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HOW ENTERPRISING! THE FEAST YOUR PIES ON THIS TAX INCENTIVES THAT ARE IT’S A PASTRY PARTY AS WE GIVING A BOOST TO THE CHOOSE LONDON’S BEST P26 STARTUP ECONOMY P19–23 WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 ISSUE 3,563 CITYAM.COM FREE

FROM ONE BOB TO ANOTHER WATCHDOG Chapek to replace Iger at Disney IN THE DATA

JAMESD WARRINGTONOGHOUSEInformation Act request. Among the again, and said it was apologising to AND JAMES BOOTH complaints made about the watchdog those affected. were its lack of communication and The watchdog was also hit yesterday @j_a_warrington @jamesdbooth1 level of fees. by the release of a report into a string THE FINANCIAL Conduct Authority The breach — which occurred while of recent City scandals which former admitted yesterday to revealing confi- incoming Bank of England governor business secretary Sir Vince Cable dential consumer information on its Andrew Bailey was head of the organ- described as a “damning indictment website in a data breach last year. isation — will come as an embar- of failure by the FCA to exercise The City watchdog pub- rassment to the watchdog, proper regulatory oversight over lished details of roughly which handed down a conduct within the banking and 1,600 people who filed £16.4m fine to Tesco Bank wider financial services system”. complaints against the in 2018 over its handling The report, published by anti-Brexit FCA between January campaigner and asset manager Gina POPPY WOOD an end to a closely-watched 2018 and July 2019. Former FCA boss and Miller and her husband and SCM Di- corporate succession battle. The body confirmed governor-elect Andrew rect co-founder Alan, accused the FCA @poppyeh During his 15-year tenure at the yesterday that it had Bailey was also under fire of failing to act effectively in response DISNEY’s chief executive has stepped helm, Iger secured a slew of referred itself to the to the treatment of Royal Bank of Scot- down and been replaced by the head acquisitions for the company, Information Commis- of a cyber attack. land customers, of ignoring whistle- of its parks division, as the media including the $7.4bn (£5.7bn) sioner’s Office, which “We have undertaken a blower warnings prior to the £236m giant pivots towards streaming. takeover of Pixar from Apple in 2006, oversees data usage in the full review to identify the collapse of mini-bond firm London Disney made the unexpected along with global franchises Marvel, UK and has the power to issue extent of any information that Capital & Finance and of failing to pre- announcement late last night that Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox. hefty fines. may have been accessible,” the regu- vent the Woodford fund scandal. They chief executive officer (CEO) Bob Iger Iger tipped his hat to the successful In some instances the leaked infor- lator said in a statement. also called for the Treasury to review has resigned after 15 years at the launch of the firm’s Disney Plus mation included names, addresses “Our primary concern is to ensure Bailey’s Bank appointment. helm. Bob Chapek (pictured), who streaming service in November — and telephone numbers. The FCA the protection and safeguarding of in- An FCA spokesperson said it “utterly oversaw the firm’s Shanghai Disney which has so far wooed more than said no financial or passport details dividuals who may be identifiable rejects these claims which contain Resort launch in 2016, has been 28m subscribers — and Fox’s were exposed. from the data.” numerous inaccuracies and are made named as the firm’s seventh CEO in integration as creating the “optimal The error came when the FCA pub- The FCA added it has taken action to with little understanding of the role its nearly 100-year history, bringing time” to leave the role. lished its response to a Freedom of ensure the error does not happen of the FCA”.

FTSE 100▼7,017.88 -138.95 FTSE 250▼20,715.97 -401.90 DOW▼27,081.36 -879.44 NASDAQ▼8,965.61 -255.67 £/$▲1.300 +0.008 £/€▲1.196 +0.005 €/$▲1.087 +0.001 02 NEWS WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 CITYAM.COM

FLIPPING ‘ECK Historic home of City intrigue plays host to its most dramatic battle yet: a T-Rex and a Spitfire in a pancake race THE CITY VIEW Another UK-EU battle seems almost certain

EMEMBER the summer of 2018? The sun shining almost constantly, England’s footballers marching to the latter Rstages of a major international tournament, and interminable battles between Westminster and Brussels over the future relationship between the UK and the European Union. Alas, the first two can’t be guaranteed — though we deserve some vitamin D after this winter and the midfield looks solid — but the third seems to be a nailed-on certainty. Yesterday we saw the opening salvo from the European side in the form of a 42-page negotiating mandate that makes Finnegan’s Wake look an easy read. The section on financial services is particularly vague, though notable for its absence is the EU’s previous insistence on a date for an “assessment of equivalence” COMPETITORS dressed in fancy dress flipped pancakes yesterday as they took part in the annual Inter-Livery Race on Shrove between the UK and EU’s regulatory systems. The respected Tuesday at the Guildhall. Participants from Mansion House, Guildhall, Old Bailey and the City Livery Company of Poulters were former Brexit adviser Raoul competing for a commemorative frying pan as they raised money for the Lord Mayor’s charity appeal. thelordmayorsappeal.org Ruparel yesterday said this was an example of the EU choosing dates “which most suit its negotiating position.” It’s hard Britain must be to say whether this represents a hardening of the line on the able to nurture Wonks say deficit could behalf of the EU, or not; but it and grow new is clear that they’re thinking financial about it. We are assured that so technology is our government. In this hit five-year high in 2021 newspaper just over a fortnight ago the then-chancellor Sajid Javid laid out his plans for Britain to go its own way on financial regulations, to ensure that there HARRY ROBERTSON expensive spending pledges made last reportedly keen to loosen the fiscal was equivalence between our two systems but not to tie year in areas such as health, educa- rules so as to increase spending in the ourselves to all future continental decisions. That makes sense @harrygrobertson tion and policing, and appears even UK’s regions and cement the Conser- in a world in which our economies are intertwined, with much THE UK’s budget deficit could balloon before what is expected to be an ex- vatives’ hold on the northern seats it to £63bn next year, a five-year high pansionary Budget. won at the election. of the meshing happening in the Square Mile and Canary well above both the most recent fore- It comes four years after then-chan- Yet the IFS said: “There have now Wharf, but also in an ecosystem which is swiftly giving birth to cast and this year’s borrowing figure, cellor George Osborne said the Tories been 16 fiscal targets announced over new, innovative financial products that Britain must be able to an influential think tank has said. would by this year turn the deficit — the last decade. If the target to bal- nurture and grow. The UK will publish its mandate tomorrow, The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) the shortfall between spending and ance the current budget were aban- also warned that the government tax income — into a surplus. doned in this Budget it would be the which a government spokesman said will include precise terms would “undermine any credibility” in Britain’s premier tax-and-spend shortest lived of them all.” of what Downing Street will be seeking. They also confirmed its spending rules if it ditches a pledge think tank also cautioned the govern- “Abandoning it now would surely that the government does, indeed, view financial services as an to balance the day-to-day budget, ment over its fiscal rules. In the run- undermine any credibility attached to “important part of the UK economy”. Contributing £132bn to meaning Downing Street faces tough up to the December General Election, fiscal targets set by this government.” fiscal choices. former chancellor Sajid Javid prom- The IFS said new chancellor Rishi the nation’s wealth, this seems accurate. If negotiations break In a report ahead of the 11 March ised to balance the current govern- Sunak faces a difficult choice to ei- down because of rows over chlorinated chicken or fishing rights, Budget, the IFS said next year’s deficit ment budget — which does not ther “raise taxes, entrench austerity (valid issues though they are) many in the City will be forgiven could be £23bn higher than the most include investment — by 2023. or break a fiscal rule”. recent estimate and £19bn more than Yet Javid stepped down in a shock The IFS also told Sunak that — for thinking that those a few stops west on the District Line have its estimate of borrowing in 2019/20. move earlier this month, partly as a should he decide to keep Javid’s fiscal forgotten who is paying the bills — even if England is winning. A £63bn deficit would be the highest result of disagreements with Number rules — the UK could fail to balance since 2015/16. 10 over spending. the current budget in three years’ The predicted increase in borrowing Prime Minister Boris Johnson and time anyway, given the higher levels Follow us on Twitter @cityam is due in large part to a number of his adviser Dominic Cummings are of spending announced last year.

FINANCIAL TIMES THE TIMES THE DAILY TELEGRAPH THE WALL STREET JOURNAL LSE REFINITIV DEAL FACES WHAT THE WATSON PEERAGE ‘MUST BE COMPETITION CHIEF WARNS AMAZON OPENS CASHIER- LONGER BRUSSELS PROBE OTHER BLOCKED’ AFTER CLAIMS AGAINST CUMMINGS’ POWER LESS GROCERY STORE The London Stock Exchange Group’s Tom Watson should be blocked from The boss of Britain’s competition Amazon rolled out its checkout-free Go $27bn (£20.8bn) acquisition of Refinitiv PAPERS SAY getting a peerage, MPs and watchdog has warned the government technology in a large grocery store and is facing intense early scrutiny in campaigners said yesterday, after an not to remove its independence as plans to license the cashierless system Brussels, raising the risk that the THIS investigation dismissed his “sensational Boris Johnson’s top aide Dominic to other retailers. Amazon Go Grocery blockbuster deal faces a much lengthier allegations” of a Westminster Cummings looks to centralise power in opened in Seattle yesterday, using probe than the companies had MORNING paedophile conspiracy. Number 10. A return to political cameras, shelf sensors and software to expected. A plan to notify regulators oversight of the regulator would hand allow shoppers to pick up items and formally of the deal this month has STEEL QUITS LORDS AND LIB power to lobbyists, according to Lord walk out without stopping to pay or slipped because of the unexpected DEMS AFTER INQUIRY Andrew Tyrie, the body’s chairman. scan merchandise. level of scrutiny in the so-called pre- The former Liberal Democrat leader notification phase, according to three David Steel left his party yesterday and PRUDENTIAL COULD KEEP TESLA’S AUTOPILOT DRAWS people with knowledge of the said he would resign from the House of LONDON LISTING IN SPLIT SAFETY SCRUTINY discussions. down to earth after the company’s Lords after being heavily criticised in a The New York hedge fund that called for US safety investigators levelled a rebuke losses widened in the fourth quarter, public inquiry report on Westminster’s Prudential to break up its business and of the regulator responsible for VIRGIN GALACTIC SHARES pausing a meteoric rally that has seen handling of child abuse allegations. The ditch its UK headquarters has conceded overseeing the safety of Tesla’s self- COOL OFF AS LOSSES WIDEN the space flight group triple in value inquiry into child sexual abuse accused the company could remain listed on the driving Autopilot, which they found Virgin Galactic shares have come back this year. Steel of an “abdication of responsibility”. London stock market under its plans. contributed to another fatal crash. CITYAM.COM WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 NEWS 03 Tesco axes 1,800 bakery employees JESS CLARK baking products on-site and will in- following the changes. @jclarkjourno stead sell products that are delivered The company also announced yester- pre-prepared and baked and finished day that it has sold its 20 per cent MORE than 1,800 jobs are at risk after in store. Across a further 201 stores, share in its China joint venture for Tesco announced it will restructure its only the most popular products will £275m as it nears a potential deal for in-store bakery operations. be baked on site. The grocer said it will its Thailand and Malaysia businesses. The supermarket giant yesterday continue to offer freshly baked prod- Tesco offloaded its stake in Gain said it will reduce the amount of bak- ucts in 257 stores. Land — which was established in 2014 ing “from scratch” across its stores, Retail workers union Usdaw said it — to a subsidiary of its joint venture meaning some employees will be had entered into consultation with partner China Resources Holdings. made redundant. the supermarket giant after 1,816 Proceeds will be used for “general cor- From May, 58 branches will stop jobs were put at risk of redundancy porate purposes”. Retail union Usdaw is holding talks with the grocer over the job cuts

IN BRIEF FIRMS BACK TO HIRING AS English houses FUTURE GROWS CLEARER Data published today showed businesses have become more confident in their ability to hire staff. rebound back The survey from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) found employers’ confidence in to 2007 prices making hiring and investment decisions had increased 10 JESS CLARK percentage points compared to the @jclarkjourno previous quarter. Hiring confidence returned to positive territory for the HOUSE prices across English cities first time since October. Demand for have risen above pre-financial crisis permanent staff also remained high, peaks for the first time since 2007, both in the short and medium term. the latest research has found. Businesses are seeking to expand Property in central London their workforce after months of recovered to pre-crisis levels in just uncertainty and delay, the REC said. 2.3 years, the fastest of all UK cities, as overseas buyers entered the SALESFORCE’S BENIOFF market attracted by a weaker pound. TO BE SOLE CHIEF EXEC Oxford and Cambridge followed Salesforce said late last night Keith the capital, returning to 2007 levels Block had stepped down as co-chief at 3.7 and 3.9 years respectively. executive officer, making Marc Newcastle was the last city to Benioff the sole chief of the business exceed pre-crisis house levels, only software company. Its shares fell registering recovery in late nearly three per cent in extended December last year, according to the trading. Block was widely seen as a Zoopla UK Cities House Price Index. potential successor to Benioff, who Meanwhile, London’s house prices founded the company in 1999, and grew two per cent from January 2019 will continue as the chairman. The to last month, and all English cities company has spent more than have recorded annual house price $16bn (£12.3bn) last year for inflation of at least two per cent per acquisitions, adding muscle to its year for the first time in two years, cloud products as it fends off the research found. competition from bigger rivals like Richard Donnell, director of Oracle and German competitor SAP. research and insight at Zoopla, said: Salesforce forecast first-quarter “While it took 12 years for all English revenue between $4.88bn and cities to return to pre-global $4.89bn, compared with analysts’ financial crisis levels, the central estimates of $4.84bn. London market returned to this level in just 2.3 years. FAILURES ON PITCH HIT “The subsequent decrease in the MAN UTD’S WALLET value of sterling created a window of Manchester United yesterday opportunity for overseas buyers to reported lower revenue and profit secure competitive value in high for the Christmas quarter, as its value markets and, since then, house absence from the Champions prices in London have rebounded by League this season took its toll. Core almost 60 per cent, outstripping all earnings fell 31 per cent to £72m in other UK cities.” the quarter to 31 December, Data by the Office for National compared to the same period last Statistics published last month year, while revenue fell 19 per cent showed that house prices across the to £168m. The New York-listed club capital jumped 2.3 per cent to maintained its outlook for 2020, £484,000 in December after the with sales expected to be in a range Conservative General Election of £560m to £580m, and adjusted victory — known as the Boris bounce. income in a range of £155m to Across the UK house prices £165m. Its shares fell 4.8 per cent increased 2.2 per cent on an annual yesterday. United currently sit fifth basis, and rose 0.3 per cent on a in the Premier League as the season month-by-month basis. draws into its final phase. Watchdog calls in PwC for Goldman probe JAMES BOOTH person’s report on Goldman Sachs aspects of a regulated firm’s @Jamesdbooth1 International, Sky News reported. activities if they are concerned or The appointment follows concerns want further analysis. THE UK’s banking watchdog has about supervision at some of the Last year, Citi was fined £44m by reportedly called in a Big Four City’s largest banks. the PRA for “significant errors” in accountancy firm to examine Last month Sky reported that Bank reporting its capital and liquidity Goldman Sachs’ regulatory reporting of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan positions between 2014 and 2018. in its London operation. Stanley were being assessed in a Sky cited sources that said the PRA The Prudential Regulation similar manner. had become concerned other major Authority (PRA) has hired audit firm Regulators are able to commission banks may have made similar errors. The banking regulator is said to be concerned about Goldman Sachs’ reporting PwC to carry out a so-called skilled a third party to carry out a review of Goldman declined to comment. 04 NEWS WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 CITYAM.COM

EUROPE CORONAVIRUS Edward Bramson renews attack on CASES AS OF 25 FEBRUARY Confirmed coronavirus cases in Eu- 1 rope spiked FINLAND Barclays amid Jeffrey Epstein probe after a surge in 1 Italy over the SWEDEN HARRY ROBERTSON Investors holds the third-biggest stake about his relationship with Epstein, weekend. Yes- in the bank— said the probe was which he said was professional. Staley terday the first @harrygrobertson 13 “another example of governance is said to have told staff yesterday that cases were UK 1 ACTIVIST investor Edward Bramson weakness that has led, inevitably, to he is “not going anwhere”. confirmed in BELGIUM yesterday renewed his criticism of the recurrent public disappointments Epstein took his own life in August Austria and 17 Barclays after the lender revealed UK and embarrassments which have while awaiting trial on sex trafficking Switzerland GERMANY financial watchdogs are looking into plagued Barclays”. charges and had previously been 2 RUSSIA the relationship between its chief The UK’s Financial Conduct convicted of sex offences. Staley, who 14 executive and disgraced financier Authority and Prudential Regulation joined Barclays in 2015, has said he FRANCE 2 1 AUSTRIA Jeffrey Epstein. Authority are looking into whether was unaware of Epstein’s true nature, SWITZERLAND In a letter to shareholders, Barclays chief executive Jes Staley was and expressed regret that he had any 7 Bramson — whose Sherborne transparent with the firm’s board relationship with the sex offender. SPAIN

322 ITALY 1 Selloff continuesCROATIA as virus spreads throughout Italy

ANGHARAD CARRICK years and some parts of Wall Street AND HARRY ROBERTSON give up all of their 2020 gains. In- vestors were spooked by the rapid Hop on the bus. @angharadcarrick @harrygrobertson spread of the virus outside of China. FTSE and Wall Street stocks fell fur- New cases reported in Italy yester- ther into the red last night as risk-off day showed that it had spread from sentiment continued for a second the initial regions of Lombardy and day, after equities plunged following Veneto. Italy’s tourist industry, which a jump in the number of coronavirus accounts for about 13 per cent of the Tap and cases outside China. economy, fears a plunge amid travel The number of confirmed cases in warnings and restrictions. Italy has now risen above 322, making Irish health minister Simon Harris ® it the worst-affected nation in Europe. yesterday called for the Ireland vs The novel coronavirus has claimed 11 Italy Six Nations rugby game in lives in the country, leading the For- Dublin next week to be postponed. Save the Change. eign Office to advise against “all but The Irish rugby union said it would essential” travel to northern Italy’s 11 seek an urgent meeting with Harris. closed towns last night. Meanwhile the second confirmed Switch on Save the Change® and when you use your Halifax Visa The FTSE fell nearly two per cent yes- case in Africa was reported late last terday, while the S&P 500, which had night, as Algeria’s health minister debit card we’ll round up to the nearest pound and opened higher along with other revealed an Italian man who had ar- major US indices, closed down 3.03 rived in the country on 17 February put the change into your chosen Halifax savings account. per cent. The Nasdaq ended 2.77 per had been put into isolation. cent lower, and the Dow Jones fell South Korea and Iran are also partic- 3.15 per cent. ularly hard-hit, raising concerns that European indices were also in nega- the virus could take a heavy toll on tive territory, as Germany’s Dax the global economy. closed 1.7 per cent lower, and the An Iranian health minister, who was French Cac 40 down 1.9 per cent. seen sweating during a press confer- The falls followed an equities blood- ence in which the government at- bath on Monday, which saw the FTSE tempted to subdue fears on Monday, suffer its worst day in almost five was later diagnosed with the virus. London leads venture capital in Europe as it doubles its funding

ANGHARAD CARRICK across the year, representing an 85 per cent increase year-on-year, with @angharadcarrick 560 rounds completed. LONDON led venture capital deals Across Europe funding reached across Europe last year as it doubled new heights as the continent its funding and the amount raised in doubled its funding to £19.5bn. the UK hit a record high. However deal volumes fell seven per In 2019, London-based companies cent to 1,408, marking the slowest more than doubled the amount of start to a year since 2009. venture capital raised from £2.5bn in The UK raised nearly double that of 2018 to £5.6bn, according to research French companies (£4.1bn), the next by Refinitiv. The number of deals most active European nation. Paris Save the Change® is a registered trade mark and used under licence. This information is correct as of December 2019 and is relevant to Halifax products and services only. increased from 293 to 319. raised £1.7bn across 128 deals while Halifax is a division of Bank of Scotland plc. Registered in Scotland No. SC327000. Registered Office: The Mound, Edinburgh EH1 1YZ. Bank of Scotland plc is authorised by The UK topped deals in Europe last Berlin came in behind with £1.5bn the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number 169628. year raising an unprecedented £8.1bn across 83 deals. CITYAM.COM WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 NEWS 05

BUSINESS AS USUAL Sajid Javid to make EU keeps orders first speech after resigning as chancellor Lawyer warns SAJID Javid will make a short of post-Brexit statement in parliament today, City A.M. can reveal, in his first public intervention since he Eurozone crisis on level-playing resigned as chancellor just under a fortnight ago. Javid stepped down after being HARRY ROBERTSON asked to fire his aides by the PM as part of a drastic reshuffle @harrygrobertson of Number 10 and 11 Downing THE UK and European Union are field in mandate Street. Refusing, Javid said about to do battle over a free-trade “no self-respecting minister” agreement which has big could accept such a condition. implications for both economies. A source close to Javid said the Yet a City lawyer has today said CATHERINE NEILAN relationship between the parties.” statement, coming after Prime the stakes are in fact even higher, That includes state aid, competition, Minister’s Questions after warning that the wrong deal on @CatNeilan state-owned enterprises, social and midday, would be financial services has the potential THE EU yesterday stressed there employment standards, environmen- “constructive and positive”. to cause a global economic crisis. must be no reduction in “common” tal standards, climate change, rele- Barney Reynolds, a financial standards on food, environment vant tax matters and other regulatory regulation expert at law firm and labour laws as it published its measures and practices in these areas. Shearman & Sterling, argued in a negotiating mandate for the second One of the key areas of focus is the report that the UK’s supervision of stage of Brexit. EU’s insistence that both sides many of the EU’s biggest banks “has The mandate, published after being maintain “health and product sani- Prime Minister to define Britain’s protected the world’s financial signed off by the EU 27, says a deal tary quality in the food and agricul- markets from significant oversights will be dependent on both sides ture sector”. Brussels is concerned the in EU law”. agreeing to maintain the level playing UK will break away from it on food foreign policy in official review He said EU financial regulations field — something which Downing standards, with Downing Street poised misrepresent the risk levels of Street has already ruled out. to take a stance as early as March’s Eurozone debt and said London acts The mandate said: “Given the union World Trade Organiztion meeting, as POPPY WOOD set to be the largest government-led as a barrier that prevents and the United Kingdom’s geographic revealed by City A.M. last week. review since the end of the Cold War. “contagion”. Reynolds added an proximity and economic interdepend- It is unlikely to be made explicit in @poppyeh The inquiry will probe a wide-range “enhanced equivalence” system ence, the envisaged partnership must the UK’s negotiating mandate, which BORIS Johnson will today launch a of security-related topics, from after Brexit was the best way to deal ensure open and fair competition, en- will be published tomorrow having fresh review into Britain’s foreign official procurement processes to the with these risks. Such a system compassing robust commitments to been signed off by the government’s policy and defence, as he seeks to UK’s use of technology and data. would involve mutual UK-EU ensure a level playing field.” so-called XS committee of senior cab- redefine the nation’s global position Johnson said: “We cannot rest on recognition of either party’s laws “These commitments should pre- inet ministers yesterday. Talks are due post-Brexit. our laurels. We must do more... to and financial standards, and would vent distortions of trade and unfair to begin in Brussels next week, with a The Integrated Review, which will ensure British foreign policy is rooted be “durable, cover the whole competitive advantages so as to en- further round set to take place in Lon- look into the UK’s foreign, defence, firmly in our national interests, now financial sector and recognise UK sure a sustainable and long-lasting don at the end of March. security and development policies, is and in the decades ahead.” standards”, he said. Germany economy flatlines on falling exports as coronavirus worries weigh JAMES WARRINGTON 0.6 percentage points from GDP Gross investment, which includes product growth. construction, rose 2.9 per cent, @j_a_warrington German manufacturers have been adding 0.6 percentage points to DECLINING exports stunted German hit by a slowing global economy and growth. State consumption added 0.1 economic activity in the fourth increased business uncertainty amid percentage points while private quarter as its economy stagnated tariff disputes and Brexit. consumption made no contribution. even before the coronavirus outbreak. The outlook has been further “This dour data fails to reflect any Europe’s largest economy posted clouded by risk linked to the possible impact from the coronavirus, growth of zero per cent for the final coronavirus epidemic, Ifo president which could lead to a sharp three months of the year, the Federal Clemens Fuest said. He added that contraction if fears over an Italian-led Statistics Office said yesterday. the Ifo index for export expectations outbreak in Europe come to fruition,” Exports fell 0.2 per cent quarter on fell in February, with car companies said Joshua Mahony, senior market quarter, meaning net trade took off among the most pessimistic. analyst at IG. German car companies were among the most pessimistic on export expectations 06 NEWS WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 CITYAM.COM

HOLMES UNDER THE HAMMER ITV star Eamonn Holmes faces hefty bill after ruling AI chipmaker Hammerson loss Graphcore to hit VETERAN TV presenter Eamonn Holmes could be facing a hefty tax bill $2bn valuation after losing a case widens as retail JAMES WARRINGTON against HMRC over his employment status. Holmes, who hosts This @j_a_warrington Morning on ITV, had CHIPMAKER Graphcore yesterday argued he was a said it was closing in on a $2bn rents take blow freelancer as he (£1.5bn) valuation after securing received payments $150m in a fresh funding round. from the broadcaster Graphcore, which specialises in through his firm. A processors for machine learning JOE CURTIS Hammerson revealed that while judge ruled that the star and artificial intelligence (AI), occupancy rates stayed flat on 2018, was employed by ITV secured the backing from new @joe_r_curtis 234 units have been affected by and therefore liable to investors Baillie Gifford, Mayfair RETAIL landlord Hammerson yester- restructuring since the start of 2018. pay taxes under IR35. Equity Partners and M&G day warned it will cut its 2020 divi- Of 149 affected UK flagship stores, Investments. dend almost in half as losses mounted around 135 remain trading. But The cash boost, which was an in 2019 after another tough year for around half that number have renego- extension of a series D round that retailers in which many renegotiated tiated their rents under company vol- closed in December 2018, takes the their rents. untary arrangements (CVAs). firm’s total investment to $450m. It The real estate giant sank to a That has forced the landlord to slash is now valued at $1.95bn. £573.8m loss for its latest financial its dividend forecast for 2020 far British Land chief gets ready to The Bristol-based startup is best year, up from a £173.3m loss in 2018. beyond an analyst consensus forecast known for its Intelligence While occupancy rates stayed flat at of 23.37p. Processor Unit, which is designed 2018’s 97.2 per cent, net rental income AJ Bell investment director Russ make way after a decade at top for use in AI software. fell 11.2 per cent to £308.5m, down Mould said retail CVAs and adminis- In November Graphcore signed a from £347.5m the year before. trations have hit Hammerson’s HARRY BANKS to remain afloat in a difficult trading deal with Microsoft for the use of That meant investors suffered a income at a time when it is focused environment. its chips in the tech giant’s cloud 75.2p loss per share, more than triple on slashing debt. “It is selling assets CHRIS Grigg, British Land’s longest A leading shareholder told Sky computing business. It has also 2018’s 22.2p loss. Hammerson stuck to as fast as possible but the retail serving chief executive, is preparing News that Grigg could leave as soon secured a partnership with Dell. a dividend of 14.8p per share and a sector’s pains are struggling to be to step down after more than a as this summer, if British Land’s chief Graphcore chief executive full-year dividend of 25.9p to keep healed,” he added. decade at the helm. financial officer Simon Carter is Nigel Toon said: “2019 was a them in line with 2018 returns. But it It comes as Hammerson’s rival Intu It comes as the UK’s second largest chosen as his successor. transformative year for forecast a lower full-year 2020 divi- saw shares plunge after a shareholder listed property firm has been hit by a On the other hand Grigg, who is Graphcore as we moved from dend of 14p per share — almost a 50 backed out of the landlord’s £1bn raft of retail insolvencies and rent also on the board of BAE Systems, development to a full commercial per cent cut — as it continues to tackle emergency cash call earlier this disputes, as struggling retailers such could remain in post until next year business with volume production its mountainous debt pile. month, wiping £1bn off its valuation. as Debenhams and Topshop attempt if an external successor is found. products shipping.” Derwent hikes dividend as firm signals Muddy Waters blasts Kiwi confidence in London’s office market magnate over NMC Health JAMES BOOTH followed our report that established it JESS CLARK from £161.1m the previous year. General Election, despite global as a zero,” he said. The company raised its proposed uncertainties”. @Jamesdbooth1 “We don’t know whether NMC is a @jclarkjourno final dividend 10.1 per cent to 51.45p During the period the group SHORTSELLER Carson Block yesterday zero or something much less bad, and PROPERTY investment firm Derwent per cent, and increased its full-year achieved new lettings on 498,500 slammed New Zealand billionaire I’m not sure how another investor — London yesterday announced it will dividend to 72.45p per share, a jump square feet of space, and secured Richard Chandler after he increased particularly one whose past judgment hike its dividend as it said it has a of 10 per cent. £181.7m in property disposals. his stake in NMC Health. in a similar situation was so bad — “more confident outlook” for the Derwent’s portfolio was valued at Derwent also brought forward the Muddy Waters boss Block said could have a clearer idea,” the Evening capital’s office sector following the £5.5bn — an underlying valuation net zero carbon target on its current Chandler had previously opposed his Standard quoted Block as saying. General Election result. increase of 3.9 per cent — which it portfolio by 20 years to 2030. short position in Sino-Forest which NMC Health has come under pres- Derwent reported a total return of said drove the total returns increase. Chief executive Paul Williams later collapsed. sure since Muddy Waters attacked the 6.6 per cent in the year ended 31 In a statement Derwent said it had said: “It has been another successful “Chandler’s investment in NMC company in December. December. Net rental income a “more confident outlook for year for the group and we start 2020 Health is probably less moronic than Chandler could not be reached increased 10.5 per cent to £178m, up London offices following 2019 in a strong position.” his investment in Sino-Forest, which for comment. It’s good to have options

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SWEET TREATS Hotel Chocolat posts solid Juul forces out two executives as results as revenue boosted by new openings HOTEL Chocolat yesterday reported a double-digit rise in half- expansion stalls and scrutiny rises year sales, driven by its new store openings both HARRY ROBERTSON president of Asia-Pacific South. staff that it was sacking workers in in the UK and abroad. Winterton wrote: “It’s with a heavy Singapore and making other Revenue increased 14 per @harrygrobertson heart that I announce that I have “significant cost reductions cent to £91.7m, up from E-CIGARETTE maker Juul has forced decided to step away from my role as operationally”, Buzzfeed reported. £80.7m a year previously. out two top executives as the president of Emea here at Juul Labs.” The San Francisco startup has In the first half of the year company struggles to expand The e-cigarette firm said: “As we struggled to boost sales during its the company opened nine overseas and faces increased continue to reset the vapour category, rapid international expansion, new UK locations, two regulatory scrutiny. we are taking a methodical approach leading it to retreat from some new stores in the US and Grant Winterton, who was to our overseas presence and are markets. Regulatory scrutiny has also three in Japan, president of Juul Europe, Middle working to centralise oversight of our taken its toll on Juul, and worsened contributing three East, and Africa (Emea), resigned overseas operations.” yesterday as US states said they would percentage points to the along with Ken Bishop, Juul’s Juul also said in a memo sent to step up probes into Juul’s marketing. group’s sales growth. February’s sales dampen hopes of retail bounce

JESS CLARK next month, the survey found. However, a separate measure found @jclarkjourno that investment intentions in the RETAIL sales were broadly flat in sector saw the largest swing since the February, according to the latest survey began in 1983. research, dampening hopes that the CBI principal economist Ben Jones decisive General Election result has said: “The prospects for a recovery in sparked a surge in consumer spending. investment in the retail sector are on The CBI’s monthly distributive trades the up. This is particularly the case survey showed that a net balance of among large retailers, driven by shifts one per cent of retailers reported a online and the trend for repurposing jump in sales volume in the year to retail space. February, and are expected to remain “But the first months of 2020 haven’t flat in the year to March. brought a tangible change in fortunes A net balance of 13 per cent of on the high street. Conditions remain retailers reported that orders placed tough, especially for smaller retailers, with suppliers fell, with the decline and that won’t be changing anytime expected to continue at a steeper rate soon,” he added. JOIN ANNOUNCEMENTS THE LEGAL AND PUBLIC NOTICES CITY OF LONDON CLUB London Wall and Ludgate Hill – Introduction and extension of loading restrictions The City of London (Waiting and Loading Restriction) (Amendment TODAY No. *) Order 202* 1. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Common Council of the City of London propose to make the above Order under sections 6 DQGRIWKH5RDG7UDIÀF5HJXODWLRQ$FW 2. The effect of the Order would be in:- YOUR (a) London Wall to introduce a loading restriction operating ‘between 7 am and 7 pm on Mondays to Fridays inclusive’ KEY TO RQ WKH UHPDLQLQJ OHQJWKV RI NHUEOLQH EHWZHHQ %ORPÀHOG Street and Moorgate not currently subject to such restriction, QDPHO\RXWVLGH1RVWRWR1R ALL THE London Wall Buildings and adjacent to No. 2 Circus Place; and BEST (b) Ludgate Hill to introduce a loading restriction operating ‘at any time’ on the north side outside No. 44-46. 3. Copies of the proposed Order, of the statement of reasons for DOORS proposing to make the Order and of plans showing the proposals FDQEHLQVSHFWHGGXULQJQRUPDORIÀFHKRXUVRQ0RQGD\WR)ULGD\V IN THE inclusive at the Planning Enquiry Desk, North Wing, Guildhall, London, EC2P 2EJ. CITY 4. Further information may be obtained from City Transportation, City of London, PO Box 270, Guildhall, /RQGRQ (&3 (- RU E\ WHOHSKRQH    RU HPDLO WR FLW\WUDQVSRUWDWLRQ#FLW\RÁRQGRQJRYXN VISIT 5. Persons desiring to object to the proposed measures should send a statement of their objection and the grounds thereof in writing to CITYAMCLUB.COM WKH7UDIÀF2UGHUV2IÀFHUDWWKHDERYHDGGUHVVE\20 March 2020 quoting the reference TraffOrder/DBE/CT-GL. Dated 26 February 2020 Zahur Khan Transportation and Public Realm Director CITYAM.COM WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 NEWS 09 Former Patisserie Crossrail alters safety procedures to deal with ‘near miss incidents’ Valerie boss leads STEFAN BOSCIA as high potential near misses, He wrote: “A review of the @Stefan_Boscia “could have resulted in significant quality of Health and Safety injury”, according to project Performance Index (HSPI) CROSSRAIL has conducted a review manager Jacobs. Crossrail chief reporting by contractors recently of its safety assessment measures, Mark Wild cited three examples of took place, resulting in a a shakeup at SIG after a spate of incidents where recent “near miss incidents” in a tightening up of the overall workers almost seriously injured. letter to the London Assemly this accuracy of the data submitted. City A.M. exclusively reported in month, two of which happened at “Contractors recording poor HSPI December that “high risk Bond Street Tube station. scores will have to explain their JACK RICHARDSON by Kath Kearney-Croft, the former head incidents” in the construction of Wild said that safety reporting improvement plans at Crossrail @JackRich93 of Vitec Group. the £18.25bn train line doubled and assessments have now been Safety and Health Executive The company reported a fall in Decem- last year. These incidents, known as reviewed. Leadership Team meetings.” BUILDING supplies firm SIG yesterday ber sales relative to November, citing a parachuted in the former boss of Patis- fall in construction activity. Due to the serie Valerie in a major overhaul of its management changes, it will report its management team. full-year results in the second half of Meinie Oldersma will be replaced by April, rather than early March. former head of cafe chain Patisserie Valerie Steve Francis, who will be in the SIG role until the end of the year. P The value of shares in SIG tumbled al- 90 most 18 per cent yesterday. Francis will be in the top role on an in- 80 terim basis until the end of this year. He 25 Feb last year led a management buyout of 68.50 Patisserie Valerie, after the bakery chain 70 went bust following the discovery of an accounting black hole. 60 SIG finance boss Nick Maddock is also heading for the exit. He will be replaced 19 Feb20 Feb 21 Feb 24 Feb 25 Feb

FUMING Foreign Office names and shames London embassies for unpaid congestion fees

TRANSPORT for London is owed more than £116m of unpaid congestion charges by diplomatic officials. The Foreign Office yesterday released figures showing that the US embassy alone had racked up 102,225 unpaid charges, adding up to a total bill of £12.44m.

Cardboard is considered Widely Recycled by OPRL standards. Co-op Irresistible Pancetta Mushroom Mascarpone Pizza 497g. 10 NEWS WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 CITYAM.COM Meggitt boosts profit but virus likely to impact EDWARD THICKNESSE @edthicknesse 4.75% MEGGITT yesterday said that it would be impacted by both the coronavirus outbreak and the halt in production of the 737 Max after in year in which the aerospace engineers boosted profit 33 per cent. Statutory profit before tax increased from £216.1m in 2018 to £286.7m this year, as the firm The aerospace firm has had to content with the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max kicked on despite disruption to its supply chains and the long- Meggitt reported £267.8m in free Meggitt said that although it running 737 Max saga. cash flow, a 60 per cent increase on was anticipating a hit from the Revenue grew eight per cent, the year before. coronavirus impact, it nonetheless from £2.1bn to £2.3bn, as the The blue-chip stock also reduced expected to deliver growth in company grew in all three of its net debt by 15 per cent, winding both revenue and operating main business areas — aerospace, down its balance sheet from £1.1bn margins in 2020. defence and energy. to £911.2m. Shares fell 5.2 per cent to 563.8p.

Petrofac warns over fall in revenue Online research gives as corruption probe hits order book Londoners pay boost

EDWARD THICKNESSE the course of the year. company will struggle to grow JAMES WARRINGTON according to the research. This result- Reported profit was roughly 10 profit without contracts”. ed in a median pay rise of £2 per hour @edthicknesse per cent higher year on year, Petrofac said that financial @j_a_warrington — equivalent to £3,640 per year for a OILFIELD services giant Petrofac increasing from $64m in 2018 to performance next year would also INTERNET research drives as much as 35-hour week. yesterday warned that revenue will $73m last year. Net profit was take a hit from a number of 10 per cent of the UK’s economic out- One in three respondents also said fall again next year due to fewer $276m, but Petrofac incurred investments the firm will make to put, new figures have revealed, as they had used internet research to new orders in recent years as the $203m worth of impairments due “preserve our market-leading proactive Londoners use online help them land a new job. firm continues to feel the sting of a to charges related to the firm’s execution capability”. resources to learn new skills and boost Online research, predominantly car- Serious Fraud Office (SFO) probe operations in Mexico and Malaysia. Despite the warning, shares in their efficiency. ried out through search engines and into allegations of corruption. Revenue hit $5.5bn, down from the firm rose 1.5 per cent to 360.4p More than 80 per cent of the video, also remains largely the pre- In June the London-listed last year’s $5.8bn but in line with on yesterday’s results. capital’s workforce use online serve of self-motivated employees. company said that it had failed to November’s estimates. learning to help with work at least Just 18 per cent of people said they win any of the $10bn ($7.7bn) worth Earnings also fell off a little to PETROFAC once a month, while 70 per cent of have carried out online learning at of work that it had competed for in $559m from $671m in 2018. Londoners say the practice makes the suggestion or requirement of P Saudi Arabia and Iraq, two markets Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at 380 them more efficient, according to their employer. included in the investigation, at the Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The 360.40 research published today by Google Ronan Harris, managing director of beginning of 2019. As of yesterday’s first thing we look for when 370 and think tank Demos. Google UK & Ireland, said: “Given the announcement, the firm’s order opening a set of Petrofac results is 25 Feb The report revealed that workers’ ubiquitous nature of internet access, book stood at $7.4bn, down from the size of the order book and 360 hunger for knowledge and self- we are continuously taking on board $9.6bn last year. bidding pipeline. improvement is directly impacting and sharing knowledge with those Despite the fall, the firm was “Securing new orders with an salaries and professional progression. around us and it’s important that optimistic about its outlook for ongoing SFO investigation and 350 Just under a third of the UK working awe continue to do so to fully harness 2020, saying that it expected to see uncertain market conditions has population has used internet-based the benefits of online learning improved market conditions over been a challenge, and even the best 19 Feb20 Feb 21 Feb 24 Feb 25 Feb learning to help raise their pay, throughout the UK.” CITYAM.COM WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 NEWS 11 Japan braces for data indicating recession

HARRY ROBERTSON more than $10bn (£7.7bn) of damage. Neil McKinnon, global macro strate- programmes, but Japanese real GDP in 2020. Should coronavirus worsen, it The official figures showed that con- gist at Russian bank VTB, said Japan growth has never been able to sustain could fall as much as 1.1 per cent. @harrygrobertson sumption slumped at an annualised has failed utterly to boost growth. two per cent,” he said. Japan announced further economic JAPAN’s economy just can’t catch a rate of 11 per cent in the final “The Bank of Japan’s Whereas once the US saw the stimulus at the end of last year, break. In the final quarter of 2019, quarter. On top of this, busi- quantitative easing [bond- country as an economic rival by the but Freya Beamish, chief Asia econo- GDP plunged at an annualised rate of ness investment tumbled buying] programme has US, nations now fear so-called mist at consultancy Pantheon 6.3 per cent. Now, many economists 14 per cent. been three times the Japanification: Ultra-low interest Macroeconomics, said this “won’t real- are predicting a full-blown recession Japane Prime size of the US Federal rates, low growth and low inflation. ly kick in until the second quarter”. as coronavirus racks the country. Reserve’s Analysts at Japanese bank “We continue to expect a Policy makers are nervously awaiting Shinzo Abe faces a Nomura said that things are set contraction in the first quarter,” she a glut of economic data due out hard sell as the to stay bad for Japan’s economy, said, “albeit less severe than we tomorrow, including retail sales and economy worsens as a coronavirus-induced lock- thought, before the extent of the industrial production figures, which down in China and other coun- fourth-quarter plunge was revealed, will give a clearer indication of tries dents tourism and disrupts posing a more favourable base.” Two where the world’s third-biggest Minister Shinzo Abe has global supply chains. quarters of falling output would put economy is headed. since faced difficult And now senior members of the economy in technical recession. So what went wrong in the final questions, having vowed to the International Olympic The consensus estimates for tomor- three months of 2019? The consensus avoid a big economic hit by Committee have given the coun- row’s data is that retail sales fell 2.4 explanation is that an increase in sales increasing public spending. try until May to make a call on per cent month on month in January tax from eight per cent to 10 per cent Indeed, the entire “Abenomics” whether this year’s Olympic while industrial production rose just badly knocked the economy. project of the last seven years — Games can go ahead in Tokyo, 0.2 per cent. Ministers also blamed the loose monetary policy, flexible posing a further threat to Japan’s Depending on the direction destructive typhoon Hagibis, which fiscal policy, and reforms aimed at economic wellbeing. coronavirus takes, the data could be hit in October and which insurers driving up investment — has looked Nomura’s base case is that the start of a long year for the have estimated cost Japan’s economy increasingly fruitless to many. Japan’s real GDP will fall 0.5 per cent Japanese economy.

UK business ‘lacks confidence on 5G’ despite growing investment JAMES WARRINGTON stating they needed a significant game-changing possibilities.” overhaul of their operating model Despite the hesitation, UK @j_a_warrington to make the new technology work. businesses appear to be ahead of LESS than half of UK businesses are However, organisations also the curve on prioritising 5G, with confident they can successfully cited a lack of understanding of just over a third of respondents implement 5G-based technology the benefits of 5G, with many naming 5G impact on business despite growing investment in the admitting knowledge gaps around models as a key area of focus for new mobile network, new research use cases and concepts and a their company, compared to 28 has revealed. perception of the new network as per cent worldwide. Around 15 per cent of British only an incremental upgrade on Meanwhile 31 per cent viewed companies are currently investing 4G or wifi. greater participation in 5G trials in 5G, with the figures set to rise “UK businesses are keen to as a top priority, compared to 25 to 70 per cent within three years, invest in 5G, but this is not per cent of global companies. according to an EY study seen matched by most organisations’ Adrian Baschnonga, EY global by City A.M. capabilities,” said Praveen telecoms lead analyst, said: “It’s However, just 44 per cent said Shankar, head of technology, clear that enterprises now want they can successfully implement media and telecoms for EY consultative dialogue that delivers the Internet of Things (IoT) — the UK & Ireland. business outcomes through end- system of interconnected devices “To overcome this challenge and to-end solutions. underpinned by 5G. reach the full potential of 5G, “5G providers need to reinvent The lack of confidence stemmed providers need to articulate a themselves as trusted partners, largely from the perceived more compelling vision of the prioritising access to an ecosystem complexity of implementing 5G, opportunity, while businesses of competencies that can deliver with three-quarters of respondents need to educate themselves on the 5G capabilities at scale.” 12 NEWS WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 CITYAM.COM

DOCTOR’S ORDERS Homecare tech startup Tourism body calls on government Cera Care raises $70m for preventative app LONDON healthcare startup Cera Care has today revealed to rethink immigration regulations the close of $70m (£53.8m) in funding EDWARD THICKNESSE as it launches a new policy are reviewed. outbound travel industry. product to help care @edthicknesse The report urged the Mark Tanzer, Abta’s chief for the elderly. Cera government to keep the £25,600 executive, said: “The prosperity of said its technology A TRADE body representing the salary threshold for foreign the tourism industry doesn’t can predict health UK’s travel and tourism industry workers “under close review” as it happen by accident, and the deteriorations has called on the government to is “too high” for sector workers, for government has a responsibility to before they occur, rethink its new immigration policy whom the average wage is £22,585. ensure that the right policies are in while also guiding or risk “undermining the business It also asked for the government place to ensure our industry has carers on how to model of many UK companies”. to agree to a reciprocal youth access to the talent it needs”. deliver safer care for Abta yesterday released a report mobility deal with the EU to A Home Office spokesperson said elderly people. outlining the challenges that will replace existing arrangements, or employers need to “level up” in line be faced unless aspects of the else risk 15,000 UK jobs within the with the policy. De La Rue reveals turnaround plan to cut £35m costs

JOE CURTIS year, although the company stuck to a @joe_r_curtis forecast of £20m to £25m in adjusting operating profit for 2019/20. BANKNOTE printer De La Rue yesterday De La Rue will also seek to improve revealed its plan to cut £35m in annual profitability in its currency division, costs after it lost a battle to print whose technology is used in the Bank of Britain’s post-Brexit blue passports. England’s new £20 note. The firm will Shares soared 20.8 per cent to 147.6p also design and print the new £50 note. yesterday as investors welcomed the plan. The company said it has already slashed £10m in annual costs, and it will DE LA RUE target a yearly £35m in savings from the P second half of its 2020/21 financial year. 150 This goes deeper than De La Rue’s pre- 140 vious commitment to cut £20m in costs 130 147.60 25 Feb by 2021/22, and the firm said this would 120 allow it “to tender for currency orders it would previously have declined, and to 110 improve margins on existing work”. 100 The cost savings plan will cost De La Rue £17m to implement this financial 19 Feb20 Feb 21 Feb 24 Feb 25 Feb

Transport for London Public Notice ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 THE A3211 GLA ROAD (VICTORIA EMBANKMENT, CITY OF WESTMINSTER) (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC, STOPPING AND 20 MPH SPEED LIMIT) ORDER 2020 1. Transport for London in consultation times from 12:01 AM on the 27th with the City of Westminster hereby February 2020 until 5:00 AM on the gives notice that it has made the above 31st March 2020 or when the works named Traffic Order under section have been completed whichever is 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act the sooner. The prohibitions will 1984 for the purpose specified in apply only during such times and to paragraph 2. The effect of the Order is such extent as shall from time to summarised in paragraph 3. time be indicated by traffic signs. 2. The purpose of the Order is to enable 4. The prohibitions in 3(1) and 3(3) will raised table installation works. not apply in respect of: 3. The effect of the Order will be to (1) any vehicle being used for the prohibit any vehicle from: purposes of those works or for (1) stopping on Victoria Embankment fire brigade, ambulance or police between its junctions with Horse purposes; Guards Avenue and Savoy Street; (2) anything done with the permission (2) exceeding a speed limit of 20 MPH or at the direction of a police on Victoria Embankment between constable in uniform or a person its junctions with Horse Guards authorised by Transport for Avenue and Savoy Street. London. (3) entering or proceeding on the Dated his 26th day of February 2020 cycle track on Victoria Lucy Ryan Embankment between its Performance and Planning Manager - junctions with Horse Guards Central Avenue and Savoy Street. Transport for London, Palestra, 197 The Order will be effective at certain Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8NJ

MAYOR OF LONDON CITYAM.COM WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 NEWS 13 M&G continues Car dealers rev freeze of firm’s flagship fund for 2020 as fears ANGHARAD CARRICK @angharadcarrick M&G IS continuing the suspension of its £2.5bn property fund despite over Brexit stall making good progress in selling some of the fund's assets. M&G suspended trading in its flagship property fund in EDWARD THICKNESSE “2019 was a challenging year for the December after investors rushed to motor industry. The 2.4 per cent drop withdraw their money. @edthicknesse in year-on-year new sales reflected the The UK investment manager THE VAST majority of UK car dealer- impact of Brexit uncertainty continu- yesterday told shareholders that ships are confident about the outlook ing to loom over confidence.” continuing the suspension would for their business, despite a challeng- “But the results of our Dealer Satis- Expedia said it was targeting between $300m and $500m of annual cost savings “best protect the interests of its ing 2019 for the motor industry. faction Survey show that hope is far investors” as it raises cash to meet A survey by Close Brothers Motor Fi- from lost,” he added. “We’ve driven potential redemption requests. nance showed 98 per cent of dealers past the first bump in the Brexit saga, The fund is set to slash its were optimistic about the future, with and dealers are excited about the Online travel agency Expedia to retail holdings to 32 per cent from almost two-thirds (63 per cent) describ- growth of their business and the 38 per cent as the sector accounts ing themselves as “very confident”. opportunities for expansion of stock.” for 80 per cent of assets the fund The surge in enthusiasm, which Sue Robinson, director of the Na- slash 3,000 jobs in cost-cut bid has sold or that it is “on course comes despite a 2.4 per cent drop in the tional Franchised Dealer Association to exchange”. sales of new cars in 2019, was largely (NFDA), also welcomed the figures, say- POPPY WOOD refocus our organisation”. The firm is Tony Brown, global head of M&G down to dwindling fears over Brexit. ing: “Following a challenging period expected to lay off around 12 per cent Real Estate, said: “We are making Although the UK’s departure from due to the continued political uncer- @poppyeh of its workforce, with 500 staff set to good headway in a more liquid the EU is still considered by far the tainty, it is encouraging to see that ONLINE travel agency Expedia is set switch to the company’s market than last year and every biggest threat by dealers, with 35 per franchised retailers are optimistic to axe 3,000 jobs in a bid to headquarters in Seattle. effort is being made to ensure we cent of respondents highlighting it, about their business outlook in 2020. streamline the ailing firm. It comes after the departure of can reopen as soon as possible — the number has fallen from nearly 50 Robinson added that a tariff-free In an email to staff, Expedia Expedia’s chief executive Mark we appreciate your patience in per cent in the last three months. trade agreement is vital to ensure that yesterday said it will “reduce and Okerstrom and chief financial officer this matter.” Sean Kemple, director of sales at the automotive sector continues to eliminate certain projects, activities, Alan Pickerill in December, following Shares fell 1.6 per cent to 227.8p Close Brothers Motor Finance said: thrive in the coming years. teams and roles to streamline and disputes over the company’s strategy. on the news yesterday. Greggs gifts Stormzy VIP card to tap into younger market AST week high street bakery Stephan those whose favourite music is rap or 34 year olds have increased by 7.3 demographics of a brand’s customer chain Greggs reached out to rap- hip-hop, 73 per cent of those are aged points compared to 4.6 points among base, but Greggs has shown that per Stormzy to reveal he was the Shakespeare 18 to 39. However, the same age group all Brits, potentially due to increased brands should not be afraid to be bold Lfirst member of an exclusive only made up 43 per cent of Greggs environmental concerns among this when trying to reach new customers. “next-level VIP” service for its customers last month. This shows that age range. most famous fans. The invite-only VIP if Greggs’ Stormzy stunt pays off it Of course it takes more than targeted £Stephan Shakespeare is chief executive at card, which was accompanied by a pro- could help to bring steak and vegan PR stunts to sustainably broaden the YouGov motional video describing the bene- bakes to the attention of a younger GREGGS’ MARKETING HELPS TO INCREASE YOUNGER AUDIENCE fits, allows users to order Greggs demographic. whenever and wherever they want. Similarly, nearly half of all vegans are Consideration scores: whether someone would consider purchasing from the This isn’t the first successful PR stunt and over, with a large proportion of aged between 25 and 39 (48 per cent) brand in future % nat rep versus 18-34 year olds 40 from Greggs that has been positively customers aged between 40 and 59 (38 with over a quarter aged between 18 18-34 year olds UK received on social media. Greggs’ per cent). With a customer base that is and 24 (27 per cent). Greggs’ Vegan- 38 vegan sausage rolls and steak bakes skewed towards the older generation, uary goods were not just a PR stunt but 36 have all been held as outstanding Greggs’ recent marketing strategy is in- another way of appealing to a large 34 examples of a brand marketing aimed creasingly focused on appealing to a pool of potential, younger consumers. 32 at a younger generation. younger generation with stunts such What’s more, since the release of 30 According to YouGov Profiles data, as Stormzy’s VIP card and releasing Greggs’ vegan sausage roll in January the majority (57 per cent) of Greggs’ vegan goods in order to expand its 2019, consideration scores (whether 28 customer base (those who have visited brand reach. someone would consider purchasing the shop in the last month) are aged 40 YouGov Profiles data shows that, of from the brand in future) among 18 to Jan ‘19 Mar ‘19 May ‘19 Jul ‘19 Sep ‘19 Nov‘19 Jan‘20

Strategic Decision Making for Leaders 18th and 19th March 2020 Find out more at: cass.city.ac.uk/execed ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE 14 NEWS WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 CITYAM.COM Ricardo faces damage to profit due to coronavirus

JACK RICHARDSON engagement, project delivery and busi- per cent, with the company dividend @JackRich93 ness development in the coming rising four per cent to 6.24p per share. months in mainland China and sur- However, earnings per share fell 19 SHARES in engineering consultancy rounding countries.” per cent year on year to 11.8p. Ricardo fell yesterday after the The company, which provides advice At their lowest point yesterday, company warned the coronavirus on operational challenges for rail and shares dropped 12 per cent before re- outbreak will have a “material” hit on car firms and also builds prototypes, covering to close eight per cent down. its annual profit. warned that China accounted for eight The Covid-19 strain of coronavirus per cent of revenue in the six months RICARDO has hurt Ricardo’s presence in China, to December. P where it has had to close offices and Shemmans added that “challenging 800 impose travel restrictions on staff, macro conditions” have hurt Ricardo’s LEADING REGIONAL while clients have faced similar issues. automotive order intake, particularly 750 “The coronavirus outbreak at the in China where car sales sank 91 per 700 25 Feb start of the second half has already cent in February. 694 had an operationally disruptive Revenue grew three per cent year on 650 impact on our automotive and rail year to £192.9m as Shemmans praised INVESTORS JOIN operations in China,” chief executive its energy and environment division 600 Dave Shemmans said. “We anticipate and its defence arm. FORCES continuing disruption to client Respectively, they grew 100 and 13 19 Feb20 Feb 21 Feb 24 Feb 25 Feb Hear from the team – including Mercia’s CEO, Mark Payton and founder Mastercard chief Ajay Banga to step down in 2021 of NVM, Tim Levett C NIVEDITA president on 1 March. persists. The company now expects Chairman Richard revenue growth between nine per MASTERCARD said yesterday that Haythornthwaite will retire after cent and 10 per cent in the current n December 2019, just as many were record), VCT fund management contracts chief executive Ajay Banga will step more than a decade in the role, quarter as the virus impacts travel winding down for seasonal festivities, cements Mercia as ‘the’, leading capital down at the start of the next year when Banga assumes his new role, and e-commerce across borders. Itwo regional investment houses were provider to regional SMEs typically seeking and will be replaced by chief the company said in a statement. The credit card issuer also working on a deal to create one of the investment of less than £10m. We look product officer Michael Miebach. It came as Mastercard on Monday expects that net revenue growth on most active, specialist asset forward to the continued delivery of While Banga, who took over as said its net revenue in the first a year-over-year basis in 2020 would managers in the UK. Mercia Asset our stated purpose – in the chief in April 2010, will become quarter will take a hit of between be at the low end of the low-teens Management PLC had been regions, from the regions, to the executive chairman, Miebach will two and three per cent over its range if the impact of the virus is working with the team at NVM regions”. Mark Payton. take over as the company’s previous forecast if the coronavirus limited to the first quarter. Reuters Private Equity to acquire the fund management contracts HOW DID YOU CHOOSE to three Northern VCTs and THE TEAM TO TAKE following Mercia’s OVER THE VCTS? Transport for London Public Notice £30.0million Placing, the deal “Passing on the management was brought to a successful of the business that you have conclusion just before Charlie Winward grown from scratch is a testing ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 Christmas Eve. Ahead of the moment and when it comes THE A3212 GLA ROAD (MILLBANK, CITY OF WESTMINSTER) (TEMPORARY acquisition, Mercia was down to deciding whether it is PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC AND STOPPING) ORDER 2020 already shown by Beauhurst right or wrong, culture is at the DEBATE to be the fourth most active heart of it. In working with the Has the 1. Transport for London in consultation such extent as shall from time to investor in the UK and this team at Mercia, I have become with the City of Westminster hereby time be indicated by traffic signs. acquisition will move Mercia confident that the VCT team #MeToo gives notice that it has made the above 4. The prohibitions will not apply in further up the chart on a will flourish within Mercia.” Tim named Traffic Order under section respect of: 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act regional and national basis. Levett. movement (1) any vehicle being used for the We meet some of the Mercia 1984 for the purpose specified in AS THE HEAD OF THE VCT had a paragraph 2. The effect of the Order is purposes of those works or for team to hear what they have Paul Mattick summarised in paragraph 3. fire brigade, ambulance or police to say about both the BUSINESS, WHAT CHANGES purposes; ARE YOU LIKELY TO meaningful, 2. The purpose of the Order is to enable transaction and the VCT and raised table installation works. (2) anything done with the permission EIS markets more generally. BRING ABOUT AS PART or at the direction of a police OF A LARGER TEAM? positive 3. The effect of the Order will be to prohibit any vehicle from: constable in uniform or a person HOW DOES THE DEAL “There certainly won’t be impact on authorised by Transport for IMPACT MERCIA’S MARKET change for change’s sake. The (1) entering or proceeding on Millbank London. POSITION AND WHAT most obvious and immediate women southbound between its junction 5. At such times as the prohibitions are LEGISLATIVE CHANGES impact will be around the with Lambeth Bridge and in force an alternative routes will be WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE quality and quantity of deal- in the Atterbury Street, local access indicated by traffic signs. For Millbank TO IMPROVE THE maintained; northbound via Bessborough Gardens, Mark Payton flow, which now as part of SUPPORT BUSINESS Mercia, will be significantly workplace? (2) entering, exiting or proceeding on Drummund Gate, Bessborough Street, Lupas Street, St. George’s Square, OWNERS AND INVESTORS larger and we believe more Millbank between its junctions RECEIVE? SHEILA FLAVELL with Atterbury Street and Belgrave Road, Eccleston Square, relevant for our funds. This Ponsonby Place. Buckingham Palace Road, Grosvenor “For the investor or business change means that we can be SAYS YES, (3) stopping on Millbank between its Gardens, Lower Grosvenor Place, owner, constant change and even more selective in EMILY CARVER Bressenden Place, Victoria Street, SAYS NO junction with Ponsonby Place and uncertainty can be difficult identifying the best the extended southern building Broad Sanctuary, Parliament Square, St. cousins to tolerate – so please opportunities for our PAGE 17 line of No. 44a Millbank. Margaret Street, Abingdon Street to normal route of travel. For Millbank maintain the tax reliefs for investors”. Charlie Winward. (4) entering or proceeding on Millbank private investors associated southbound via Lambeth Bridge, northbound between its junctions Albert Embankment, Kennington Lane, with investing on AIM, into YOUR RECENT with Vauxhall Bridge and Ponsonby Tim Levett ALLENBRIDGE EIS FUNDS South Lambeth Road, Parry Street, Venture Capital Trusts or into Place, local access maintained. Wandsworth Road, Bridgefoot and Enterprise Investment Schemes REVIEW WAS IMPRESSIVE, The Order will also permit all vehicles Vauxhall Bridge to normal route of (EIS). For the business owner, reward their WHAT IS PLANNED TO IMPROVE to turn right from Ponsonby Terrace travel. hard work and success by preserving YOUR EIS INVESTORS’ and Ponsonby Place into Millbank. PROPOSITION? Entrepreneurs’ Relief. These structures The Order will be effective at certain Dated his 26th day of February 2020 “The Mercia EIS Fund continues to times from 12:01 AM on the 27th work well and are one of the reasons why Lucy Ryan the UK is admired globally for its growing incrementally develop its proposition, and February 2020 until 5:00 AM on the 31st March 2020 or when the works Performance and Planning Manager - SME base. In this time of change, economic we are now focusing more investment into Central and fiscal stability is critical. Our focus at later stage companies, which are have been completed whichever is the sooner. The prohibitions will Transport for London, Palestra, 197 Mercia is to provide compelling returns by inherently lower risk and will have a apply only during such times and to Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8NJ delivering sustainable capital to the shorter holding period before exit” Paul regions. We have spent over a decade Mattick. ‘levelling up the regions’ and we will continue to lead this same charge in the £ To find out more please visit MAYOR OF LONDON future. The acquisition of NVM’s (a www.mercia.co.uk and contact number manager with an excellent regional track is 0330 223 1430 CITYAM.COM WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 MARKETS 15

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ASCENTIAL UK shares slide 380 P Wall St offload

25 Feb 370 361 deepens amid further as virus 360 spiralling fears

350 HE DOW and the S&P 500 Ttumbled three per cent 19 Feb 20 Feb 21 Feb 24 Feb 25 Feb yesterday in their fourth straight day of losses as the coronavirus sparks sell-off If not quite essential, specialist global information company Ascential is a good spread further around the world purchase, say analysts at broker Liberum. The firm posted a solid set of full-year and investors offloaded risky assets results which were in line with market expectations. Group revenue rose nine per as they struggled to gauge the cent on a proforma basis and 6.4 per cent organically with a strong performance in economic impact. ONDON-LISTED stocks fell vious session, briefly opened higher product design. Excitingly, Liberum says, Ascential is about to embark on a £120m Both averages recorded their sharply to fresh five-month but its three major stock indexes share-buyback programme. The analysts have upgraded their rating from “hold” to biggest four-day percentage losses lows yesterday as an increase in quickly began to tumble. “buy” and give a target price of 420p, up from 380p. since the massive sell-off in December Lcoronavirus cases outside Fears of a pandemic had wiped $1.5 2018, while US 10-year Treasury yields China triggered a second day of trillion (£1.15 trillion) off the value of hit a record low. selling across global markets. world equity markets on Monday. HOSTELWORLD The S&P 500 lost $2.14 trillion (£1.64 The blue-chip FTSE 100 lost 1.9 per Among the few stocks making it to trillion) in market capitalisation over cent, a day after logging its worst the black on the FTSE 100 was insurer 135 P the last four sessions, according to session since 2015 with reports of the Prudential, which ended the day flat 130 S&P Dow Jones Indices analyst virus spreading further, notably in after hedge fund Third Point amassed Howard Silverblatt. Europe and Iran. a stake of over $2bn and called on 125 The Dow ended the day 8.4 per cent Only a handful of the company to split into two. below its 12 February record close. stocks ended the day in Credit investor Pollen 120 25 Feb Fears of a pandemic escalated after Street Secured Lending the coronavirus spread to Spain and positive territory while 115 111.80 banks, consumer goods soared 6.7 per cent to its dozens of countries, from South Korea and energy companies 110 to Italy, accelerated emergency weighed on the blue Building materials firm measures while Iran’s virus death toll chip benchmark. SIG shed 18 per cent as 19 Feb 20 Feb 21 Feb 24 Feb 25 Feb rose to 16, the highest outside China. With oil prices slip- its chief is set to exit In the United States, the Centers for ping below $56 a barrel Hostelworld — which unsurprisingly provides hostels around the world — could be Disease Control and Prevention said and falling for a third highest since July 2017 hit by the coronavirus outbreak as would-be travellers decide it may be best to stay Americans should prepare for possible day, heavyweights BP and after saying it was in talks put. But, says broker Peel Hunt, the group has a solid balance sheet with which to community spread of the virus. Shell took heavy losses and with Waterfall Asset Man- tackle a downturn. Moreover, if management can show it has addressed the In the busiest trading day since fell by about 2.2 per cent each. agement about a sale. competitive weakness of the group in next week’s results, “the current share price December 21, 2018, volume on US While European markets had made British engineer Meggit fell 5.2 per weakness wil be seen as a buying opportunity”. On that note, analysts at Peel Hunt exchanges was 12.24bn shares, timid gains at the open, sentiment de- cent after warning of the effect from say you should “add” this one to your rucksack and give a target price of 165p. compared with the 7.99bn average for teriorated through the session. the suspended production of Boeing’s the session in the last 20 trading days. “The morning bounce in European 737 Max aircraft and disruptions The Cboe Volatility Index , known as markets and US futures is a distant from the coronavirus outbreak. SPIRENT COMMUNICATIONS Wall Street’s fear gauge, climbed memory, as indices push to new lows Building materials supplier SIG slid above 30 for the first time since thanks to the ongoing spread of the 18 per cent to the bottom of the mid- 260 P December 2018 and closed at 27.85. coronavirus,” Chris Beauchamp, chief cap index after saying it was replac- The NYSE Arca Airline index closed market analyst at IG commented. ing chief executive Meinie Oldersma 250 down five per cent clocking its biggest Wall Street, which also suffered its as it seeks to stem a slide in its busi- three-day decline since October 2011. worst day in two years during the pre- ness caused by a weak market. 25 Feb Delta Airlines, down six per cent said 240 yesterday that it expects US-China 235.50 flights to be suspended until the end TOP RISERS FTSE of April and expanded its travel waiver P 230 to Seoul until 30 April. 1. NMC Health Up 3.77 per cent 7,500 Marriott was the S&P’s biggest 2. Bunzl Up 2.45 per cent 7,400 19 Feb 20 Feb 21 Feb 24 Feb 25 Feb percentage decliner, down almost 3. Pearson Up 0.41 per cent eight per cent and other travel stocks 7,300 25 Feb Coronavirus is a major concern for the economy, and some fear multinational such as Tripadvisor, down 4.7 per TOP FALLERS 7,200 7,017.88 telecommunications firm Spirent could be caught up in it. Yet analysts at broker cent, and Norwegian Cruise Line, 7,100 Canaccord Genuity say that it is unlikely to be badly hurt as its contract down 7.7 per cent, also 1. Carnival Down 5.92 per cent 7,000 manufacturing — its products include network-testing appliances — is based in underperformed sharply. 2. Meggitt Down 5.15 per cent Thailand. Therefore it should not be too caught up in the Chinese lockdown. They Mastercard shares fell 6.7 per cent, 3. Tui Down 4.87 per cent say shares have had a good run year to date and say they “look forward” to its full- also putting it among the S&P’s 19 Feb20 Feb 21 Feb 24 Feb 25 Feb year results. Spirent gets a “hold” rating and a target price of 230p. biggest percentage decliners.

CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS Time to Rebalance.

LUNSON MITCHENALL Peter Courtney, head of London and director of sponsors a number of female mentoring programs LONDON’S PRECIOUS METAL BROKER Niche retail and leisure agent, Lunson Mitchenall, said: “It is great to welcome Zaz to including as a member of One Loud Voice for Women. Lunson Mitchenall, has our London team, someone with significant industry TAILORED INVESTMENT SERVICES extended its London team experience who will bring fresh ideas and knowledge ALVAREZ & MARSAL ALLOCATED AND SEGREGATED STORAGE with the appointment of Zaz to our exciting projects and clients.” Global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal has INDEPENDENTLY AUDITED Robb as a surveyor. Zaz appointed David Moss as a managing director, based ACCESSIBLE AND TRANSPARENT previously worked at RECORD in London. David brings more than 30 years’ Shackleton and will join the Specialist currency manager Record is pleased has experience in operational turnaround and firm’s new office in Covent announced the appointment of Sally Francis-Cole as restructuring, both as a business leader and as an Garden, where she will be global head of sales and head of client team. With advisor. He has spent the last nine years in the working on projects including three decades of experience in foreign exchange sales, technology sector, initially at Skype, and then as chief Canary Wharf, the O2, Brent Sally joins having previously worked for BNP Paribas operating officer of a Carlyle-owned global software Cross, Southbank Centre and Elephant and Castle, as where she ran the global institutional sales team. Prior business. He brings a deep understanding of well as a range of clients such as AEG, Crosstree, to that she spent 12 years with UBS AG in various FX A&M’s offer, having previously spent six years at the SHARPSPIXLEY.COM Hammerson, the Canary Wharf Group and Delancey. sales management roles across Europe. She actively firm as a managing director. T: +44 (0) 207 871 0532 To appear in CITYMOVES please email your career updates and pictures to [email protected] 54 ST JAMES'S STREET | LONDON | SW1A 1JT 16 OPINION WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 CITYAM.COM FORUM EDITED BY RACHEL CUNLIFFE LETTERS The Democrats face a beating TO THE EDITOR Barings if they select Bernie Sanders necessities Today marks 25 years since the collapse of N DECEMBER 2019, a peculiar even Bloomberg’s billions will not be candidate like Sanders will have se- “the Queen’s bank” — Barings — in 1995. experiment in British politics hit Alan able to deny him a delegate lead by cured a majority of delegates Aside from making those of us who lived the buffers in a most brutal Mendoza July, when the Democratic Party pledged to back his presidential through this feel old, the crash of Barings Imanner. One of our great politi- Convention swings into action to claim, even if he retains a plurality. holds a significant place in history as the cal parties — Labour — had gam- nominate its presidential candidate. The Democrats have adopted a pro- canary in the coal mine for both the bled that it could swing radically Moderates are right to be fearful, portional system of delegate appor- downfall of and the evolution towards a leftwards away from the ideological because Sanders is promising a pol- tionment. Although there is a more technologically advanced world of centre ground. Its expectation was icy agenda every bit as radical as that minimum vote percentage thresh- derivatives trading. The subsequent that it would win a sweeping victory offered by Corbyn to British voters old for obtaining delegates, this decades since the fall of the broker Nick with an enhanced coalition of last year. With his pledges to boost means that it is entirely possible Leeson, which was facilitated by a young and dispossessed voters in an Nevada, where he won by 26 per- healthcare coverage and spending, that three to four serious candidates consistent failure to make his margin calls, election defined by its signature centage points. While former vice deliver a Green New Deal and cancel will be able to harvest serious dele- has led to a barrage of rules aimed at policies of massive public spending, president Joe Biden retains a narrow student debt, Sanders will be adding gate counts by the Convention. mitigating risk. From the introduction of tax rises, and a focus on healthcare. lead in a state where African Ameri- trillions of dollars to the US budget If the first ballot for presidential mandatory clearing, to new margin Labour was wrong. Jeremy Cor- cans — a traditional Biden strong- deficit that can only be funded by nominee fails to produce a clear methodologies and the implementation byn’s hard-left leadership resulted hold — constitute a majority of massive tax rises. winner with a majority of the dele- of uncleared margin rules, these seismic in Labour’s lowest MP tally since Democratic voters, Sanders has been If this is all looking a bit like Cor- gate vote, then 771 “superdelegates” changes have unquestionably enforced 1935. The party’s traditional heart- gaining on him. byn, Sanders’ past and present pro- will be added to the totals in order greater protection, sophistication, and land seats fell into the hands of the While it remains unclear what the nouncements add fuel to the fire. He to break the deadlock. Presidential professionalism on derivatives markets. Conservatives in reaction to what effects of the Nevada result’s mo- honeymooned in Soviet Moscow, hopefuls will also become free to With further rules pending, including was seen as a too liberal and metro- mentum might be, moderate De- praised Communist Cuba and once horse-trade delegates with one an- imminent changes to the methodology for politan agenda, marred further by mocrats are getting nervous. called for the CIA to be abolished. other in order to find one among calculating margin requirements, it’s time antisemitic incidents seemingly Centrist candidates have failed to Just this week, he accused AIPAC — them to secure the nomination. market participants start finding new condoned by the leadership. catch fire, and while former New America’s largest bi-partisan and It doesn’t take a genius to work ways to get the most out of their margin in It might have been thought that York mayor Michael Bloomberg cross-cultural pro-Israel movement — out that this process offers moder- this highly complex trading era. Thankfully those watching this debacle in other waits in the wings to enter the elec- of providing a platform for “bigotry”. ates an opportunity to halt the for them, technological innovations that countries would have learned from toral fray next week on “Super Tues- Sanders claims that his agenda Bernie bandwagon. The superdele- have evolved out of the Barings collapse the singular lesson administered by day”, there appears to be no obvious will sweep the party to power with a gates tend to be Democratic Party and subsequent global financial crisis are the British electorate. candidate who can unite the centre new coalition of supporters. But a re- grandees friendly to moderate assisting by facilitating independent If so, then America’s Democrats in the way that Sanders has ignited cent Gallup poll showed that 53 per causes. Should they be persuaded margin calculations to optimise the must have tuned into a different the left of the party. cent of Americans would not vote by those opposed to Sanders to amount of collateral required to trade. channel. Their party is fast develop- If Sanders is able to cement his for a Socialist, and only 24 per cent throw in their lot with a moderate Veeral Manek, product manager, ing a Bernie Sanders-sized headache front-runner status, it is likely that self-declared as liberals, with moder- candidate, then that person will as- OpenGamma that could prove even more deadly ates and conservatives accounting cend to the throne — if they can also to their political fortunes than the for 72 per cent. Clearly, the Democ- unite the moderate vote. Corbyn-induced hangover that rats are headed for a Corbyn-style It will prove ugly and divisive. But BEST OF Labour is now nursing. drubbing even at the hands of a return to the Tammany Hall style Heading into Saturday’s South Car- Trump, whose own negatives should of politics that the Democrats once TWITTER olina primary, Sanders is the man to The party is have made for easy pickings. excelled in at brokered conventions beat — which is somewhat improbable, All is not yet lost, however. Unlike in the past may yet save their party What if this epoch’s big cultural- given that he is a 78 year old recent headed for a Labour, where Corbynistas took over from the trail of self-destruction political divide isn’t left vs right, heart attack survivor who is refusing the levers of power within the party, that a Bernie Sanders nomination populist vs establishment, etc, but to release his medical records. Corbyn-style the Democratic Party’s internal ma- would inflict. cringe/sincere vs ironic? Gammons vs Sanders has topped the popular drubbing at the chinery remains intact. Corbynites, “Reagan Republicans” vs vote in all three early contests in Come the Democratic Convention, £ Alan Mendoza is executive director of anime Nazis, Fine Gael/Fianna Fail vs Iowa, New Hampshire and latterly hands of Trump it is highly unlikely that a divisive the Henry Jackson Society. Sinn Fein, liberal Dems vs Bernie Bros @s8mb

Matt Hancock tells @KayBurley that Brits returning from northern Italy should “self isolate” for two weeks if they feel unwell. Not sure this is Citizens assemblies are no solution to the sustainable. Either it’s a serious disease that requires quarantine and cancellation of global events or it’s not climate challenge — we need innovation @steve_hawkes So it’s been a rough weekend. On Friday, the Chancellor shared a photo T FIRST sight, long-term proposed fuel tax increases. mediate ban on petrol and diesel ve- of our tea. Politicians do that swings in individual seats Paul So how can changes be made on a hicles in the abstract. But if you sometimes (Jeremy Corbyn did it in in Australian elections are Ormerod sufficient scale to address climate have to give up your own car here 2017). We weren’t asked or involved — Aa definite niche interest, change in the light of this lack of and now, you may come to an en- and we said so the same day. Lots of one for the real trainspot- democratic consent? tirely different conclusion about people got angry with us all the same ter. But during a visit to Sydney Uni- The liberal left in various coun- what should be done. @YorkshireTea versity’s Complex Systems Institute, tries sets great store by so-called cit- But there is a silver lining. In Aus- I noticed a fascinating piece in The izens assemblies. A small group of tralia, this year solar energy costs Anyone in here goes for Australian newspaper. citizens, reflecting the socio-demo- are falling below those of coal and @YorkshireTea, they’re gonna have to The Australian Labor Party had a graphic characteristics of the popu- gas for the first time. A decade ago, come through me. good result in the 2007 federal elec- We see exactly the same phenom- lation, is selected at random to solve they were over five times more ex- @theJeremyVine tions, and a relatively poor one in enon across the west as a whole. a particular policy challenge. One, pensive. As a result, households are those of 2019. Nationally, there was Substantial groups of voters are set up by parliament itself, has been installing solar panels in huge Yorkshire Tea now on a boycott list. a swing of seven per cent from very reluctant to pay the price now meeting in Britain on the topic of numbers. In the deserts, companies ANY product featured by ANY member Labor to the centre-right Coalition. for policies which might yield ben- climate change. The 110 assembly are building massive solar farms. of this vile @BorisJohnson Govt will In eight constituencies in Queens- efits in terms of the climate a members are encouraged to con- Hair shirts imposed on electorates be treated the same. The anger and land — equivalent to some 30 seats decade or more into the future. sider the topic in depth. by central planners will not work, frustration with brexit, racism and in the House of Commons — the av- Two decades ago, long before cli- The liberal hope is that, guided by and will instead spark democratic nationalism runs so deep that many erage swing away from Labor was mate change became a fashionable experts, ordinary people will come discontent. Ingenuity and innova- millions like me will take this action over 16 per cent. All were held by topic, lorry drivers brought the UK up with policy recommendations tion create the opportunity for a so- until the mess is reversed Labor in 2007. All were won by the to a virtual standstill in a protest congenial to them. But this is only lution arising out of free choice. @AnthonyMortlock Coalition in 2019. against rising fuel prices. Much half the story. To be more convinc- They had one key thing in more recently, President Em- ing, the assembly members need to £ Paul Ormerod is an economist at I imagine that they also drink water common: in each constituency, manuel Macron saw the streets of be made to live for a year or so expe- Volterra Partners LLP, a visiting professor and breathe oxygen. I wonder if they coal mining or commodity extrac- French cities in flames. The initial riencing the consequences of the in the Department of Computer Science will also feature on the boycott list... tion was an important part of the trigger which led to the so-called policies they devise. at UCL, and author of Against the Grain: @BenRamanauskas local economy. “gilet jaunes” movement was also Anyone can advocate, say, an im- Insights of an Economic Contrarian. CITYAM.COM WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 OPINION 17

WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR VIEWS › E: [email protected] COMMENT AT: cityam.com/forum :@cityam How to unleash the potential DEBATE of the health data revolution Has the #MeToo movement had a meaningful positive impact on ANNY Boyle’s tribute to the to do in realising the potential of this women in the workplace? NHS at the Olympic opening Annemarie opportunity. With this government’s ceremony in 2012 didn’t fea- Naylor message that it is committed to en- Dture doctors with filing cabi- abling cutting-edge technological re- The #MeToo movement has elevated a nets or nurses with laptop search, the upcoming Budget is an wider debate about the way women computers. That’s understandable — opportunity to make further headway. are treated within businesses and at the time the data-driven healthcare Data protection and patient trust industries on a global scale. This week’s YES conviction of Harvey Weinstein not boom was only just beginning. are important considerations, but if SHEILA FLAVELL But today, there is growing interest we get this right, it could be a game- only provides justice for his victims, but in the data about the 55m patients for changer. For those more likely to ex- also underlines the fact that those in whom the NHS cares. These “cradle to huge regional data centres where data perience an illness such as dementia, power are accountable and will face the support they need to thrive. grave” datasets are expected to play a about its citizens, such as medical data-driven diagnostics could enable consequences for their actions. Chief executives and industry leaders key role in the discovery of new treat- records and insurance claims, is being early identification which would in Moving forward, it is vital that issues need to do much more to ensure that ments and technological solutions to aggregated to grow the amount and turn improve drug efficacy, boosting such as equality, closing the gender pay their organisations recognise that the the growing demands placed upon type of healthcare information avail- longevity and quality of life. gap, and embracing diversity are a top #MeToo era marks a substantial change our healthcare system. able to researchers, with the aim of For healthcare professionals, har- priority in boardrooms across the UK in the way companies operate, Data, too, will be crucial to the suc- amassing records about a staggering nessing the potential of big data and and beyond, and that women are introducing new policies to tackle cess of the government’s life sciences 1.4bn people. machine learning is expected to herald treated with respect at all times within negative behaviour and upholding the industrial strategy. It has the potential Both China and India have sup- an age of personalised medicine where the workplace. The next generation of highest standards of working practices. not only to save lives, but to boost the ported the development of an essen- treatments can be tailored to individ- female entrepreneurs must be UK’s economy. EY estimates that ben- tial part of the data “manufacturing” uals, because one size does not fit all. empowered through a culture of £ Sheila Flavell CBE is chief operating efits worth £9.6bn per year could be process: cleaning, labelling and curat- For tech and pharmaceutical enter- fairness that ensures they are given all officer at FDM Group. unlocked from the use of patient data ing data in “data factories”. prises, AI-driven drug discovery will in years to come. The question, then, Data labelling businesses like Megvii reduce the time it takes to develop is how to unleash the benefits, both in China already employ upwards of new, more effective medicines, while economic and medical, from the UK’s 300,000 people, while iMerit near virtual healthcare coaches will help The excesses of the #MeToo movement unique health datasets. Kolkata has developed a specialist us tackle everything from mental ill- have inadvertently set workplace Many of the data-driven insights and workforce in labelling. health to obesity. relations backwards. Research shows innovations that frontline profession- Despite landmark investments here And for the government, this could that men are now more hesitant to NO als are optimistic about are likely to in the field of health data (for exam- lead to the holy grail: an ability to pre- work closely with their female co- EMILY CARVER be produced in partnership with the ple, Genomics England and the UK dict and prevent debilitating and workers — according to a survey by private sector. Companies will take on Biobank), the UK has some catching up costly illness, especially in deprived Lean In, 40 per cent of male managers costs and risk in developing new treat- communities where inequalities in are uncomfortable interacting with horrifying — think of Netflix banning ments, apps and diagnostic tools, health and wealth are inextricably female colleagues one-one-one. film crew staff from looking at each working with medical professionals. linked. Bring on the health revolution. This regression is hardly conducive to other for more than five seconds. But before they can do that, the gov- women climbing the career ladder, and Men are frequently left out of the ernment needs to invest in cleaning £ Annemarie Naylor MBE is director of may well reduce opportunities for conversation, which has led in some up, linking and expertly annotating policy and strategy at Future Care Capital. women at work, particularly around cases to an overcorrection in their healthcare records if they are to serve EY estimates that She is co-author with Eleanora Harwich from mentorship. behaviour. Coupled with the fear of false as fuel for the machine learning age. benefits worth the think tank Reform of Manufacturing the Instead of improving gender relations, accusations, #MeToo has damaged, not The UK could learn from countries future: Could healthcare data help the extreme sect has driven a wedge improved, life for women in work. which are already powering ahead in £9.6bn per year rebalance the UK’s economy? — available to between the sexes and led to over- the data-driven healthcare revolution. download at futurecarecapital.org.uk/ regulation of behaviour. The results £ Emily Carver is media manager at China, for example, has invested in could be unlocked manufacturing-the-future. would be funny if they weren’t so the Institute of Economic Affairs.

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CITYAM.COM WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 FEATURE 19 EIS

lief generates creates and safeguards Alex Daniel takes jobs, supporting entire communities and ultimately driving wealth and a look at investing growth. “It’s a big draw for investors, and the in startups — and companies that we work with gener- ally like to offer tax relief in order to a little-understood reward those early backers.” form of tax relief WHAT’S THE CATCH? About 660,000 companies are estab- that’s easy as ABC lished every year in the UK, and 60 per cent of them fail within three years. A OR THE uninitiated, investing select few of those become eligible for can often feel like an alphabet EIS tax relief, but the fact remains the soup of different acronyms. But same: young, fast-growing companies knowing what they all mean are more liable to hit a roadblock and can open up a whole new world go down in value than a long-estab- Fof options for how to put your money lished listed firm. to work. As investors prepare for a As a result, investors toying with the number of government changes to how they can invest in startups, City A.M. asks: do you know your EIS from your SEIS and your VCT? WHAT IS THE EIS? Investors toying Introduced in 1993, enterprise invest- ment schemes (EIS) are a form of tax re- with the idea lief designed to get people investing in startups. The idea is to create a win-win need to make sure situation for both investors and entre- they understand preneurs: people who put funds into fledgling firms get money off their in- the rules come tax, while those who start those companies get more investment com- idea need to make sure they under- ing in, and a better platform on which stand the rules and the risks they are to grow. taking, adds Laura Suter, personal fi- “The government, like all of us, is nance analyst at AJ Bell. “The incen- keen to see businesses thrive,” says tives on offer through EIS exist because Mark Brownridge, director of trade the companies are startups and there- body the EIS Association. “For this, fore have a higher chance of failure. As they frequently need investment when such, it is possible that you will get the businesses are insufficiently estab- back less than you put in initially — lished and strong enough to attract even when generous tax benefits are bank debt — which is where EIS comes taken into account.” into play.” EIS: A LEAP SO HOW DOES IT WORK? Since it entered the fray in 1993, in- vestors have poured more than £20bn The good news is that if your EIS invest- into companies via the scheme — ment fails entirely, you can get some something which has picked up in re- of your money back, via loss relief cent years after the birth of crowd- equivalent to your income tax band. funding websites such as Crowdcube The way this works is as follows. Let’s and Seedrs, founded in 2009 and 2012 INTO THE say you earn enough that you pay 45 respectively. The sites have made it eas- per cent income tax. If you then invest ier than ever for people to invest £10,000 in a company that eventually through EIS by clearly listing compa- fails, you can first claim back your 30 nies which qualify. per cent income tax relief of £3,000. Through the scheme, investors can Then, on the remaining £7,000, you claim 30 per cent of the value of their can recoup another 45 per cent, which investment off their income tax. Luke UNKNOWN comes to £3,150. Your total loss after all Lang, co-founder of Crowdcube, says: this? Just £3,850. “By allowing more liquidity into the in- dustry, the extra funds that the tax re- CONTINUES ON P20

% Property Investment Company PLC EPIC 6.4 Annualised dividend yield* paid monthly for income income paid tax free in ISA Further information (including share price performance and dividend history since launch) can be found at www.epic-reit.com. Important Information: The value of your investments can go down as well as up so you could get back less than you invested. Past performance (and dividend yield information) is not a guide to future returns.

The payment of dividends and the repayment of capital are not guaranteed and any quoted yield is indicative only. The value of a stock market investment and any income from it can fall as well as rise and investors may not get back the amount invested. This promotion should not be construed as legal, tax, investment or other advice. Any prospective investor should make their own enquiries and consult their own professional advisers as to the legal, tax and financial implications and risks concerning any investment opportunity. The tax treatment of ISAs may be subject to change in the future. Issued and approved by Ediston Investment Services Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN:706655) *As at 31/12/19 ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE 20 FEATURE WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 CITYAM.COM

WHICH VCTS AND EIS I WOULD BUY TODAY WEALTH CLUB Alex Davies is the founder of Wealth Club, the UK’s largest non advisory broker of VCTs and EIS.

ax pressure in Britain is at a 50-year growing businesses, often helping them high. Higher earners are feeling the expand internationally, and achieving Tsqueeze as many traditional avenues profitable exits. Two recent examples are of investing tax-efficiently have been Watchfinder, the online marketplace for blocked – from pension restrictions to the preloved premium watches, which was sold cuts to buy-to-let tax relief. to Swiss luxury goods group Richemont SA, and Chargemaster, the UK's largest WHAT TAX-EFFICIENT electrical car charging firm, which was OPTIONS ARE LEFT? acquired by BP. Two increasingly popular options for CONTINUED FROM P19 the tax year. then, once you are happy, it may be experienced investors are Venture Capital FUEL VENTURES EIS FUND “Investors need to be aware of worth exploring their various EIS of- Trusts (VCTs) and the Enterprise Investment This fund is run by entrepreneur turned Moreover, if things go well, they go these changes as it could signifi- ferings as well. This offers substan- Scheme (EIS). investor Mark Pearson, who famously really well. If you win big on a stan- cantly affect the risk profile of the tial benefits in terms of the These are both government-backed started MyVoucherCodes with £300 and dard, FTSE-listed stock and want to investments,” says Suter. expertise and diversification of risk schemes designed to incentivise private sold it for millions before he was 30. He now sell it off for a higher price, you can “The changes mean investors may that these EIS specialists can bring, investment in young and dynamic small gives investee companies hands-on expect to pay a certain portion of also want to spread their money but it does come at a price.” companies. strategic and operational support, to help that back to the government in capi- across more EIS funds, in order to The reward for investors is significant tax build their products and services and grow tal gains tax. But with EIS-eligible get more diversification.” GREAT — HOW reliefs in the short term, with the potential internationally. The current fund focuses companies, this is not the case. CAN I GET STUCK IN? to back the next £1 billion company in the mainly on "following the winners", to use And for investors looking to pass THE YOUNGER SISTER So you want to put your money long term. This incentive and potential Mark’s words – companies he's previously the shares on to the next generation, EIS also has a relative: SEIS — which where your mouth is, but you don’t reward is to counter the higher risks backed, which he believes show the best you can also claim back any inheri- stands for the seed enterprise invest- know where to start? Many have investing in smaller companies entails. promise. tance tax applied to the shares. ment scheme. This operates in a sim- found that traditional EIS or VCT But there are rules to bear in mind, ilar way, but on a smaller scale. funds have “a high barrier to entry HOW MUCH TAX COULD YOU SAVE? MMC VENTURES EIS FUND including a requirement that in- Companies must be raising no with quite high minimum invest- You could get up to 30% income tax relief, One of the UK’s largest tech investors, MMC vestors must keep the shares for more than £150,000, while backers ment amounts and high fees,” says investing in VCTs and EIS. has been investing in technology for the three years to qualify for tax relief. enjoy an even higher proportion of Kirsty Grant, chief investment offi- Returns are also tax free. In the case of past 20 years, way ahead of the curve. The In addition, in most cases, you can their investment — up to 50 per cent cer at Seedrs. VCTs, these are normally paid as dividends. EIS fund has helped scale up transformative only invest up to a maximum of £1m — back in income tax relief. As a result, more and more UK in- With EIS you can further benefit from businesses like recipe box delivery company in eligible companies over the It is also worth looking into ven- vestors are turning to her company potential inheritance tax relief and could Gousto and intelligent business information course of one tax year. ture capital trusts (VCTs) — traded or others like Crowdcube to make in- defer capital gains from the sale of other platform Signal AI. Companies, meanwhile, can only companies which, in turn, invest in vestments into individual EIS or SEIS assets. raise a maximum of £5m in total in startups and EIS-eligible firms. eligible companies, which both plat- Annual allowances are generous: AN IMPORTANT CAVEAT any 12-month period under the Backers can still get their tax relief forms list clearly. £200,000 in VCTs and up to £2m in EIS. Popular offers tend to come and go quickly. scheme, can only qualify if they have by investing in VCTs, as many of But even with these websites gain- These could be valuable to investors caught If you plan to invest in VCTs or EIS the fewer than 250 full-time employees, them specialise in EIS. ing ground, it is important for by the restrictions on pension sooner you act, the wider the choice. Leave and cannot have more than £15m in O’Keefe adds: “It may be wise to would-be investors to do their re- contributions. it a couple of weeks and you might miss out. assets before tax. find a VCT partner that you like and search before getting their wallet out. For those less-inclined to cherry- WHERE TO INVEST? IMPORTANT: This is a financial promotion HOW IS IT CHANGING? pick their own firms, Seedrs offers Here are some of the offers I would choose issued by Wealth Club Ltd, authorised and The government not only wants to an automatic investment tool, today. You can see more at regulated by the Financial Conduct get people investing in startups — it which allows users to set specific cri- www.wealthclub.co.uk and decide for Authority. It’s not advice nor a personal has to be the right kind of startups. teria, such as tax relief eligibility, yourself. recommendation to invest. If unsure, seek From 1 April, new rules will double These schemes alongside sectors they are interested advice. The products mentioned are high the amount of money investors can in. That will go ahead and build a di- OCTOPUS TITAN VCT risk and illiquid and only for high net worth put into companies over a tax year, are the versified portfolio at the touch of a The UK’s largest VCT has a great record of or sophisticated investors. Capital is at provided they are carrying out re- button. spotting and nurturing rising stars and risk. Tax rules can change and benefits search or are inventing something government’s way Clearly, EIS, SEIS and even VCT in- achieving high-profile exits, including sales depend on circumstances. new. The new regulations will en- vesting is perilous by its very nature. to the likes of Amazon, Google and sure that at least 80 per cent of funds of encouraging UK But the tax breaks make it “one of Microsoft. are invested in these so-called investors to take the most generous tax relief Zoopla, the first VCT-backed £1bn “knowledge intensive” firms. schemes in the world”, adds Grant. company, Secret Escapes and graze.com all READ MORE ONLINE Fund managers will also need to risks and support “Investing in startups is risky, and received funding from Octopus Titan VCT. submit annual statements to HM the UK government appreciates that. Read more, watch video Revenue and Customs to prove that our growing These schemes are their way of en- PROVEN VCTS interviews and apply online at they meet the conditions. However, entrepreneurial couraging UK investors to take the Among the UK’s longest-established VCTs, www.wealthclub.co.uk/cityam they will also be able to set their in- risks and support our growing entre- ProVen has a history of backing fast- come tax relief against liabilities in economy preneurial economy.” CITYAM.COM WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 FEATURE 21

With the Budget looming, Sophie Dworetzsky outlines how the chancellor could help both startups and investors

HEAD of any Budget, there is always great speculation on what may be announced. This year, the focus thus far has been on when a Budget wouldA happen and who will deliver it. But with the new chancellor Rishi Sunak confirming that it will go ahead on 11 March, all attention has turned to the content. One major issue this year is the pos- sible reform of entrepreneurs’ relief. This relief allows entrepreneurs to pay less capital gains tax when they sell all or part of their business. It is an important incentive for later-stage business owners, and we would cer- tainly caution against scaling it back — more so than ever given the impor- tance of sending the message that the UK is open for business post- Brexit. However, of equal importance to get right is to make sure that we main- tain the reliefs that enable businesses to progress from the startup phase, and reduce the restrictions and com- plexity that, all too often, are real stumbling blocks at this early stage. In fact, it would be fair to argue that making these reliefs work better and be easier to access matters just as much during a company’s startup stage as entrepreneurs’ relief does at later stages. There are currently a wide range of reliefs available to investors in startup companies, including the vestors, and apply differently. ify for these reliefs, including how quirement that funds raised via EIS in- tainty that investors will get tax reliefs, seed enterprise investment scheme To give a flavour, an EIS investor can businesses can use the funds raised — vestments cannot be used to buy all or without hindering their own expan- (SEIS), the enterprise investment make a maximum investment of £1m and this complexity arises at pre- part of another business. This remains sion needs. scheme (EIS), venture capital trusts for the present tax year and receive cisely the time when new businesses a problem, and in our experience, fre- We urge the chancellor to take this (VCTs), and social investment tax re- 30 per cent income tax relief after a can ill afford to take advice regarding quently means that businesses either opportunity to reduce complexity for lief — all focused mainly on providing three-year holding period, while an how to ensure that they offer attrac- accidentally fall foul of this rule, or investors at the startup stage, and to do investors with income tax relief. SEIS investor can make a maximum tive investment propositions. comply with it and so hinder their own this as part of a tax policy roadmap, Then there is investors’ relief, which investment of £100,000 for the pres- In order for companies to meet the growth. setting out objectives for the next five is focused on reducing capital gains ent tax year and receive a 50 per cent stringent criteria for these different re- This is only one example, but it serves years. tax, while the business investment re- income tax relief. Meanwhile, an in- liefs, they must pay extremely close at- to illustrate how the new chancellor This would provide some much- lief is designed to encourage non- vestor in a VCT can invest a maxi- tention to issues including whether to could provide a real boost to early- needed stability in tax policy — and doms to invest money that would mum of £200,000, which must be offer newly-issued shares or bonds, stage businesses by simplifying and ex- avoid fevered pre-Budget rumours, fun otherwise remain offshore. held for five years to be eligible for a what rights are attached to shares, and panding the availability of reliefs such as they are. It goes without saying that these all 30 per cent income tax relief. how the monies can be used. as EIS and SEIS. have slightly different criteria for eli- The greatest complexity, though, For example, a prominent issue that This would enable businesses to at- £Sophie Dworetzsky is a partner at the law gibility, are available to different in- arises in what does and doesn’t qual- surprises many entrepreneurs is the re- tract more investment by offering cer- firm Charles Russell Speechlys. 22 FEATURE WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 CITYAM.COM EIS HALL OF EIS-Y FAME

Pensions. See ii.co.uk the light.

Mark Brownridge speaks to senior figures from four companies about how the enterprise investment scheme helped them to achieve their success

HILE EIS and SEIS offer schemes, they simply wouldn’t be in meaningful tax advan- business today. tages to investors, it’s im- portant to remember THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT that their main function Koru Kids is a highly curated market- isW to help kickstart new businesses place for childcare, pairing parents and ventures. with carefully selected nannies, and As the independent trade body for offering an efficient end-to-end serv- the EIS and SEIS industry, our core ice which allows customers to locate aim at the EIS Association is to help and manage their childcare in one small and medium-sized enterprises central location. obtain the funding that they need to Founder and chief executive Rachel grow, which also helps drive our econ- Carrell tells us that she started Koru omy forward. Kids after she had a baby, and quickly Many companies currently operat- realised “just how difficult it was to ing greatly benefited from EIS and find great childcare”. SEIS. To underline this success, we “The absence of great childcare had have highlighted four leading figures a profound effect on a lot of my who believe that, without these friends”, she explains. “They were Other providers charge Put all of your pensions percentage rates. in one place for a fl at Meaning the more you monthly fee. make, the more you pay.

Capital at risk. FSCS protected.

Rachel Carrell is founder and chief executive of childcare marketplace Koru Kids CITYAM.COM WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 FEATURE 23 ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE SYMVAN CAPITAL: CURATING TOMORROW’S Money Dashboard’s chief executive Steve Tigar TECHNOLOGY GROWTH (left), Cicero Group’s Mark Twigg (right), and meal-kit delivery service Gousto (below) all benefited from EIS

SYMVAN CAPITAL Kealan Doyle explains why EIS investments should making life decisions on that basis FOOD FOR THOUGHT SOWING THE SEEDS — moving out of London when they Gousto is a subscription service OF GROWTH generate ‘alpha’ in your investment portfolio and why didn’t want to, or not being able to which sends customers meal kits Cicero Group is a multi-sector inte- fund management fees resemble carbon monoxide. go back to careers when they did containing fresh raw ingredients grated corporate communications want to, because the financials did- and instructions on how to create a agency, offering a range of digital, n’t work out. Some even avoided meal with them. It promises to “de- social and campaign communica- having another child because of it, liver precise ingredients (no food tions, as well as market research ost astute investors realise that which is a huge decision.” waste or nasties) and delicious services and more. technology venture capital Koru Kids aims to “reinvent the recipes to your door”. Founded as a public affairs com- Minvesting provides very high returns, whole childcare product from “Gousto has always been centred pany in 2000, the firm has been but also realise that there is attendant scratch” says Carrell, answering the on ultimately winning the meal-kit “within the EIS wrapper” since its high risk to contend with. The essence of Something (is) terribly question of what childcare would market,” explains Barnaby Bene- launch, according to Cicero’s exec- successful EIS investing is that the tax look like if it “was based on tech dict, Gousto’s investment manager. utive director and founder Mark relief moves the goalposts in favour of the wrong when a fund and data, using modern principles “And to do that, the emphasis Twigg. He adds that the business investor by dramatically transforming the of product driven startups”. must be on materially improving “has benefited from EIS right from risk profile. manager makes “EIS and SEIS were very useful for the customer proposition.” the very start”. Interest rates remain at near-zero levels raising initial funding, and ex- Gousto has now been operating “We’re also a bit different be- more than a decade following the 2008 more money from tremely helpful for the UK system for almost eight years, and Bene- cause we’re an LGBT-led business,” financial crisis, making a traditional 6% one’s investment in general,” Carrell adds. dict notes that in the early stages, Twigg tells me, “which means that target return on a balanced portfolio difficult “It really does de-risk investing in seed investment was key, but that we probably have a much stronger to attain. This is a prime driver in explaining than the investor. things right at the very start — I got it “quickly became more struc- voice on diversity issues. why wealth managers frequently some really excellent angel in- tured” through organised fundras- “We do a lot of work around LGBT recommend that clients invest up to 15% of Despite the favourable tax treatment on vestors with our first £150,000. ing rounds with investors such as awareness, mental health issues, their portfolio in alternative assets such as EIS investments, a fund manager must make That allowed me to get some fantas- MMC Ventures, British Growth women in business, and we’re private equity and venture capital. impact investments in order to make this an tic momentum going, and from Fund Ventures, Unilever Ventures, quite happy to talk on platforms Fund fees make even this modest 6% asset class of choice. And that means there we were away.” Perwyn and Hargreave Hale. within the industry about these target difficult to achieve. Symvan Capital investing in companies that embrace the “We’ve used our allowance for EIS topics, to inform discussions research shows that a standard 2% annual future and generate exceptional returns. POCKET MONEY in full,” Benedict tells me. around them not just within the fee charged to the investor takes 49.47% London has recently taken over from San Money Dashboard is a free personal “The tax benefits for UK investors comms world but in the wider fi- away from the return over a 30 year period, Francisco as the FinTech capital of the world finance app that aims to “shake up using EIS ultimately increases the nancial sector.” and this assumes a 6% return which most and that sub-sector features prominently in retail banking,” according to chief supply of growth capital available So how did EIS help Twigg’s com- will not achieve, meaning that an investor’s Symvan’s EIS fund. A portfolio company executive Steve Tigar. Users can to thriving small businesses. It pany to grow? pension pot barely grows after fees and RightIndem is contributing further to that setup a secure account on the web- plays a key role in that respect. “If we hadn’t had seed money, inflation take their toll. Fund fees are the success, as they continue to fundamentally site or via the app, connect their “We’re too big for it now — we’ve there would be no Cicero,” Twigg ‘carbon monoxide of the fund management change the way that customers experience bank accounts, and get a single considerably outgrown it and says. “There’s no way to disaggre- industry’, silently killing investment returns. insurance at the point of claim. RightIndem view of their financial life, with the that’s fine, that’s exactly what it’s gate ourselves from the money There is something terribly wrong when a has recently appointed Amanda Blanc as ability to categorise and organise for; facilitating the growth of small raised from our EIS investors. It’s fund manager makes more money from Chair of the Board, following her roles as their financial data. to medium-sized businesses. But it an integral part of how we’ve built one’s investment than the investor CEO of Zurich Insurance Group and a similar The business was founded in 2006 has definitely been important in our business. themselves, which is why Symvan Capital position at AXA. Another FinTech portfolio by fintech entrepreneur Gavin Lit- our first few years.” “We were losing money for the charges no upfront or ongoing fees of any company called Sweetbridge is using tlejohn, as a response to squeezed first two years, but the tax benefits kind to the investor. The only fee charged to distributed ledger technology (DLT) to household budgets, Tigar tells me. of EIS very clearly helped us to the investor is a 20% performance fee which reduce the risk of fraud and error in global “EIS funding has been critical,” raise money. It meant that we had is only paid on a successful investment. supply chains, through auditing and he adds. “EIS relief is now table money in the bank from day one, Symvan charges fees to investee companies, validating everything in real-time. stakes for early-stage financing — helping us to move to the eventual allowing investors to receive 100 per cent EIS investing is risky, but the greatest the advantages are well known to break-even point.” relief on the amount they invest, as opposed investment hazard is to risk nothing, thereby investors, and while without it the From here, Twigg foresees more to an industry standard closer to 90 per cent. actively choosing an inadequate portfolio best propositions would still gain It is invaluable investment going back into the EIS It is relatively simple for investors to grasp return. investment, it’s invaluable for en- system from those investors who that they receive 30% income tax relief on couraging more products into the for encouraging exit Cicero. their EIS investment, but the concept of a market and for investors to invest “We’ll be looking for friends roughly equivalent saving on ‘loss relief’ more and in more businesses”. more products launching EIS businesses,” he adds. means that higher tax rate investors are Tigar says that the cornerstone of into the market “For many of us, other EIS busi- exposed to losses of less than 40 pence on Money Dashboard’s investment nesses will be a natural home for the pound on investments that lose all of READ MORE ONLINE has been from Calculus Capital, and for investors our investments. Hopefully it will their value. Loss relief certainly mitigates but that the company also ran a work as well for them as it’s investment risk, but it is important for Crowdcube crowdfunding cam- to invest more worked for us”. investors to realise that there will be To find out more visit: paign, gaining around 1,500 in- and in more portfolio losses and investors who do not www.symvancapital.com vestors for whom fintech was a £ Mark Brownridge is director general fully comprehend that should not invest in new type of investment. businesses of the EIS Association. venture capital. 24 MARKETS WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 CITYAM.COM

FTSE 100 FTSE 250 FTSE ALL SHARE DOW JONES NASDAQ S&P 500 /€ 1.1960 ÃÃ0.0055 €/$ 1.0867 0.0014 7017.8 8 20715.97 3921.63 27081.36 8965.61 3128.21 /$ 1.2997 à 0.0077 €/£ 0.8361 Ä 0.0039 138.95 401.90 76.50 879.44 255.67 97.6 8 £ /¥ 143.26 0.4350 €/¥ 119.79 0.1850 ÄÄÄÄÄÄ Ã Ä Price Chg High Low Price Chg High Low Price Chg High Low Price Chg High Low Price Chg High Low Price Chg High Low Price Chg High Low Price Chg High Low GILTS ELECTRICITY Templeton Em Mkts ....790.0 -21.0 876.0 731.0 JD Sports Fashion ...... 805.2 -19.0 881.4 464.5 LEISURE GOODS OIL & GAS PRODUCERS SUPPORT SERVICES AIM 50 Vietnam Enterprise ...... 418.0 1.5 509.0 416.5 Kingfisher...... 199.0 -8.9 266.2 185.9 Tsy 4.750 20 ...... 100.12 -0.01 104.0 100.1 Contour Global...... 180.0 -0.8 222.5 163.0 Games Workshp ...... 6645.0 -205.0 7350.0 2800.0 BP ...... 428.7 -9.6 582.5 428.7 Aggreko ...... 726.0 -7.2 869.2 707.2 Abcam ...... 1198.0 -28.0 1500.0 1066.0 VinaCapital Vietna ...... 292.5 -1.0 357.5 292.5 Tsy 8.000 21...... 109.58 0.03 116.3 109.5 Drax Gp ...... 261.8 -2.8 386.8 251.0 Marks & Spencer ...... 176.1 -3.0 290.1 163.9 LIFE INSURANCE Cairn Energy...... 152.6 -4.6 213.8 143.1 Ashtead Gp ...... 2570.0 -38.0 2774.0 1805.5 Witan Invest ...... 216.5 -5.0 235.0 201.6 Advanced Medical ...... 261.5 -8.0 354.5 225.0 Tsy 2.500 24 ...... 361.96 0.51 377.9 358.8 SSE ...... 1600.0 -55.5 1686.5 1008.0 Next ...... 6582.0 -182.0 7340.0 5086.0 Energean Oil & Gas ...... 710.0 -13.0 1082.0 653.5 Babcock Intl Grp...... 466.0 -15.9 646.6 416.7 Aviva ...... 381.8 -7.7 438.8 352.3 Alliance Pharma ...... 82.9 -2.5 87.5 63.0 Tsy 5.000 25 ...... 122.94 0.14 126.0 122.1 Wwide Healthcare .....3105.0 -80.0 3330.0 2495.0 Pets at Home Gp ...... 284.0 -12.4 314.6 140.0 Premier Oil ...... 92.9 -2.1 118.7 65.1 ELECTRONIC & ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT Legal & General ...... 287.0 -13.8 318.4 216.7 Bunzl ...... 2050.0 49.0 2551.0 1911.5 Tsy 4.250 27 ...... 129.52 0.21 132.8 125.5 FIXED LINE TELECOMMUNICATIONS Vivo Energy ...... 103.2 -2.0 139.0 103.2 Royal Dutch Shell A... 1780.8 -41.0 2612.0 1780.8 ASOS...... 3114.0 -36.0 4066.0 2107.0 Halma ...... 2098.0 -47.0 2244.0 1541.0 Phoenix Gp ...... 748.1 -18.9 803.0 634.2 Capita ...... 142.8 -1.1 183.0 99.9 Watches of Switz ...... 367.0 -6.0 392.8 270.0 Royal Dutch Shell B ...1780.2 -41.8 2622.0 1780.2 Blue Prism ...... 1485.0 1.0 1841.0 788.0 Tsy 6.000 28 ...... 148.01 0.27 152.1 143.3 Morgan Advanced ...... 295.4 6.4 324.8 232.4 BT Gp ...... 148.4 -2.8 230.7 148.4 Prudential ...... 1421.0 0.5 1790.0 1279.5 DCC ...... 5782.0 -200.0 7496.0 5782.0 WH Smith...... 2200.0 -80.0 2654.0 1896.0 Tullow Oil ...... 37.2 1.2 250.0 36.0 Tsy 4.125 30 ...... 383.90 1.32 404.2 364.5 Oxford Instruments ..1502.0 -30.0 1654.0 963.0 Talktalk Telecom ...... 113.3 -1.9 126.5 99.0 St James Place ...... 1092.0 -31.0 1199.5 913.6 Diploma ...... 1991.0 -57.0 2134.0 1342.0 Camellia ...... 8450.0 -50.0 11350.0 8350.0 HEALTH CARE EQUIPMENT & SERVICES OIL EQUIPMENT & SERVICES Tsy 4.250 32...... 142.86 0.36 146.4 132.7 Renishaw ...... 3594.0 -106.0 4638.0 3232.0 Telecom Plus ...... 1476.0 -48.0 1552.0 1130.0 Std Life Aberdeen ...... 299.6 -7.8 336.9 238.1 Electrocomp ...... 630.2 -18.4 729.8 540.8 Caretech Holdings ...... 482.0 -14.0 502.0 325.0 Tsy 4.250 36 ...... 152.14 0.50 155.7 137.9 FOOD & DRUG RETAILERS Spectris ...... 2992.0 38.0 3005.0 2234.0 Convatec ...... 207.4 -4.2 220.4 130.6 MEDIA Hunting ...... 290.8 -4.0 657.0 290.8 Equiniti ...... 211.0 0.4 236.2 186.2 Central Asia Metals ...... 193.4 -4.8 266.5 180.0 Tsy 4.750 38...... 167.99 0.57 171.8 150.5 EQUITY INVESTMENT INSTRUMENTS Greggs ...... 2276.0 -52.0 2476.0 1730.0 Mediclinic Intl ...... 370.4 -8.3 415.3 293.4 Petrofac ...... 360.4 1.9 527.2 344.4 Essentra ...... 377.4 -13.8 449.0 376.8 4imprint ...... 3100.0 -30.0 3500.0 2000.0 Clinigen Group ...... 737.5 -111.5 1069.0 737.5 Tsy 4.250 46 ...... 177.72 0.72 181.0 1.0 Morrison (WM) ...... 176.8 -6.0 232.1 176.8 NMC Health ...... 880.2 32.0 3000.0 700.0 Wood Gp(J) ...... 390.5 -13.5 598.6 319.6 Experian ...... 2750.0 -26.0 2898.0 1960.0 3i Infrastructure ...... 302.0 -1.0 317.5 270.0 Ascential ...... 361.0 -6.6 421.2 319.0 CVS Group ...... 1111.0 -41.0 1250.0 463.4 AEROSPACE & DEFENCE Ocado Gp ...... 1095.0 -0.5 1435.0 1019.0 Smith & Neph...... 1847.5 -42.5 1990.0 1427.0 PERSONAL GOODS Aberforth Smlr Cos ..1350.0 -24.0 1546.0 1114.0 Auto Trader Gp ...... 539.8 -8.8 607.6 469.1 Ferguson ...... 7210.0 -130.0 7602.0 4800.0 Sainsbury(J) ...... 202.0 -4.9 240.6 177.1 UDG Hlthcare ...... 724.5 -21.5 832.5 551.0 Dart Group ...... 1443.0 -207.0 1943.0 709.5 BAE Systems ...... 639.8 -19.8 669.0 443.9 Alliance Trust ...... 808.0 -25.0 876.0 730.0 Euromny Inst Inv...... 1132.0 -6.0 1498.0 1132.0 Burberry Gp...... 1754.0 -41.0 2345.0 1695.0 G4S ...... 187.5 -7.1 234.3 168.3 SSP Group ...... 597.0 -19.0 721.0 597.0 HOUSEHOLD GOODS Diversified Gas & Oil ...... 92.0 2.0 116.5 84.2 Meggitt ...... 563.8 -30.6 697.4 489.9 AVI Global Trust...... 738.0 -11.0 802.0 713.0 Future ...... 1232.0 -82.0 1572.0 682.0 PZ Cussons ...... 184.0 -5.8 227.0 178.8 Hays ...... 149.8 -3.4 183.5 138.0 Tesco ...... 243.0 -6.3 258.9 212.6 QinetiQ ...... 375.8 -10.2 387.8 267.0 Baillie Gifford Japan ...720.0 -4.0 848.0 720.0 Barratt Devel ...... 806.0 -31.0 878.4 552.8 Informa ...... 744.0 -11.0 892.0 700.0 PHARMACEUTICALS & BIOTECHNOLOGY Homeserve ...... 1248.0 -11.0 1340.0 953.0 Draper Esprit ...... 560.0 0.0 602.0 410.0 Rolls-Royce ...... 609.4 -19.0 982.8 609.4 FOOD PRODUCERS Intertek Gp ...... 5566.0 -104.0 6170.0 4643.0 EMIS Group ...... 1190.0 -10.0 1242.0 938.0 Bankers InvTst ...... 967.0 -21.0 1032.0 843.0 Bellway ...... 4077.0 -127.0 4310.0 2698.0 ITV ...... 124.8 -1.7 156.5 103.6 AstraZeneca ...... 7299.0 -147.0 7878.0 5644.0 Senior ...... 148.3 -0.5 235.0 148.3 IWG...... 419.8 -8.1 469.0 230.3 BlackRock Smaller ....1698.0 -20.0 1794.0 1298.0 Assoc British Foods...2430.0 -113.0 2708.0 2106.0 Berkeley Grp Hldgs ... 5144.0 -130.0 5474.0 3437.0 Moneysupermkt.com ...326.9 -7.1 417.7 309.5 Dechra Pharma ...... 2774.0 -10.0 3068.0 2348.0 Fevertree Drinks ...... 1395.0 -38.0 2475.0 1365.0 Ultra Electronics ...... 2048.0 -42.0 2292.0 1232.0 BMO Global Smaller .....136.6 -2.5 150.0 127.5 Bakkavor ...... 128.4 -3.0 161.6 93.3 Countryside Prop ...... 495.2 -19.8 540.5 277.6 Pearson ...... 582.0 2.4 927.0 556.4 Genus ...... 3204.0 -14.0 3294.0 2178.0 Network Int...... 587.0 -12.0 650.0 513.0 First Derivatives ...... 2920.0 -30.0 3555.0 2070.0 AUTOMOBILES & PARTS Caledonia Inv ...... 3030.0 -40.0 3180.0 2910.0 Cranswick ...... 3602.0 -102.0 3852.0 2472.0 Crest Nicholson ...... 479.4 -18.8 519.0 332.0 RELX ...... 1981.0 -23.0 2099.0 1606.0 Pagegroup ...... 433.8 -4.8 539.0 367.8 GlaxoSmithKline ...... 1602.2 -27.6 1846.0 1497.4 Frontier Devs ...... 1188.0 -94.0 1444.0 866.0 Aston Martin...... 369.0 -8.9 1374.4 369.0 City of London IT ...... 411.0 -8.5 448.5 396.5 Greencore Gp ...... 230.9 -9.2 281.8 193.4 McCarthy & Stone...... 148.9 -5.1 158.8 123.5 Rightmove Group ...... 653.0 -14.8 701.2 471.9 Hikma Pharma ...... 1835.5 -7.0 2200.0 1556.5 Paypoint...... 900.0 -5.0 1118.0 844.0 Gamma Comms ...... 1275.0 -35.0 1460.0 830.0 TI Fluid Systems ...... 213.0 -12.0 273.0 155.2 Edin Inv Trust ...... 569.0 -15.0 652.0 535.0 Hilton Food Gp ...... 1050.0 30.0 1118.0 905.0 Persimmon ...... 3087.0 -97.0 3298.0 1836.0 WPP ...... 911.6 -12.8 1077.5 801.0 REAL ESTATE Rentokil Initial ...... 492.9 -9.1 508.4 329.0 European Opp ...... 843.0 -25.0 926.0 705.0 Tate & Lyle ...... 754.6 -15.8 801.4 663.8 Sanne Group ...... 620.0 -9.0 752.0 498.0 GB Group ...... 656.0 -17.0 800.0 464.0 BANKS Assura ...... 78.7 -2.2 83.5 56.7 F&C Investment ...... 734.0 -21.0 786.0 675.0 Unilever ...... 4392.5 -90.5 5324.0 3983.0 MAIN CHANGES UK 350 Serco ...... 150.7 -2.1 167.7 120.3 Gooch & Housego ...... 1290.0 -62.5 1527.5 954.0 Bank of Georgia...... 1513.0 0.0 1755.0 1252.0 Big Yellow Gp ...... 1173.0 -38.0 1240.0 955.5 Fidelity China SPE ...... 231.0 -4.0 253.0 205.5 FORESTRY & PAPER SIG ...... 68.5 -14.9 153.0 68.5 Hurricane Energy ...... 14.8 0.0 53.6 14.8 Barclays ...... 165.9 -4.2 192.5 136.2 Fidelity Euro Values .....253.0 -6.5 272.0 218.0 % % BMO Comm Prop ...... 105.0 -1.2 124.2 105.0 Mondi ...... 1611.0 -25.0 1846.0 1510.5 Risers à Fallers Ä Travis Perkins...... 1601.5 -38.5 1720.0 1166.0 BGEO Group ...... 1741.0 24.0 1818.0 1252.0 Pollen Street...... 884.00 6.8 SIG ...... 68.50 -17.9 British Land ...... 535.8 -15.4 638.8 468.3 Impax Asset Mgmt ...... 381.0 1.0 405.0 202.0 Fidelity Spec Val ...... 250.0 -7.0 280.5 240.5 GENERAL FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY HARDWARE & EQUIPMENT HSBC Hldgs...... 539.7 -11.1 680.6 539.7 Finsbury G&I Tst ...... 868.0 -13.0 958.0 795.0 Plus500 ...... 884.00 4.0 Future ...... 1232.00 -6.2 Captl & Count Prop ...... 232.4 -5.3 270.5 184.8 Iomart Group ...... 363.5 -11.0 405.0 316.5 Lloyds Banking ...... 52.0 -1.1 67.2 48.6 GCP Infra Inv ...... 120.2 -2.0 134.0 120.2 3i Group ...... 1112.0 -18.5 1184.5 935.4 NMC Health ...... 880.20 3.8 Rank Gp...... 301.50 -5.9 CLS Hldgs ...... 266.0 -0.5 312.5 212.0 Spirent Comms ...... 235.5 -5.5 256.0 140.4 IQE...... 50.6 -0.6 98.0 41.8 Ashmore Gp ...... 527.0 -12.5 570.0 397.8 Tullow Oil ...... 37.23 3.4 Carnival ...... 2639.00 -5.9 Daejan Hldgs ...... 8020.0 0.0 8020.0 4715.0 Royal Bank of Scot ...... 195.1 -2.6 270.4 177.7 Genesis Emerging ...... 743.0 -11.0 818.0 686.0 TOBACCO James Halstead ...... 546.0 -2.0 570.0 440.0 Hilton Food Gp ...... 1050.00 2.9 TI Fluid Systems ...... 213.00 -5.3 Standard Chartered .... 584.4 -22.2 738.6 575.7 Greencoat UK ...... 142.8 -1.2 152.8 133.8 Brewin Dolphin ...... 343.2 -10.6 375.2 287.6 Derwent London ...... 4262.0 38.0 4282.0 2884.0 Bunzl ...... 2050.00 2.4 Kaz Minerals...... 428.50 -5.3 Br Am Tob ...... 3195.5 -41.0 3507.0 2648.0 Johnson Service Gp ....204.0 -3.0 223.0 128.0 TBC Bank Group...... 1340.0 -6.0 1706.0 1150.0 Harbourvest Glb ...... 1822.0 -22.0 1868.0 1406.0 Close Brothers ...... 1369.0 -34.0 1663.0 1227.0 Grainger ...... 328.6 -3.4 338.0 217.4 Hammerson ...... 227.50 2.4 Meggitt ...... 563.80 -5.1 Imperial Brands ...... 1696.0 -5.4 2648.5 1668.2 Virgin Money UK ...... 166.6 -5.0 220.1 104.4 Coats Group ...... 67.2 -0.9 90.5 67.2 Grt Portland Est ...... 924.6 -16.6 966.0 649.4 Keywords Studios .....1650.0 46.0 1838.0 1052.0 Herald Inv Trust ...... 1420.0 -16.0 1530.0 1205.0 Morgan Advanced ...... 295.40 2.2 William Hill ...... 176.60 -5.1 Finablr ...... 73.2 -1.7 215.0 71.0 Hammerson ...... 227.5 5.4 388.4 203.9 TRAVEL & LEISURE Learning Tech Gp ...... 148.4 -0.4 172.2 63.7 BEVERAGES HICL Infr ...... 176.4 -2.2 183.0 156.6 Britvic ...... 904.00 1.5 Syncona ...... 247.00 -4.8 JPM American ...... 484.0 -15.0 524.0 421.0 Hargreaves Lans...... 1653.5 -22.0 2433.0 1604.5 Land Securities...... 920.0 -25.2 1001.5 735.4 Carnival ...... 2639.0 -166.0 4267.0 2639.0 M&C Saatchi ...... 85.2 -1.8 394.0 79.0 Barr (AG) ...... 562.0 -16.0 975.0 526.0 BGEO Group ...... 1741.00 1.4 Legal & General ...... 287.00 -4.6 JPM Emerg Mkt ...... 986.0 -8.0 1088.0 878.0 IG Gp...... 661.6 -22.4 708.0 474.8 LondonMetric Prop ...... 225.4 -3.8 241.2 190.9 Cineworld Group ...... 166.8 -4.3 321.0 166.8 Britvic ...... 904.0 13.0 1068.0 850.0 M.P. Evans ...... 689.0 9.0 750.0 612.0 JPM Indian IT ...... 678.0 -8.0 790.0 633.0 Integrafin Holdings .....496.0 -15.0 529.0 337.0 Reckitt Benckiser ...... 6053.0 -194.0 6688.0 5767.0 MINING NewRiver Retail ...... 181.4 -7.4 246.0 147.6 Compass Gp ...... 1870.5 -20.0 2138.0 1665.0 Coca-Cola HBC AG .....2646.0 -83.0 3074.0 2299.0 Primary Hlth Prop ...... 159.0 -1.8 162.8 121.8 Majestic Wine ...... 218.5 0.0 318.0 210.0 JPM Japan IT ...... 406.5 -5.5 477.5 383.0 Intermediate Capital ..1757.0 -47.0 1877.0 999.0 Redrow...... 799.0 -26.0 848.0 533.0 Anglo American ...... 1939.0 -3.8 2266.0 1666.6 Dominos Pizza ...... 310.1 -9.0 326.4 221.2 Diageo ...... 2960.0 -52.0 3625.5 2913.5 Intl Public Prtnshps .....165.0 -2.6 171.2 146.8 Safestore Hldgs ...... 853.0 4.0 867.0 586.0 Midwich Group ...... 557.0 -13.0 633.0 474.5 Jupiter Fund Mngt ...... 362.7 -11.2 432.0 314.0 Taylor Wimpey ...... 219.0 -5.3 236.2 142.9 Antofagasta ...... 797.2 -19.0 1022.5 779.6 easyJet ...... 1213.0 -44.0 1552.0 854.8 CHEMICALS Investec ...... 428.7 -10.5 518.6 395.3 Savills ...... 1162.0 -24.0 1258.0 822.0 Mortgage Advice B ...... 771.0 1.0 795.0 546.0 Law Debenture ...... 592.0 -16.0 654.0 552.0 Vistry Group ...... 1343.0 -60.0 1478.0 975.0 BHP Group ...... 1544.4 -25.4 2049.0 1544.4 EI Group ...... 285.0 0.4 285.0 194.0 Croda International ..4762.0 -158.0 5375.0 4564.0 IP Group ...... 75.9 0.3 103.2 55.7 SEGRO ...... 889.8 -6.8 935.0 651.6 Mercantile IT ...... 259.5 -7.0 278.5 188.0 INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING Centamin ...... 148.9 -3.5 153.2 79.8 FirstGroup ...... 127.3 -0.7 137.5 89.3 Next Fifteen Comm .....484.5 -3.0 658.0 465.0 Elementis...... 115.4 -2.9 187.4 115.4 Monks Inv Tst ...... 959.0 -16.0 1026.0 808.0 John Laing Gp ...... 343.4 -7.0 402.0 343.4 Shaftesbury ...... 857.5 -21.5 979.5 739.5 Bodycote ...... 792.0 -26.5 971.0 652.0 Fresnillo ...... 727.4 -7.6 921.2 539.6 Flutter Ent...... 8820.0 -86.0 9456.0 5525.0 Nichols...... 1380.0 -7.5 1880.0 1322.5 Johnson Matt...... 2619.0 -7.0 3454.0 2605.0 Murray Intl Tst ...... 1124.0 -30.0 1286.0 1114.0 London Stock Exch ....8072.0 -228.0 8542.0 4489.0 St Modwen Props ...... 495.0 -9.0 530.0 373.0 Hill & Smith ...... 1461.0 12.0 1510.0 1049.0 Glencore ...... 208.4 -3.1 340.3 208.4 Go-Ahead Gp ...... 2040.0 -36.0 2278.0 1783.0 Numis Corporation ...... 287.0 7.0 306.0 212.0 Synthomer ...... 310.0 -7.8 420.8 279.0 Next Energy Solar ...... 117.0 -0.5 126.5 114.0 Man Group ...... 151.8 -2.1 175.2 130.5 TR Property IT ...... 476.0 -9.0 497.5 377.0 IMI ...... 1000.0 -37.5 1206.0 906.0 Hochschild Mining ...... 198.7 -1.2 227.0 152.0 GVC Hldgs ...... 833.0 -1.6 939.0 507.5 Polar Capital Hdgs ...... 510.0 -20.0 604.0 482.0 Victrex ...... 2242.0 -4.0 2540.0 1845.0 Pantheon Intl Partn ..2340.0 -55.0 2620.0 2020.0 Onesavings ...... 419.6 -8.8 452.0 313.6 Tritax Big Box ...... 141.2 -2.4 159.7 137.9 Melrose Ind ...... 222.1 -4.1 248.5 160.7 Kaz Minerals ...... 428.5 -24.1 738.4 380.3 Intercontl Htls ...... 4588.0 -153.0 5738.0 4499.5 CONSTRUCTION & MATERIALS Perpetual Inc & Grth ..306.0 -8.0 342.0 284.5 Paragon...... 493.0 -6.4 553.5 388.0 UK Commercial Prop .....84.5 -1.1 92.7 79.9 Purplebricks Gp ...... 106.6 3.4 132.0 96.0 RHI Magnesita ...... 2986.0 2.0 5000.0 2984.0 Polymet Int...... 1320.0 -25.0 1345.0 772.6 Intl Cons Airl...... 552.8 -13.2 671.0 413.5 Pershing Square ...... 1474.0 -30.0 1578.0 1224.0 Plus500 ...... 884.0 34.0 949.6 495.0 Unite Group ...... 1271.0 -25.0 1339.0 896.5 Renew Holdings...... 534.0 0.0 568.0 360.0 Balfour Beatty ...... 267.0 -4.2 295.0 194.2 Rio Tinto ...... 3915.5 -50.0 4976.5 3915.5 Workspace Gp ...... 1233.0 -25.0 1307.0 806.0 Just Eat Takeaway.com 7205.0 -15.0 8255.0 7205.0 Personal Assets Tst .43100.0 -600 44050 39800 Provident Fin ...... 448.1 -13.7 608.2 356.0 Rotork ...... 290.9 -5.4 341.2 269.8 CRH ...... 2758.0 -55.0 3100.0 2279.0 Marstons ...... 99.5 -1.2 131.4 97.5 RWS Holdings ...... 565.0 -2.0 670.0 461.5 Polar Cap Tech Tst .....1606.0 -24.0 1746.0 1218.0 Quilter ...... 161.4 -3.6 174.7 124.2 Spirax-Sarco...... 8900.0 -180.0 9415.0 6655.0 MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE & COMPUTER SERVICES Galliford Try...... 162.3 -5.7 190.4 102.4 Rathbone Brothers ....1890.0 -22.0 2540.0 1890.0 Mitchells & Butlers .....388.5 -11.5 470.5 238.0 Scapa Group ...... 189.0 -0.4 403.0 157.0 Pollen Street ...... 884.0 56.0 884.0 802.0 Weir Gp ...... 1250.5 -10.5 1814.0 1250.5 Vodafone Gp ...... 147.0 -3.6 165.2 123.3 Avast...... 413.0 -8.2 551.0 282.0 Grafton Group...... 910.0 -36.0 990.0 645.5 Schroders ...... 3122.0 -74.0 3443.0 2541.0 National Express ...... 415.8 -8.4 476.0 387.4 Secure Income REIT ..456.0 -5.0 473.0 394.0 Renewables Infra Gp ...134.8 0.0 139.2 115.4 INDUSTRIAL METALS Aveva Gp...... 4600.0 -116.0 5315.0 2962.0 Ibstock ...... 300.4 -6.8 322.2 208.6 TP ICAP ...... 386.2 0.0 417.5 270.0 NONLIFE INSURANCE RIT Cap Partners ...... 2015.0 -25.0 2180.0 2005.0 Computacenter...... 1770.0 -32.0 1920.0 1049.0 PPHE Hotel Gp ...... 1840.0 -40.0 2140.0 1630.0 Serica Energy...... 104.8 -0.2 143.4 103.6 Marshalls ...... 787.5 -21.0 876.0 537.0 Evraz ...... 359.7 -7.9 709.4 341.4 Schroder Asia ...... 443.0 -3.0 485.5 424.5 GENERAL RETAILERS Admiral Gp ...... 2240.0 -22.0 2330.0 2014.0 FDM Group...... 952.0 -4.0 1100.0 647.0 Rank Gp ...... 301.5 -19.0 326.0 144.0 Smart Metering Sys....496.0 -19.0 634.0 310.0 Polypipe Group ...... 580.5 -8.5 619.0 372.8 Ferrexpo ...... 142.0 -6.0 301.3 123.0 Scottish Inv Tst ...... 764.0 -16.0 843.0 764.0 B&M ...... 342.6 -14.8 420.9 315.0 Beazley ...... 553.5 -9.0 628.0 504.5 Kainos Gp ...... 778.0 -20.0 880.0 430.0 Restaurant Grp ...... 117.5 -5.5 166.4 111.9 DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIALS INDUSTRIAL TRANSPORTATION Telford Homes ...... 349.5 0.0 358.0 267.0 Scottish Mortgage ...... 599.0 -10.5 659.0 472.0 Direct Line Ins ...... 318.8 -6.0 366.5 270.5 Stagecoach Gp...... 136.0 -3.0 167.0 115.5 Dixons Carphone ...... 131.0 -3.0 152.4 104.9 Micro Focus Intl ...... 739.5 -8.6 2160.0 739.5 Thorpe (F.W.) ...... 321.0 1.0 359.0 267.0 Smith (DS) ...... 339.4 -9.2 394.8 307.9 Sequoia Econ Infra ...... 113.2 -0.6 118.6 110.0 Dunelm Gp...... 1193.0 -45.0 1404.0 730.5 Clarkson ...... 2700.0 -85.0 3110.0 2200.0 Hastings Gp Hldgs ...... 176.0 -0.3 231.6 167.9 Playtech ...... 325.8 -4.7 457.7 325.8 Wetherspoon (JD) ...... 1433.0 -39.0 1734.0 1269.0 Watkin Jones ...... 271.5 -3.5 286.0 199.6 Smiths Gp...... 1639.0 -29.0 1769.5 1378.0 Smithson Inv ...... 1304.0 -26.0 1388.0 1105.0 Frasers Group ...... 449.6 -14.4 518.0 214.0 Fisher (James) ...... 1850.0 -34.0 2260.0 1840.0 Hiscox ...... 1263.0 -35.0 1777.0 1213.0 Sage Group ...... 738.2 -19.6 820.4 655.0 Whitbread ...... 4356.0 -95.0 5152.0 3988.0 Smurfit Kappa Gp...... 2648.0 -24.0 3010.0 2096.0 Syncona ...... 247.0 -12.5 294.0 203.0 Howden Joinery Gp...... 697.2 -12.2 732.6 478.8 Royal Mail ...... 166.3 -5.7 283.2 166.3 Lancashire Hldgs ...... 791.0 -7.5 807.0 640.5 Softcat ...... 1134.0 -21.0 1260.0 746.0 William Hill ...... 176.6 -9.6 205.2 132.3 Young’s Brew NV ...... 1255.0 20.0 1310.0 1030.0 Vesuvius...... 399.6 -10.8 642.0 341.0 Temple Bar IT ...... 1292.0 -38.0 1486.0 1162.0 Inchcape...... 598.0 -7.0 720.0 545.5 Signature Avi ...... 291.2 0.0 406.0 291.2 RSA Ins Gp ...... 537.4 -9.8 597.0 501.6 Sophos ...... 568.8 -2.2 577.0 298.2 Wizz Air Holdings ...... 3784.0 -124.0 4496.0 2880.0 Young’s Brew-A...... 1655.0 -25.0 1885.0 1520.0 EU SHARES US SHARES Price Chg High Low Price Chg High Low ADIDAS...... 265.40 1.35 316.05 204.80 3M ...... 146.85 -5.70 219.50 150.74 AIR LIQUIDE ...... 131.15 -2.60 140.30 109.50 ABBOTT LABORATORIES ...... 81.13 -3.50 91.86 72.88 ALLIANZ AG ...... 215.60 -6.90 232.20 194.48 ADOBE INC ...... 347.80 -9.61 383.28 254.74 AMADEUS IT GROUP ...... 64.34 -2.80 78.60 42.30 ALPHABET NON VTG-C ...... 1388.45 -33.14 1526.69 1036.23 ANHEUSER BUSCH INBEV ...... 62.24 -1.84 92.71 64.08 ALPHABET-A ...... 1386.32 -33.54 1524.87 1116.79 AMAZON.COM ...... 1972.74 -36.55 2170.22 1620.80 ASML HOLDING NV ...... 266.35 -4.30 292.95 158.30 AMERICAN EXPRESS ...... 120.90 -7.29 136.93 106.94 AXA ...... 22.81 -0.54 25.50 20.78 APPLE INC ...... 288.08 -10.10 327.20 172.50 BANCO SANTANDER ...... 3.51 -0.11 4.10 3.40 AT&T ...... 37.35 -0.70 39.63 29.81 BASF...... 57.69 -0.95 74.49 56.20 BANK OF AMERICA ...... 31.08 -1.65 35.64 26.25 BAYER AG...... 69.81 -0.48 78.06 52.53 BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY...... 218.05 -3.64 230.20 195.81 BBVA ...... 4.75 -0.16 5.69 4.21 BOEING CO ...... 304.14 -13.76 432.69 309.00 BMW ...... 61.15 -0.22 77.75 58.70 CATERPILLAR INC ...... 129.00 -3.17 150.53 113.38 BNP PARIBAS ...... 48.70 -2.50 54.18 39.32 CHEVRON ...... 100.71 -4.00 126.54 104.71 CRH ...... 32.85 -0.52 36.50 26.70 CISCO SYSTEMS ...... 42.74 -1.26 58.05 43.52 DAIMLER ...... 39.55 -0.23 59.31 39.78 CITIGROUP ...... 69.43 -3.10 81.91 60.33 DANONE ...... 67.58 0.04 82.00 65.88 COCA-COLA CO ...... 57.82 -0.83 60.13 44.69 DEUTSCHE POST AG ...... 29.77 -0.36 34.91 26.38 COMCAST ...... 43.17 -1.43 47.50 38.19 DOW ...... 43.95 -2.29 66.65 40.71 DEUTSCHE TELEKOM ...... 15.70 -0.37 16.61 14.45 EBAY INC ...... 36.46 -0.80 41.57 33.56 ENEL ...... 7.80 -0.23 8.57 5.30 EXXON MOBIL ...... 54.20 -2.16 83.38 56.36 ENGIE...... 15.54 -0.55 16.64 12.45 FACEBOOK ...... 196.77 -3.95 223.23 174.60 ENI ...... 11.98 -0.19 15.94 12.17 GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP ...... 217.61 -6.93 249.72 182.49 ESSILORLUXOTTICA ...... 128.75 0.00 128.75 128.75 HOME DEPOT INC ...... 237.38 -2.32 247.02 181.14 FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE ...... 72.22 -1.02 77.66 57.92 HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL ...... 167.80 -7.47 183.23 151.59 IBERDROLA ...... 10.66 -0.27 11.22 6.02 IBM ...... 141.71 -4.72 156.76 126.99 INDITEX ...... 29.31 -0.31 32.37 2.55 INTEL ...... 59.73 -2.03 68.47 43.46 ING GROEP NV...... 9.17 -0.34 12.05 8.34 JOHNSON & JOHNSON ...... 144.65 -1.26 153.99 126.95 INTESA SANPAOLO...... 2.33 -0.05 2.60 1.83 JPMORGAN CHASE & CO ...... 126.26 -5.90 141.09 98.93 KERING ...... 524.50 -10.60 610.20 425.05 MASTERCARD INC ...... 302.89 -21.78 344.56 221.87 MCDONALD’S ...... 212.10 -1.42 221.15 179.50 KON KPN NV ...... 2.43 -0.07 2.96 2.46 MEDTRONIC ...... 108.53 -2.82 121.30 84.15 L’OREAL ...... 252.70 -3.30 275.30 220.30 MERCK & CO ...... 80.27 -1.06 92.04 73.19 LVMH MOET HENNESSY ...... 380.05 -5.60 439.05 302.00 COMMODITIES TOURIST RATES MICROSOFT ...... 168.07 -2.82 188.70 110.39 MUENCHENER RUECKVE ...... 254.00 -9.50 282.50 205.90 NETFLIX ...... 360.09 -8.61 387.78 254.59 NOKIA ...... 21.88 0.00 21.88 21.88 Gold ...... 1651.69 -23.12 Copper Cash Official...... 5657.25 -44.25 Canada ...... 1.6359 New Zealand ...... 1.8988 NIKE INC ...... 92.90 -3.01 104.58 77.14 ORANGE ...... 12.96 -0.28 15.01 12.61 Silver (Pence) ...... 1877.50 +21.50 Aluminium Cash Official ...... 1672.00 -4.50 Croatia ...... 8.0358 Norway...... 11.52 ORACLE ...... 50.96 -1.69 60.15 50.24 ROYAL PHILIPS ...... 40.78 -2.08 45.61 34.66 Silver (Cents) ...... 1456.00 +22.00 Nickel Cash Official ...... 12355.00 -82.50 Czech Republic ...... 27.59 Poland ...... 4.5015 PAYPAL HOLDINGS ...... 109.66 -6.78 123.91 96.64 SAFRAN ...... 132.80 -4.20 150.25 116.90 Krugerrand ...... 1667.46 -27.43 Aluminium Alloy Cash Official ...... 1355.00 -5.00 Denmark ...... 8.4668 Singapore ...... 1.6841 PEPSICO ...... 141.10 -1.54 146.99 118.61 SANOFI ...... 90.44 -1.13 94.00 72.24 Brent Crude ...... 56.30 -2.20 Natural Gas ...... 22.58 -0.34 Hong Kong ...... 9.5562 Sweden ...... 12.00 PFIZER INC ...... 33.93 -0.74 44.40 34.24 SAP SE ...... 119.30 -1.32 129.36 93.81 Platinum ...... 964.00 -12.00 Tin Cash Official ...... 16507.50 -15.00 Iceland ...... 146.93 Switzerland ...... 1.206 PROCTER & GAMBLE ...... 121.43 -1.87 127.14 98.41 SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC ...... 96.58 -2.00 102.90 67.60 British Sovereign ...... 388.78 -6.28 Zinc Cash Official ...... 2038.50 -47.75 India ...... 81.83 Turkey ...... 7.4994 TRAVELERS COMPANIES ...... 130.79 -3.33 154.83 128.93 SIEMENS AG ...... 99.10 -1.62 119.90 85.00 Lead Cash Official ...... 1863.00 -17.50 White Sugar ...... 414.80 -8.60 Israel ...... 3.9926 United States ...... 1.2345 TWITTER ...... 35.21 -0.68 45.42 28.89 UNITED HEALTH GROUP ...... 263.39 -14.40 305.31 215.26 SOCIETE GENERALE...... 28.85 -1.09 31.93 21.13 UNITED TECHNOLOGIES ...... 138.81 -7.77 156.83 122.94 TELEFONICA SA ...... 5.82 -0.17 9.18 5.94 WORLD INDICIES VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS ...... 57.12 -0.87 62.07 54.35 TOTAL ...... 41.14 -1.02 52.27 42.16 Price Chg %Chg Price Chg %Chg Price Chg %Chg Price Chg %Chg VISA ...... 188.40 -10.39 213.31 168.86 UNILEVER NV ...... 51.52 -0.82 57.56 47.05 FTSE 100...... 7017.88 -138.95 -1.94 S&P 500...... 3128.21 -97.68 -3.03 CAC 40 ...... 5679.68 -112.19 -1.94 Hang Seng ...... 26893.23 +72.35 +0.27 WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE...... 47.51 -1.52 76.05 49.03 VINCI ...... 98.26 -2.34 106.75 82.74 FTSE 250 ...... 20715.97 -401.90 -1.90 Dow Jones I.A ...... 27081.36 -879.44 -3.15 Swiss Market Index ...... 10478.51 -234.33 -2.19 Nikkei ...... 22605.41 -781.33 -3.34 WALMART ...... 114.39 -1.93 121.28 96.94 VIVENDI ...... 24.83 -0.07 26.42 23.40 FTSE All-Share ...... 3921.63 -76.50 -1.91 Nasdaq Composite ...... 8965.61 -255.67 -2.77 ISEQ Overall Index ...... 6827.31 -97.88 -1.41 STI Index ...... 3158.24 +16.04 +0.51 WALT DISNEY CO ...... 128.19 -4.82 151.64 107.79 VOLKSWAGEN AG ...... 154.66 -1.50 185.52 138.16 FTSE AIM All-Share ...... 929.82 -13.12 -1.39 Xetra DAX...... 12790.49 -244.75 -1.88 FTSEurofirst 300 ...... 1576.17 -29.05 -1.81 ASX All Ordinaries...... 6953.80 -111.60 -1.58 WELLS FARGO & CO ...... 45.12 -1.27 54.46 43.38 CITYAM.COM WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 FEATURE 25 OFFICE POLITICS The great work-from-home experiment

mentia develop that could be applied It shouldn’t take a global pandemic for within the workplace? Clients are — sometimes surpris- firms to see the benefits of flexible working ingly — open to more creative ways of working too. Whether it is providing EWS that the coronavirus Natalie people in short “sprints”, offering ac- outbreak has sparked the cess to experts on a part-time “value world’s biggest work-from- Wharton added” basis, working around a home experiment in China, LOOK AFTER client’s holiday, or being creative on alongside advice to Brits re- THE PENNIES location, often their needs can be met Nturning from Italy to “self-isolate”, will far better with a little lateral thinking have been met with mixed reactions. Tandem and open-mindedness. Some will be delighted to avoid the Free There is, of course, a business case risks to their own health and max- for embracing a flexible approach to imise their productive hours from the With so many work. Research has found that pro- relative comfort of their own homes. four” consultancy, I witnessed first- challenger banks ductivity increases by at least 2.5 per Others will feel cast adrift and less ef- hand the struggle to attract and retain disrupting the cent when people are given the auton- fective, perhaps a little lonely to be great people, particularly working par- market, it is omy and trust to manage their own working away from the hubbub, chat- ents. The work environment did not often hard to workload. Some 39 per cent of work- ter and background noise of an office. allow people who needed flexibility to know where to ers also report a marked improve- There will, of course, always be succeed, while the model of charging look. Tandem, ment in their mental health after those who resist the idea of working for time drove high expectations of unlike many of starting to work more flexible hours. from anywhere other than the office. consultant “face-time”, rather than de- its peers, also Practically, it can also reduce organ- Opinions pervade that people who livering client value. With a crisis like people to commit time to “side hustle” allows users to isational costs, with decreased need work from home “aren’t really work- Expectations of additional sales and coronavirus, passions, too. Too often in traditional apply for a credit for expensive office space and associ- ing”, no matter how much some of us practice development created an the benefits of workplaces, I see people feeling the card or a fixed ated overheads. But for me, it simply are able to demonstrate otherwise. “hours worked” culture, which effec- home-based need to hide external commitments to savings account. feels like the right thing to do. With a crisis like coronavirus, the tively screened out people who did working conform to workplace expectations. With payday Working from home is a start. But benefits of home-based working be- not have the flexibility to dedicate to become obvious Speaking for myself, I have at times alerts, monthly businesses can, and should, go fur- come obvious. But this should spark a these additional demands. felt penalised as a single mother. But payment ther. It shouldn’t take a global pan- more general conversation in our Businesses would do better to focus valuing the external commitments calculators, and demic for employers to wake up to the workplaces about the benefits of a on outcomes delivered, rather than people have should be seen as advan- some nifty benefits of allowing staff to work truly flexible approach to work. Organ- hours worked, enabling employees to tageous, rather than a distraction. budgeting tools, when and how it best suits them. isations that go further, pandemic or practise flexible working. This is not Who can negotiate better than a par- it could be the Try it. Perhaps this is the next stage no pandemic, will enjoy improved pro- just about working at home — a flexi- ent used to managing the unrealistic one for you. in the great experiment. ductivity, higher job satisfaction, and ble working model, based on deliver- demands of a four year old? How a renewed ability to attract top talent. ing the expertise clients need when it much resilience and advocacy does £ Natalie Wharton is founder of Wharton As the culture change lead at a “big will add most value, should enable someone caring for a parent with de- Business Consulting. 26 LIFE&STYLE WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 CITYAM.COM FOOD&DRINK

ancake day is behind us for another 364 days. But forget those flat fly-by- nights, because the real culinary showcase is still a Pfew days away: British Pie Week. Across the land, top chefs will be rolling out their versions of the perfect pie, a dish that can be traced through ancient Egyptian and Roman lineage to become a staple of British and Irish cooking. “Historically, the filling was for the master of the house and the crust, which had the smell of the filling, was for the servants,” explains Richard Corrigan, whose Corrigan’s Mayfair is serving beef and snail, and pork and cider varieties this year. “I’ve been doing this a long time and I think I’ve perfected the perfect pie. You need to find the balance between savoury, sweet and sour. You need the right amount of filling. The consistency needs to be spot on – not too dense, you’re not making a terrine. The pastry needs to be soft and crumbly – we use hand-made Lincolnshire poacher butter in ours and you can really taste it.” As you can see from the pictures Corrigan is a fan of the traditional pie. But that’s not all that’s on offer. Borough Market favourite Roast is bringing back a “forgotten classic” in the Stargazey pie, a Cornish dish traditionally made by fishermen. You Clockwise from main: A Richard can’t miss this one – it has half a Corrigan pie from Corrigan’s Mayfair; mackerel poking out the top, as if it The Stargazey at Roast; A Rochelle leapt straight from the sea and classic; The Game Bird’s steamed steak landed fortuitously in your crust. and suet pudding; Native’s Deer Stalker; Roast also has chicken and ham, steak One of Darby’s five special pies and kidney, and vegan pies on the menu, from £21. making innuendos about. Native is bringing its sustainable, Darby’s oyster bar, bakery and grill low-waste ethos to the pie game with in Embassy Gardens, Nine Elms is a creation called the Deer Stalker. taking pie week especially seriously, Featuring slow-braised pulled venison bringing in five guest chefs (Henry with onion purée and bone marrow A WEEK Harris from KPH, Jeremy Lee from breadcrumbs inside a cheesy pastry Quo Vadis, Anna Hansen, Ravinder case, it’s the kind of pie you would Bhogal from Jikoni and Surender order for your last meal, just before Mohan from Bombay Bustle) to make they dragged you kicking and five special pies. Pictured is the screaming towards Ol’ Sparky. restaurant’s roe deer pie with At The Game Bird – the restaurant cabbage and cavolo nero. at The Stafford, St James’ – you can Finally, we would be remiss not to wrap your jaws around one of the TO PIE FOR mention chefs’ favourite restaurant most beautiful pies around: the Rochelle. Margot Henderson and steamed steak and suet pudding. Melanie Arnold serve weekly With a rich, almost burgundy gravy Pancake day is long gone – now it’s time to gear up for next changing pies including pheasant, poured over its steamed top, it’s the prune and trotter, which sounds kind of dish Nigella became famous week’s celebration of meat and veg cooked in pastry. sublime.

toast, walnuts” (a snack, although not labelled as such, this being London’s least user-friendly menu) is a spongy little triumph, the bread made from a little- known Scottish barley called bere. There’s WORKING a tangle of “squid tentacles and burnt cucumber”, which turns out to be fried in LUNCH helium-light tempura batter. Stand-outs from the middle bit of the menu – starters? – include an egg the colour of a Tuscan sunset in a little pool of chanterelle broth; strips of squid, fermented cabbage and chervil; and a bowl of salsify and potatoes in a rich yeast. I rounded it off with pheasant with WILDER kalibos (it’s a type of cabbage; every dish at Steve Dinneen on the best Wilder is at least mildly educational), BOUNDARY, SHOREDITCH bacon, and red currants. It sounds like places to wine and dine traditional British fare, but it’s elevated by WHAT IS IT? A new restaurant located in frankly ridiculous levels of love and care the bowels of Terence Conran’s Boundary your favourite clients and attention. This is a restaurant at which London, which also houses Albion and ingredients aren’t simply chopped and that nice roof-garden you can never get nooks and crannies, its ceiling dominated Typing Room – which I loved – is in charge. wheatgerm and gutweed. heated, they are revered, pored over, into when it’s sunny. Wilder is located by otherworldly botanical installations It’s his first solo restaurant and he’s clearly probably given pet-names. It’s serious down so many flights of stairs it's like that look how I imagine the big bang been paying attention to the prevailing WOW, THAT SOUNDS... Forget how it food, but also seriously good. walking into hell’s very own dining room would have looked, if the big bang had not winds of British food culture, with a focus sounds, it’s a delight from start to finish, if (there’s also a lift), if hell were a cross contained every single atom that ever on sustainability and locality and low you can forgive the inscrutable menu WHAT ABOUT DRINKS? There are decent between a Scandinavian furniture shop existed, but just a bunch of shrubbery. waste. The veggies come from as close-by (rather than call steak tartare “steak cocktails, but you should really leave it all and a mad florist. If that sounds like as Clapton, and the menu is filled with tartare” the ingredients are simply listed, to the sommelier – she’s great. criticism, it’s not: it’s a fascinating WHO’S RESPONSIBLE? Chef Richard ingredients that sound either made up or leaving the diner to decide if they think it’s subterranean space, filled with weird McLellan, previously of Lee Westcott’s poisonous, things like scurvy grass and steak tartare). The “pig’s head, beremeal HOW TO BOOK Go to wilderlondon.co.uk CITYAM.COM WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 LIFE&STYLE 27

WINES OF THE WEEK Stefano Barbarino, head sommelier at The Chucs Restaurant & Café Collection, picks two top bottles 1. 2.

WEEKLYGRILL Hide’s Josh Angus tells us why you should never climb into an oven and why he’s been traumatised by tofu 1. 2018 VERDICCHIO DEI CASTELLI DI JESI, EOS, VIGNAMATO, MARCHE WHO ARE YOU AND usually have keen amateur cooks coming you through a journey and really keeping laugh whenever I think of it. This is 100% Verdicchio, and has a straw- WHAT DO YOU DO? in to see what it’s like in a Michelin your attention for the whole time. It yellow colour with tinges of green. Very My name is Josh Angus and I’m head chef kitchen. But one time we had an 11 year wasn’t only a dinner, it was closer to WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE GET fragrant and delicate on the nose, it at Hide on Piccadilly. I run a team of old boy turn up. I wasn’t prepared for that going to a show, where you’re the main WRONG WHEN COOKING? offers citrusy notes of lime and lemon. A around 50 chefs serving 300 guests a day. so I showed him how to make pasta and character. For simply incredible food, Seasoning. It’s a skill to add the right medium bodied wine, it’s approachable Hide has been open for 16 months and let him get on with it. Moorhall has stuck in my mind – really amount of salt to food: enough so it lifts and intense with a hint of minerality, it since opening we have won numerous good food in a stunning countryside the flavours, not too much so it goes well with our citrus cured seabass, awards for our food and wine. We won a WHAT’S YOUR EARLIEST setting. overpowers and ruins the dish. Start with ponzu and sesame. We introduced this Michelin star just after five months. FOOD MEMORY? adding small amounts of salt, and taste bottle to Chucs' wine list for the purity of Licking the raw cake mix off the spoon WHAT’S THE WORST THING YOU’VE each time. As soon as you can taste the flavours and expression of terroir. WHAT FOOD MAKES when I used to make cakes with my EVER PUT IN YOUR MOUTH? salt, stop. YOU HAPPY AND WHY? mum. Raw cake tastes amazing, and I I love to try new things: I have tasted £ £45, shelvedwine.com Things like street food baos or truffle and have a very sweet tooth. I still do the sparrow, scorpions, bull testicles. But the WHAT SHOULD EVERYONE HAVE melted cheese toastie put a smile on my same at home. most disgusting thing I have ever tasted is IN THEIR KITCHEN CUPBOARD? 2. 2018 BARCO REALE DI face. The naughtier the better. smoked tofu. That traumatised me. Salt, pepper, good olive oil (Belazu brand CARMIGNANO, FATTORIA WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE DISH? is great), garlic, red and white wine AMBRA, TUSCANY YOU COME HOME DRUNK AND Right now, it’s our fig, crab and lovage WHAT’S THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS vinegar, and lemon. This is all you need to A wonderful blend made of 75% HUNGRY – WHAT DO YOU COOK? tart. It’s seasonal, looks sharp and is THING YOU’VE SEEN A CHEF DO? lift dishes and season to perfection. Sangiovese, 15% Canaiolo Nero and I would avoid cooking at all costs! If I had super-tasty. I have seen a lot in my career: a pan being 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. It offers a mix to, it would be something dirty like a smashed on someone’s head; drinking YOU’RE MAYOR FOR A DAY – WHAT of red fruit such as strawberries and bacon sarnie or a cheese toastie with TELL US ABOUT THE booze at work; falling asleep whilst FOOD LAW WOULD YOU INTRODUCE? cherries, as well as dark fruit - black sweet chilli sauce to dip it in. But honestly BEST MEAL YOU EVER HAD? standing prepping food. But the best one Smoked tofu would be banned. I would cherry and berries. Very bright and fresh I’d just grab a kebab on the way home. Dining at Fat Duck with my missus and was when the now exec chef of a also make everyone get out of their on the palate with herbal notes and an some friends was an incredible restaurant in Sydney was joking around comfort zones and try a food they have elegant background of pungent spice. WHAT’S THE STRANGEST ENCOUNTER experience. We were sitting there for five and crawled inside a full-size Rationale never dared to eat, or a cuisine they have Gentle structure, well balanced and YOU’VE HAD IN YOUR RESTAURANT? hours, and there wasn’t a dull moment. oven. To his shock the door closed and never tried before. smooth tannins. We sometimes auction a ‘day in the The dishes kept coming with interactive we set the oven to steam... The look on £To book a table go to hide.co.uk, or pop kitchen experience’ at Hide for charity. We props and stories linked to them, taking his face was priceless and still makes me in to Hide, 85 Piccadilly, W1J 7NB £ £42, shelvedwine.com

THIS WEEK’S RECIPE: native species. It’s actually quite LOBSTER CEVICHE (SERVES 4) METHOD MARK HIX confusing, with these claw- £Bring a pan of salted water to the boil A fruitless fishing trip Chef and less beasts going by vari- INGREDIENTS £Plunge in the lobster – you can kill it restaurateur ous names across the £1x 400-500g live lobster or humanely first by firmly pushing a knife gave me inspiration for world, including 40 or so raw, very fresh through its underside – and bring back to rustling up this crayfish, crawfish, prawns, peeled the boil. Cook the lobster for 5-6 minutes spiny lobster and £The grated zest of 2 then drain and run under cold water to cool unbeatable lobster dish rock lobster. limes and their juice it down. For this recipe £1 medium red or £Carefully remove the tail from the head ’m just back from a Mexican barely anything. you don’t need green chilli, finely and remove the shell fishing trip. I went to Pesca I’m not even going to bother to tear your hair chopped, seeds and £Crack the claws and get all of the meat Maya in Punta Allen, deciding going into detail about the small out looking for all out including the joints and reserve all the against Andros Island in the Ba- aquarium-type fish we caught, any of the above £1-2 medium shells for a soup or stock. hamas, where I went last year, but at least the lobster truck ar- species, you can tomatoes, chopped into £Cut all of the meat into rough 1cm Ito mix things up and target a few rived that day, so we could enjoy simply use our own rough 1/2 -1cm cubes chunks then put all of the ingredients into a different species. I’m not sure some decent, fresh lobster in the native lobster or, if £A handful of coriander, bowl, season, mix well and leave to stand what happened, but our guide did- restaurant at the end of the pier. your budget can’t chopped for 5 minutes then spoon onto plates. n’t quite put us on the fish, so al- I bought three local lobsters, quite reach that far, then £1tbs extra virgin olive oil £Serve with warm, soft tortillas or though I had great fun, I landed which are very different to our prawns will do the trick. £Sea salt and freshly ground pepper tortilla chips. 28 PUNTER WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 CITYAM.COM

THE PUNTER Wally Pyrah previews today’s card from Happy Valley HONG KONG RACING TRADER

Green Luck can keep Karis Teetan’s good Valley punters form going hoping Luck is on their side

AC PURTON’s army of follow- Tak Handicap (11.15am), while highly- ers will be filled with anticipa- progressive sprinter Amazing Star will tion when Hong Kong’s be a warm favourite to complete a four- Zreigning champion jockey ar- timer in the main event of the day, the rives at Happy Valley today. £280,000 Class 1 Blue Pool Handicap With current leader Joao Moreira sit- (1.45pm). ting out the first of a two-meeting sus- It’s also interesting to see Purton stay pension, Purton has a golden chance of loyal to last-start victor Winning Ways in making a sizeable indent into the 12- the 5f Village Handicap (12.15pm). winner lead the ‘Magic Man’ currently The Zac-Man must feel there is more to This useful six-year-old has finally been fourth to HK champion Golden Sixty time he ran off that he broke the course holds over his rival. come from the Danny Shum-trained given a chance by the handicapper and over seven furlongs in a Group Three last and distance record in impressive fash- Purton is booked in all nine races and gelding, who picked up a 5lb penalty is racing off his last winning mark. month and has an unblemished record ion back in September. is guaranteed to be near the forefront of after breaking his duck at his 22nd at- It’s also worth pointing out that he has of two from two over this track and trip. Green Luck looks destined to get the the betting throughout the meeting. tempt in Hong Kong earlier this month. dropped down in class and the last time However, he does have to give nearly run of the race following the early pace His rides include the well-handicapped Connections of runner-up Oversub- he took on similar company he was a 20lbs to bottom-weight GREEN LUCK, and then hopefully make his light Speedy Wally, who returns to his opti- scribed, who has the plum inside draw, clear-cut winner. which may prove beyond him in this weight count in the run for the line. mum trip in the opening Yuk Sau Hand- must surely be confident of reversing With the in-form Alexis Badel in the competitive contest. icap (10.45am), and Let’s Take It Easy those placings at the revised weights, saddle, he rates a value proposition. Trainer Caspar Fownes rates this son of who has a chance to get his head in front though. Purton renews his fruitful partnership Street Cry highly and he has run much POINTERS again in the Yik Yam Handicap Another horse who finally gets a good with trainer John Moore when they better than his recent finishing posi- (11.45am). draw after suffering outside numbers in team up with top-weight Encouraging in tions suggest. Beaut Beaut e/w 12.15pm Happy Valley Ares will be a short price after two re- his last couple of races is BEAUT BEAUT the Shan Kwong Handicap (12.45pm). He now finds himself one pound Green Luck e/w 12.45pm Happy Valley cent eye-catching trials in the 6f Wang who is housed in gate four. Encouraging was a four-length below his last winning mark and the last Teetan to leave rivals spellbound aboard Clement Legend T WAS great to see ‘Mauritian Magi- Beat, who was part of an amazing Happy Valley today and could excel in his favour and Teetan rides him for finally acclimatised to conditions in Ician’ Karis Teetan bounce back into four-way photo finish where he edged on CLEMENT LEGEND, who goes for the first time this season, having Hong Kong and, equipped with the limelight with a treble at Sha out the likes of Zac Purton, Ryan his fifth course and distance victory already won on the five-year-old a blinkers for the first time, is capable Tin last Sunday. Moore, and Joao Moreira in an over 1m3f in the Tsui Man Handicap handful of times in the past. of making the frame. Teetan, currently third in the absolute nail-biter. (1.15pm). In the same race, it might be worth jockeys’ championship with 44 wins, Teetan is a confidence jockey. The Danny Shum-trained gelding having a saver on the lightly-raced had been out of sorts over the last When things are going well, he is as was staying on strongly behind two of and improving SEERITE DRAGON who POINTERS month and had not won in 59 rides. good as any pilot riding, but at the today’s rivals, God Of Dragon and was a real eye-catcher when just However, he was back to his best on other end of the spectrum, it’s always Tashidelek over 1m2f at Sha Tin last behind Clement Legend in that Clement Legend 1.15pm Happy Valley Sunday with the obvious highlight wise to wait till he gets his mojo back. month. contest at Sha Tin. Seerite Dragon e/w 1.15pm Happy Valley the Hong Kong Derby hope Amazing Teetan has a full book of rides at The extra furlong here is going be This ex-South African galloper has

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LIVELIVE FFROMROM HAPPYHAPPY VVALLEY,ALLEY, 9 RACESRACES 110:450:45AMAM - 2:502:50PM CITYAM.COM WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 PUNTER 29

YIK YAM HANDICAP (CLASS 4) SHAN KWONG HANDICAP (CLASS 1) 8 3509-2 WALDORF (28) (TB) (CD) (G,GF) 11.45 12.45 HAPPY VALLEY (3YO+) (COURSE A) (TURF) 1m 3yo plus 12 dec. (3YO+) (COURSE A) (TURF) 1m 3yo plus 11 dec. (2) A Cruz 6-8-3 ...... K Teetan 123 Runs: 26 Wins: 4 Places: 6 1 40-594 HAPPY WARRIOR (10) (P) (CD) (G) 1 6216-4 ENCOURAGING (56) (TB) (CD) (G,GF) 9 1271-9 HONG KONG BET (18) (T) (C) (G) Going: Turf - GOOD (9) John Moore 7-9-7 ...... B Shinn 74 (11) John Moore 7-9-7 ...... Z Purton 117 (5) A Cruz 5-8-2 ...... K Leung 118 Runs: 24 Wins: 2 Places: 6 Runs: 27 Wins: 6 Places: 4 Runs: 9 Wins: 2 Places: 2 YUK SAU HANDICAP (CLASS 5) 2 81-312 DOR DOR (21) (H) (CD) (G) 2 040-66 SIMPLY BRILLIANT (30) (C,D) (G,GF,GY) 10 3-00 HELENA BABY (30) 10.45 (3YO+) (COURSE A) (TURF) 1m1f 3yo plus 12 dec. (5) J Size 5-9-6 ...... A Badel 74 (4) F Lor 6-9-7 ...... K Leung 117 : (3) John Moore 6-8-3 ...... L Hewitson 123 Runs: 20 Wins: 2 Places: 7 Runs: 27 Wins: 7 Places: 5 1 70680- SPEEDY WALLY (59) (T) (CD) (G) Runs: 3 Wins: 0 Places: 1 3 865-63 HARRIER JET (21) (TP) (C) (GF) 3 431-22 FAST MOST FURIOUS (18) (H) (C,D) (G,GY,GF) (8) C Fownes 10-9-7 ...... Z Purton: 61 (7) P O’Sullivan 9-9-6 ...... N Callan: 80 (3) D Hall 7-9-4 ...... C Y Ho 122 :BETTING: 6/4 Amazing Star, 5 Waldorf, 13/2 Country Star, Fat Turtle, Runs: 47 Wins: 5 Places: 11 10 Tornado Twist, 12 Gunnison, 16 Gentle Breeze, Speedy King, 20 Others Runs: 44 Wins: 2 Places: 10 Runs: 26 Wins: 5 Places: 10 2 1657-9 ENJOYABLE SUCCESS (35) (B) (CD) (G) 4 585-42 LET’S TAKE IT EASY (21) (P) (CD) (G) 4 452-29 HARMONY VICTORY (30) (T) (D) (G,GF) SING WOO HANDICAP (CLASS 3) (7) C Chang 6-9-6 ...... B Shinn 54 (11) L Ho 7-9-4 ...... Z Purton 79 (1) C Shum 6-9-3...... A Badel 115 2.15(3YO+) (COURSE A) (TURF) 1m 3yo plus 12 dec. Runs: 36 Wins: 3 Places: 4 1 Runs: 41 Wins: 4 Places: 4 Runs: 18 Wins: 4 Places: 5 3 3830-7 GARLIC YEAH (35) (V ) (CD,BF) (G) 1 34-001 BEAUTY RUSH (10) (V) (G) 5 797-67 PERFECT TO PLAY (21) (T) (CD) (GF,G) 5 20-656 GOOD STANDING (18) (B) (D) (G) (6) C Yip 8-9-6 ...... K Teetan 61 (1) J Size 5-9-7 ...... A Badel 99 (2) C Fownes 6-8-13 ...... M Poon(2) 80 (2) John Moore 7-9-1 ...... B Shinn 123 Runs: 40 Wins: 4 Places: 8 Runs: 15 Wins: 5 Places: 3 Runs: 32 Wins: 2 Places: 5 Runs: 32 Wins: 5 Places: 4 4 3780-2 ASSOCIATION FANS (28) (H) (CD) (GY,GF,G) 2 6480-3 CIRCUIT GLORY (28) (HT) (CD) (G) 6 07 TUNG WAH GLORY (21) (E/S) 6 200-00 TIME TO CELEBRATE (18) (B) (D) (G) (2) L Ho 8-9-5 ...... M Chadwick 59 (3) A Cruz 7-9-7 ...... C Schofield: 102 (4) T Yung 5-8-13 ...... M Yeung 75 (6) J Size 7-8-13 ...... C Schofield 124 Runs: 45 Wins: 3 Places: 6 Runs: 27 Wins: 2 Places: 7 Runs: 2 Wins: 0 Places: 0 Runs: 22 Wins: 4 Places: 5 5 542-60 GOLD VELVET (18) (B) (C) (G) 3 990-10 NOBLE STEED (30) (G,GF) 7 0376-5 SUNNY POWER (56) (D) (G) 7 990-50 INSAYSHABLE (18) (C,D) (G) (9) A Millard 7-9-5 ...... C Schofield 61 (11) K Lui 7-9-7 ...... C Y Ho 97 (3) K Lui 7-8-11 ...... T Piccone 80 (9) Y Tsui 6-8-12 ...... T Piccone 118 Runs: 32 Wins: 1 Places: 7 Runs: 21 Wins: 4 Places: 6 Runs: 22 Wins: 1 Places: 7 Runs: 25 Wins: 4 Places: 9 6 000-13 MCMUNIGAL (18) (TB) (D) (G) 4 134-73 HIGH REV (24) (B) (CD) (GF,G) 8 98-091 BULB ELITE (14) (CD) (GF) 8 1202-0 HAPPY DRAGON (28) (H) (CD) (G) (5) D Hall 5-9-5 ...... H N J Wong(3) 62 (6) D Hall 6-9-6 ...... B Shinn 100 (8) C Yip 7-8-10 ...... C Schofield 80 (5) John Moore 6-8-2 ...... M Chadwick 123 Runs: 18 Wins: 2 Places: 2 Runs: 18 Wins: 4 Places: 4 Runs: 26 Wins: 1 Places: 3 Runs: 20 Wins: 4 Places: 6 €10,161 7 676-23 VICTORIOUS SEEKER (35) (B) 5 205-78 DANCES WITH DRAGON (28) (TV) (CD) (G) 9 203-84 ENJOY LIFE (21) (B) (CD) (GF,G) 9 50-774 HEZTHEWONFORUS (18) (G,GY) (11) P O’Sullivan 5-9-5 ...... K Leung 60 (2) C Fownes 7-9-5 ...... Z Purton 102 (1) Y Tsui 7-8-9 ...... H Lai 79 (7) J Size 6-8-2 ...... K Teetan 124 Runs: 9 Wins: 0 Places: 2 Runs: 25 Wins: 3 Places: 3 Runs: 41 Wins: 3 Places: 9 Runs: 15 Wins: 2 Places: 4 8 770-77 BREAK RECORD (28) (TP) 6 693-41 MY ALLY (38) (T) (CD) (G) 10 7424-1 BLOOMING SPIRIT (28) (TB) (CD) (G) 10 496-67 GREEN LUCK (18) (HB) (CD) (GY,GF,G) (3) C Shum 5-9-4...... M Poon(2) 56 (12) John Moore 6-9-5 ...... K H A Chan(10) 98 (6) F Lor 5-8-7 ...... C Y Ho 75 (8) C Fownes 6-8-3 ...... L Hewitson 123 Runs: 8 Wins: 0 Places: 0 Runs: 32 Wins: 3 Places: 10 Runs: 13 Wins: 1 Places: 2 Runs: 19 Wins: 3 Places: 4 1 9 804-00 DIVINE POWER (35) (B) 7 0-99 HELLO DADDY (10) (B ) 11 668-10 DIAMOND LEGEND (18) (TV) (C,D) (G) 11 2365-1 HARMONY HERO (28) (HTB) (CD) (G) (12) P Yiu 5-8-12 ...... N Callan 62 (5) J Ting 5-9-3 ...... M Poon(2) 99 (12) A Cruz 8-8-6 ...... M Chadwick 75 (10) Richard Gibson 6-8-2 ...... M Poon(2) 120 Runs: 9 Wins: 0 Places: 0 Runs: 3 Wins: 0 Places: 0 Runs: 40 Wins: 3 Places: 6 Runs: 19 Wins: 3 Places: 5 10 741-45 WICKER (35) (B) (D) (G) 8 19-423 FLYING QUEST (14) (B) (CD) (G,GF) 12 053-83 NITRO EXPRESS (35) (TB) (CD) (1) Richard Gibson 5-8-12 ...... A Badel 59 :BETTING: 3 Encouraging, 9/2 Fast Most Furious, 6 Happy Dragon, (8) D Hall 8-9-2 ...... T Piccone 98 (10) D Ferraris 9-8-5 ...... K Teetan 78 7 Harmony Hero, 8 Simply Brilliant, 9 Harmony Victory, 12 Green Luck, 14 Others Runs: 15 Wins: 1 Places: 0 Runs: 39 Wins: 6 Places: 4 Runs: 36 Wins: 2 Places: 8 11 9000-0 LITTLE ISLAND (28) (V) (C) (G) TSUI MAN HANDICAP (CLASS 3) 9 746-06 GOOD OMEN (30) (B) (CD) (G) 13 879-00 FANTASTIC BOY (21) (B) 1.15 (10) K Man 9-8-8 ...... C Y Ho 60 (3YO+) (COURSE A) (TURF) 1m3f 3yo plus 12 dec. (9) D Whyte 6-8-13 ...... K Teetan 102 (13) W So 5-8-6 ...... RESERVE 77 Runs: 46 Wins: 3 Places: 1 1 0343-2 TASHIDELEK (30) (TP) Runs: 33 Wins: 7 Places: 3 Runs: 5 Wins: 0 Places: 0 12 6100-4 YOUNG GLORY (35) (B) (C) (G) (6) John Moore 6-9-4 ...... Z Purton 97 10 2225-1 CINQUANTE CINQ (28) (CD) (G) 14 5921-5 DOCTORS DELIGHT (35) (HT) (CD) (G) (4) D Ferraris 6-8-8 ...... L Hewitson 61 Runs: 20 Wins: 0 Places: 7 (7) T Yung 6-8-10 ...... M Chadwick 99 (14) J Ting 8-8-3 ...... RESERVE 77 Runs: 26 Wins: 1 Places: 3 2 590-82 WINNING DELIGHT (14) (T) (GF) Runs: 8 Wins: 2 Places: 4 Runs: 24 Wins: 2 Places: 3 13 08970- CHARITYDREAM (77) (TP) (1) C Fownes 5-9-3 ...... M Chadwick: 95 11 021-91 KIRAM (35) (CD) (GY,G) (13) W So 5-8-7 ...... RESERVE 59 :BETTING: 7/2 Let’s Take It Easy, 9/2 Dor Dor, 7 Bulb Elite, Enjoy Life, Happy Warrior, Runs: 6 Wins: 1 Places: 1 (10) D Ferraris 9-8-4 ...... L Hewitson 97 10 Blooming Spirit, Harrier Jet, 12 Nitro Express, Sunny Power, 14 Perfect To Play, Runs: 10 Wins: 0 Places: 0 3 4761-4 CLEMENT LEGEND (30) (TB) (CD) (G,GF) Runs: 45 Wins: 7 Places: 13 20 Others 14 15-546 REEVE’S MUNTJAC (35) (TB) (D) (GF) (11) C Shum 6-9-2...... K Teetan 92 12 0032-1 THUNDER STOMP (21) (CD) (G) (14) C Yip 5-9-2 ...... RESERVE 59 VILLAGE HANDICAP (CLASS 4) Runs: 25 Wins: 7 Places: 3 (4) Y Tsui 8-8-4 ...... C V Wong(5) 100

Runs: 12 Wins: 1 Places: 0 12.15(3YO+) (COURSE A) (TURF) 5f 3yo plus 12 dec. 1 Runs: 54 Wins: 5 Places: 11 4 0507-5 SEERITE DRAGON (30) (B ) 13 8171-0 RICKFIELD (18) (CD) (G,SW) :BETTING: 7/2 Speedy Wally, 9/2 McMunigal, 5 Association Fans, Garlic Yeah, 1 27-223 CONFUCIUS DAY (18) (TB) (3) D Ferraris 6-8-13 ...... N Callan 93 Victorious Seeker, 10 Wicker, Young Glory, 16 Gold Velvet, 20 Others Runs: 7 Wins: 0 Places: 0 (13) A Millard 8-9-4 ...... RESERVE 98 (6) C Chang 6-9-7 ...... B Shinn: 77 Runs: 37 Wins: 8 Places: 2 WANG TAK HANDICAP (CLASS 4) Runs: 20 Wins: 0 Places: 7 5 03-651 ACCLAIMED LIGHT (14) (B) (C) (G,GF) (10) P O’Sullivan 8-8-8 ...... K Leung 93 14 8-7886 RACING FIGHTER (10) (T) (C) (G,GF) 11.15(3YO+) (COURSE A) (TURF) 6f 3yo plus 12 dec. 2 /04-80 BEAUT BEAUT (24) (HV) (CD) (G,GF) Runs: 41 Wins: 4 Places: 11 (14) C Yip 6-9-4 ...... RESERVE 102 (4) L Ho 7-9-6 ...... A Badel 75 1 814-42 GUNNAR (28) (T) (CD,BF) (G) Runs: 22 Wins: 3 Places: 4 Runs: 23 Wins: 3 Places: 5 6 062-21 GOD OF DRAGON (30) (HT) (G) (5) C Fownes 5-9-5 ...... C V Wong(5): 76 3 1025-1 VERY SWEET ORANGE (35) (V) (CD) (G) (8) A Cruz 6-8-8 ...... C Y Ho 89 :BETTING: 3 Cinquante Cinq, 6 Beauty Rush, Dances With Dragon, Runs: 12 Wins: 1 Places: 4 Runs: 25 Wins: 1 Places: 4 (8) Y Tsui 6-9-5 ...... K H A Chan(10) 71 15/2 Flying Quest, High Rev, 8 Thunder Stomp, 12 Circuit Glory, 14 Good Omen, 2 3140- ALL WONGCHOY (80) (T) (CD) (G) 7 19-074 MORE THAN A HORSE (18) (B) (GS) 16 Kiram, Noble Steed, 18 My Ally, 20 Others Runs: 21 Wins: 3 Places: 4 (6) C Shum 5-9-4...... B Shinn 73 (7) D Whyte 5-8-8 ...... A Badel 92 4 834 WINNER’S HEART (21) (P) (BF) KING KWONG HANDICAP (CLASS 3) Runs: 4 Wins: 1 Places: 1 Runs: 6 Wins: 1 Places: 0 (2) F Lor 5-9-1 ...... C Schofield 74 2.50(3YO+) (COURSE A) (TURF) 6f 3yo plus 12 dec. 3 674-37 BETTER CHOICE (30) (P) (D,BF) Runs: 3 Wins: 0 Places: 1 8 986-00 GIANT TURTLE (18) (T) (CD) (G) (7) D Whyte 7-9-1 ...... T Piccone 78 1 321-1 HIGHLY PROACTIVE (42) (HT) (CD) (GF,G) 5 542-21 WINNING WAYS (21) (HT) (CD) (G) (5) A Millard 9-8-7 ...... C V Wong(5) 93 Runs: 16 Wins: 1 Places: 5 Runs: 41 Wins: 5 Places: 9 (10) K Lui 5-9-7 ...... K Teetan 100 (10) C Shum 6-9-0...... Z Purton 78 4 3-34 COLONEL (30) (B) Runs: 4 Wins: 2 Places: 2 Runs: 30 Wins: 3 Places: 6 9 4814-1 MAGNETISM (38) (TB) (C) (GF,G) (11) P Yiu 4-9-0 ...... A Badel 75 (2) D Ferraris 8-8-7 ...... L Hewitson 93 2 41-204 CUE THE MUSIC (14) (T) (CD) (G) 6 804-20 DR PROACTIVE (21) (A) Runs: 3 Wins: 0 Places: 2 Runs: 52 Wins: 8 Places: 10 (9) D Ferraris 5-9-6 ...... N Callan 99 (12) J Ting 7-8-13 ...... H N J Wong(3) 74 5 5- ARES (70) (BF) Runs: 9 Wins: 1 Places: 2 Runs: 22 Wins: 1 Places: 6 10 9672-0 TRAVEL FIRST (24) (T) (C) (A,G) (2) F Lor 4-8-13 ...... Z Purton 72 (4) C Chang 9-8-7 ...... M Yeung 93 3 024-76 LOVING A BOOM (28) (TB) (CD) (G,GF) 7 323-14 HAPPY GOOD GUYS (21) (B) (CD,BF) (G) Runs: 1 Wins: 0 Places: 0 Runs: 55 Wins: 5 Places: 8 (5) Richard Gibson 5-9-5 ...... T Piccone 100 (5) P Yiu 5-8-13 ...... K Teetan 76 6 GRACYLOVE 11 000-57 GAYSON (30) (B) Runs: 20 Wins: 2 Places: 9 Runs: 10 Wins: 1 Places: 3 1 (8) D Hall 4-8-13 ...... C Y Ho - (9) John Moore 5-8-6 ...... M Poon(2) 94 4 2639-5 SUNNY BOY (52) (TB ) (D) (G) 8 68-922 SUPER LUCKY (14) (HB) (C) (G) Runs: 0 Wins: 0 Places: 0 Runs: 5 Wins: 0 Places: 0 (7) John Moore 6-9-5 ...... B Shinn: 101 1 (3) C Fownes 7-8-13 ...... N Callan 79 7 PERFECT HARMONY (TB ) Runs: 10 Wins: 1 Places: 3 Runs: 24 Wins: 1 Places: 5 12 72-407 PARTY TOGETHER (14) (D) (G) (3) A Cruz 4-8-13 ...... K Leung - 1 (12) L Ho 5-8-6 ...... H Lai 97 5 270-22 INVINCIBLE MISSILE (24) (TB) (D) (G,GF) 9 59609- THOU SHALL SING (98) (B ) (CD) (G) Runs: 0 Wins: 0 Places: 0 Runs: 19 Wins: 3 Places: 3 (6) W So 5-9-4 ...... Z Purton 101 (7) K Lui 6-8-10 ...... C Y Ho 79 8 00 LET’S GO PARTY (35) Runs: 13 Wins: 2 Places: 7 Runs: 19 Wins: 1 Places: 4 13 6550-0 BRAVE LEGEND (28) (TB) (C) (G,GF) (12) C Yip 5-8-10 ...... L Hewitson 62 1 (13) A Cruz 7-9-6 ...... RESERVE 96 6 133-22 SHINING ACE (42) (B) (CD) (GY,GF,G) 10 806-09 E GENERATION (28) (B ) (G) Runs: 2 Wins: 0 Places: 0 Runs: 30 Wins: 4 Places: 2 (11) J Size 5-9-4 ...... C Schofield 100 (11) K Man 5-8-6 ...... M Chadwick 78 9 809- VIGOR CHAMP (77) Runs: 17 Wins: 4 Places: 8 Runs: 12 Wins: 1 Places: 0 14 388-13 CHAMPION SUPREME (18) (TB) (G) (4) T Yung 5-8-9 ...... M Yeung 71 (14) John Moore 5-9-3 ...... RESERVE 93 7 2000-4 SUNSET WATCH (28) (T) (G) 11 060-33 OVERSUBSCRIBED (21) (H) Runs: 3 Wins: 0 Places: 0 Runs: 16 Wins: 3 Places: 4 (1) C Yip 5-9-3 ...... C Y Ho 101 (1) D Hall 5-8-6 ...... M Poon(2) 79 10 3740-0 GOLDEN MISSION (30) (TB) Runs: 8 Wins: 1 Places: 2 Runs: 6 Wins: 0 Places: 2 :BETTING: 7/4 Tashidelek, 6 Party Together, 8 God Of Dragon, 10 More Than A Horse, (1) Richard Gibson 5-8-7 ...... M Chadwick 78 8 1-15 CALIFORNIADEEPSHOT (14) (T) (CD,BF) (G) 12 686-78 AURORA STEED (21) (B) Seerite Dragon, 12 Clement Legend, 14 Magnetism, Winning Delight, 16 Others Runs: 7 Wins: 0 Places: 1 (3) A Cruz 4-9-1 ...... K Leung 97 (9) J Size 5-8-3 ...... L Hewitson 77 BLUE POOL HANDICAP (CLASS 1) 11 885-54 EXCEPTIONAL DESIRE (14) (B) (CD,BF) (G) 1.45 Runs: 3 Wins: 2 Places: 0 Runs: 6 Wins: 0 Places: 0 (3YO+) (COURSE A) (TURF) 6f 3yo plus 10 dec. (9) W So 7-8-6 ...... K Teetan 77 9 1198-0 LE TERROIR (35) (P) (CD) (G,GF) 13 367-30 BELLA BABY (30) (T) Runs: 32 Wins: 3 Places: 6 1 131-29 FAT TURTLE (30) (B) (CD) (G,GF) (4) L Ho 5-9-1 ...... M Chadwick 97 (13) W So 5-8-3 ...... RESERVE 78 12 063-25 THE SHOW (28) (B) (CD) (G,GF) (4) F Lor 6-9-7 ...... C Y Ho: 118 Runs: 18 Wins: 4 Places: 2 Runs: 11 Wins: 0 Places: 2 Runs: 11 Wins: 3 Places: 6 (10) C Chang 10-8-6 ...... M Poon(2) 77 10 4540-8 MOST BEAUTIFUL (28) (TB) (CD) (GF,G) 14 6 DAILY DELIGHT (14) Runs: 52 Wins: 4 Places: 10 2 100-83 COUNTRY STAR (18) (CD) (G) (8) C Shum 8-8-8...... H T Mo(3) 99 (14) D Whyte 4-8-13 ...... RESERVE 72 13 0 RED ZOFFANY (18) (T) (9) J Size 5-9-2 ...... A Badel 119 Runs: 48 Wins: 3 Places: 13 Runs: 1 Wins: 0 Places: 0 Runs: 12 Wins: 5 Places: 3 (13) K Man 4-8-13 ...... RESERVE 54 11 2431-2 VICTORY POWER (49) (B) (CD) (G)

Runs: 1 Wins: 0 Places: 0 :BETTING: 9/2 Winning Ways, 5 Happy Good Guys, Oversubscribed, Winner’s Heart, 3 57150- SPEEDY KING (70) (CD) (A,G,GF) (12) D Whyte 6-8-1 ...... A Badel 100 7 Super Lucky, 8 Confucius Day, 10 Very Sweet Orange, 14 Beaut Beaut, 14 3602-2 SUPER ALLIANCES (49) (BF) (6) P Yiu 7-8-12 ...... T Piccone 116 Runs: 23 Wins: 1 Places: 11 16 Thou Shall Sing,20 Others Runs: 24 Wins: 7 Places: 7 (14) J Size 4-8-11 ...... RESERVE 78 12 00-007 JADE THEATRE (14) (B) (CD) (GF) 1000M 2400M 2200M Runs: 5 Wins: 0 Places: 3 4 4711-1 AMAZING STAR (28) (CD) (GF,G) (2) K Man 7-8-1 ...... H Lai 100 (8) J Ting 6-8-9 ...... Z Purton 123 :BETTING: 5/2 Ares, 9/2 Exceptional Desire, 11/2 Gunnar, 6 Better Choice, Runs: 33 Wins: 3 Places: 2 Runs: 11 Wins: 4 Places: 3 8 All Wongchoy, The Show, 10 Colonel, 14 Golden Mission, 20 Others 13 00-092 SPEED VISION (21) (TB) (CD) (GF,G) 5 99-072 GUNNISON (7) (CD) (GF,A) (13) F Lor 5-9-0 ...... RESERVE 101

(7) J Size 6-8-8 ...... M Poon(2) 121 Runs: 23 Wins: 4 Places: 1 Runs: 27 Wins: 4 Places: 7 14 50-513 HINCHINLOVE (18) (TB) (CD) (G)

6 462-05 TORNADO TWIST (10) (T) (CD) (G) (14) T Yung 6-8-11 ...... RESERVE 101

(10) J Size 5-8-6 ...... C Schofield 120 Runs: 25 Wins: 2 Places: 7 W Runs: 14 Wins: 4 Places: 5 :BETTING: 9/4 Highly Proactive, 9/2 Invincible Missile, 6 Californiadeepshot, 7 1161-8 GENTLE BREEZE (28) (B) (C) (G,GF) 7 Victory Power, 8 Shining Ace, 10 Sunset Watch, 12 Cue The Music, 14 Others (1) P Yiu 6-8-4 ...... M Chadwick 117 Runs: 20 Wins: 5 Places: 4 Cards provided by 30 SPORT WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 CITYAM.COM SPORT OUTCLASSED Bayern Munich run riot as Gnabry continues his hot streak in London, writes Felix Keith

OUR years after he left Arse- nal, Serge Gnabry now looks at home in London. He has Fonly played two games in the capital this season and yet has scored a barely believable six goals against Tottenham and Chelsea in the Champions League. With 38 goals in 32 matches, and 10 in just five group stage games, Chelsea were on red alert for the chal- lenge of keeping Robert Lewandowski quiet in the first leg of their last-16 tie at Stamford Bridge last night. But it was never going to be a case of nullifying one man, considering the Polish striker was supported by the wily Thomas Muller and flanked by the ingenuity of Gnabry and Kings- ley Coman. If that wasn’t enough, Bayern Munich now have the threat- ening pace of Alphonso Davies to call upon from left-back too. As a beleaguered Spurs discovered in October, once Bayern get on a roll it is near impossible to keep up with them. A CLASS APART The transformation of Gnabry is hard to comprehend, when viewed from an England-centric perspective. Here is a player who Tony Pulis famously CHAMPIONS LEAGUE and Gnabry cut the Chelsea defence Jorginho’s gaze and the attention of fore providing a coup de grace with did not fancy during an ill-fated loan to pieces to set up an unerring bot- the defence with ease. He was excep- the assist for Bayern’s third. spell at West Brom now tearing apart CHELSEA BAYERN tom-corner finish from the in-form tional in the first half, curling nar- Jorginho and Andreas Christensen the country’s best on the biggest 24-year-old forward. rowly wide and hitting the crossbar were left clutching at thin air by stage in club football. with a deft header. Davies, whose perfect low cross put Frank Lampard chose to stick with PERFECT BALANCE Chelsea showed flashes of their ca- the ball on a plate for the deserving the same team who beat Spurs 2-1 on There is nothing flashy about Bayern pabilities in attack, but the front Lewandowski. Saturday, meaning the Blues had under interim boss Hans-Dieter three of Olivier Giroud, Mason Somehow it managed to get worse three centre-backs to deal with 03Alonso 83 Gnabry 51, 54 Flick, but every component appears Mount and Ross Barkley just for Chelsea too. VAR, which had al- Lewandowski, in theory. Lewandowski 76 in perfect balance. couldn’t quite click like their oppo- ready ruled out a Bayern penalty for The home defence, which had Although it all stems from the nents. Neuer was forced into a low handball against Christensen, sent coped relatively well with the intelli- calming, classy presence of Joshua save by Marcos Alonso, while the de- referee Clement Turpin over to the gent, fluid football of the German Kimmich and Thiago Alcantara in cision-making of substitute Tammy pitchside monitor to view a clash be- side in the first half – with the help and Bayern pounced, Gnabry playing midfield and it was ultimately Abraham when the game opened up tween Alonso and Lewandowski. Willy Caballero as a sweeper-keeper – a crisp, simple one-two with Gnabry and Lewandowski who put prevented any late consolations. The Spanish full-back was shown a crumbled after the break. Lewandowski before the Pole’s re- Chelsea to the sword, the subtle but straight red card for lashing out at Bayern’s relentless high press and verse pass set up a tap-in for 1-0. effective movement of Muller must SALT IN THE WOUND the Bayern striker off the ball and effortless interplay made clear the Three minutes and 22 seconds later not go underappreciated. Instead it was the bright talent of will join Jorginho in being sus- chasm of quality between the two the tie was effectively over. The Champions League veteran, Bayern’s Davies which shone in the pended for the second leg in sides. All it took was one sign of weak- Lewandowski won a header from a who is still only 30, was a thorn in closing stages, the left-back charging Munich, where Chelsea now have a ness – a slip from Cesar Azpilicueta – Manuel Neuer clearance, before he the side of the Blues, evading past Reece James with regularity be- mountain to climb. European ban threat can help City against Real Madrid

ANCHESTER City’s possi- FOOTBALL in the last few days. Goalscoring is a problem. Karim Man for man, I think Pep Guardi- ble two-year ban from the COMMENT Those decisions won’t be made Benzema has shouldered the ola’s team are technically superior. Champions League, start- yet but I can assure you they’ll be burden this term but only has They are also boosted by the return to Ming next season, has on players’ minds. On the other two in 12 games. Gareth Bale, fitness of Aymeric Laporte and Ster- added a couple of extra Trevor hand, De Bruyne and Sterling are Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, ling, as well as consecutive wins over dimensions to their last-16 clash Steven past the point of needing to prove meanwhile, only have eight West Ham and Leicester. against Real Madrid tonight. their quality, even to Madrid. league goals between them. Liverpool’s unbelievable season has Firstly, there is the question of The squad is in need of refresh- made City look ordinary but you al- whether City draw extra motivation REAL PRESSURE ing – it would be no surprise most have to put that to one side. In from knowing this may be their last Secondly, there is the question of Madrid come into this tie if that involved De Bruyne any case, they are very likely to finish shot at the trophy until 2022, or whether any of City’s players see this with pressure of their own. or Sterling re- second so can put all their energy whether that creates an extra weight tie as a shop window – a chance to im- This weekend they face placing Kroos into Europe. of pressure. press Madrid, a club that might hope Barcelona, who have just or Bale this Past failures in the Champions I firmly believe it will be the former. to sign them in the summer. overtaken them at the top of summer – and League won’t have been forgotten but I think City players will have already If the ban, which was issued this LaLiga, so the next few days there is nothing I think City are very well placed to go mentally accepted the club won’t be month for historic breaches of finan- could be great or a catastrophe. much for City to a step further this time, and beating in Europe next season – even though cial fair play rules, does stand then I’d In Zinedine Zidane’s second fear. Madrid would only fuel belief that the suspension could yet be over- expect some of City’s biggest stars to spell in charge – and since Cris- they can do that. turned – and that will only sharpen leave. tiano Ronaldo left – they have their focus on lifting the trophy that Players like Kevin De Bruyne and Ra- become more predictable, less Trevor Steven is a former England has eluded them. heem Sterling may be wondering if flamboyant and are no longer De Bruyne footballer who played at two World Cups Their mindset will be one of: win it this is the right time to move. Sterling a team you make time to has starred for and two European Championships. now, deal with the rest later. himself has been linked with Madrid watch. City this season @TrevorSteven63 CITYAM.COM WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2020 SPORT 31

GRIEZMANN GIVES BARCA SPORT DIGEST CYCLE BROKEN HSBC cut British Cycling sponsorship ties early AWAY GOAL IN NAPLES £ Barcelona came from behind in elite runners only, while Japan’s J- Italy to score a vital away goal and League has been postponed until draw 1-1 with Napoli in the first leg of mid-March. But so far the Olympics are their Champions League last-16 tie going ahead as planned on 24 July. “As yesterday. Dries Mertens curled into far as we all know, you’re going to be the top corner to give the hosts the in Tokyo,” Pound told athletes. “All lead at half-time, but Antoine indications are at this stage that it will Griezmann rounded off a brilliant be business as usual.” team move to equalise for the away side. Barcelona will be without Arturo MURRAY COULD MAKE HIS Vidal for the second leg after the COMEBACK AT QUEEN’S midfielder picked up two yellow cards £ The organisers of the Queen’s Club on following a clash with Fabian Ruiz. championships are hopeful Andy Murray will be fit enough to make a WEST BROM INCREASE LEAD return to singles at the tournament in WITH WIN OVER PRESTON June. Murray has been confined to the £ West Brom moved seven points gym since suffering pelvic bruising in clear at the top of the Championship November. “We know Andy is still last night with a 2-0 win over Preston. working his way back to fitness, but Hal Robson-Kanu gave the Baggies an we also know that he wants to play, so early lead before Jake Livermore fingers crossed that he will be able to,” netted a half-volley on the stroke of said tournament director Stephen half-time to double the home side’s Farrow. Murray has won five singles lead. Preston’s Darnell Fisher was sent titles at the London event and won the off in the 64th minute and West Brom doubles with Feliciano Lopez last year. held on comfortably to increase their lead over Leeds, who travel to WALES LOSE ADAMS IN SIX Middlesbrough tonight. Elsewhere, NATIONS INJURY BLOW third-placed Nottingham Forest beat £ Wales winger Josh Adams has been Cardiff 1-0, but Brentford, in fifth place, ruled out of the rest of the Six Nations lost ground in a 2-1 defeat at Luton. with an ankle injury. Adams, 24, will QPR beat Derby 2-1 and Huddersfield undergo surgery on the problem, overcame Bristol City 2-1. sustained in Wales’ 27-23 defeat by France on Saturday, and could be TOKYO OLYMPICS NOT sidelined for three months. AFFECTED BY CORONAVIRUS Meanwhile, Ireland will be without £ Preparations for the Tokyo Cian Healy for the remainder of the Olympics are “business as usual”, tournament after the prop suffered a despite ongoing concerns over the hip injury in the 24-12 defeat by HSBC has pulled the plug on its multi-million pound sponsorship of British Cycling four years into an eight-year agreement. The bank has spread of coronavirus, says England on Sunday. Elsewhere, Bath exercised a break clause in its contract, which will come into effect after the Olympic and Paralympic Games this year. HSBC, who this month International Olympic Committee have signed Wales scrum-half Rhys announced 35,000 job losses worldwide, said the decision was made due to a change in “UK marketing and sponsorship priorities”. The member Dick Pound. This weekend’s Webb on a deal until the end of the news comes as a major blow to British Cycling who began the deal, which is thought to be worth £10m per Olympic cycle, in January 2017. Tokyo Marathon has been limited to season ahead of his move to Ospreys.

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