BUSINESS WITH PERSONALITY SIN CITY SQUARE BUZZ AROUND THE HORNETS MILE’S SHOCKING WATFORD ARE FLYING HIGH TREATMENT OF ON AND OFF THE PITCH P38 TAIWAN P16 FRIDAY 17 MAY 2019 ISSUE 3,373 CITYAM.COM FREE Metro raises £375m after AND THEY’RE OFF share placing TORY LEADERSHIP HOPEFULS BRACE FOR SUMMER CONTEST JESS CLARK @jclarkjourno METRO Bank raised £375m of capital last night, just hours after launching a discounted funding round. A spokesperson confirmed that the embattled challenger bank, which has struggled after a major loans blunder in January, closed the share placing less than three hours after announcing the capital raise’s final pricing. The target amount was increased from £350m due to the high quality order book that was received. Metro placed the shares at 500p, a discount on yesterday’s closing price of 536.5p. Shares fell 8.13 per cent yesterday as investors reacted to reports of the discount before the bank made its official announcement after Tory leadership contenders (clockwise from top left) include Jeremy the market closed. OWEN BENNETT would step down as PM once Hunt, Amber Rudd, Sajid Javid, Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Michael Earlier this week, the nine- Gove, Esther McVey and Dominic Raab @owenjbennett “phase one” of Brexit is year-old lender was forced to complete, but with the latest quash reports of financial THE CONSERVATIVE party’s pack attempt to force her withdrawal the Withdrawal Agreement Bill Johnson made clear his turmoil that saw some of leadership hopefuls were put deal through parliament facing passes or is defeated, May will intention to stand for leader. customers rush to withdraw on alert yesterday after Theresa an uphill struggle, MPs wanted face calls to resign to allow a Speaking at the British funds from their accounts May paved the way for her her to set out when she would leadership contest to be Insurance Brokers’ Association and sent shares to an all-time departure during a summit with leave if that plan failed. completed before the conference, Johnson said: “I’m low of 475p. backbenchers. The PM refused to give a date, summer. going to go for it, but there is no In January, the bank The Prime Minster (inset) held but agreed to set out a Earlier in the vacancy at present.” admitted that some a stormy and at times emotional timetable for her departure day, prior to Johnson supporter and commercial loans had been meeting with the ruling body of after MPs vote on her Brexit May’s meeting Conservative MP Simon Clarke wrongly classified and should the Tories’ 1922 Committee amid plan for what would be the with Tory party welcomed the move towards have been among its risk growing frustration with her fourth time in the week backbenchers, May’s departure. weighted assets, sparking the leadership of the party. commencing 3 June. former foreign worst one-day share price May had already promised she Regardless of whether secretary Boris £ CONTINUES ON P3 drop for a British bank since the financial crisis. FTSE 100▲ 7,353.51 +56.56 FTSE 250▲ 19,530.65 +160.88 DOW▲ 25,862.68 +214.66 NASDAQ▲ 7,898.05 +75.90 £/$▼1.280 -0.004 £/€▼1.145 -0.001 €/$▼1.118 -0.003 SEE PAGE 35 02 NEWS FRIDAY 17 MAY 2019 CITYAM.COM PRIME PAPA Amazon boss Jeff Bezos buys father $2m Liberty Star in immigration mural at New York museum fundraiser THE CITY VIEW A new PM may have to go back to the people HE PERSPECTIVE taken by this newspaper rarely chimes with that of the Scottish National Party. Yet it was Tdifficult to disagree with former banker and current SNP member of parliament Ian Blackford yesterday, when he said: “The only thing we’ve learned from today’s latest fudge from the 1922 Committee is that Theresa May is so incompetent that she can’t even resign properly.” In keeping with her record in Downing Street, May has continually kicked the can down the road when pressed on her future, despite being forced to admit that she must step down. Having lost the confidence of so many of her MPs and party members alike, and without a feasible way out of the Brexit stalemate, there is no reason for her to stay in the job. Yesterday, she reluctantly took a step closer to the door AMAZON chief executive Jeff Bezos bought his father Miguel, who moved to the US from Cuba aged 16, a $2m (£1.6m) Liberty Star which will form part of a “Stars and Stripes” mural at the entrance of the Statue of Liberty museum in New York. The (following “very frank” talks with backbench Tories) yet still artwork was created as a way to raise money for the new museum and honour 19th and 20th century immigrants to the US. insisted on the usual bungling prevarication. Divisions among Following another two or voters are stark three weeks of wasted time, and party leaders we can expect May to “agree a timetable for the election remain unpopular Canary Wharf fights with of a new leader”. Let us hope she does not exploit the wiggle room allowed by this wording to cling on, pointlessly, for any longer than necessary. May’s closest allies rhetorically ask how appointing a new Crossrail over £80m bill leader will solve the Brexit gridlock. Indeed, there is no guarantee that it will – but that is not a reason in itself for ALEXANDRA ROGERS the Prime Minister to remain in position when she cannot Wild also told the committee that beth Line, was scheduled to open last the Canary Wharf Crossrail station December but the £17.6bn project is find majority support among her party, her government or @city_amrogers would not be finished until Septem- now expected to open between even her Cabinet, let alone parliament. THE CANARY Wharf Group has hit ber or October this year. October 2020 and March 2021. The same can be said of the government itself. A General back at Crossrail over claims that an “It’s fair to say the quality of the A Canary Wharf Group spokesper- extra £80m has been spent to make work we’ve found in Canary Wharf, son said: “We categorically dismiss Election may not present the UK with a path out of the the Elizabeth Line station comply completed by Canary Wharf Group, the recent comments made by Cross- quagmire; indeed, it may muddy the issue even more. with TfL safety standards. before my time actually, has had to rail in relation to the quality of work Divisions throughout the electorate are stark and party The group, which built the station have a wholesale retrofit, particularly provided by Canary Wharf Group in leaders remain unpopular (incredibly, Jeremy Corbyn’s and contributed £150m to the total in the safety systems,” he added. building the Canary Wharf Crossrail cost, said it “categorically dismissed” A source close to the group said the station. approval rating is worse than May’s). Nonetheless, when a comments made by Crossrail boss need to retrofit the station was down “Throughout the project, Canary party cannot effectively govern, a shuffling of the Mark Wild on Wednesday, in which to Crossrail’s “complete failure to co- Wharf Group has had monthly meet- parliamentary deck is inevitable. While very few of us have he told MPs that £80m had been spent ordinate with London Underground ings and continual inspections with changing the equipment to allow it to throughout the whole programme”. Crossrail to monitor progress. The sta- the appetite for another election, the next Tory leader may meet safety standards set by London They said the station had been fitted tion was built strictly in accordance soon discover that he or she has no other option. Underground. out in accordance with Crossrail spec- with the Crossrail specification and Speaking to the Public Accounts ifications, which was safe, but that any amendments required by Cross- Committee (PAC) yesterday, Wild said: Crossrail now needed to fit the station rail along the way.” “We’ve actually spent nearly £80m at to meet London Underground A Crossrail spokesperson said it has Canary Wharf changing the equip- requirements. been “in regular communication ment to make it the equivalent safety “To try and shove this on to us is with Canary Wharf Group” in rela- standards that are required for a Lon- pretty disingenuous,” they added. tion to concerns with the station, and Follow us on Twitter @cityam don Underground station.” Crossrail, also known as the Eliza- will continue to liaise with them. FINANCIAL TIMES THE TIMES THE DAILY TELEGRAPH THE WALL STREET JOURNAL PINTEREST POSTS WIDER WHAT THE YOUTUBE LEAVES MILLIONS THREE BRITONS KILLED IN TRUMP SAYS HE DOESN’T LOSS THAN EXPECTED OTHER OF HATE VIDEOS ONLINE DUBAI PLANE CRASH WANT WAR WITH IRAN Social media platform Pinterest posted Youtube removed only 25,000 of nearly Three Britons and a South African have US President Donald Trump told a double-digit revenue growth in the first PAPERS SAY 15m videos that were flagged as hateful been killed after a four-seat plane group of top aides including his acting quarter of 2019, towards the higher end or abusive, MPs have revealed as they crashed near Dubai International defense chief that he doesn’t want of its forecast range, in its maiden THIS accused the company of taking the Airport. The UK-registered light aircraft tensions between the US and Iran to results as a public company. The San issue “less seriously” than its rivals. The came down after a reported technical lead to war during a meeting at the Francisco-based company, which made MORNING Home Affairs Select Committee has malfunction, officials in Dubai claim.