10 The Sunday Times March 22, 2020 BUSINESS Liam Kelly LETTERS that, shortly before the crisis Prada dress or Manolo Send your letters, including in upstream and 2,000 in number and severity of FTSE oldies in splendid isolation struck, My Wardrobe HQ, a Blahnik shoes, Shepherdson, SIGNALS full name and address, downstream operations. extreme weather events. designer clothes rental start- 58, says that the firm is AND NOISE . to: The Sunday Times, Typically, they are well-paid Even the Intergovernmental With the over-70s deemed “come to the conclusion I up chaired by fashion guru “selling a few pieces” and 1 London Bridge Street, jobs in locations where Panel on Climate Change has to be at high risk in the work more at home than I do Jane Shepherdson, raised will “use the time usefully to London SE1 9GF. Or email opportunities are scarce. admitted that there is little coronavirus crisis, let’s check in the office”. The Sydney- £750,000 from wealthy develop the tech”. [email protected] We relish competition, but evidence of an increase in in on boardrooms. After all, born Chelsea FC season backers — including Nadja Letters may be edited it is time to put down the the number of extreme some 74 companies in the ticket holder has also been Swarovski, scion of the cudgels and work together to weather events. FTSE 350 have chairmen forced to watch Australian crystals dynasty. Where sheep Gupta: let’s work together ensure that Britain retains a William Toland, Glasgow aged 70 or over, according to rules football matches — the Shepherdson, who is to save the steel industry viable steel industry. shareholder adviser ISS ESG. only sport still going ahead — credited with transforming may safely graze John Collingridge complains Sanjeev Gupta, executive Joan Wadsley’s letter was in Based on Prufrock’s not- even though this weekend’s Sir Philip Green’s Topshop It is hard to imagine a chief that it isn’t easy to “follow the chairman, GFG Alliance, response to comments by entirely-scientific poll, the game is “between two teams chain into a fast-fashion executive today who would money” in my industrial London W1 Jaguar Land Rover’s outgoing septuagenarians seem to be I don’t have an interest in”. pioneer within two decades keep sheep — but, as organisation. Actually, it’s not boss, Sir Ralf Speth, who heeding government advice Paul Lester, 70, who — before leaving in 2006 — Sir David Prosser was so that difficult: we invest in We can’t allow hedge funds accused Greta Thunberg and and social distancing. chairs both Essentra, the became chairwoman last eloquent as to say: “Fields “I worked with a woman steel and aluminium to grow fat on virus crisis her associates of having no Sport-mad Philip Aiken, plastics supplier, and year after a Damascene look undressed without with whom I’d been friends businesses where we see a In these troubled times there constructive solutions to the 71, chairman of industrial retirement housebuilder conversion to sustainability. them.” (Lyrical C-suite before we were colleagues. prospect for a financial is one industry laughing all climate change issue. software developer Aveva McCarthy & Stone, has been While there are currently shepherds, please feel free to She had a terrible lapse of return through investment in the way to the bank. It has all He is absolutely right. and Balfour Beatty, the making calls while walking not many events now taking get in touch.) judgment and betrayed the low-carbon technology. the tools and expertise to Instead they rely on damage construction company, has along the beach near his place that call for a borrowed Prosser, the former chief organisation.” The London We finance our businesses make a killing at the expense and destruction — see Bristol, home in Poole, Dorset. executive of insurer Legal & School of Economics through relationships with of many others, to absolutely Cambridge and London, with Busier than most has been General whose death at the director Dame Minouche more than 80 financial no one else’s benefit. disruption in the last case JUST SAYING . John Allan, 71, the chairman FUNNY BUSINESS age of 75 was announced last Shafik on firing friends institutions globally. I refer, of course, to hedge causing businesses to close of Tesco and outgoing week, was a typical In some cases, we use funds and their associates. and stopping people from Please get in president of the CBI, who Welshman. STYLE, PAGE 55 receivables financing — This is equivalent to working. had hoped to “read all the According to insurance arranging with a financing racketeering during a war. The fact is that a solution touch. I want serious books on the shelf veteran Mark Wood, partner for early payment for The only appropriate and fair will be very difficult to find, I’ve not yet read”, such speaking to The Sunday TWITTER POLL anticipated revenue. response is to immediately given that it will require small businesses as Hugh Thomas’s Times in 1999, Prosser had There is no great mystery tax shorting profits at 90%. worldwide co-operation. to feel there The Conquest of Mexico. “all the positive attributes of about that. Ian Templeton, chief executive, There is also the problem that Tony Pidgley, 72, founder a Welshman. He is lucid, Yes No In common with the rest of Acorn Capital, Buxton this country’s contribution to are people of housebuilder Berkeley, is persuasive and at ease with UK industry, though, we now worldwide pollution is an here to help still being chauffeured into himself. He is fun to be with.” face an almighty challenge. Climate concerns need a extremely small percentage the office — but wearing Quite how Prosser reacted 23% 77% The battle to contain Covid-19 clear-headed response of the total, making UK surgical gloves. “I’ve got a in that same year when the is touching every sector of I was surprised that Joan inhabitants reluctant to large office. I’m sitting on my mega-merger between our economy, well beyond Wadsley (Letters, last week) endure the hardship and own talking to people,” he NatWest and L&G that he had the visible impact on airlines, thought that her bad-weather inconvenience that would be says. Plus ça change. helped to engineer came to shops and restaurants. experience on holiday abroad necessary to minimise that nought was perhaps Industrial plants can was due to climate change. contribution. New Bank of England foreshadowed by our operate only if they have According to climate It would be far better for governor Andrew Bailey Shepherdson’s reporter: “He also has some suppliers, customers and a science, a warming world will the climate protesters to asks business owners of that dark Welsh temper Economists expect growth workforce. cause the polar regions to recognise these problems and having trouble obtaining frock hopes and has a disapproving stare to shrink by up to 7% this When one, two or all three warm faster than the tropics. come up with something loans from banks to Amid the doom and gloom, that could curdle milk.” year due to the coronavirus of these are under threat, it This will reduce the constructive to do that might, get in touch before some businesses are able to liam.kelly@ outbreak. Do you think creates an untenable temperature gradient over just might, contribute to laying off staff sparkle. Prufrock can reveal sunday-times.co.uk that is too pessimistic? situation. the planet, which should finding a solution. We employ 3,000 people result in a decline in the David Birkett Evans, Wrexham DATABANK INSIDE THE CITY LIAM KELLY THE WEEK IN THE MARKETS THE ECONOMY Consumer prices index current rate prev. month FTSE 100 DOLLAR 1.8% 1.3% the share prices of the big Barratt had £433.8m net cash FTSE 100 USD > GBP Barratt can listed housebuilders by an at the end of December. 8,000 CPI including housing current rate prev. month average of 54.8% over the Thomas, formerly finance $1.16 1.8% 1.4% past month — steeper drops chief at video game retailer V 0.07 find its 7,000 12-month high: $1.35 Retail prices index current rate prev. month than both the FTSE 100 and Game and hotelier low: $1.14 FTSE 250 in that time. Barratt Millennium & Copthorne, has 2.7% 2.2% EURO has lost more than half its focused on quality — no other 5,190.78 6,000 Average weekly earnings on prev. month on last year own way EUR > GBP £8.5bn valuation in a month. big builder has had the top 175.33 H:7,727.5 £547 0.6% 3.1% While the banking crisis customer satisfaction rating 3.27% L:4,898.8 U home was an existential one for for longer than Barratt’s 5,000 €1.09 Unemployment current rate prev. month FTSE 250 V 0.02 housebuilders, this time the 10 consecutive years — and 2019 2020 12-month high: €1.21 1.34m 3.9% 3.8% Barratt Developments almost market may have overreacted building a sustainable low: €1.05 Source: Reinitiv Manufacturing output on the year on last month went bust in the last crisis. In to the disruption caused by balance sheet. With 17,856 RISERS FALLERS YEN 2007, the housebuilder got the coronavirus. “Relative to homes completed in its last Petropavlovsk: 18.8p U 24% on gold McCarthy & Stone: 51.8p V 52.3% on YEN > USD V 3.6% U 0.2% caught in a bidding war for its most other sectors, it should full year, no other builder rush Hastings: 185p U 23.3% on dividend cut William Hill: 39.9p V 50.1% Retail sales on the year on last month smaller rival, Wilson Bowden, fare better,” said Numis puts up more houses.