<?xml encoding="utf-8" ??>A glittering night of celebration for the UK’s 140 finalists of the Business Champion Awards. Over 300 guests filled the East Wintergardens in London’s Canary Wharf and were hosted again by the nation’s favourite broadcaster, Huw Edward’s, the evening’s guests were treated to a night of champagne, music, laughter and thought provoking speeches.Jamie Waller accepted the Lifetime Achievement ...

<?xml encoding="utf-8" ??>A glittering night of celebration for the UK’s 140 finalists of the Business Champion Awards. Over 300 guests filled the East Wintergardens in London’s Canary Wharf and were hosted again by the nation’s favourite broadcaster, Huw Edward’s, the evening’s guests were treated to a night of champagne, music, laughter and thought provoking speeches.Jamie Waller accepted the Lifetime Achievement ...

<?xml encoding="utf-8" ??>Ten construction firms have been fined a combined £60m by the competition regulator for “illegally colluding” to rig bids for lucrative contracts for projects including Bow Street magistrates court and Selfridges department store. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that the companies had acted as a cartel over 19 private and public sector contracts that were worth ...

<?xml encoding="utf-8" ??>Just 1% of the estimated £1.1bn lost from the government’s Covid business support programme in England as a result of fraud and error has been recovered so far, the public spending watchdog has said in a report urging ministers to learn lessons from the scheme. The “overwhelming majority” of fraud and error occurred during the initial incarnation of ...

<?xml encoding="utf-8" ??>Accenture has announced plans to cut 19,000 jobs, about 2.5 per cent of its workforce, as corporate clients grow increasingly cautious about the strength of the global economy. The business, one of the world’s biggest consultancy groups, follows others in the sector in implementing sweeping layoffs after lowering its annual forecast of sales and profits.McKinsey is cutting up ...

<?xml encoding="utf-8" ??>Consumer confidence continued to rise this month despite growing concern about personal finances, a closely watched survey shows. It rose by two points to minus 36 on the monthly index by GfK, the market intelligence company. The biggest factor was a rise in the likelihood that people would buy big-ticket items such as furniture and electrical goods. This ...

<?xml encoding="utf-8" ??>The Bank of England has pushed up the cost of borrowing to its highest level in nearly 15 years amid concerns that inflation will persist. The central bank raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.25 per cent, its highest level since November 2008, in the latest increase as the central bank races to ...

<?xml encoding="utf-8" ??>Retail sales volumes beat expectations to rise by their biggest margin in months to return to pre-pandemic levels in February. Sales rose by 1.2 per cent in February, the largest monthly growth since October, after a revised 0.9 per cent rise in January, according to new figures published by the Office for National Statistics.Strong sales in discount department ...

<?xml encoding="utf-8" ??>Britain is less prepared for a pandemic now than it was three years ago, thanks to the sale of a key vaccine manufacturing plant, leading scientists have warned. Professor Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute, which was responsible for the Oxford Covid vaccine, said that the recent loss of the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC) in ...

<?xml encoding="utf-8" ??>Birmingham’s Colmore BID (Business Improvement District) has partnered with the Hollie Gazzard Trust to launch a new Supporter Organisation Scheme to educate staff on domestic abuse issues and help safeguard employees. Colmore BID, which is responsible for delivering projects, initiatives and services in Birmingham’s commercial and professional services quarter, is the first to partner with the charity to ...