEL HEWSON, CMC MARKETS

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OPINION

EDITED BY SASCHA O’SULLIVAN

Build me up: make ‘retrofit first’ a legal requirement to save London’s skyline

Graham Clemett

LONDON is a city of constant reinvention. Even with our evolving skyline, our capital prides itself on retaining a patchwork of historic buildings that have proven themselves still fit for a modern world thanks to ongoing retrofitting, which allows age-old buildings to be reinvented for modern purposes. But historic buildings could still face demolition if the government fails to implement a planning policy that prioritises retrofitting as the most important consideration when undertaking redevelopments.

The subject of retrofitting re-entered the public sphere this summer after Marks & Spencer’s flagship store at Orchard House on Oxford Street was barred from demolition; a move that sparked an ongoing debate around the virtues of preserving old buildings versus redeveloping them.

The immediate response to the government’s move from some commentators was that it was “anti-business”. The suggestion was that demolishing Orchard House to construct a modern mixed-use space was the only viable way to attract shoppers and office tenants, which would thus fight the growing tide of vacancy rates and candy stores on Oxford Street. The issues facing the area are very real, but it should

not be assumed that the only way to solve them is through tearing down a historic building to erect a new one. Consider the merits of preserving such a building: historically significant, the 1930s Neo-Grec Orchard House is one of a few remaining buildings that embodies London’s interwar architecture, much of which has already been lost. Retrofitting also typically results in up to 75 percent less carbon emissions than constructing new buildings, making it the strongest tool in a developer’s arsenal to cut its emissions. In the case of Orchard House, some 40,000 tonnes of carbon that would have been emitted through constructing a new building have now

been saved.

If buildings are to be preserved, they of course have to be adapted to meet modern needs. London has countless success stories of historic buildings

that have been repurposed to meet the expectations and needs of today’s office workers and shoppers. Battersea Power Station is perhaps the most famous example. Workspace has rescued many character buildings across London and transformed them into flexible spaces fit for thriving London businesses including China Works in Vauxhall, Metal Box Factory in Bankside and The Leather Market in London Bridge, which could otherwise have been lost at the hands of another developer. Preservation and innovation should not be considered incompatible but mutually beneficial.

Currently, developers are not compelled by law to consider retrofitting

Bring WhatsApp out of the dark and make MPs’ messages part of the lobbying register

AFTER a seemingly never-ending string of scandals, lobbying is back on MPs’ agendas with both the government and the opposition proposing measures to overhaul the rules. Ahead of a general election, this will undoubtedly impact businesses planning their political engagement strategies.

Reform is overdue. After all, each successive scandal further erodes public confidence in the political system. At its heart, the problem is one of transparency. The 2014 Lobbying Act introduced a register to increase transparency by publicly recording the efforts to influence policymakers.

Lobbying would now be done in the open – or so ran the theory.

Theory and reality quickly deviated: only third-party, consultant lobbyists are allowed to register, and there are so many exemptions that 95 per cent of lobbying activity in Westminster is unregistered, according to Transparency International.

Where the political parties could

Alastair McCapra

once claim that lobbying is not a concern raised on the doorstep, it is becoming clear that the issue will increasingly determine whether the door is even opened for canvassers come election time. Polling published earlier this year, conducted by Opinium, found that around 75 percent of voters have less confidence in the political system because of reported scandals.

Last month the government published its long-awaited response to proposed reforms announcing plans to require government departments and civil servants to publish more information more regularly. Lobbyists already on the register, meanwhile, will be re-

quired to disclose more details about clients. That is not enough.

Given the lobbying register is a mere shadow of what it should be, requiring those already registered to provide a bit more information is a perfect example of repeating the same thing and expecting a different result.

Under the plans, there will still be no obligation for those employed inhouse to record their lobbying activity.

The government has also declared that it “does not believe that transparency obligations should include letters, WhatsApp messages, impromptu phone calls or emails.” A string of recent scandals, including the Greensill fiasco, was conducted via the encrypted messaging app. Meanwhile, the Labour Party has proposed banning ministers from becoming a lobbyist for five years after leaving office under their new ethics and integrity commission to oversee ministers' behaviour. These proposals are welcome but do little to address the needed change in culture around transparency and accountability cur-

rently in lobbying.

Both parties have started to address the issue, but there is still widespread apathy. Since the last election, during which time the legislature has been rocked by allegations of unethical lobbying, three-quarters of MPs have remained silent on the issue, according to research published by the CIPR. We have a real opportunity to get this right but, regrettably, these latest proposals do not go far enough.

Lobbying is a force for good and has been at the vanguard of progressive change throughout history. The solution to the growth of unethical lobbying, and restoring the public’s confidence, is more transparency: extending the register to capture all lobbying activity on behalf of a company, be it through email, WhatsApp or letter. This solution has eluded both parties. Until we have a proper register, the never-ending scandal will sadly continue.

£ Alastair McCapra is chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations

as an option first, meaning the government’s decision was deemed by critics to be “arbitrary”. In this instance, they are not wrong. The only way the government can avoid this situation in future is by mandating a “retrofit first" approach through planning policy reform.

I have argued before that a Grade III listing status would help to preserve London’s heritage. But a retrofit first policy would have a similar impact and even go further to avoid unnecessary demolition across all buildings and recognise the value held in embodied carbon. In our own decision making, we already implement this thinking and look first to see where we can preserve the integrity of a building, rather than tear it down. The same cannot be said for all developers across London that see greater value in newbuilds when retrofits are perfectly possible.

Michael Gove has positioned the government on the right side of the debate, and making this decision on a flagship property is the right way to signal new priorities and spur action. It now needs to consolidate the support for its recent decision and take the opportunity to introduce clear policy change that puts retrofitting first and ensures greater predictability and transparency in future decisions. Retrofitting enables opportunity, it does not stifle it. London needs a retrofit first policy now that will preserve our rich architectural heritage, accelerate the transition to net zero, while also meeting the ever-changing needs of the modern London business.

£ Graham Clemett is chief executive officer of Workspace

DON’T

Michael Gove blocked the demolition of the M&S building on Oxford Street

LOOK AT US Landlords have been accused of standing in the way of the plan to give free childcare provision to almost all kids by refusing to let minders work in their homes.

Claire Coutinho, the children’s minister, attracted the ire of the landlord lobby (yes, cue the tiny violin) for shifting the blame.

If buildings are to be preserved, they of course have to be adapted to meet modern needs

WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR VIEWS

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Over 50? Give in to the (co)robots

[Re: Over-50s skills gap persists as unemployment increases, August 15] The UK has a labour shortage. Therefore, government efforts to enrol older workers into skills bootcamp schemes is positive. However, with only one in 20 older workers making up these reskilling trainees, further consideration is needed into what is holding over-50s back from re-entering the workplace. Industries that involve physically demanding roles, such as manufacturing, are desperately short of workers. One solution is collaborative automation.

Collaborative robots (cobots) can work alongside people, taking on dull, dirty and dangerous work that is unsuited to older workers, whilst allowing them to upskill and focus on more supervisorial roles. Alongside this, cobots can increase production output and quality, allowing employees to work fewer hours - ideal for over 50s who may not be able to return to fulltime employment. Despite the opportunities presented, the UK lags behind on the global scale and remains the only G7 nation with a robot density below the global average. Policy makers and industry leaders must promote and invest in automation if we want to see the older demographic back at work.

Mark Gray Universal Robots

KICK OFF Cost-of-living keeping young people away from sport and exercise

Let them join AGMs! Retail investors shouldn’t be stuck on the sidelines permanently

Peter Fowler

THE tide is turning. For decades, influence over large company decision-making has been dominated by a handful of institutional investors. But recently, the number of everyday people who trade for themselves in small quantities – retail investors - has been steadily growing. Fuelled by the availability of DIY investing apps, the percentage of UK shares owned by individual retail investors has swelled to 13.5 per cent, a 30 per cent rise since 2010.

Whilst an individual retail investor might not hold a significant proportion of the UK’s total shares compared to institutions, their collective voice is louder than ever. The question is whether the FTSE100 is ready to open its doors to them.

The FTSE100 and the legislation regulating it are facing a turning point. In the last few weeks, the Digitization Taskforce has called for a new shareholder ID system aimed at providing companies with better insights into their investors. The online investment

Even as people across the globe gathered to watch the Women’s Fifa World Cup, few will try to replicate the skill of the players. According to new research from the Inernational Olympic Committee, 37 per cent of young people around the world are play less sport as a result of rising prices.

EXPLAINER-IN-BRIEF: WHAT’S BEHIND A SURGE IN FAKE OZEMPIC

It was originally designed for diabetics, but has since been hailed by many as a wonder drug for weightloss. Ozempic, the brand name for semaglutide, has become increasingly popular in the UK for people trying to shed a couple of kilos.

But according to an investigation by The Times this has spurned a growing blackmarket for the drug. People paying significant sums were instead sold vials of insulin and other unknown substances. It is not technically sold as a weightloss drug in the UK, but can

be purchased in spit of new government guidance suggesting people only use it for its specified purpose. It came after the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued a warning that the drug was in short supply and as a result of rising demand there would not be enough in circulation until mid 2024.

GPs and private clinics were told not to prescribe the drugs for weightloss patients. It doesn’t come cheap either - with a monthly supply cost around £189.

service Interactive Investor also wrote an open letter to FTSE100 chairs, advocating for improved communication with investors throughout the year.

Meanwhile, Marks & Spencer’s “share your voice” campaign calls for changes to legislation around shareholder rights and annual general meetings, which has remained largely unchanged since 1985.

Clearly, these issues have plagued corporate governance for decades. They are coming to the surface now because a new type of investor has emerged, one who cares more about executive pay, diversity and ESG standards. This AGM season alone proves that investors are not afraid to voice their concerns, and businesses can’t ignore them.

Retail investors want to be able to attend annual general meetings for the same reason as institutional investors - to find out how the company is being run. According to research by Lumi, just 29 per cent want to influence dividends, showing financial gain is less important than influencing governance for many of today’s investors.

Yet, retail investors are being locked out of important meetings and left in the shadows. The crux of the problem lies in the UK’s flawed share ownership system, which sidelines retail investors who purchase shares through intermediaries like Hargreaves Lansdown and Interactive Investor.

When shares are bought in this way, the individual's name is not directly registered with the company they are investing in. This means these individuals are left in the shadows, and if they want to attend or vote at a company meeting, they have to contact the broker to be appointed as a proxy. However, this process is extremely difficult to navigate and results in the vast majority being excluded.

This red tape is gradually being dis-

mantled. But businesses must start opening the door to retail investors. There is still a perception that DIY investors are the wild west of the investment world. Yet, businesses that listen to the voices of different stakeholder groups are the ones best setup for success. The “board knows best” mindset is outdated.

We’re already seeing this dynamic change, particularly with more businesses running investor relations meetings and inviting shareholders to express their concerns and have votes counted throughout the year. This proactive approach prevents issues from reaching a boiling point at the final meeting and improves communication between boards and investors. The stage is set for a new relationship between investors and boards, and for the necessary legislative changes to take place. Now, it is up to companies to recognise the critical role retail investors can play in shaping the future of British businesses.

£ Peter Fowler is chief operating officer at Lumi, an AGM provider for the FTSE100

There is still a perception that DIY investors are the wild west of the investment world

The number of UK shares owned by retail investors has grown to 13.5 per cent

MOTORING

TRUCK YEAH!

Tim Pitt

Ford

MARKTwain reportedly said “golf is a good walk spoiled”. I used to feel the same about driving offroad. After several experiences of bumping and thumping along Welsh green lanes, making progress at a wearily pedestrian pace, I concluded that hiking boots were preferable to all-terrain tyres.

That all changed in 2019, when I travelled to Morocco for the launch of the Ranger Raptor. Driving flat-out across the desert, leaping off sand dunes and sliding about like Ken Block (RIP), I suddenly realised that off-roading could be fast and fun. I’ve had a soft-spot for Ford’s preposterous pickup ever since.

Now there is a new Ranger Raptor –and you still can’t lose it in a car park. A jutting FORD grille framed by ‘C-clamp’ LED headlights, stretched wheelarches

and a taller, wider stance make it look like a boil-washed monster truck. Or indeed the American-spec F-150 Raptor.

The big news is under the hood (sorry, bonnet), where the 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel from the previous Raptor is joined by a second engine option, a 3.0 twin-turbo petrol V6, with both linked to a 10-speed automatic gearbox. The V6’s 292hp still falls frustratingly short of the 397hp that Australian Raptor buyers enjoy (blame EU emissions rules), but 0-62mph in 7.9 seconds is brisk for a 2.5-tonne pickup. It also sounds much meatier than the diesel – especially in ‘practically unsilenced’ Baja mode.

My test truck had the full-fat petrol engine, although this time, sadly, my travels were confined to Surrey rather than the Sahara. However, with Fox Racing suspension, two locking differentials, gnarly BF Goodrich rub-

FORD RANGER RAPTOR

PRICE: £59,531

POWER: 292HP

0-62MPH: 7.9SECS

TOP SPEED: 111MPH

FUEL ECONOMY: 20.5MPG

CO2 EMISSIONS: 315G/KM

ber and seven different drive modes, this 2023 Raptor is equally capable of bouncing across rough terrain. Its ‘Live Valve’ dampers even brace for impact when they detect you are airborne… Such robust over-engineering pays dividends on tarmac as well. The Raptor feels more sophisticated than most pickups, with direct steering and limited body-roll in corners. Its long-travel suspension seems well suited to crum-

bling British roads, gliding over potholes and smothering speed humps. You’re always conscious of its sheer size (over 300mm longer than a Range Rover), but a lofty driving position, towering above lesser traffic, helps you blaze a trail with confidence. The Raptor is very car-like inside, too, where you’ll find seating for five, a 12inch portrait touchscreen and bigbolstered seats inspired by the F-22 Raptor jet fighter. It’s less roomy for passengers than a large SUV, but the load bed, with its roll-top metal cover, means you are never short of luggage space. Standard kit includes leather upholstery, a 10-speaker B&O audio system, external power sockets and a full suite of parking cameras. Ford also offers a range of adventure-ready accessories, such as a wiring unit for a winch or a rack for fitting a roof tent.

What’s not to like? Well, at nearly £60,000, the Ranger Raptor certainly isn’t cheap, and its 652kg payload falls short of the one-tonne minimum to qualify it as a commercial vehicle. With CO2 emissions of 315g/km – or 278g/km for the diesel – that means a hefty tax bill, even if you own your own business, not to mention fuel economy that easily plunges below 20mpg. However, the Raptor wasn’t designed to spend its waking hours frequenting Wickes. Think of it instead as the mutant offspring of an SUV and a sports car: a fun vehicle that can also accommodate your family. Seen in that light, this steroidal truck starts to look like better value. It still isn’t a rational purchase, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting one.

Tim Pitt writes for motoringresearch.com

CLASSIC ALFA-INSPIRED TOTEM GT DEBUTS AT SALON PRIVÉ NEXT WEEK

THE Totem GT restomod makes its UK debut next week at Salon

Privé, the high-end classic and supercar show hosted in the grounds of Blenheim Palace. Taking inspiration from the iconic Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA, the Totem GT marries classic styling with modern technology.

BTotem Automobili was founded in 2018 by automotive designer Riccardo Quaggio, following a career at Honda and Alfa Romeo. He spent several years refining the design of the Totem GT, which comprehensively updates the classic Giulia coupe shape. Quaggio describes this as the car he dreamed of as a child.

Each Totem GT is based on a 1970s Alfa Romeo GT Junior 1300 or 1600. This is stripped down to leave just the firewall from the donor car. Totem then adds its own bespoke carbon fibre monocoque chassis, and clothes the car in carbon bodywork. The panels take 8,000 hours to produce, and weigh just 95kg.

The Totem GT Super comes with a twin-turbocharged 2.8-litre V6 engine that produces 600hp in standard tune, or a supercar-rivalling 750hp in Stage 2 guise. Alternatively, buyers can opt for the Totem GT Electric, with a 500hp electric motor and 81kWh battery. The restomod EV can sprint to

62mph in just 2.9 seconds, and offers a potential range of nearly 300 miles.

The Totem GT Electric uses a 13speaker 125dB external sound system to recreate the noise of a conventional, petrol-powered car. Carbon fibre seats based on those in the Alfa Romeo 1750 Giulia GT are fitted, each one individually moulded to the customer’s body shape. The bespoke pedals are also aligned to the driver’s shoe size.

Totem Automobili will display the new GT at Salon Privé, Blenheim Palace, between 30 August and 2 September 2023. Tickets for the event are available to buy now.

drives the

Ranger Raptor: a go-anywhere tough truck that is a fun alternative to a family SUV.

ATHLETICS

Muir’s Hungary for World gold in Budapest

AQUICK search of household name British middle-distance runner Laura Muir will return a plethora of pages, articles and images of her winning medals.

The Scottish 1,500m specialist has seen off all comers in the Diamond League, at the European Championships and at the Commonwealth Games.

But the gold medals – of which she has 11 in all disciplines – have thus far eluded her at the two biggest competitions in athletics.

Her silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 felt like a breakthrough moment after years of aiming for the podium on the global stage, and it was followed up a year later in Eugene with a bronze at the World Championships.

With this year’s edition in full swing

OPINION

GOLF COMMENT

Sam Torrance

VIKTOR Hovland was nothing short of magnificent in beating a stacked field to win the BMW Championship on Sunday – and that’s more great news for Europe ahead of the Ryder Cup next month in Italy.

The Norwegian had to be at the top of his game to leapfrog in-form overnight leaders Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick on the final day but his brilliant round of 61, which included just 28 shots on the back nine, was more than good enough.

As he acknowledged himself, it was probably the best he has ever played, especially when you consider the quality of the field at FedEx Cup Playoff events.

Hovland is in superb form and that’s testament to how hard he works. I watched a video clip of him practising recently and I liked what I saw. His swing is improving all the time.

The 25-year-old is young, strong and fearless and his future is very bright. You have to think that majors are on the horizon sooner rather than later.

FANTASTIC POSITION

Before then Hovland could win the FedEx Cup for the first time, with the concluding tournament, the Tour Championship, due to take place this week in Atlanta.

His latest win lifted him to second in the standings behind Scheffler, with Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm also in the running.

He has already shown the golfing world how good he is so he has very little to prove, but it would be a big feather in his cap, quite apart from the $18m (£14m) prize.

It would also be a useful boost ahead of facing the US at the Ryder Cup in a few weeks’ time. He has put himself in a fantastic position and it would be great for the team if a European player beat the Americans on their own soil in the PGA Tour finale.

Whatever happens, Europe’s team is already building very nicely. McIlroy is playing great, showing a bit of Tiger Woods in him with shots that people just watch in awe.

Rory has made no secret of chasing the double double – winning the FedEx Cup

A prolific medal winner, the British 1,500m star is running out of shots at

in Budapest, Team GB and Northern Ireland captain Muir is primed to reach the summit of the podium. Her chance comes this evening – but it will be tough.

The woman who beat her to 1,500m gold in both the Olympics and World Championships across the last two seasons is in the mix yet again. And Faith Kipyegon is the overwhelming favourite; the Kenyan’s best time this season is five seconds faster than that of her nearest challenger and eight clear of Muir.

World ranked No2 Freweyni Hailu and No3 Irishwoman Ciara Mageean are expected to be in contention, too. For Muir, she must look at herself

she craves most, writes Matt Hardy

and the trust British Athletics has placed in her as inspiration for her success. She is captain this week, meaning other athletes, maybe at their first major championships, will look to her for guidance. Whether that is something she takes in her stride alongside her place on the start line remains to be seen but it is something she will not be able to get away from.

Maybe it is the last thing she needs, but it could point towards an interesting future for the 30-year-old.

KEY ACCOLADE

There won’t be too many more competitions where she will go in as a

VIKTOR FORM IS BOOST FOR EUROPE RYDER CUP HOPES

and its European equivalent, the Race to Dubai, in the same year for a second time – and I like that. Fitzpatrick also had another very good week.

WILD CARD

The US team, meanwhile, is taking shape. Max Homa and Xander Schauffele’s top-10 finishes on Sunday in Illinois saw them secure automatic places, joining Scheffler, Open champion Brian Harman, US Open winner Wyndham Clark and Patrick Cantlay.

That leaves US PGA champion Brooks Koepka needing a wild card pick, and it remains to be seen whether he and

favourite in the 1,500m, and maybe British Athletics have a longer term plan for Muir to help develop the best and brightest coming through the ranks. But that won’t be on her mind this evening. Only gold scratches the itch she’s been struggling to reach for years.

She ran five outdoor 1,500m races prior to these championships – all of which were in Europe –and went under the

four-minute barrier twice, in Italy and Monaco.

In the vile weather of the British Championships, she ran two times of 4:10 or slower, while the other race, in Sweden last month, saw her cross the line in 4:03.

It is fair to say Muir needs a gold medal at some point to ensure her legacy is one that ticks all of the boxes. A career without it will feel like one missing a key accolade.

But Muir has dazzled us year after year in recent times and will undoubtedly be back for more next year, for what could be one last attempt at Olympic glory.

other players who joined LIV Golf will be considered by the US captain, Zach Johnson.

Koepka should be in the team on quality, but rules are rules and we don’t know exactly what the American players were told about their Ryder Cup participation if they joined LIV Golf. Europe’s DP World Tour, on the other hand, was very clear.

I’ve said all along that the exodus to LIV Golf would hurt the American Ryder Cup team more than Europe.

I’m not sure any of the European players who joined would have made the team, but Koepka, Dustin Johnson,

Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed surely would.

The effect on Europe has instead been to lose three incredible potential future captains in Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood. Now that all of the tours are set to come together, hopefully that situation can change and they can rightfully take up one of the highest honours that the game has to offer.

Sam Torrance OBE is a former Ryder Cupwinning captain and one of Europe’s most successful golfers. Follow him @torrancesam

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He has already shown the golfing world how good he is, but the FedEx Cup would be a big feather in his cap

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SAM TORRANCE ON GOLF

Hovland’s magnificent form is a Ryder Cup boost for Europe

PAGE 17

Greenwood to leave Man Utd after backlash at possible return

FRANK DALLERES

MANCHESTER United have reached agreement with Mason Greenwood to leave the club after concluding an investigation into claims of attempted rape and assault.

England striker Greenwood was suspended by the Premier League club in January 2022 after images and video relating to the alleged victim emerged online. Prosecutors dropped the case earlier this year after key witnesses withdrew from the process, and United said their own probe had left them satisfied that he did not commit the crimes.

But reports last week that the club planned to reintegrate Greenwood into the first team provoked a backlash, and the 21-year-old is now set to leave by mutual consent.

“All those involved, including Mason, recognise the difficulties with him recommencing his career at Manchester United,” the club said. “It has therefore been mutually agreed that it would be most appropriate for him to do so away from Old Trafford, and we will now work with Mason to achieve that outcome.”

United have not clarified whether Greenwood will be sold, loaned out or have his contract terminated as part of a settlement with the player.

Greenwood added: “Today’s decision has been part of a collaborative process

between Manchester United, my family and me. The best decision for us all, is for me to continue my football career away from Old Trafford, where my presence will not be a distraction for the club.”

Discussions are believed to be ongoing over the remainder of Greenwood’s contract, which is worth £75,000 per week and runs until 2025. After making his debut as an 18-year-old, he scored 35 goals in 129 matches for the club, earning an England call-up and a single cap under Gareth Southgate.

In an open letter to United supporters, chief executive Richard

England coach Borthwick braced for D-Day over Vunipola and Farrell World Cup bans

FRANK DALLERES

Arnold said the club had planned for Greenwood’s reintegration but insisted it was only one of several possible outcomes.

“While I am satisfied that Mason did not commit the acts he was charged with, Mason’s accepted that he has made mistakes which he takes responsibility for,” Arnold added. “I am also mindful of the challenge that Mason would face rebuilding his career and raising a baby together with his partner in the harsh spotlight of Manchester United.”

A United fans’ group criticised the club’s handling of the episode but said it was relieved at the outcome.

Spanish chief sorry for kissing player after World Cup victory

FRANK DALLERES

THE PRESIDENTof Spain’s football federation, Luis Rubiales, has apologised for kissing Women’s World Cup winner Jenni Hermoso on the lips in the aftermath of Sunday’s final.

Rubiales’ public act after Spain beat England 1-0 sparked widespread condemnation, with Spanish ministers, other prominent female players and footballers’ unions criticising his lunge.

“There is something I regret, and it was what happened between me and a player, with whom I have a fantastic relationship, just like with

the others, where I have certainly made a mistake. I have to admit it,”

Rubiales said in a video statement released on Monday. “It seems like it has caused a commotion as it seemed to do damage, so I want to apologise for it, I don’t ask for anything else.”

Hermoso said she “did not enjoy” the kiss in social media footage posted after the final. In a statement later released by the Spanish federation she called it a “spontaneous mutual gesture”.

The row cast a further shadow over the win by a Spain team who have had a strained relationship with coach Jorge Vilda.

UNDER-FIREEngland rugby coach

Steve Borthwick will learn on Tuesday whether key men Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola are to be banned for the start of next month’s Rugby World Cup.

Captain Farrell and No8 Vunipola are both due to attend disciplinary hearings after being sent off for dangerous tackles in England’s two most recent World Cup warm-up matches.

If found guilty, they face six-week bans. Although that can be reduced by mitigating factors, they would still likely miss at least some of England’s pool stage fixtures at the

tournament. Farrell will be facing an independent commission for the second time over his tackle on Wales’s Taine Basham, after World Rugby appealed a decision to exonerate him last week.

Vunipola is then due to make his case on Tuesday evening, having also seen his yellow card for a challenge on Ireland’s Andrew Porter upgraded to a red following a video review.

Losing both players for the start of the Rugby World Cup would be a major blow for Borthwick, who has lost five of his eight matches since succeeding Eddie Jones at the start of the year.

England are due to begin their

FOOTBALL

campaign on 9 September in Marseille against Argentina, their main rivals in a pool which also includes Japan, Samoa and Chile. Before heading to France they are due to play one final warm-up match against Fiji on Saturday at Twickenham.

Fly-half Farrell has long been England’s go-to player and place kicker, while Vunipola is currently the only specialist No8 in Borthwick’s 33-man World Cup squad.

The former Leicester Tigers head coach should at least have clarity in the next 24 hours, having bemoaned the distraction of Farrell’s case in the run-up to a 29-10 loss in Ireland.

Lionesses break UK viewing record for women’s match

FRANK DALLERES

ENGLAND’SWorld Cup final with Spain on Sunday smashed UK TV audience records for a women’s football match, despite the Lionesses missing out on the trophy.

The nail-biting 1-0 defeat attracted an average audience of 13.3m watching on live television, with both BBC One and ITV broadcasting the match from Australia.

That was greater than the average audience of 11m who tuned in to see England win the European Championship final against Germany last summer. It was also the most of any women’s game televised in Britain and second

only to the coronation of King Charles III this year.

The Lionesses’ Euros triumph, however, still holds the record for the highest peak audience in the UK of 17.4m. Sunday morning’s final audience peaked at 14.8m in the closing stages of a fraught contest decided by Olga Carmona’s first-half goal.

The figures do not include those watching on devices other than TVs, with the BBC reporting a further 3.9m views via its iPlayer service and the BBC Sport website.

In the battle of the broadcasters the Beeb appeared to thrash ITV, recording a peak of 12m viewers watching its coverage on BBC One.

FOOTBALL

Departing is ‘the best decision for us all’, Greenwood said

Vunipola was sent off for a dangerous tackle against Ireland