Category Archives: Business

Dr Martens bosses and backers set for huge windfall in £3.5bn float

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UK footwear brand expected to launch market listing on Monday, with CEO in line for stake worth £58m

The British footwear brand Dr Martens is expected to launch a stock market flotation on Monday that would value the Northamptonshire firm at £3.5bn and generate a huge windfall for its bosses and backers.

The company, known for its boots with chunky air-cushioned soles and distinctive yellow stitching, was owned until 2013 by the Griggs family, who sold to the private equity investment group Permira for £300m but retained a near-10% stake. Just seven years later the business has soared in value and when it lands on the stock market will create numerous multimillionaires.

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Move to EU to avoid Brexit costs, firms told

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Exporters advised by Department for International Trade officials to form EU-based companies to circumvent border issues

British businesses that export to the continent are being encouraged by government trade advisers to set up separate companies inside the EU in order to get around extra charges, paperwork and taxes resulting from Brexit, the Observer can reveal.

In an extraordinary twist to the Brexit saga, UK small businesses are being told by advisers working for the Department for International Trade (DIT) that the best way to circumvent border issues and VAT problems that have been piling up since 1 January is to register new firms within the EU single market, from where they can distribute their goods far more freely.

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‘A Brexit nightmare’: the British businesses being pushed to breaking point

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Less than a month after leaving the EU, trade is flowing so badly that small firms are moving operations abroad to survive

Christophe Fricke lectures in German at the University of Bristol and adores living in England. He was born in Germany but his anglophilia became so strong after moving here that he wrote a book called 111 Gründe, England zu lieben (“111 Reasons to Love England”) in 2018. He selected the gardens of Cornwall, the National Portrait Gallery, the way the English use collective nouns for groups of animals (herds, packs, and so on) and their fascination with murder cases in his varied list of reasons for loving this country.

But since 1 January, Fricke has been reminded that there are also worrying things about life in England – and being outside the EU is now chief among them.

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The strange case of Alibaba’s Jack Ma and his three-month vanishing act

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The ebullient tech tycoon embarrassed China’s leaders and went missing. Now he’s back, but seems far less outspoken

Wearing burgundy lipstick and a long peroxide wig, the diminutive entrepreneur who would soon become China’s richest man took to the stage and belted out Can You Feel the Love Tonight? from Disney’s The Lion King.

Jack Ma, chief executive of e-commerce giant Alibaba, had earned the right to make a spectacle of himself. On that day in September 2009, in front of 16,000 adoring employees packed into Hangzhou’s Yellow Dragon stadium, the eccentric but iron-willed former English teacher was celebrating. He had built a bona fide tech champion, China’s answer to Amazon, eBay and PayPal rolled into one.

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New Covid infections pose challenge to China’s growth and Xi’s leadership

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The leader has declared victory over the virus, but a fresh outbreak is complicating the narrative

When Britain was in its second lockdown last November and the economy was contracting, China’s quarterly growth rate was hitting 6.5%. Figures last week showed that for the full year, the world’s second-largest economy could boast a growth rate of 2.3% while all its rivals in Europe and the Americas were going backwards.

The trend could be traced back to Beijing’s efforts to tackle the virus – albeit after a period of denial – and keep infection rates among the lowest in the world.

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‘It’s a big deal’: why former protester turned Davos mayor wants WEF back

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Philipp Wilhelm knows local people rely on forum’s revenue – but still thinks world must change

In his youth, Philipp Wilhelm was at the forefront of protests against the World Economic Forum’s annual “extreme capitalism” gathering of the business and political elite in Davos, the Swiss mountain resort where he grew up.

Now, however, Wilhelm is the mayor of the town and his central mission is to ensure the return of the WEF jamboree, which had been scheduled to start next week but was cancelled this year due to the pandemic.

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Summer holidays cancelled? UK faces big decision on border

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Stricter controls appear likely, with government’s approach in stark contrast to that during first Covid wave

Slumped on the sofa after another day of home schooling, many families will have longingly eyed adverts for getaways: sun, sandy beaches and glittering pools, a much-needed reward after a year in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic.

But ministers are becoming increasingly concerned they may have to ask the British public to sacrifice their hopes of a break abroad this summer. On Thursday, Priti Patel became the latest cabinet minister to say it was too soon to book an overseas break; Matt Hancock has already announced he is going to Cornwall.

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Boeing says it will make planes able to fly on 100% biofuel by 2030

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Aviation giant already staged the world’s first commercial flight using 100% biofuel in 2018

Boeing says it will begin delivering commercial airplanes capable of flying on 100% biofuel by the end of the decade, calling reducing environmental damage from fossil fuels the “challenge of our lifetime.”

Boeing’s goal – which requires advances to jet systems, raising fuel-blending requirements, and safety certification by global regulators – is central to a broader industry target of slashing carbon emissions in half by 2050, the US planemaker said.

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Israeli minerals magnate Beny Steinmetz convicted of corruption

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Tycoon sentenced to five years in prison for bribing officials and forging documents to gain mining rights in Guinea

The Israeli diamond and minerals magnate Beny Steinmetz has been convicted of corrupting foreign agents and forging documents by a Geneva court, in a trial over an attempt to reap lavish iron ore resources in Guinea.

Steinmetz, considered by some to be Israel’s richest man, was sentenced to five years in prison but had faced a maximum of 10 years in the case.

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Unite calls special meeting over alleged overspend on £50m building project

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Union denies wrongdoing after contracts for Birmingham complex given to firms investigated for bribery

Unite, Labour’s most generous backer, is organising a special meeting of its ruling body to discuss an alleged overspend on a multimillion pound construction project funded by the union.

The executive council will convene on Friday 29 January to discuss a seven-storey hotel and national conference centre in Birmingham funded by the union.

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MEPs vote to add Channel and British Virgin Islands to tax haven blacklist

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UK overseas territories such as Cayman Islands also may lose protection once afforded by UK’s EU membership

The European parliament is pushing for UK overseas territories including the British Virgin Islands, Guernsey and Jersey to be added to an EU tax havens blacklist after the conclusion of the Brexit deal.

Sending a signal that tougher action on tax avoidance was required in response to the coronavirus pandemic, MEPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of adding more nations and territories to the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions.

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As Covid cases spike, Dubai works to keep its economy open

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For an emirate dependent on trade, transport and tourism, vaccination, not lockdown, is key to keeping its economy going

As if the Boohoo online fashion company had not generated enough controversy in recent months, its bosses once again found themselves in the headlines last week for hosting a four-day meeting with suppliers in the luxurious surroundings of a Dubai hotel.

The company’s top executives had taken a private jet to the emirate for the get-together with the businessmen and women who supply their fabrics and manufacture their fashions, despite Foreign Office guidance that advises against all but essential travel.

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Electric vehicles close to ‘tipping point’ of mass adoption

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Sales increase 43% globally in 2020 as plunging battery costs mean the cars will soon be the cheapest vehicles to buy

Electric vehicles are close to the “tipping point” of rapid mass adoption thanks to the plummeting cost of batteries, experts say.

Global sales rose 43% in 2020, but even faster growth is anticipated when continuing falls in battery prices bring the price of electric cars dipping below that of equivalent petrol and diesel models, even without subsidies. The latest analyses forecast that to happen some time between 2023 and 2025.

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‘Absolute carnage’: EU hauliers reject UK jobs over Brexit rules

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Freight company director blames new requirement for EU transport firms to provide VAT and tariff guarantees

A British freight company director with more than over 20 years’ experience has told how EU hauliers and transport companies are turning their backs on UK business because they are being asked to provide tens of thousands of pounds in guarantees to cover VAT or potential tariffs on arrival in Britain.

The financial guarantee requirement did not exist before Brexit and EU transport companies who previously provided a shipping service for small and medium-sized firms have decided they do not want the extra financial burden, according to Colin Jeffries, who runs Key Cargo International in Manchester.

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Chinese billionaire Jack Ma makes first public appearance in months

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Alibaba co-founder, not seen since Beijing began crackdown on his firms, says he has been ‘studying and thinking’

The Chinese billionaire Jack Ma has made his first public appearance since Beijing began a crackdown on his business empire.

Ma, a celebrity businessman and one of the richest people in China, had not spoken publicly since regulators blocked the flotation of Ant Group, the financial payment company he controls. His absence had fuelled speculation that he may have fled China.

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Coronavirus Australia live: Victoria, NSW and Queensland record no local Covid cases as three new cases linked to Australian Open

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Two tennis players have tested positive, but hard lockdown of those who shared flights remains. Follow latest updates

  • NSW hotspots; Queensland hotspots
  • State-by-state restrictions and lockdown rules explained
  • Follow the global coronavirus liveblog

    • As our West Australian readers start to log-on, I bring to you news of possible secession. I have not clicked through to see what other images/tweets etc come up under #WAXIT but please feel free to do so:

    A group of business leaders in Western Australia want the state to break away from Australia… calling the campaign #WAXIT.

    Should WA be allowed to break away and form an independent nation? #9News pic.twitter.com/mtStO3Ayzh

    A $7bn funding injection into social housing would address surging homelessness caused by the pandemic, advocates say.

    This just in from AAP:

    Social housing advocates fear a surge in homelessness stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic, and are urging swift action from the federal government to ensure Australians have a roof over their heads.

    A national campaign to end homelessness, Everybody’s Home, estimates a $7bn injection into social housing would make a serious dent in homelessness, while creating 18,000 jobs a year over the next four years.

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    Brexit has driven 2,500 finance jobs and €170bn to France, says bank governor

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    Bank of France chief claims ‘50 British entities’ have moved over the Channel, while Dublin, Amsterdam and Frankfurt have also benefited

    The Bank of France’s governor has said that Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union has driven almost 2,500 jobs and “at least €170bn in assets” to France.

    London remains the continent’s foremost financial centre but Amsterdam, Dublin, Frankfurt and Paris have all scrambled to attract businesses that wanted to remain active in the 19-nation eurozone.

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    Global sales of electric cars accelerate fast in 2020 despite pandemic

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    Sales of electric cars rose by 43% while overall car sales slumped by a fifth last year

    Global sales of electric cars accelerated fast in 2020, rising by 43% to more than 3m, despite overall car sales slumping by a fifth during the coronavirus pandemic.

    Tesla was the brand selling the most electric cars, delivering almost 500,000, followed by Volkswagen. Sales of electric cars more than doubled in Europe, pushing the region past China as the world’s biggest market for them, according to data published on Tuesday by EV-volumes.com, a Sweden-based consultancy.

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    Morrison will decide ‘over the course of the year’ whether to allow international travel – as it happened

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    Meanwhile, three of four Covid cases found in Victoria hotel quarantine linked to Australian Open. This blog is now closed

    That’s where I’m going to leave you for today. Thanks as always for reading along.

    Here’s what we learned today:

    Fragments of Covid-19 have been detected in sewage at three sites in Queensland, the state’s health department has said.

    Queensland’s chief health officer, Dr Jeannette Young, said in a statement released just now that viral fragments of the virus had been detected at wastewater treatment plants after samples were collected last week. The positive results were detected at three locations:

    While this does not mean we have new cases of Covid-19 in these communities, we are treating these detections seriously.

    A positive sewage result means that someone who has been infected was shedding the virus. Infected people can shed viral fragments and that shedding can happen for several weeks after the person is no longer infectious.

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    EU’s Covid vaccination debacle is down to institutional inflexibility

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    Supply delays underline there was no legal or economic justification for central planning

    A storm is raging over the EU’s failure to have ordered more of the approved Covid-19 vaccines ahead of time. Stéphane Bancel, the chief executive of the US pharmaceutical company Moderna, which gained approval for its vaccine shortly after Pfizer/BioNTech, claims that the EU has relied too much on “vaccines from its own laboratories”.

    Did the European commission prioritise supporting its own pharmaceutical industry over protecting human lives? In fact, matters are not as simple as that. Contrary to what Bancel wants us to believe, the EU has actually ordered too little of its own vaccine. After all, the vaccine that is being administered most widely across the west was developed by a German company, BioNTech, and thus comes from the EU (though it was tested and partly produced in partnership with Pfizer in the US and with Fosun Pharma in China).

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