Berry Bros lifted as Brits develop taste for fine wines during lockdown November 14, 2021 Berry Bros & Rudd, the UK’s oldest wine and spirits merchant, has benefitted from Brits developing a taste for fine wines during lockdown. Established in the 17th century Berry Bros’ flagship store has been located on St James’s Street since 1689 and has supplied the royal family since the reign of King George III. Its not [...]
FCA accused of changing compensation rules to avoid paying victims November 14, 2021 The UK’s financial regulator stands accused of unlawfully changing the rules of its compensation scheme to avoid payouts to victims. The FCA allegedly changed its complaints scheme as it was facing claims from savers who lost a total of £237m in the collapse of investment firm London Capital & Finance in 2019. The watchdog is being investigated [...]
Christmas parties get the chop at London firms November 14, 2021 City bosses have cancelled their traditional Christmas parties for a second year running over Covid fears. Blowout Christmas celebrations usually held by London’s accounting, insurance and law firms will be scrapped in favour of smaller dinners and events for individual teams the Telegraph first reported. Despite large gatherings being allowed under current Covid rules, top [...]
Inmarsat buyer plans London HQ in bid to ease security fears November 14, 2021 A US satellite company which offered to buy Britain’s Inmarsat for $7.3bn (£5.5bn) could set up an international headquarters in London to appease national security regulators. Viasat is in ongoing discussions with UK ministers after it announced plans to purchase Inmarsat through a merger which would create one of the world’s largest satellite operators, the [...]
UK water companies ordered to repay £67m to customers November 11, 2021 British water companies will have to slash customer bills by £67m next year as a penalty for missing performance targets. Thames Water, the supplier for London and the Thames Valley area was slapped with the largest repayment order and will lose out on a whopping £53.2m. Southern Water will repay £46m while South West Water [...]
Mandarin Oriental lifted by return of international travel November 11, 2021 Mandarin Oriental has reported its first underlying profit since 2019 as the easing of international travel restrictions boosted its financials. The luxury hotel group reported net debt of $568m (£425m) at the close of the period, but insisted the company remains in a “strong financial position” with $162m available in cash reserves and $296 allocated [...]
Dictador sells rare rum as NFTs for $25k a bottle November 11, 2021 Hot on the heels of Glenfiddich, rum brand Dictador has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from selling bottles of vintage liquor as NFTs. Ten bottles of aged rum were sold for $25k (£18.6k) apiece. Buyers received a digital receipt in the form of an NFT which can either be resold or redeemed for a [...]
Twitter launches crypto team in decentralisation push November 11, 2021 Twitter is taking a further leap into the crypto space by launching an in-house crypto team led by Tess Rinearson. In a thread posted to Twitter, Rinearson revealed what the new team will be getting up to with the development of decentralised apps high on the priority list. The workgroup will also explore the promise [...]
No Bitcoin believers: Indonesia’s religious leaders forbid muslims from using crypto as currency November 11, 2021 Indonesia’s religious council has declared the use of crypto assets as currency unlawful for muslims. At a meeting of the National Ulema Council, MUI, clerics deemed cryptocurrency to be forbidden under Shariah law because it includes elements of uncertainty, wagering and harm. Trading cryptocurrencies as a commodity is also unlawful because it does not meet [...]
Meghan apologies for misleading court over her involvement in biography November 11, 2021 The Duchess of Sussex has apologised for misleading the court after her press secretary revealed the extent of her involvement with the writing of biography, Finding Freedom. Joseph Knauf told the court that the book was “discussed directly with the duchess multiple times in person and over email,” as part of ongoing correspondence with authors [...]
