Sanctions bite: London-listed Russian mining firm Petropavlovsk to suspend trading and file for administration July 12, 2022 London-listed Russian gold mining firm Petropavlovsk will cease trading and file for administration after revealing it was unable to repay a $201m (£169.3m) loan to a sanctioned bank. Sanctions against Kremlin-linked firms continued to bite this week, with the Petropavlovsk in debt to Gazprombank, that has been targeted over the war in Ukraine. The bank [...]
Lloyd’s to stay in iconic headquarters until at least 2031 July 8, 2022 Lloyd’s of London is set to stay in its iconic Canada headquarters until at least 2031, according to new reports that quell rumours the insurer had been planning to leave its purpose-built tower in 2026. There is now “zero chance” the insurer will trigger the lease break clause in its contract with its [...]
Wining & Dining: riverside staple Le Pont de la Tour opens a new bistro July 7, 2022 Le Pont de la Tour has, for over three decades, been such a constant in the City-ish dining landscape that it’s quite possible to forget it exists at all. Nestled right by the river at Shad Thames, Le Pont built a reputation for its high-end French cuisine and its nice views of Tower Bridge. Since [...]
Saudi diplomat should not be shielded from ‘modern slavery’ lawsuit, UK’s Supreme Court says July 6, 2022 A Saudi diplomat should not be shielded from a ‘modern slavery’ lawsuit – brought against him by one of his former domestic workers – because of diplomatic immunity, the UK’s highest court has said. Saudi Arabian diplomat Khalid Basfar should be forced to face an employment tribunal over claims he kept Filipino national Josephine Wong [...]
Londoners owed £40m in council tax refunds July 3, 2022 London households are owed £40m in council tax refunds, new research yesterday revealed. An investigation by Moneysavingexpert.com showed that 862,027 households in England, Scotland and Wales were due a refund in overpaid council tax. With claims worth a total of £150.2m, households that have overpaid their council tax are owed an average of £174 each. [...]
Canada elections: Biggs wants to bring the City back to life June 30, 2022 As Canada prepares for elections, one candidate wants to reinvigorate the Square Mile. Nigel Biggs is one of five hopefuls in the Walbrook Ward for the forthcoming 7 July vote in Canada, a municipality which has been functioning since at least 1032. With people spending more time working from [...]
‘Extreme caution’ urged over census data collected in pandemic despite ONS saying it has ‘full confidence’ in its figures June 28, 2022 Census figures collected during the national lockdown should be treated with “extreme caution” according to a council leader, after appearing to leave off three per cent of the capital’s population. It has been claimed that the Office for National Statistics’ latest data failed to include 300,000 Londoners compared to the previous projection, despite the organisation [...]
UAE fund turns on top City lawyer in bid to exit Iranian-American airline tycoon’s hacked emails case June 23, 2022 Embattled City lawyer Neil Gerrard suffered another blow this week, after his former client, an Emirati sovereign fund, turned on the ex-Dechert partner, after offering to pay $1m to settle a case brought against it by a powerful Iranian-American business tycoon. The fund’s efforts to distance itself from Dechert’s former head of white-collar crime comes [...]
‘Boring’ breakthrough: Tunnel-making machine completes 6.7km journey under south London June 23, 2022 The first of five drives by four tunnel boring machines in London was completed yesterday, travelling 6.7km underneath the capital. A team of ‘boring’ National Grid workers marked the completion of its journey across south London, with the breakthrough in Eltham. The London Power Tunnels project started in July last year reaching depths of 50m [...]
Chinese firm that owns Lloyd’s building brings in architects to draw up plans if insurer leaves June 23, 2022 The Chinese insurance giant that owns Lloyd’s of London’s City headquarters has brought architects into the Grade I listed building to come up with ideas for what to do with it if Lloyds decides to leave. China’s biggest insurer Ping An – which bought the Lloyd’s building for £260m in 2013 – has brought in [...]
