FTSE 100▲ 7,166.50 +23.55 FTSE 250▼ 19,171.60 -29.30 DOW▲ 26,346.01 +181.97 NASDAQ▲ 7,903.74 +79.96 £/$▼ 1.220 -0.002 £/€▼ 1.112 -0.003 €/$▲ 1.097 +0.001

JAMES WARRINGTON

@j_a_warringtonMULTINATIONAL tech giants are set for afierce crackdown on their corporate taxbills under new rules outlined yesterdayby the Organisation for EconomicCooperation and Development (OECD).

Tech titans such as Google, Facebookand Apple have been accused of dodgingtaxes by booking their profit in low-taxcountries such as Ireland, despiteserving customers across the world.

Earlier this year more than 130countries agreed to overhaul tax rules

written up almost a century ago, andtasked the global economic behemoth tolay out new proposals.

The rules, if approved, would enablegovernments to levy more tax on cross-border companies relating to the incomefrom sales within their territory.

“The current system is under stress andwill not survive if we don’t remove thetensions,” Pascal Saint-Amans, head oftax policy at OECD, said yesterday.

Finance ministers are expected todiscuss the proposals at the G20 summitin Washington next week. A decision isexpected by the end of January which, if

positive, will lead to a more detaileddeliberation by the OECD.

The Paris-based organisation hopes itsproposals will stop countries from rollingout their own individual taxes in theabsence of global reform.

Both France and the UK laid out plansfor a digital services tax last year,sparking anger in the US. But Dan Neidle,partner at London law firm CliffordChance, told City A.M. the digital levies,which apply to turnover rather thanprofit, were “insufficiently radical” and“ill-thought-out”. 

Despite this, Neidle said it would be

hard to convince countries to scrap theirunilateral laws, as wider measures couldtake years to come into force.

The organisation outlined its scope forwhich companies would be impacted andhow much their profit can be taxed. It hassuggested including multinational firmswith revenue of over €750m (£674m).

While the rules are primarily aimed attech giants, they may also impact largeconsumer firms.

It came a day after newly-reinstated EUcompetition chief Margrethe Vestagerwarned she will look beyond fines whentackling tech market dominance.

Inmarsat dealpushes closerto launch padSEBASTIAN MCCARTHY

@SebMcCarthyA BLOCKBUSTER buyout ofBritish satellite giantInmarsat looks set to go aheadafter clearing a major hurdleyesterday evening.

The $3.4bn (£2.78bn) privateequity takeover of Inmarsat isnow expected to be approvedby the UK government afterregulators said they did nothold national security ormarket competition concerns.

Inmarsat and its buyershave proposed a series ofremedies, such as a pledge tokeep the firm in the UK forseveral years as well asadequate security controls onsensitive information, in thewake of the probe.

The deal came under theglare of both the governmentand Britain’s competitionwatchdog this summer afterbeing announced in March.

Last night the Competitionand Markets Authority saidthe takeover need not be“expected to result in asubstantial lessening ofcompetition”. TheDepartment for Digital,Culture, Media and Sport alsosaid it will not progress with adeeper investigation.

Global buyout groups ApaxPartners and Warburg Pincusare part of the consortiumthat is now set to take thecountry’s largest satellitegroup private roughly 15 yearsafter it first went public.

BUSINESS WITH PERSONALITYORDER, ORDERRACE IS ON TOREPLACE JOHNBERCOW P18

HOME TRUTHS THE TOPGADGETS TO SMARTEN UPYOUR LIVING SPACE P21

THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019 ISSUE 3,475 FREECITYAM.COM

SEBASTIAN MCCARTHY

@SebMcCarthyFEARS of travel chaos at LondonCity Airport are looming large thismorning as climate changeprotesters gear up to blockade theterminal and disrupt flights.

Extinction Rebellion has vowed tocause a “Hong Kong-style”occupation at City Airport over the

coming days in an attempt to grindLondon’s business terminal to a halt.

As part of a two-week long “shutdown” in the capital, the eco-activists are turning their attentionto the Royal Docks airport for whatthey claim will be their “biggestaction yet”.

City Airport is bracing itself forpossible flight delays and terminaldisruption amid fears that the

demonstrators will aim to blockdeparture and arrival gates.

Airport bosses are working withthe Metropolitan Police to try toidentify protesters that have boughtone-way plane tickets as a way ofsneaking in as a passenger.

Green campaigners have takenaim at City Airport after claiming itis used “disproportionately byprivate jets and by financiers,

businesspeople and other membersof the polluter elite,” despitepassengers being split 50/50 betweenleisure and business last year.

The airport has also come underfire from the activists in the wake ofa recent expansion and its master-plan to grow over the next 15 years.

“We continue to work closelywith the Metropolitan Police toprepare for the threat of Extinction

Rebellion protests. Our sharedpriority is the safe operation of theairport and to minimise disruptionfor passengers using the airportover the coming days,” a CityAirport spokesperson said.

Hundreds of demonstrators haveso far been arrested as part of thefortnight of protests, during whichmajor bridges and tourist locationshave been blocked.

Extinction Rebellion protesters seek to shut down City Airport for three days

NEW TAX RULESTARGETING TECH

CITYAM.COM02 THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019NEWS

TOP ENERGY TRADERS BETON FURTHER CRUDE FALLSThe world’s largest energy traders arebetting oil will slip further next year,heaping pressure on Opec and its alliesto do more to prop up the price. Theheads of Vitol, Trafigura and Gunvorsaid at a conference yesterday that theyexpect oil to be trading below $60 abarrel in 12 months’ time, arguing thatsupply is still expanding while demandgrowth appears to be slowing in linewith a weakening world economy.

EX-SPY CHIEF CAUTIONS ONCUTTING EU SECURITY TIESOne of the UK’s most influential formerspymasters has warned withdrawingsecurity and defence co-operation with

the EU in retaliation for the failure ofBrexit talks would be contrary to the UK’s self interest. John Sawers is the ex-chief of the UK’s foreign intelligenceservice, MI6.

TWO IN 1.5M APPLICANTSFOR EU SCHEME REJECTEDOnly two of the 1.5m applicants to thegovernment’s EU settlement schemehave so far been rejected as unsuitable,according to the Home Office. Some 2mhave applied including 520,000 inSeptember alone, of which 1.5m haveprocessed and approved.

JOHNSON & JOHNSON PAYOUT OVER DRUG SIDE EFFECTDrug maker Johnson & Johnson couldface a wave of legal action after it wasordered to pay $8bn (£6.6bn) to a manwho grew breasts after taking one of itsmedicines. The pharma giant is set tohand the damages to one of thousandsof individuals planning to take action.

DEMAND FOR US WORKERSSOFTENED OVER SUMMERUS employer demand for workerssoftened this summer, as job openingsfell from a year earlier for the thirdconsecutive month in August. Thenumber of openings declined four percent in August from a year earlier to7.1m, after posting annual declines inJune and July, US Labor Departmentdata released yesterday showed.

COUNTER-TERROR ANALYSTARRESTED FOR PRESS LEAKSA counter-terrorism analyst wasarrested yesterday at the US DefenseIntelligence Agency where he workedand charged with leaking classifiedinformation to two journalists.

FINANCIAL TIMES THE TIMES THE DAILY TELEGRAPH THE WALL STREET JOURNALWHAT THEOTHERPAPERS SAYTHISMORNING

UN DEFICIT THREATENSPEACEKEEPING OPERATIONSThe UN is facing a severe financial crisisafter member states failed to paycontributions on time, leaving it unableto meet the cost of wages, including forpeacekeeping forces. Antonio Guterres,the secretary-general, sounded thewarning when he said only emergencyspending cuts had allowed the generalassembly last month to go ahead.

WARREN PULLS AHEAD OFBIDEN IN US POLLINGElizabeth Warren, the Massachusettssenator, has overtaken Joe Biden in thepolls and become the leading Democratcontender to take on US PresidentTrump in next year’s election.

CATHERINE NEILAN

@CatNeilanTHE CHANCES OF a Brexit deal ebbedfurther yesterday, with one govern-ment source telling City A.M. a dead-line extension was now “priced in” totheir thinking.

Neither side is willing to publiclyadmit defeat, for fear of beingblamed, but Irish Taoiseach Leo Varad-kar and EU negotiator Michel Barnierboth said it would be “very difficult”to reach an agreement before the European Council summit, whichstarts a week today.

Downing Street insists a deal canstill be hammered out if the EU“matches the UK’s compromise”.

But privately officials have concededan extension beyond Halloween is themost likely outcome, despite PM BorisJohnson’s “do or die” pledge.

“It is priced in that we are not going

No sign of breakthroughas Brexit summit looms

TURKEY UNLEASHES AIRSTRIKES Kurds come under fire inSyria as Erdogan launches offensive in wake of US withdrawal

CLOUDS of smoke rose across northwestern Syria yesterday after Turkey launched an offensive aimed at US-backed Kurdishforces. It came after US troops, who relied on the alliance to defeat the Islamic State (Isis) on the ground in Syria, withdrew fromthe border area. Turkish ground troops also crossed into northern Syria, as Kurdish fighters abandoned their battles with Isis.

BT house party with EEhides coming hangover

IF THERE is a crisis on the British high street, no one told PhilipJansen. The BT boss has announced that his company willreturn to bricks-and-mortar, shacking up with mobilesubsidiary EE. The shops are part of a wider transformation

plan at the telecoms stalwart. Since taking over as chiefexecutive in February, Jansen has desperately tried to salvage thefirm’s sliding share price. The process will be brutal. At least13,000 jobs could be lost in the coming years, while the companywill also close 90 per cent of its offices. Meanwhile, Jansen mustkeep shareholders happy. When the former Worldpay boss sweptin after the turbulent tenure of Gavin Patterson, it was clear BTneeded a brand revamp and the group’s new high street storeswill be key to keeping the firm relevant to the public.For Paolo Pescatore, telecoms analyst at PP Foresight, Jansen’sefforts to slim down the company are a crucial step in the rightdirection in a cut-throatmarket. But the currentstrategy might not be boldenough. While BT has mademoves to streamline itsservices, a more structuralshake-up may be necessary tosimplify the business.The crux of the company’s turnaround — and therefore Jansen’ssuccess — will lie in the less glamorous world of full-fibrebroadband. The national champion is investing for the futureand, for the short term at least, it’s shareholder returns thatcould suffer. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to roll outsuperfast connections across the country by 2025. It’s a boldclaim, and it rests on Jansen as head of the country’s largestbroadband provider to work out the details. This presents thenew BT boss with an opportunity, but also plenty of risks.The path to full-fibre is littered with potholes. BT has made nobones about its concerns over regulation, and the chiefexecutive has handed a six-point plan to Number 10. Moreover,the telecoms giant faces a huge threat from a potential tie-upbetween rivals Virgin Media and Sky. Even if Jansen can steer hisway through the challenges of full-fibre, he must still find a wayto fund it. The company’s dividend is steady for now, but itseems unlikely the shareholder payout will make it throughsuch a radical turnaround unscathed.

Follow us on Twitter @cityam

THE CITY VIEW

It seems unlikelythe shareholderpayout will make itthrough unscathed

to leave on 31 October,” said onesource.

Brexit secretary Steve Barclay will bein Brussels today to meet Barnier and“discuss the state of play following aweek of technical talks”.

Separately, the new European Parlia-ment president David Sassoli raisedeyebrows by revealing he had toldCommons speaker John Bercow thatBrussels would back a Brexit exten-sion if the final decision is put to UKvoters.

Sassoli, who was in London on Tues-day to meet Johnson, told his fellowMEPs that he and Bercow discussedhow an extension could be agreed “inorder to have time for a General Election or a referendum.”

Any extension request would have tocome from the UK, he added.

Sassoli told the plenary session:“John Bercow and I fully agreed on theimportant role that our parliaments

play in the Brexit process.“There is also a common awareness

that a disorderly exit of the UnitedKingdom from the European Unionwould be against the interests ofBritish and European citizens.”

The UK’s latest offer “constitutesideas rather than operable proposalsthat can operate immediately,” theItalian politician added.

Speaking during the same session,European Commission presidentJean-Claude Juncker said he wouldnot accept this blame game, “whichstarted in London”.

He added: “I would like to repeat tothe attention of our British friendsthat there is not only a parliament inWestminster which has to agree,there is a parliament here.”

Meanwhile MPs will be called to par-liament for a special Saturday sessionon 19 October, marked as the last dayfor a deal ahead of 31 October.

03THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019 NEWSCITYAM.COM

JESS CLARK

@jclarkjournoSHAREHOLDERS have given the greenlight to the £2.7bn acquisition ofBritish pub chain Greene King byHong Kong’s richest man.

At an extraordinary general meet-ing yesterday, 99.38 per cent of CKAsset Holdings (CKA) shareholdersvoted to back the deal, with just 0.61per cent opposing the takeover.

The resolution also passed at a meet-ing of Greene King shareholders, with98.83 per cent of investors backingthe proposals.

Greene King chairman Philip Yeasaid: “The board welcomes sharehold-ers’ approval of CKA’s offer to acquireGreene King.

“As previously set out we believeCKA’s long-term vision for GreeneKing, supported by our established position in the pub industry, high-quality estate and resilient financialprofile, is in the best interests of

Investors greenlight British pubchain takeover

Hundreds of jobs at risk as Linksof London enters administrationJESS CLARK

@jclarkjournoLINKS of London has collapsed intoadministration in a further blow tothe struggling UK high street,putting hundreds of jobs at risk.

The retailer yesterday appointedDeloitte as administrators after itran out of cash before it was able to

secure a sale or restructuring plan.Deloitte will continue to explore

options for a sale of the jewellerychain.

Links of London has 28 standalonestores and seven concessions acrossthe UK and Ireland and employsaround 350 members of staff. Noredundancies are being announcedat this stage, Deloitte said.

employees, tenants, customers andsuppliers. The offer represents a goodopportunity for shareholders to realise value for their investment atan attractive premium, while also ensuring the long-term success of thecompany.”

The deal values Greene King,Britain’s largest pub retailer andbrewer, at £4.6bn including net debt,making it the second-biggest UK-in-bound deal of the year.

In June, Blackstone and the CanadaPension Plan Investment Board madea £6bn move for Alton Towers ownerMerlin Entertainments.

CKA was founded by 91-year-oldHong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing and isrun by his eldest son, Victor Li Tzar-kuoi. Li announced plans to retire last year, but remains a senioradviser at CKA.

Greene King operates 2,900 pubs,restaurants and hotels across the UK,meaning that the £2.7bn deal equatesto just under £1m per site.

Zuckerberg willtestify in US oncrypto projectSEBASTIAN MCCARTHYAND ANNA MENIN

@SebMcCarthy @annafmeninFACEBOOK chief executive MarkZuckerberg is set to testify in frontof Congress over his firm’sproposed Libra cryptocurrency.

The social media titan will be theonly witness at a hearing on CapitolHill later this month followingefforts from Congress to scrutiniseplans for the new digital coin.

The House Financial ServicesCommittee will questionZuckerberg on the cryptocurrencyin the wake of growing efforts inEurope and the US to regulate theproposals.

It will be only his secondCongress appearance, following lastyear’s hearing in the wake of theCambridge Analytica data scandal.

The news came as The Bank ofEngland (BoE) set out rules ofengagement that Facebook’s Libracryptocurrency and other digitalpayment providers would have tosatisfy before launching in Britain.

“Libra has the potential tobecome a systemically importantpayment system,” the BoE’sFinancial Policy Committee (FPC)said in a statement.

THE CAYMAN Islands will introduce a public register showing the beneficial ownersof companies based in the jurisdiction, which is key to showing who is behind shellcompanies, as part of the EU’s 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive.

PARADISE FOUND Cayman Islands to rollout ownership register in fraud crackdown

CITYAM.COM04 THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019NEWS

ALEX DANIEL

@alexmdanielTHOUSANDS of former Thomas Cookemployees were offered a lifeline yes-terday, as the collapsed travel giant’sretail estate was sold to Hays Travel.

The agreement will see the inde-pendent travel agent pick up 555 for-mer Thomas Cook stores around theUK. The deal could offer a new job forup to 2,500 former retail employees.

Thomas Cook’s entire retail networkwill re-open immediately, Hays said,and 100 extra jobs will be created atthe buyer’s Sunderland headquarters.

Following the appointment of theOfficial Receiver last month, HaysTravel has already taken on board 421former Thomas Cook staff, and hasfurther offers outstanding to formeremployees.

Hays owns 190 shops around the UKalready, and was one of the companiesthat immediately responded to theCivil Aviation Authority’s request tosupport thousands of customers onholiday or with holidays booked whenThomas Cook went under. It said giv-ing jobs to the 2,500 former Thomas

2,500 ThomasCook employeeskept on in deal

Cook workers would more than dou-ble its workforce.

David Chapman, the government’sOfficial Receiver, said: “Thisrepresents an important step in theliquidation process, as we seek torealise the company’s assets.”

KPMG partner Jim Tucker, who wasworking on the sale, described it as“an extremely positive outcome”.

Because Hays Travel is independent,it uses other tour operators such asJet2 Holidays and Tui to sell holidaysto customers.

Managing director John Hays yester-day told reporters:“We’ve got no plansto close any [shops]. Our plans are totrade them all.”

The collapse of the 178-year-old holi-day giant sent shockwaves throughthe retail and travel industry, andmost of the firm’s 9,000 UK workerswere made redundant.

It also left about 150,000 Britsstranded abroad, prompting thebiggest peacetime repatriation of UKcitizens in history by the CivilAviation Authority.

The operation concluded on Mondaywhen the final passengers flew home.

Ex-Barclays bankers accused over‘smoke-screen’ to hide Qatari feesJAMES BOOTH

@Jamesdbooth1THREE senior ex-Barclays bankers ontrial for fraud were accused yesterdayof creating a “smoke-screen” to tryand justify millions of poundssurreptitiously paid to Qatar inexchange for a multi-billion-poundinvestment in 2008.

Roger Jenkins, Richard Boath andThomas Kalaris are standing trial at

the Old Bailey, accused of conspiracyto commit fraud by falserepresentation and fraud by falserepresentation — charges they deny.

Edward Brown QC, prosecuting forthe Serious Fraud Office (SFO), saidthe trio attempted to give reasons formillions of pounds being paid toQatar in two advisory servicesagreements, which the SFO allegeswere vehicles to disguise extra feespaid to Qatar in return for investment.

“It is clear that there were some‘after the event’ attempts todemonstrate that the services hadbeen provided,” he said.

But these “were nothing more thana smoke-screen to seek to legitimisewhat had gone before,” he said.

The second advisory servicesagreement committed Barclays topaying Qatar £280m over five years.

The trial — which is expected to lastat least five months — continues.

At 11.53pm on Tuesday night, thedirectors of Sunderland-basedholiday firm Hays Travel clinched

what is surely the biggest coup of theircareers: buying Thomas Cook’s entirecollection of high street stores.

They appear to have timed their movewell. Although family owners John andIrene Hays wouldn’t tell reporters theprice yesterday, they have doubtlesspicked up the shops at a knock-downprice versus what they might have paid ifThomas Cook was still trading.

However, despite the deal savingthousands of jobs, many were leftscratching their heads when the goodnews broke yesterday morning. After all,Hays only has 190 stores; buyingThomas Cook’s retail arm will nearlytreble that, practically overnight.

Begbies Traynor restructuring partnerJulie Palmer said: “While on the face of it

this looks like a savvy deal ... you have towonder what Hays’ plan is and how theycan make it a success. Has the travel firmbeen gung-ho in trying to secure a cheapdeal without assessing the viability oftaking on these stores?”

John and Irene were defiant, tellingreporters there has been “a hugeresurgence in package holidays in recentyears” across all of their metrics. Figuresfrom trade group Abta appear to backthis up, with the number of peoplebooking them rising 15 per cent in thelast five years.

But with the disastrous collapse ofThomas Cook having dealt a seriousblow to the image of travel agents inrecent weeks, Hays may need that trendto continue if they are to vindicate theirbig move. ALEX DANIEL

BOTTOM LINE

UK-BASED insurance startup Cuvva has appointed Lloyd’s of London chairman BruceCarnegie-Brown to chair its board. The new appointment at Cuvva, a City A.M. 2017award winner, forms part of a series of strategic hires at the group.

TAKE CUVVA Lloyd’s of London chair betson the future by joining insurtech startup

05THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019 NEWSCITYAM.COM

SEBASTIAN MCCARTHY

@SebMcCarthyUK EQUITIES and sterling could bothsuffer a double-digit hit to their valuefrom a disruptive no-deal Brexit, ac-cording to a new financial stress test.

In the event of a disorderly depar-ture from the European Union, UK equity markets and the pound rela-tive to the dollar could weaken by 15per cent and 10 per cent respectively.

The findings, published in MSCI’snew Brexit stress test, also predictedthat corporate bond markets could behurt by any disruptions.

“In short, equity markets woulddrop, with the UK bearing the largestimpact. Sovereign yields would decrease in the UK and Europe, whilecorporate spreads would widen. Boththe pound and euro would lose valuerelative to the dollar,” MSCI said.

Depending on whether a deal isreached, the impact on the UK equitymarket may range from minus 15 per

Disruption couldweaken sterlingand UK equities

BT plots return to high street inbid to shake up its brand imageJAMES WARRINGTON

@j_a_warringtonBT IS set to return to theUK high street as part of araft of reforms aimed at pushing itsso-called national champion image.

The telecoms giant has said it willoverhaul its 615 EE stores and re-launch them as co-branded shops.

Chief executive Philip Jansen saidthe company was “swimmingagainst the tide”, adding that themove could have long-term benefits.

The firm will pump £350m intoinitiatives such as a new combinedmobile and broadband plan.

BT’s share price rose one per centyesterday on news of the company’splans to shake up its image.

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cent to plus 10 per cent, while thepound may lose 10 per cent or gaineight per cent against the US dollar.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson hasvowed to take Britain out of the EUwith or without a deal by the end ofOctober.

The pound is now 17 per centcheaper than prior to the 2016 refer-endum, when Britain voted to leavethe EU.

Both UK and European equity mar-kets have underperformed globalmarkets during the last three years,according to MSCI.

The figures come a day after thenew boss of the International Mone-tary Fund (IMF) delivered a dramaticassessment of global growthprospects.

Kristalina Georgieva declared that“the global economy is now in a syn-chronised slowdown” following a turbulent year which included tradeconflicts, Brexit uncertainty andmass protests in Hong Kong.

Small businesscannot live off‘kind promises’ANNA MENIN

@annafmeninTHE FEDERATION of SmallBusinesses (FSB) has said smallbusinesses cannot “live off kindpromises for the future” after theUK leaves the EU.The FSB’s comments came afterthe first meeting of a new financecouncil designed to support smalland medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) secure lending post-Brexit.

The finance council — made upof representatives from banks,other finance providers,government, and business — wascreated following criticism thatSMEs were not being offeredenough support in the run up toBrexit.

At its first meeting yesterday,banks and other lenders agreed tofive pledges outlining how they willsupport SMEs, including“confirming they are ‘open forbusiness and ready to lend’”.

Other pledges include “helpingSMEs to prepare for Brexit andbeyond by setting out the resourcesthat they can provide”.

It has not yet been announcedwhich lenders have signed thecharter.

1.04%

VEGAN cheese maker Violife Foods could be snapped up by the owner of Flora and ICan't Believe It's Not Butter, according to Sky News. The broadcaster reported thatthe former Unilever spreads business is in advanced talks to buy the group.

BIG CHEESE Flora owner in talks to buyfast-growing plant-based food firm Violife

07THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019 NEWSCITYAM.COM

JESS CLARK

@jclarkjournoGVC, THE owner of Ladbrokes Coral,upgraded its full-year earnings guid-ance as the gambling giant reportedan increase in over-the-counter trading following a government crackdown on betting machines.

The company yesterday increased itsfull-year guidance range to between£670m and £680m, from a previousestimate of £650m to £670m.

Retail revenue fell 18 per cent in thethird quarter, which was ahead of initial guidance, following the cut infixed odds betting machines’ maxi-mum stakes to £2. The introduction ofthe new rules saw net machine rev-enue fall 36 per cent.

However, over-the-counter bettingrevenue was seven per cent ahead of2018, as customers adapted to the newregulations.

Online net gaming revenue from 1July to 30 September was also up 12per cent compared to last year, thecompany said in a trading update yesterday morning.

GVC ups outlookdespite bettingmachine ruling

Chief executive Kenneth Alexandersaid: “I am delighted that the group’sfinancial performance has allowed us to upgrade our full-year [earnings] expectations again.

“Online momentum remains strongacross all major territories, with netgaming revenue up 12 per cent in thequarter despite the prior period containing part of the World Cup.

“This performance continues to bedriven by our industry-leading tech-nology, products, brands, marketingcapability, and people.”

Shares in GVC rose more than fourper cent on the news yesterday.

‘They don’t have a clue’: Trumplambasts the Federal ReserveSTEFAN BOSCIA

@Stefan_BosciaUS PRESIDENT Donald Trump hasupped his attacks on the FederalReserve, saying “they don’t have aclue”.

The President was responding onsocial media to Fox News presenterMaria Bartiromo who said the Fedwas “behind the curve” on cuttinginterest rates.

Trump responded yesterday:“They don’t have a clue, but I do. TheUSA is doing great despite the Fed!”

The attack is the latest in a longline aimed at the Fed for not cuttinginterest rates fast or deep enough.

The central bank cut its rate lastmonth by 25 basis points to a targetrange of 1.75 and two per cent.

It was the second cut of the yearafter the Fed dropped the targetrange to between two and 2.25 percent in July.

Trump responded to the Octoberannouncement by calling Fedchairman Jerome Powell a“bonehead” and saying the targetrate should be zero or sub-zero.

London property prices continue tofall in ongoing political uncertaintyJESS CLARK

@jclarkjournoLONDON house prices dipped lastmonth as both sellers and buyerscontinue to drag their feet untilclarity emerges over discussions inparliament on the UK’s upcomingdeparture from the European Union.

Research shows that 36 per cent ofestate agents in London reported afall in agreed sales and 30 per cent

saw a drop in homes coming on tothe market in September.

House prices also fell last monthaccording to 36 per cent of Londonestate agents, but only five per centexpect prices to dip further in the 12months, according to a Rics survey ofagents in the capital.

The government has pledged toleave the EU on 31 October, with orwithout a deal.

Rics chief economist Simon

Rubinsohn said: “There are goodreasons for thinking the latest dip inboth buyer enquiries and vendorinstructions is a knee-jerk responseto the endless wrangling aboutBrexit, as the 31 October deadlineapproaches... However, unless thereis a speedy resolution to the ongoingimpasse it does seem inevitable thatthe stand-off between purchasers and sellers will deepen making itharder to complete transactions.”

GVC

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US SENATOR Marco Rubio yesterday asked officials to review Tiktok’s acquisition ofMusical.ly. Rubio said Chinese-owned apps “are being used to censor content andsilence open discussion on topics deemed sensitive by the Chinese government.”

OUT OF LIP-SYNC US senator Rubio callsfor review into Tiktok-Musical.ly merger

CITYAM.COM08 THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019NEWS

ANNA MENIN

@annafmeninBRITAIN’s banks and financial systemare prepared for a “worst-case disorderly Brexit”, the Bank of Eng-land (BoE) said yesterday, although itwarned there could still be disrup-tion, particularly for borrowers fromthe European Union.

Extensive preparations by UK authorities and businesses have mitigated “most risks to UK financialstability that could arise from disrup-tion to cross-border financial servicesin a no-deal Brexit,” the Bank’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) saidin a statement.

The FPC said that although the UKhad taken action to address thebiggest risk of disruption for its citizens, there could still be disrup-tion for people in the EU following ano-deal Brexit.

“Such disruption would primarilyaffect EU households and businesses,

British financialsystem bracedfor worst Brexit

Jennifer Arcuri was awarded £126,000 in funding while Boris Johnson was mayor

Assembly seeks advice on PM’sresponse to corruption claimsSTEFAN BOSCIA

@Stefan_BosciaTHE LONDON Assembly is seekinglegal advice on whether it canpublish Boris Johnson’s response tocorruption allegations.

A Number 10 representativedelivered a submission on behalf ofthe PM on Tuesday in response to an

alleged conflict of interest in hisdealings with US businesswomanJennifer Arcuri during his time asmayor of London

However, the London Assemblysaid Number 10 marked the letter as“not for publication”. A spokespersonsaid the Assembly was “frustratedand not happy”, and sought adviceover whether to publish the paper.

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but it could amplify volatility or spillback to the UK in ways that cannot befully anticipated or mitigated,” itadded.

The statement also warned the UKcould face “significant further assetprice volatility” in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

“In a disorderly Brexit, demand forUK assets could be expected to fallsharply, depreciating sterling andtightening financial conditions forUK households and businessesthrough adjustments in equity pricesand corporate and bank fundingcosts,” it said.

BoE governor Mark Carney told theTreasury Select Committee lastmonth that a worst-case Brexit would have a less severe effect on theeconomy than previously thoughtthanks to preparations by businessand government.

The BoE dropped its previous expec-tation of an eight per cent loss in GDPin the event of no-deal to 5.5 per cent.

Banks forced toapologise overLeave.EU tweetJAMES BOOTH

@Jamesdbooth1LEAVE.EU founder Arron Banksapologised yesterday for an anti-German tweet featuring chancellorAngela Merkel that was publishedby the pro-Brexit group.

The tweet featured a picture ofMerkel next to the tagline: “Wedidn’t win two world wars to bepushed around by a kraut”.

Banks, who initially defended thetweet which was posted onTuesday, yesterday accepted thatLeave.EU had crossed a line andapologised.

“The Leave.EU team went too faryesterday but the real outrage isthe German suggestion thatNorthern Ireland be separatedfrom the UK. As a result we willdelete the post and apologiseaccordingly,” he said.

Leave.EU communicationsdirector Andy Wigmore tweeted:“We have removed the tweets from[Tuesday] that were notappropriate, we went too far andwe apologise.”

The group was criticised by bothpro-Leave and Remain voters forthe tweet, which was widelydescribed as xenophobic.

09THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019 NEWSCITYAM.COM

*Source: Morningstar, share price, total return as at 30.06.19. **Ongoing charges as at 31.03.19 calculated in accordance with AIC recommendations. Excludes transaction costs, costs of borrowing money to invest and the ongoing costs of any underlying investment funds within the Trust’s portfolio. Details of these costs can be found in the Key Information Document. Your call may be recorded for training or monitoring purposes. Issued and approved by Baillie Gifford & Co Limited, whose registered address is at Calton Square, 1 Greenside Row, Edinburgh, EH1 3AN, United Kingdom. Baillie Gifford & Co Limited is the authorised Alternative Investment Fund Manager and Company Secretary of the Company. Baillie Gifford & Co Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The investment trusts managed by Baillie Gifford & Co Limited are listed UK companies and are not authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

WANTED. DREAMERS, VISIONARIES AND REVOLUTIONARIES.

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SCOTTISH MORTGAGE ENTERED THE FTSE 100 INDEX IN MARCH 2017.

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SCOTTISH MORTGAGE INVESTMENT TRUST

ILLIAM Russell has beenelected as the 692nd LordMayor of the City of London.

He will serve as a global ambassadorfor UK-based financial and professionalservices, taking office on 8 November.

Alderman Russell will also look topromote his ‘Global UK – Trade,Innovation & Culture’ agenda which willbuild on the current Lord Mayor’s themeof ‘Shaping Tomorrow’s City Today’,focusing on connecting communitiesthrough trade, innovation and culture.

This year’s Lord Mayor’s Show takes

place on Saturday 9 November. Inaddition, Show Zones - at PaternosterSquare/St Paul’s Churchyard andBloomberg Arcade - will host a range ofevents, activities and attractions.

lordmayorsshow.london

City of London update

News, info and offers at www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/eshot

Next Lord Mayor of the City of London elected

Is your firm ready for Brexit?HAS your business prepared for Brexit?The UK government has pledged toleave the European Union with orwithout a deal.

This may have a significant impact onbusinesses of all sizes across theSquare Mile and beyond. So firms needto start preparing now for the impact itmay have for your business andemployees.

An information campaign urging thepublic to "get ready for Brexit" hasbeen launched by the government.including a website, gov.uk/brexit.

The City of London Corporation has alsocreated a web page that lists differentsources of advice that could help.cityoflondon.gov.uk/brexitandyourbusiness

W

Aberdeen Standardpressures BHP overclimate leadershipBARBARA LEWIS

ONE OF BHP’s biggest shareholders,Aberdeen Standard Investments, yester-day added to pressure for the world’sleading miner to cut ties with lobbygroups it said are at odds with the com-pany’s pledges on climate leadership.

Earlier, the Church of EnglandPensions Board urged shareholderadvisers to review their opposition to aresolution calling on BHP to withdrawfrom groups that lobby for policiesinconsistent with global climate changelimitation goals.

Aberdeen Standard Investments,which holds around 3.2 per cent of BHP’sstock, said it was taking the rare step ofspeaking out ahead of a vote at BHP’sannual shareholder meeting in London

on 17 October because of the urgency oftackling climate change, and after itsresearch found the lobby groups were thebiggest single obstacle to progress.

In a telephone interview, Bill Hartnett,stewardship director at AberdeenStandard, said BHP had shown climateleadership in many ways, but that stancewas contradicted by its membership ofsome industry groups.

“Failure to implement effectivegovernance of its industry grouplobbying activities serves to underminethe integrity of BHP’s climate leadershipposition and causes damage to itsreputation,” Hartnett said. He did notspecify which lobby groups.

Aberdeen Standard Investments, partof Standard Life Aberdeen, is a top-fiveBHP shareholder.

HUW JONES

BRITAIN’s accounting regulatorlaunched its biggest recruitmentdrive yesterday to hire 80 more staffas it transforms into a morepowerful body to improve auditquality.

The Financial Reporting Council(FRC) has been criticised bypoliticians for being “toothless” inits response to failures at retailer

BHS and construction companyCarillion, which collapsed withlittle warning to staff and investors.

A government-backed review saidlast December the FRC should bereplaced with a more powerfulAudit, Reporting and GovernanceAuthority (Arga) that is not“excessively consensual” in treatingEY, KPMG, Deloitte and PwC, the —Big Four accountants that dominatethe auditing industry.

It has begun responding faster,announcing a formal investigationinto the auditor of Thomas Cook, atravel company that only collapsedlast month. It is also taking aharder line on audit quality.

A new chair, Simon Dingemans,and new chief executive JonThompson took up the reins thismonth, but the formal namechange to Arga and other changesmust wait for legislation.

UK accounting regulator launchesbiggest ever recruitment process

Reuters

Reuters

11THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019 NEWSCITYAM.COM

SEBASTIAN MCCARTHY

@SebMcCarhyGOLDMAN Sachs is reviewing its rolein the planned listing of a Chinesetech firm that has been blacklisted bythe US.

The bank said yesterday that it waslooking at its involvement in MegviiTechnology’s potential initial publicoffering (IPO).

Megvii, known predominantly for itsfacial recognition algorithms, is one of28 Chinese groups to be blacklisted forits alleged involvement in the repres-sion of Muslim minorities.

The US has put 20 Chinese govern-ment entities and eight companies onthe so-called entity list following theiralleged involvement against ethnicUighurs in China’s Xinjiang province.

“We are evaluating in light of the recent developments,” the bank saidin an emailed statement.

Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JP

Goldman weighsrole with AI firm

Morgan are joint sponsors of the IPO.Sources had previously told Reuters

the listing was scheduled for HongKong during the fourth quarter andmight raise as much as $1bn (£820m).

Megvii would be the first Chinese AIgroup to go public if it does list laterthis year.

The move to blacklist 28 Chinesegroups has escalated tensions betweenthe US and China, denting hopes of atrade war truce between the two sidesin the coming days.

The US government has also imposedvisa restrictions on Chinese govern-ment and Communist party officialsthat it believes are responsible for thedetention or abuse of Muslims in Xinjiang.

UN experts and activists predict thatat least 1m Uighurs and members ofother largely Muslim minority groupshave been detained in camps in the remote region. Beijing denies any mistreatment at the camps.

Investment manager Reyker with£1bn assets files for administrationANNA MENIN

@annafmeninREYKER Securities, an investmentmanagement firm responsible for£1bn of assets, has entered specialadministration amid “financialdifficulties” following a failedattempt to sell the firm.

The company, which has around15,000 clients, had been pursuing anaccelerated sales process, but the

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)confirmed this fell through.

“Due to the firm’s financialdifficulties the directors resolvedthat it was cash flow insolvent, andin discussion with us, took steps toplace the firm into specialadministration,” the FCA said.

Administrators Smith &Williamson announced yesterdaythat Mark Ford, Adam Stephens andHenry Shinners had been appointed

as joint special administrators forReyker.

The administrators said Reykercontrols client monies worth around£55m and has custody of around£960m of assets, some of which wasinvested via ISAs and pensionproducts.

Smith & Williamson said it would“look to pursue a transfer to anotherprovider of either some or all of theReyker business”.

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LUXURY fashion brand Stella McCartney has appointed Moschino director GabrieleMaggio as its new chief executive, as the company begins a new partnership withminority owner LVMH, according to Women’s Wear Daily.

IN VOGUE Moschino director appointedas new Stella McCartney chief executive

CITYAM.COM12 THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019NEWS

ANNA MENIN

@annafmeninVENTURE capital (VC) investment infast-growing British businesses surged19 per cent in the third quarter to over£2.4bn, new figures have shown,meaning the UK is on target to smashlast year’s record investment levels.

Over £7.4bn was invested by VCs inUK scaleup firms during the first ninemonths of 2019, almost equalling the£7.6bn raised over the entirety of 2018,according to research publishedyesterday by KPMG.

Scaleups are companies that havegrown beyond the startup stage, andwere defined in the study ascompanies that had received at leastone round of institutional or series Ainvestment.

The UK’s strong performancebetween July and September wasspearheaded by two health technologycompanies — remote consultation appBabylon Health’s £368m funding

Scaleups attractsurge in venturecapital backing

The aviation company U-turned on its promise to fly Boeing planes later this year

American Airlines drops Boeing737 Max flights until 15 JanuaryDAVID SHEPARDSON

AMERICAN Airlines Group yesterdayextended cancellations of Boeing 737Max flights through 15 January,running contrary to the US planemaker’s promises that the groundedjets would be flying again before theyear-end.

The largest US airline, which had

previously cancelled about 140flights a day through 3 December,upped its estimate for the impact ofthe groundings on third-quarter pre-tax profit to $140m (£114.6m)$15m more than a previous estimate.

Its shares rose, however, on thecompany’s statement in a tradingupdate that lower fuel costs hadboosted margins.

round and the £195m raise secured byCambridge-based medical device firmCMR Surgical.

“VC investment in fast growth UKbusinesses remains as robust as everwith the domestic economic andpolitical outlook having very littleimpact on their appetite for ourdisruptive enterprises,” said Tim Kay,director of KPMG Enterprise.

Although investment totals are ontrack to break records, the number ofVC deals made continued to fallduring the third quarter. There werejust 245 deals completed during thequarter — a 42 per cent drop on the 421made in the previous three months,and on the 420 made during the sameperiod last year.

“While there continues to be asignificant amount of liquidity in the global VC market, investors areputting greater emphasis ongovernance, business models andexpectations related to profitability,”Kay said.

Airbus cautionsemployees on2019 cash flowALEX DANIEL

@alexmdanielAIRBUS’ second-most profitabledivision, its defence and spacebusiness, is said to have warnedemployees it faces seriouschallenges meeting cash flow for2019.

It comes after the company alsourged its 33,000 workers to savemore cash in the final quarter oflast year.

The last quarter is usually aperiod of more challenging cashflow, with government clients oftenslow to pay up for work.

But Airbus is said to be feelingthe pinch even more this year, as itremains entangled in a disputewith Germany over arms exports toSaudi Arabia.

Germany froze arms exports tothe Gulf kingdom after Saudiagents killed journalist JamalKhashoggi last year.

Airbus has said the moratoriumdisrupted an already long-delayedSaudi border systems contract.

Subsequently, the firm’s defenceand space staff have been urged totake steps to improve the unit’scash flow by the end of the year,according to Reuters sources.Reuters

13THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019 NEWSCITYAM.COM

Section 17 Licensing Act 2003

Licensing Act 2003 Application

for a new Premises Licence Notice is hereby given that (1) Cafe Luca (Devonshire Sq)

Limited has applied to the City of London on (2) 07 October 2019 for a new premises licence to use (3) 17 Devonshire

Square, London EC2M 4SQ for the provision of (4) Supply of Alcohol. A record of this application is held by the City of London and can be viewed by members of the public online by visiting

www.cityoflondon.gov.uk or by appointment at the offices of City of London licensing authority, Walbrook Wharf, 78-83 Upper Thames Street, London EC4R 3TD. Any person wishing to

make a representation in relation to this application must give notice in writing to the licensing authority at the address shown

above, giving in detail the grounds of objection by (5) 04 November 2019.

The licensing authority must receive representations by the date given above. The licensing authority will have regard to any

such representation when considering the application. It is an offence, under section 158 of the Licensing Act 2003, to knowingly or recklessly make a false statement in or in

connection with an application for premises licence and the maximum fine on being convicted of such an offence is £5000.

OPENING NEX T WEEK

19 9 9 | 2 0 Y E AR S | 2019

17 – 20 OCTOBERBattersea Park, London

I N PA RTNERS H I P W I TH

JESS CLARK

@jclarkjournoUK COMMERCIAL property valuesdipped last month, driven by poorperformance in the retail sector.

Capital values across commercialproperty fell 0.4 per cent in Septem-ber, while rental values were flat.

In the third quarter capital valuesdipped 0.9 per cent overall, markingthe fourth successive negative quarterand the weakest of the years so far.

The decline was driven by a fall inthe value of retail property, which fell1.7 per cent in September, accordingto the latest monthly index publishedyesterday by CBRE.

Shopping centre values fell 2.6 percent and the value of retail ware-houses dropped 1.8 per cent, as theproperty industry continues to feelthe knock-on effect of the challengingretail environment.

Robin Honeyman, senior researchanalyst at CBRE, said: “All property returns in the third quarter wereagain dampened by the continuedpoor performance in the retail sector,where returns were down on the pre-vious two quarters and on the sameperiod last year.

“However, performance in the officeand industrial sectors continues to remain steady.”

UK commercialpropery valueshurt by retailers

Wework have been on shaky ground since scrapping their public listing last month

Goldman Sachs backs up bankwith extra Wework office spaceALEX DANIEL

@alexmdanielGOLDMAN Sachs is said to have setup a trading floor in a Wework officein London so the bank can keepoperating in case of a disaster.

The space comes on top of the USbank’s brand new £1bn, 10-storey HQin Farringdon, toured by City A.M.,that houses the company’s 6,500London employees, and covers morethan 1m square feet.

But Goldman’s business continuityprogramme, listed on its website,hopes to keep the machine runningin the case of a major disruption.

This could be anything from a

natural disaster, cyber attack of“significant reduction in ourworkforce due to illness, injury ordeath”.

The extra Wework site is reportedlypart of that programme, meaningthe bank’s most important Londontraders can quickly decamp toanother space in an emergency.

Goldman’s new trading floor is inWework’s facility on WaterhouseSquare in Holborn, a renovatedVictorian building.

The existence of the site was firstreported by the Financial Times. Itfollows the news that HSBC is thefirst occupant in Wework’s largestEuropean building in Waterloo.

The office sector recorded capitalvalue growth of 0.4 per cent and totalreturns of 0.8 per cent. Central London offices out-performed the sector average with an increase of 0.6 per cent.

The report comes after research byproptech platform Datscha revealedalmost £50bn of commercial propertydeals were completed in London between January 2017 and June 2019.

Lesley Males, Datscha’s head of re-search, said: “The significance of thisresearch lies in the understanding ofLondon’s global appeal and resilienceright throughout the three-year longperiod of political instability in whichwe find ourselves.”

American investors were the fastestgrowing group in London’s commer-cial property market since 2017, completing deals worth £5bn.

Asian investors continued to domi-nate the foreign buyers’ market, despite the first decline in numbers intwo years, with a total investment of£15.8bn between January 2017 andJune this year.

In the Square Mile, Asian invest-ment totalled 48 per cent — worth£1.4bn — in the first half of 2019. Thefigure was driven by the £1.18bn saleand leaseback of Goldman Sach’s newheadquarters to Lasalle on behalf ofthe Korean National Pension Service.

Johnson urgesUS to reassessdiplomat caseANDY BRUCE

BRITISH Prime Minister BorisJohnson urged US President DonaldTrump to reconsider a decision tolet a US diplomat’s wife usediplomatic immunity after herinvolvement in a fatal car crashinvolving a British teenager,Downing Street said yesterday.

Harry Dunn, 19, was killed inAugust in a road collision near RAFCroughton, an air force base incentral England that is used by theUnited States.

Anne Sacoolas is accused offleeing the UK after the incident, inwhich she allegedly had beendriving on the wrong side of theroad, and seeking diplomaticimmunity in the US.

“The prime minister urged thepresident to reconsider the USposition so the individual involvedcan return to the UK, co-operatewith police and allow Harry’sfamily to receive justice,” aDowning Street spokeswoman saidin a readout of a call between thetwo leaders.

Johnson had previouslycommented on the incident, saying:“I do not think that it can be rightto use the process of diplomaticimmunity for this type of purpose.”

Johnson is stepping up previousgovernment efforts to recallSacoolas to the UK. Foreignsecretary Dominic Raab met theAmerican ambassador to the UK onTuesday in a bid to persuade the USto change its stance.

FOO YUN CHEE

THE EUROPEAN Union warned yester-day of the risk of increased cyber attacks by state-backed entities but re-frained from singling out China andits telecoms equipment market leaderHuawei as threats.

The comments came in a report prepared by EU member states on cybersecurity risks to next-generation5G mobile networks seen as crucial tothe bloc’s competitiveness in an increasingly networked world.

The authors chose to ignore calls by

the United States to ban Huawei’sequipment, drawing a welcome fromthe Shenzen-based company after itfaced US accusations that its gearcould be used by China for spying.

“Among the various potential actors, non-EU states or state-backedare considered as the most seriousones and the most likely to target 5Gnetworks,” the European Commissionsaid in a joint statement.

The EU is looking to come up with atoolbox of measures by the end of theyear to address cyber security risks atnational and bloc-wide level.

EU warns of 5G cybersecurity risksbut bites tongue on naming China

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CITYAM.COM14 THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019NEWS

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ANNA MENIN

@annafmeninTHE AFRICAN Export-Import Bank isconsidering an initial public offering(IPO) of global depositary receipts onthe London Stock Exchange (LSE), inwhat could be a rare boost for theUK’s stock market.

The Cairo-headquartered bank,which is also known as Afreximbank,said it was weighing a listing on London’s main exchange.

It is already listed on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius.

Founded in 1993 by a group ofAfrican governments and investors,Afreximbank was created to “to facilitate, promote and expand intra-and extra-African trade”. It says it hasprovided over $69bn (£56.5bn) oftrade financing across 51 countriessince its creation.

“Afreximbank is very much at theepicentre of Africa’s trade, which isexpected to grow rapidly,” said president Benedict Oramah.

“We are in a key position to leverageour existing relationships with theAfrican Union and its 55 member

African bankinggroup considersa London listing

countries to provide a platform fortrade and investment flows across thecontinent,” he added.

The bank has engaged JP Morganand HSBC to act as joint global coordinators and bookrunners for thepotential listing.

The possible flotation is a rare pieceof good news for London’s IPO market, which has struggled with asharp drop in new listings amid ongoing political uncertainty.

There were just 24 IPOs on the LSEby the end of September this year, a55 per cent drop compared to thesame period in 2018, according to recent research by EY.

The third quarter of 2019 was thequietest quarter in a decade for UKIPOs, with just four listings takingplace between July and September.

Kazakh fintech group Kaspi.kz postponed its planned London IPOearlier this week, citing “un-favourable market conditions”.

The float, which had been valued at $5bn (£4bn), was set to be thelargest by a Central Asian company on the LSE since the 2008 financialcrash.

B&Q owner Kingfisher appointsTravelport chief as finance bossJAMES BOOTH

@Jamesdbooth1B&Q OWNER Kingfisher hasappointed a new chief financialofficer, it said yesterday.

Bernard Bot joins the homeimprovement group after his mostrecent role as finance boss of traveltechnology firm TravelportWorldwide which was New York-listed until June.

His appointment comes less thana month after chief executiveThierry Garnier took up his position

at the business, which owns the UK’sB&Q and France’s Castorama.

Bot will take up the role on 21October, also joining the company’sboard of directors and its executiveteam.

Kingfisher said that Bot was“integral to the repositioning” of hisprevious company Travelport “froma traditional travel contentdistributor to a digital-led commerceplatform”.

Bot was previously chief financialofficer at Aer Lingus and has heldroles at delivery company TNT.

Wealth management firm hits £1bnmilestone four months after launchSEBASTIAN MCCARTHY

@SebMcCarthyA NEW wealth managementpartnership that pitches itsinvestments as “anti-Woodford” has passed £1bn in assets undermanagement four months afterlaunching.

Vermeer Partners, which says itinvests in liquid equities and bonds,has hailed its first billion-pound

milestone since being set up lastyear.

The news comes amid a turbulenttime for the wealth managementsector, which has faced scrutinysince former star fund manager NeilWoodford suspended his flagshipfund earlier this year.

Funds with illiquid assets thatcannot be sold easily but offerinstant withdrawals have beencriticised by regulators ever since

Woodford stopped money going inor out of his Equity Income Fund.

“Recent events in the investmentsector have shown how great thisneed really is. Private clients areunderstandably shaken by recentevents and the catastrophic failingsof rock star fund managers,” saidchairman Michael Kerr Dineen.

One source told City A.M. thatVermeer Partners has a further£400m in the pipeline.

THREE scientists have wonthe 2019 Nobel Prize for

Chemistry for putting powerin people’s pockets by

developing rechargeablelithium-ion batteries which

made the global informationtechnology, mobile and

fossil-fuel free revolutionspossible. John Goodenough(pictured) from the US is the

oldest person ever to win aNobel at 97. He was joined inSweden yesterday by fellow

prize-winners StanleyWhittingham from Britain

and Akira Yoshino of Japan.

POWER UP Three scientists win the NobelPrize for Chemistry for lithium batteries

15THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019 NEWSCITYAM.COM

SHADIA NASRALLA

SAUDI Aramco’s chief executive saidyesterday there would be no impacton the stock market listing plans ofthe state oil giant after attacks on itsinstallations last month, which heblamed on Iran.

Attacks such as those on 14 Septem-ber, which sent oil prices up as muchas 20 per cent, may continue if thereis no concerted international re-sponse, Amin Nasser told the Oil andMoney conference in London.

The attacks targeted the Abqaiq andKhurais plants at the heart of SaudiArabia’s oil industry, causing firesand damage and shutting down 5.7mbarrels per day of production — morethan five per cent of global oil supply.

“An absence of international resolveto take concrete action may emboldenthe attackers and indeed put theworld’s energy security at greaterrisk,” Nasser said in rare political comments.

“You heard the minister of foreignaffairs and I think he spoke enoughabout [where] the attacks [are] comingfrom. It’s instigated by Iran for sure,there’s no doubt.”

Yemen’s Houthi group claimed

Saudi oil attackshad ‘no impact’on Aramco float

Turkey’s military operation in northern Syria could affect regional oil production

20 per cent of people surveyed did not know they needed a driving licence in the EU

BOZORGMEHR SHARAFEDIN

OIL ROSE yesterday following mediareports that China was open toagreeing a partial trade deal with theUnited States, while Turkey’s militaryoperation in northern Syria alsosupported prices as it could impactregional oil production.

Brent crude was 32 cents at $58.56a barrell yesterday evening, and USWest Texas Intermediate crude was at$52.98, up 35 cents.

Negotiators from the United Statesand China, the world’s top two

economies, will meet in Washingtontoday in the latest effort to hammerout a deal aimed at ending a long-running trade dispute that hasslowed global growth.

Tensions between the two sidesrose this week as the United Statesimposed visa restrictions on Chineseofficials and placed some majorChinese companies on a blacklist.

China is still open to agreeing apartial trade deal, Bloombergreported yesterday, citing an official with direct knowledge ofthe talks.

responsibility for the attacks, but a USofficial said they originated fromsouthwestern Iran.

Riyadh blamed Tehran. Iran, whichsupports the Houthis in Yemen’s war,has denied any involvement.

Saudi Arabia has maintained sup-plies to customers at levels seen before the attacks by drawing from itsoil inventories and offering crudegrades from other fields.

Nasser added that the attacks hadno effect on Aramco’s revenues because the company continued tosupply customers as planned.

The attacks also had “no impact onthe initial public offering whatso-ever,” he said.

Saudi Arabia is pressing ahead withplans to sell between one per cent andtwo per cent of Aramco through a local listing, which might be followed by additional share sales internationally.

An initial public offering prospectusin Arabic could be released to in-vestors on 25 October and an Englishone for the wider market on 27 Octo-ber, sources told Reuters.

Nasser said Aramco was on track toregain its maximum oil productionby the end of November.

JAMES WARRINGTON

@j_a_warringtonONLINE payments startupCheckout.com is set to hire 100members of staff and relocate to newOld Street offices as it unveiled asharp rise in revenue for the year.

The British fintech unicorn willtriple its office space with a new63,000 square feet location near thecapital’s Silicon Valley roundabout,having outgrown its currentheadquarters in Fitzrovia.

Checkout.com has also launched anew recruitment drive with openingsacross engineering, commercial andproduct functions.

The firm yesterday reported a 60per cent rise in European revenue to$74.8m (£61.2m), driven by a 150 percent increase in the volume ofpayments processed.

Checkout.com has doubled in sizesince 2018, with staff numbers set toreach 300 people by the end of theyear. The firm said it is on track tohave 600 employees in London by the

end of 2020.“Our new headquarters is three

times as big as the old one and that’sa clear statement of our commitmentto London from where we can build agenuinely global business,” said chiefexecutive and founder GuillaumePousaz.

“The UK is home to the largest e-commerce market in Europe and weare proud to provide payments tomany of the country’s biggest brandsincluding companies in traditionalsectors like media and travel.”

Checkout.com expands to new Cityheadquarters as revenue increases

STEFAN BOSCIA

@Stefan_BosciaMILLIONS of British motorists are notaware they may be required to carryan insurance green card to drive inEurope after Brexit.

UK citizens driving in the EU willneed the card in the case of a no-dealBrexit to prove they have third-partyinsurance.

However, research commissioned

by the British Insurance Brokers’Association (Biba) and the Associationof British Insurers (ABI) showed 55per cent people were unaware of this.

The poll also showed that 20 percent of people failed to recognisethey even needed a valid licence todrive in the EU.

Graeme Trudgill, executive directorat Biba said: “Since the 2016referendum Biba has raised withgovernment the difficulties of

reverting to a green card system andthe additional bureaucracy thatdrivers will have to face. This researchconfirms what we suspect.”

Hugh Savill, director of regulationat the ABI, said that it was of vitalimportance that those travellingbetween Northern Ireland andIreland to have sourced a green card.

A Department for Transportspokesperson said the governmentwas working with Biba on the matter.

Majority of British drivers unawareof documents required for no-deal

Oil rises on signals of mitigatingtensions between US and China

The payments startup is set to relocate to new offices in Old Street

AT&T set to sellcertain assetsin $1.95bn dealNEHA MALARA

AT&T SAID yesterday it would sell itswireless and wireline operations inPuerto Rico and the US Virgin Islandsto Liberty Latin America for $1.95bn(£1.6bn), as the second-largest USwireless carrier cuts its huge debtpile.

The deal comes as the companyfaces calls from activist investorElliott Management to end itsacquisition spree and focus onimproving its business.

“This transaction is a result of ourongoing strategic review of ourbalance sheet and assets to identifyopportunities for monetisation,”chief financial officer John Stephenssaid in a statement.

Reuters had reported in July thatAT&T was exploring a sale for itsPuerto Rico assets for $3bn to cut thedebt it took on to purchase TimeWarner for $85bn last year.

AT&T’s long-term debt stood at$157.79bn as of June end, accordingto a regulatory filing.

The company has already sold itsstake in streaming service Hulu for$1.43bn and Warnermedia’sManhattan offices for about $2.2bn.

Liberty Latin America will supportits Firstnet program in Puerto Ricoand the US Virgin Islands, AT&T said.Firstnet is a national communicationplatform that is dedicated to firstresponders.

AT&T expects the deal to close inthe next nine months.ReutersReuters Reuters

CITYAM.COM16 THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019MARKETS

CITY DASHBOARDLONDON REPORT BEST OF THE BROKERS NEW YORK

REPORT

BRITISH shares lagged globalmarkets yesterday as fears ofdamage from Brexit out-weighed reports of Chinabeing open to a partial trade

deal with the United States.The FTSE 100, whose components

make two-thirds of their earningsabroad, added 0.3 per cent but trailedWall Street and European markets asblue-chip housebuilders and retailers fell.

The FTSE 250 index,which has a greater domestic exposure,ended 0.2 per centlower.

Supermarket chainsSainsbury’s and Tescolost 2.2 per cent and 1.1per cent respectively.

Meanwhile homebuilderPersimmon lost nearly twoper cent as a crucial deadline inthe long-drawn out Brexit processlooms ahead.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leavethe European Union on 31 Octoberwith or without a deal, leaving markets braced for a Brexit showdown.

Among the gainers, London Stock Exchange Group added 3.2 per cent totop the FTSE 100 leader-board,

UK market lagsglobal stocks asBrexit fears rise

FTSE

7,000

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7,200

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9 Oct7,166.50

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Wall St gainson US-Chinatalk optimismWALL Street rose yesterday on

hopes of progress in US-Chinatrade talks, though stocks

pared gains late after Chinese officialssaid Beijing had lowered expectationsfor negotiations this week.

All three major US stock averagesclosed in the black, but lost ground asthe closing bell approached afterChinese officials said goodwill wasdamaged by the US CommerceDepartment’s blacklisting of 28Chinese companies this week.

Investor sentiment got an earlyboost following a Bloomberg reportthat China remained open to agreeingto a partial trade deal with the UnitedStates.

Minutes from the US FederalReserve’s September meeting showedmost policy makers supported lastmonth’s interest rate cut, and while allwere generally more concerned withrisks associated with the US-Chinatrade war and slowing global growthamong other geopolitical issues, theydiffered on what that meant for theUS economy.

Trade tensions, signs of slowingeconomic growth and risinggeopolitical tensions have grippedequity markets so far this month, withthe S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexesoff about two per cent since the end ofSeptember.

The Dow Jones Industrial Averagerose 182.1 points, or 0.7 per cent, to26,346.14, the S&P 500 gained 26.34points, or 0.91 per cent, to 2,919.4 andthe Nasdaq Composite added 79.96points, or 1.02 per cent, to 7,903.74.

All 11 major sectors of the S&P 500closed higher, with technology andenergy enjoying the largestpercentage gains.

Trade-sensitive chipmakers rose,with the Philadelphia SESemiconductor index rising 1.7 percent.

Microsoft led the Dow's gain,advancing 1.9 per cent, whileJohnson & Johnson was the blue-chip index’s sole decliner.

The drug maker’s shares dropped1.99 per cent after a jury awarded$8bn (£6.6bn) in damages in a casesurrounding its drug Risperdal.

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3 Oct 4 Oct 7 Oct 8 Oct 9 Oct

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110

Robert Walters hit the headlines earlier this week after the recruiter blamed a“cocktail of confusion” for a profit warning. That cocktail included Brexit, US-Chinatrade tensions and Hong Kong protests. Chief executive Robert Walters nonethelessinsisted that the UK economy is not yet in the doldrums, adding that a no-dealBrexit would be better for business than a fresh delay to the departure. Analysts at Liberum have slashed the firm’s price target from 740p to 630p while issuing a“Buy” rating.

To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com

YOUR ONE-STOP SHOP FOR BROKER VIEWS AND MARKET REPORTS

9 Oct

451

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3 Oct 4 Oct 7 Oct 8 Oct 9 Oct

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recouping some of the steep lossesseen in the last session when HongKong Clearing and Exchange aban-doned takeover plans.

Just Eat climbed one per cent afterorders on rival Dutch platform Take-away.com surged.

Financial sector stocks rose 0.6 percent. They have fallen six per centsince the start of 2019, lagging a near

seven per cent rise in the FTSE 100over the same period and the

only major sector with year-to-date losses.

The recovery comes

ahead of the release ofminutes from the US

Federal Reserve’s last meet-ing, which could provide

further insight on how far it will goto prevent a slowdown.

GVC outperformed the midcapindex with a 5.1 per cent jump as theLadbrokes owner boosted its annualcore earnings target for the secondtime in three months on robust demand in its betting shops, despitetighter regulation.

That news helped rival William Hillgain one per cent.

CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBSASHBURTON INVESTMENTSSizwe Nxedlana has beenappointed chief executiveofficer (CEO) of AshburtonInvestments, the assetmanagement arm of Firstrand.Sizwe has been with Firstrandfor more than a decade,previously as First NationalBank’s (FNB) chief economistand most recently as CEO ofFNB’s wealth and investmentactivities. Sizwe remains CEO of FNB’s wealth andinvestments business. Commenting on theappointment, Firstrand chief operating officer, Mary

Vilakazi, said: “Asset management is an importantcomponent of Firstrand’s portfolio diversification,particularly the building out of its invest-and-savestrategies. Sizwe is a very experienced financialmarkets professional and, given his track record, is wellplaced to drive Ashburton Investments’ next growthphase.”

PI LABSLondon-based property technology venture capital PiLabs has announced the appointment of Phil Cowansas its new chief technology strategic advisor. Havingspent the past three years as founder and chieftechnology officer at one of London’s up and comingproptech startups, Nested, and recent advisory work

with Trussle, Phil is joining the Pi Labs team to providetechnical, as well as strategic advice on ground-breaking digital technologies that will shape the futureof the property sector. Faisal Butt, the founder andchief executive of Pi Labs, commented: “It’s mypleasure to welcome [Phil]. As we invest in innovationsin deep tech including AI, machine learning,augmented reality and blockchain, we have increasedour tech and engineering capability across the board.”

AVIVA INVESTORSThe global asset management business AvivaInvestors yesterday announced the appointment ofEmma Hailey as head of investment process. In thisnew role, Emma will be responsible for the generation,

structuring and completion of new ideas across AvivaInvestors’ multi-asset portfolios, with a particular focuson its multi-strategy (AIMS) range. Emma willmaximise collaboration across investment teams byco-ordinating key areas of focus for discussion at themulti-strategy team’s weekly investment meetings aswell as the firm-wide strategic investment groupforum. Emma joins from Fulcrum Asset Management,where she was head of portfolio management. Prior tothis, she spent four years in the global fixed incometeam at Schroders. Peter Fitzgerald, chief informationofficer at Aviva Investors, said: “We are very pleased towelcome Emma to the team and look forward tobenefiting from her experience as we continue to focuson strong idea generation to drive performance.”

To appear in CITYMOVES please email your career updates and pictures to citymoves@cityam.com

The shine has fallen off the share price of gold miner Centamin in the last monthfollowing the news of boss Andrew Pardey’s departure. The group has struggled toboost its output, causing lower production and profit forecasts through 2021 fromanalysts at Peel Hunt, who have reduced their target price by seven per cent to 120pas a result. The broker, which has recommended a “Hold” rating, also says thatPardey’s departure is “likely to introduce some degree of uncertainty at Centaminover the short term”.

Bottling giant Coca-Cola Hellenic is hoping its shares will fizz after anticipation of asoft third-quarter due to poor weather. Analysts at Jefferies have forecast a return togrowth of between five and six per cent that they think will drive a re-rating in thestock. “Whilst there could be some modest downside risk to street estimates, set upis starting to look favourable,” they said. The broker added that “recent weaknessoffers an attractive entry point,” cutting the price target from 3,000p to 2,900p andrecommending a “Buy” rating.

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TOP RISERS

1. LSE Up 2.59 per cent2. Anglo American Up 1.57 per cent3. BAE Systems Up 1.27 per cent

TOP FALLERS

1. Rightmove Down 3.35 per cent2. Fresnillo Down 2.58 per cent3. Halma Down 2.25 per cent

Delivery firm Just Eat’sshare price gained one

per cent yesterday

17THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019 MARKETSCITYAM.COM

Gold............................................................1505.85 4.60Silver...............................................................17.56 0.13Brent Crude ...................................................58.89 -0.36Krugerrand .................................................1472.10 -24.45Palladium ..................................................1629.00 -23.00Platinum ......................................................881.00 6.00Tin Cash Official .......................................16330.00 50.00Lead Cash Official ......................................2188.00 0.00Zinc Cash Official .......................................2327.00 -32.50

Copper Cash Official..................................5625.00 25.00

Aluminium Cash Official.............................1713.00 0.00

Nickel Cash Official ..................................17940.00 -385.00Aluminium Alloy Cash Official ...................1180.00 -60.00

Cocoa Futures ............................................2451.00 27.00

Coffee 'C' Futures...........................................95.35 -0.35

Feed Wheat Futures ....................................138.50 0.50

Soybeans Futures Continuation Contract...922.20 1.60

AB INBEV .........................................................84.29 0.40 92.71 56.32ADIDAS N........................................................277.90 7.70 297.95 178.30AIR LIQUIDE.....................................................116.20 1.15 119.23 92.59AIRBUS BR .......................................................117.38 -0.32 133.86 77.50ALLIANZ.........................................................206.00 -0.85 218.70 170.50AMADEUS IT GRP BR-A ....................................64.76 0.70 75.70 58.06ASML HLDG.....................................................224.65 3.60 231.90 130.12AXA ..................................................................22.45 -0.07 23.99 18.40BANCO SANTANDER ...........................................3.54 0.02 4.68 3.39BASF N..............................................................62.01 0.22 74.62 55.72BAYER N ...........................................................64.07 0.39 79.69 52.00BBVA...................................................................4.51 0.00 5.68 4.19BMW .................................................................62.41 0.46 79.00 58.10BNP PARIBAS A................................................42.49 0.17 52.31 38.14CRH PLC ............................................................29.43 0.32 34.87 26.53DAIMLER N .......................................................44.58 0.90 59.90 40.35DANONE ...........................................................78.96 0.86 82.38 59.72DEUTSCHE BOERSE N .......................................141.35 2.00 143.85 102.50DEUTSCHE POST N ............................................28.80 0.09 31.59 23.43DEUTSCHE TELEKOM N .......................................15.31 0.07 15.88 13.78ENEL N ...............................................................6.82 0.04 6.91 4.26ENGIE................................................................14.54 -0.12 15.09 11.31ENI N.................................................................13.60 0.07 16.42 12.92ESSILORLUXOTT ...............................................132.30 3.75 136.70 95.50FRESENIUS ........................................................41.43 0.53 69.48 38.50IBERDROLA.........................................................9.35 0.02 9.58 5.68INDITEX .............................................................27.78 0.28 29.00 21.85ING GROUP ........................................................9.06 -0.01 12.14 8.20INTESA SANPAOLO N...........................................2.10 0.02 2.36 1.80KERING...........................................................443.95 5.25 539.80 351.70KON AH DEL BR ................................................22.24 -0.20 24.01 18.97L'OREAL ..........................................................247.60 2.20 258.90 182.00LINDE ..............................................................169.35 1.30 0.00 0.00LVMH ..............................................................357.00 5.95 392.65 242.30MUENCHENER RUECKV N................................237.00 1.20 238.40 181.20NOKIA ................................................................4.48 -0.01 5.76 4.17ORANGE ............................................................14.37 0.05 15.25 13.08ROY.PHILIPS......................................................41.60 0.55 44.60 29.05SAFRAN ..........................................................140.45 1.10 145.40 99.98SANOFI..............................................................81.85 -0.29 85.90 71.74SAP I ...............................................................106.22 2.26 125.00 84.02SCHNEIDER EL....................................................77.14 2.02 82.20 57.54SIEMENS N ........................................................96.01 0.93 108.62 84.72SOCIETE GENERALE...........................................23.22 0.11 33.84 20.81TELEFONICA........................................................6.82 0.04 8.06 5.86TOTAL ...............................................................44.88 0.41 54.84 42.65UNILEVER .........................................................54.25 0.11 57.77 45.30VINCI ................................................................96.68 1.04 101.70 69.98VIVENDI............................................................24.70 -0.06 26.69 20.80VOLKSWAGEN VZ I ...........................................150.18 1.38 163.70 131.02

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EU SHARES

3M ..................................................................150.99 0.25 219.75 150.58ABBOTT LABORATOR........................................79.50 0.99 88.76 65.44ADOBE ............................................................274.27 3.44 313.11 204.95ALPHAB RG-C-NV..........................................1202.31 13.18 1289.27 970.11ALPHABET-A.................................................1202.40 12.27 1296.98 977.66AMAZON.COM ................................................1721.99 16.48 2035.80 1307.00AMERICAN EXPRESS ........................................113.92 1.38 129.34 89.05APPLE.............................................................227.03 2.63 229.93 142.00AT&T .................................................................37.05 -0.43 38.75 26.80BANK OF AMERICA ...........................................27.89 0.26 31.17 22.66BERKSHIRE HATH RG-B .................................206.69 2.60 224.07 186.10BOEING CO......................................................374.96 0.86 446.01 292.47CATERPILLAR...................................................119.44 1.47 152.61 111.75CHEVRON .........................................................113.14 1.43 127.60 100.22CISCO SYSTEMS ................................................46.84 0.45 58.26 40.25CITIGROUP ........................................................67.43 1.03 73.09 48.42COCA-COLA CO..................................................53.83 0.25 55.92 44.25COMCAST-A ......................................................44.38 0.27 47.27 32.61COSTCO WHSL................................................296.90 5.01 307.34 189.51DOW.................................................................44.01 0.16 0.00 0.00EXXON MOBIL ...................................................67.44 0.74 86.88 64.65FACEBOOK-A...................................................179.85 2.10 208.66 123.02GOLDMAN SACHS GR......................................196.85 -0.52 234.06 151.70HOME DEPOT..................................................228.94 2.27 235.49 158.09IBM .................................................................139.67 1.29 152.95 105.94INTEL................................................................50.48 0.76 59.59 42.36JOHNSON&JOHNSON......................................129.22 -2.62 148.99 121.00JPMORGAN CHASE...........................................112.63 0.81 120.40 91.11MASTERCARD RG-A........................................272.24 5.17 293.69 171.89MCDONALD'S...................................................212.83 1.72 221.93 161.82MEDTRONIC ....................................................106.75 1.74 112.05 81.66MERCK ..............................................................84.18 0.89 87.35 66.10MICROSOFT .....................................................138.24 2.57 142.37 93.96NIKE -B-...........................................................92.52 0.77 94.75 66.53ORACLE ............................................................54.53 0.48 60.50 42.40PEPSICO...........................................................137.85 0.61 140.45 104.53PFIZER..............................................................35.69 0.26 46.47 33.97PHILIP MRRS INT...............................................77.45 1.08 92.74 64.67PROCTER&GAMBLE..........................................121.98 1.05 125.36 78.49SALESFORCE.COM............................................147.05 1.14 167.56 113.60TEXAS INSTRUMENT ........................................127.44 2.46 131.80 87.70TRAVELERS COS...............................................141.30 0.67 155.09 111.08TWITTER...........................................................39.50 -0.20 45.86 26.19UNITEDHEALTH GRO.......................................222.08 1.97 287.94 208.07UTD TECHS.......................................................131.96 1.17 144.40 100.48VERIZON COMM................................................59.22 -0.50 61.58 52.28VISA RG-A.......................................................174.88 2.46 187.05 121.60WALGREENS BOOTS .........................................52.08 -0.02 86.31 49.03WALMART........................................................118.93 1.35 119.86 85.78WALT DISNEY..................................................129.33 0.86 147.15 100.35WELLS FARGO...................................................48.15 0.33 55.04 43.02

COMMODITIES CREDIT & RATESBoE IR Overnight .........................................0.750 0.00BoE IR 7 days ..............................................0.750 0.00BoE IR 1 month ...........................................0.750 0.00BoE IR 3 months .........................................0.750 0.00BoE IR 6 months.........................................0.750 0.00LIBOR Euro - overnight ..............................-0.574 0.00LIBOR Euro - 12 months .............................-0.362 0.01LIBOR USD - overnight.................................1.806 -0.02LIBOR USD - 12 months ................................1.883 0.03Halifax mortgage rate ................................3.990 0.00

Euro Base Rate ...........................................0.000 0.00Finance house base rate .............................1.000 0.00US Fed funds..................................................2.25 0.00US long bond yield .......................................2.08 0.03Euro Euribor...............................................-0.497 0.00The vix index ...............................................18.64 -1.64The baltic dry index .................................1801.00 31.00Markit iBoxx EUR ......................................249.20 -0.30Markit iBoxx GBP.......................................362.49 -0.52Markit iBoxx USD........................................264.21 -0.47

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US SHARES

CONSTRUCTION & MATERIALS

BAE Systems . . . . . . . . .555.0 5.8 602.6 443.9Cobham . . . . . . . . . . . . .157.2 0.1 168.3 96.8Meggitt . . . . . . . . . . . . .624.6 -3.6 643.0 458.0QinetiQ Group . . . . . . .304.0 1.8 312.4 267.0Rolls-Royce Holdi . . . . .731.6 5.2 988.4 722.0Senior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174.8 -2.0 297.0 174.8Ultra Electronics . . . . .1963.0 -25.0 2252.0 1232.0

Bank of Georgia G . . . .1253.0 1.0 1755.0 1241.5Barclays . . . . . . . . . . . . .145.0 1.1 178.9 136.2Close Brothers Gr . . . .1300.0 -14.0 1605.0 1227.0CYBG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104.4 0.0 290.2 102.4HSBC Holdings . . . . . . .604.6 5.4 680.6 580.9Lloyds Banking Gr . . . . .50.7 -0.3 66.6 48.6Royal Bank of Sco . . . . .190.1 0.8 270.4 177.7Standard Chartere . . . .635.2 3.2 736.8 519.8TBC Bank Group . . . . . .1154.0 -42.0 1710.0 1144.0

Barr (A.G.) . . . . . . . . . . .543.0 -9.0 975.0 540.0Britvic . . . . . . . . . . . . . .987.0 2.0 987.0 745.0Coca-Cola HBC AG . . .2573.0 0.0 3074.0 2244.0Diageo . . . . . . . . . . . . .3355.0 35.0 3625.5 2523.5

Croda Internation . . . .4788.0 18.0 5375.0 4564.0Elementis . . . . . . . . . . . .136.3 -1.4 233.6 129.8Johnson Matthey . . . .2839.0 29.0 3454.0 2620.0Sirius Minerals . . . . . . . . . .3.7 -0.1 25.5 2.9Synthomer . . . . . . . . . .283.0 -3.8 483.5 279.8Victrex plc . . . . . . . . . .2026.0 6.0 3020.0 1845.0

Balfour Beatty . . . . . . .208.6 2.0 295.0 194.2CRH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2641.0 36.0 2837.0 1971.5Galliford Try . . . . . . . . .610.0 2.0 926.0 512.0Ibstock . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231.4 -1.4 262.0 193.1

Centrica . . . . . . . . . . . . .68.0 -1.4 155.6 64.6National Grid . . . . . . . .879.2 -1.3 889.2 748.7Pennon Group . . . . . . .800.2 -5.2 832.6 684.2Severn Trent . . . . . . . . .2113.0 -9.0 2165.0 1770.0United Utilities . . . . . . .792.0 -8.4 873.6 682.4

Smith (DS) . . . . . . . . . . .337.4 -3.8 447.2 292.2Smiths Group . . . . . . . .1537.0 6.0 1692.0 1279.5Smurfit Kappa Gro . . .2436.0 -8.0 2736.0 1934.0Vesuvius . . . . . . . . . . . .404.4 -5.6 642.0 403.6

Auto Trader Group . . . .481.6 -3.9 606.0 388.5B&M European Valu . . .346.6 -2.7 426.3 278.6Card Factory . . . . . . . . .154.9 -2.5 209.0 151.2Dixons Carphone . . . . . .114.7 0.0 178.6 104.9Dunelm Group . . . . . . .815.0 -4.0 981.0 482.8Inchcape . . . . . . . . . . . .606.0 2.0 650.0 486.6JD Sports Fashion . . . . .730.0 1.2 754.2 318.5Just Eat . . . . . . . . . . . . .631.4 6.0 812.0 533.8Kingfisher . . . . . . . . . . .185.9 -2.8 266.2 185.9Marks & Spencer G . . . .163.9 -3.4 299.1 163.9

Marshalls . . . . . . . . . . .656.0 -6.0 696.0 415.0Polypipe Group . . . . . . .381.0 -4.6 453.8 307.8

Contour Global . . . . . . .179.0 -1.6 218.0 150.1Drax Group . . . . . . . . . .265.8 -10.6 427.2 251.0SSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1243.5 3.5 1257.0 1008.0

Halma . . . . . . . . . . . . .1890.0 -44.0 2094.0 1237.0Morgan Advanced M . .236.6 -3.0 314.8 229.6Oxford Instrument . . . .1216.0 -52.0 1424.0 842.0Renishaw . . . . . . . . . .3528.0 -68.0 4670.0 3368.0Spectris . . . . . . . . . . . .2295.0 -50.0 2898.0 1966.5

Aberforth Smaller . . . .1216.0 -2.0 1306.0 1114.0Alliance Trust . . . . . . . .780.0 -1.0 838.0 672.0Apax Global Alpha . . . .155.0 1.0 159.5 127.0AVI Global Trust . . . . . . .737.0 2.0 781.0 660.0Baillie Gifford J . . . . . . .828.0 -3.0 840.0 663.0Bankers Inv Trust . . . . .933.0 3.0 970.0 766.0BBGI SICAV S.A. ( . . . . . .159.0 -1.0 168.0 146.5BlackRock Smaller . . . .1352.0 -2.0 1482.0 1160.0BMO Global Smalle . . .1330.0 -4.0 1410.0 1220.0Caledonia Investm . . .2975.0 20.0 3110.0 2650.0City of London In . . . . .409.0 1.0 431.5 376.0Edinburgh Inv Tru . . . . .577.0 0.0 654.0 535.0F&C Investment Tr . . . .690.0 -1.0 731.0 616.0Fidelity China Sp . . . . . .212.0 -1.0 250.0 182.4Fidelity European . . . . .243.0 0.5 257.5 202.0Fidelity Special . . . . . .249.0 -1.0 269.0 220.0Finsbury Growth & . . .904.0 4.0 958.0 740.0Foresight Solar F . . . . . .119.5 0.0 126.0 107.5GCP Infrastructur . . . . . .125.8 -0.4 130.8 122.4Genesis Emerging . . . .755.0 2.0 783.0 615.0Greencoat UK Wind . . . .142.2 -0.2 143.6 124.4HarbourVest Globa . . .1720.0 -10.0 1786.0 1326.0Herald Investment . . .1260.0 -4.0 1364.0 1055.0HGCapital Trust . . . . . . .227.0 1.0 237.0 175.0HICL Infrastructu . . . . . .164.2 0.0 170.1 149.9International Pub . . . . .153.6 -1.2 165.4 146.8JPMorgan American . . .467.5 0.5 494.5 386.5JPMorgan Emerging . .989.0 -5.0 1066.0 759.0JPMorgan Indian I . . . . .731.0 7.0 790.0 566.0JPMorgan Japanese . . .443.0 0.5 457.0 367.0Jupiter European . . . . .813.0 3.0 875.0 666.0Law Debenture Cor . . .564.0 -2.0 618.0 534.0Mercantile Invest . . . . .203.0 -1.0 212.5 168.0Monks Inv Trust . . . . . . .881.0 -2.0 964.0 710.0Murray Internatio . . . .1166.0 -2.0 1212.0 1056.0NB Global Floatin . . . . . .89.8 0.0 92.6 87.6NextEnergy Solar . . . . .120.0 0.5 124.5 109.0Pantheon Internat . . .2260.0 0.0 2330.0 1955.0Perpetual Income . . . .303.0 3.5 341.0 284.5Pershing Square H . . .1544.0 22.0 1570.0 990.0Personal Assets T . . .42400.0 -50.0 43150.038900.0Polar Capital Tec . . . . .1394.0 0.0 1500.0 1066.0RIT Capital Partn . . . . .2120.0 5.0 2170.0 1892.0Riverstone Energy . . . .485.0 -0.5 1272.0 485.0Schroder Asia Pac . . . . .433.0 0.0 469.5 379.0Scottish Inv Trus . . . . . .819.0 0.0 844.0 748.0Scottish Mortgage . . . . .491.8 -0.6 568.5 441.4Sequoia Economic . . . .115.8 0.2 117.6 106.0Smithson Investme . . .1216.0 -6.0 1280.0 1000.2Syncona Limited N . . . .218.0 0.0 294.0 213.5Temple Bar Inv Tr . . . .1200.0 -2.0 1366.0 1116.0Templeton Emergin . . .782.0 -4.0 829.0 649.0The Renewables In . . . .128.4 -0.6 133.2 109.3TR Property Inv T . . . . .422.5 0.5 430.0 353.5Vietnam Enterpris . . . .498.5 -0.5 509.0 421.5VinaCapital Vietn . . . . .341.5 3.5 357.5 318.0Witan Inv Trust . . . . . . .210.5 0.0 225.5 189.6Worldwide Healthc . .2570.0 -15.0 2835.0 2325.0

3i Group . . . . . . . . . . . .1072.0 -3.5 1184.5 756.23i Infrastructure . . . . . .279.5 -3.5 306.5 241.3AJ Bell . . . . . . . . . . . . . .363.0 -10.0 477.0 220.0Allied Minds . . . . . . . . . .50.0 -2.3 84.2 37.3Amigo Holdings . . . . . . .71.4 0.2 297.5 67.8Arrow Global Grou . . . . .211.2 -5.6 273.0 167.2ASA International . . . . .330.0 1.0 481.0 320.0Ashmore Group . . . . . .461.6 -4.2 542.5 341.2Brewin Dolphin Ho . . . .306.4 -2.8 358.0 287.6City of London In . . . . .433.5 7.5 440.0 360.0CMC Markets . . . . . . . . .125.4 3.8 128.0 77.4Coats Group . . . . . . . . . .69.7 0.5 91.3 68.3Georgia Capital . . . . . . .985.0 -1.0 1260.0 941.0Hargreaves Lansdo . . .1816.5 45.0 2433.0 1633.0IG Group Holdings . . . .580.2 -5.0 644.5 474.8IntegraFin Holdin . . . . .356.5 1.0 406.1 269.0Intermediate Capi . . . .1331.0 5.0 1460.0 899.0International Per . . . . .106.0 0.0 224.4 87.0Investec . . . . . . . . . . . . .395.3 -1.2 518.6 391.9IP Group . . . . . . . . . . . . .57.6 1.1 122.0 55.7John Laing Group . . . . .354.0 1.0 402.0 296.2JTC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .356.0 6.0 440.0 287.0Jupiter Fund Mana . . . .314.0 -1.7 432.0 287.6Liontrust Asset M . . . . .750.0 2.0 816.0 532.0LMS Capital . . . . . . . . . . .57.8 0.5 58.0 44.0London Finance & . . . . .38.5 0.0 42.5 37.1London Stock Exch . . .7248.0 228.0 7514.0 3867.0Man Group . . . . . . . . . . .163.8 0.9 175.2 126.8OneSavings Bank . . . . .323.2 -17.6 447.4 313.6Paragon Banking G . . .458.0 -2.6 482.4 379.2Plus500 Ltd (DI) . . . . . .767.6 -4.2 1647.0 495.0Provident Financi . . . . .387.4 0.6 658.6 356.0Quilter . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127.5 1.2 156.6 110.6Rathbone Brothers . . .2120.0 -45.0 2540.0 2085.0Real Estate Credi . . . . . .165.5 -0.5 175.5 163.0Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34.0 0.0 38.0 27.3River and Mercant . . . .252.5 -2.0 310.0 212.0S&U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2060.0 -10.0 2440.0 1767.5Sanne Group . . . . . . . . .523.0 -1.0 752.0 450.0Schroders . . . . . . . . . .2855.0 -6.0 3210.0 2334.0Standard Life Abe . . . .266.0 -2.3 333.0 224.9TP ICAP . . . . . . . . . . . . .316.0 -3.8 346.9 268.2Walker Crips Grou . . . . . .27.0 0.0 37.5 24.0XPS Pensions Grou . . . .120.5 5.0 171.0 95.0

BT Group . . . . . . . . . . . .178.0 1.8 264.7 158.9TalkTalk Telecom . . . . .102.5 0.1 132.8 96.6Telecom Plus . . . . . . . .1164.0 -66.0 1528.0 1088.0

Greggs . . . . . . . . . . . . .1797.0 37.0 2476.0 1052.0Morrison (Wm) Sup . . .193.2 -1.0 255.1 176.9Ocado Group . . . . . . . .1294.5 9.5 1435.0 749.8Sainsbury (J) . . . . . . . .202.3 -4.5 324.0 177.1SSP Group . . . . . . . . . . .610.0 -2.0 721.0 608.0Tesco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227.3 -2.5 253.0 189.6UDG Healthcare Pu . . . .722.0 -4.5 821.0 551.0

Associated Britis . . . . .2119.0 -37.0 2638.0 2041.0Bakkavor Group . . . . . . .116.4 3.0 170.0 93.3Cranswick . . . . . . . . . .3054.0 -6.0 3094.0 2472.0Greencore Group . . . . .220.6 -1.7 230.0 162.9Hilton Food Group . . . .981.0 -8.0 1088.0 884.0Tate & Lyle . . . . . . . . . .696.6 -4.2 800.4 633.4Unilever . . . . . . . . . . .4840.0 3.5 5324.0 3931.0

Mondi . . . . . . . . . . . . .1546.0 -2.5 1945.5 1510.5

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Next . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5860.0-106.0 6320.0 3991.0Pets at Home Grou . . .209.6 3.0 239.4 110.0Sports Direct Int . . . . . .275.0 -5.4 340.3 214.0Vivo Energy . . . . . . . . . .114.8 1.2 139.5 96.0WH Smith . . . . . . . . . .1949.0 9.0 2186.0 1697.0

Assura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72.8 0.5 73.3 52.4Convatec Group . . . . . . .178.3 3.3 226.4 118.6Mediclinic Intern . . . . . .321.3 -0.5 474.7 293.4NMC Health . . . . . . . . .2475.0 -20.0 3678.0 1801.5Smith & Nephew . . . .1906.5 -5.5 1990.0 1258.0

Barratt Developme . . .609.4 -5.2 663.0 434.0Bellway . . . . . . . . . . . .3143.0 -42.0 3355.0 2419.0Berkeley Group Ho . . .3929.0 -34.0 4208.0 3226.0Bovis Homes Group . .1050.0 -12.0 1177.0 828.0Countryside Prope . . . .305.8 -4.2 342.2 270.0Crest Nicholson H . . . . .354.0 -4.8 404.8 296.4McCarthy & Stone . . . . .142.4 -2.2 148.5 123.5Persimmon . . . . . . . . .1993.0 -33.0 2471.0 1836.0

Admiral Group . . . . . .2033.0 -13.0 2300.0 1932.5Beazley . . . . . . . . . . . . .616.0 3.0 628.0 492.6Direct Line Insur . . . . . .273.2 -2.3 366.5 272.7Hastings Group Ho . . . .185.7 -3.4 242.0 174.0Hiscox Limited (D . . . .1604.0 0.0 1777.0 1418.0Lancashire Holdin . . . . .702.0 -7.5 746.0 530.0RSA Insurance Gro . . . .501.6 -0.8 597.0 496.6Sabre Insurance G . . . .284.5 -8.5 295.0 249.0

Aviva . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .375.0 0.0 463.1 352.3Legal & General G . . . . .233.6 0.9 291.2 216.7Phoenix Group Hol . . . .658.0 -6.2 724.8 544.0Prudential . . . . . . . . . .1392.5 4.0 1790.0 1326.0St James's Place . . . . . .928.2 4.6 1143.0 913.6

4Imprint Group . . . . .2900.0 -110.0 3130.0 1800.0Ascential . . . . . . . . . . . .357.4 8.8 411.0 337.2Bloomsbury Publis . . . .238.0 2.0 245.0 190.5Centaur Media . . . . . . . . .41.0 0.0 56.5 34.7Entertainment One . . .562.0 -1.0 589.0 336.4

Reckitt Benckiser . . . .6230.0 31.0 6747.0 5593.0Redrow . . . . . . . . . . . . .584.0 -7.0 674.6 460.8Taylor Wimpey . . . . . . .144.1 -1.9 192.3 129.3

Bodycote . . . . . . . . . . .652.0 -6.0 903.0 649.0Hill & Smith Hold . . . . .1198.0 -7.0 1306.0 902.5IMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .945.0 7.6 1084.0 870.0Melrose Industrie . . . . .190.2 2.0 208.5 146.3RHI Magnesita N.V . . .3730.0 -30.0 5000.0 3318.0Rotork . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297.4 -4.6 324.2 235.7Spirax-Sarco Engi . . . .7600.0 25.0 9400.0 5900.0Weir Group . . . . . . . . .1332.5 12.5 1814.0 1240.0

Evraz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .408.1 -6.9 709.4 406.9Ferrexpo . . . . . . . . . . . .146.5 -3.1 301.3 143.0

BBA Aviation . . . . . . . . .311.0 2.0 324.8 207.0Clarkson . . . . . . . . . . .2565.0 20.0 2765.0 1878.0Fisher (James) & . . . .1858.0 -68.0 2260.0 1600.0Royal Mail . . . . . . . . . . .197.6 1.0 367.7 188.4

Euromoney Institu . . .1418.0 -8.0 1498.0 1132.0Future . . . . . . . . . . . . .1202.0 -2.0 1324.0 410.0Goco Group . . . . . . . . . . .84.2 0.9 97.5 64.6Haynes Publishing . . . .320.0 -2.0 328.0 160.0Huntsworth . . . . . . . . . .84.0 -1.4 118.5 81.0Hyve Group . . . . . . . . . . .79.1 -1.9 85.3 56.3Informa . . . . . . . . . . . . .786.0 6.6 892.0 605.8ITV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119.7 0.5 160.0 103.6Moneysupermarket. . .368.0 0.8 417.7 264.0Pearson . . . . . . . . . . . . .701.4 -6.4 1027.5 696.4Reach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97.0 0.5 98.0 54.6Relx plc . . . . . . . . . . . .1887.0 10.0 2011.0 1491.5Rightmove . . . . . . . . . .519.0 -18.8 585.1 420.9STV Group . . . . . . . . . . .373.0 8.0 400.0 318.0WPP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .965.8 7.8 1095.0 800.4

Anglo American . . . . .1850.0 33.6 2266.0 1539.0Antofagasta . . . . . . . . .827.0 -15.4 1022.5 727.2BHP Group . . . . . . . . .1664.0 -7.4 2049.0 1490.6Centamin (DI) . . . . . . . . .117.0 -0.2 152.4 79.8Fresnillo . . . . . . . . . . . .669.4 -19.4 1027.5 601.0Glencore . . . . . . . . . . . .224.9 1.0 340.3 222.2Hochschild Mining . . . . .182.9 1.8 227.0 149.1Kaz Minerals . . . . . . . . .390.3 0.3 738.4 380.3Polymetal Interna . . . .1174.5 -0.5 1208.5 607.0Rio Tinto . . . . . . . . . . .4018.5 -8.0 4976.5 3513.5

Inmarsat . . . . . . . . . . . .584.0 1.0 608.2 362.8Vodafone Group . . . . . .160.9 0.1 168.9 123.3

BP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .506.3 4.7 582.5 484.9Cairn Energy . . . . . . . . .180.6 0.0 233.6 140.0Energean Oil & Ga . . . .894.0 11.0 1082.0 568.0Premier Oil . . . . . . . . . . .73.0 0.2 133.0 55.6Royal Dutch Shell . . . .2319.5 -2.5 2612.0 2213.0Royal Dutch Shell . . . .2307.0 -2.5 2638.0 2227.0Tullow Oil . . . . . . . . . . . .201.7 1.5 262.5 165.2

Hunting . . . . . . . . . . . . .411.0 -9.0 775.5 411.0Petrofac Ltd. . . . . . . . . .390.6 2.4 639.8 381.5Wood Group (John) . . .327.4 -10.3 776.0 326.0

Burberry Group . . . . .2034.0 8.0 2345.0 1623.5PZ Cussons . . . . . . . . . .205.0 -1.5 244.0 178.6

AstraZeneca . . . . . . . .7091.0 82.0 7533.0 5325.0Dechra Pharmaceut . .2616.0 10.0 3036.0 2014.0Genus . . . . . . . . . . . . .2858.0 6.0 2990.0 2098.0GlaxoSmithKline . . . . .1720.4 7.4 1745.2 1418.0Hikma Pharmaceuti .2069.0 9.0 2200.0 1510.5PureTech Health . . . . . .231.0 -4.0 292.0 160.5

BMO Commercial Pr . . . .113.6 -0.8 141.8 106.0Capital & Countie . . . . . .227.1 0.9 279.5 184.9CLS Holdings . . . . . . . . .242.5 2.5 255.0 195.4Daejan Holdings . . . .4860.0 30.0 6160.0 4715.0Grainger . . . . . . . . . . . .245.0 1.4 265.7 205.8NewRiver REIT . . . . . . . .187.8 -2.8 264.0 147.6Safestore Holding . . . .649.5 -3.5 681.0 499.4Savills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .851.5 5.0 957.0 678.5Sirius Real Estat . . . . . . .73.6 0.6 75.9 55.6St. Modwen Proper . . .428.0 -3.0 446.5 365.0

Big Yellow Group . . . .1062.0 -4.0 1074.0 852.5British Land Comp . . . .541.4 0.6 624.8 468.3Derwent London . . . .3220.0 -14.0 3370.0 2761.0

Great Portland Es . . . . .727.8 -0.2 773.6 649.4Hammerson . . . . . . . . .268.1 -1.9 447.3 203.9Land Securities G . . . . .827.8 7.2 936.0 735.4LondonMetric Prop . . . .215.0 -0.2 217.6 172.7Primary Health Pr . . . . .134.2 0.4 139.8 106.4SEGRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . .796.6 8.2 810.8 585.2Shaftesbury . . . . . . . . .858.0 -5.0 928.5 739.5Tritax Big Box Re . . . . . .146.1 0.1 159.7 129.0Unite Group . . . . . . . . .1087.0 7.0 1097.0 797.5Workspace Group . . . .904.5 -10.5 1031.0 789.5

Avast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .369.0 1.8 393.4 259.6Aveva Group . . . . . . . .3682.0 -6.0 4170.0 2284.0Computacenter . . . . . .1227.0 -3.0 1525.0 952.0FDM Group (Holdin . . . .674.0 -28.0 994.0 674.0Kainos Group . . . . . . . .437.0 -2.0 676.0 366.0Micro Focus Inter . . . . .1053.6 0.0 2491.6 1039.0Playtech . . . . . . . . . . . . .391.9 -1.1 500.6 360.5Sage Group . . . . . . . . . .680.2 6.8 820.4 525.6Softcat . . . . . . . . . . . . .934.0 -8.0 1044.0 565.0Sophos Group . . . . . . . .410.2 -3.4 492.0 298.2

Aggreko . . . . . . . . . . . .780.4 -9.4 861.8 691.8Ashtead Group . . . . . .2128.0 15.0 2344.0 1586.5BCA Marketplace . . . . . .235.6 0.0 247.0 178.5Bunzl . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1988.0 -21.0 2551.0 1978.5Capita . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143.9 0.4 146.5 99.9DCC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6818.0 22.0 7184.0 5555.0Diploma . . . . . . . . . . .1644.0 -16.0 1694.0 1150.0Electrocomponents . . . .615.0 4.4 684.2 480.0Equiniti Group . . . . . . .205.8 5.2 236.2 186.2Essentra . . . . . . . . . . . .401.0 -1.0 442.0 325.4Experian . . . . . . . . . . .2554.0 -4.0 2631.0 1728.5Ferguson . . . . . . . . . .6346.0 0.0 6416.0 4749.0Finablr . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140.2 -3.0 180.0 140.0G4S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186.0 1.0 234.3 168.3Grafton Group Uni . . . .706.0 3.5 937.0 630.0Hays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139.2 1.1 184.5 135.7Homeserve . . . . . . . . . .1141.0 18.0 1263.0 849.0Howden Joinery Gr . . .529.2 -2.8 573.4 416.4Intertek Group . . . . . .5342.0 6.0 5962.0 4387.0Network Internati . . . .520.0 -1.0 628.0 500.0Pagegroup . . . . . . . . . .378.6 10.8 545.0 354.5PayPoint . . . . . . . . . . . .850.0 -13.0 1118.0 748.0Rentokil Initial . . . . . . .459.9 2.3 467.8 284.8Robert Walters . . . . . . .451.0 -12.0 467.0 434.0Serco Group . . . . . . . . .146.0 -0.4 152.0 84.1SIG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100.5 1.2 153.0 99.4

British American . . . .2819.0 12.0 3619.0 2375.0Imperial Brands . . . . . .1852.2 10.8 2750.0 1774.6

Carnival . . . . . . . . . . . .3097.0 16.0 4650.0 3073.0Cineworld Group . . . . . .215.1 0.6 321.0 211.9Compass Group . . . . .2047.0 5.0 2138.0 1483.0Domino's Pizza Gr . . . . .247.0 -2.9 297.2 221.2EI Group . . . . . . . . . . . . .281.6 0.2 285.0 161.2FirstGroup . . . . . . . . . . .125.6 -1.7 137.5 79.3Flutter Entertain . . . . .7800.0 -76.0 8164.0 5525.0Go-Ahead Group . . . . .1930.0 -56.0 2208.0 1480.0Greene King . . . . . . . . .847.2 1.2 850.0 480.0GVC Holdings . . . . . . . .788.6 38.6 960.0 507.5InterContinental . . . .4808.5 18.0 5738.0 3958.4International Con . . . . .458.1 -3.1 667.6 413.5Marston's . . . . . . . . . . . .120.0 -1.3 131.3 90.6Merlin Entertainm . . . .453.0 0.2 460.7 307.1Millennium & Copt . . . .683.0 -3.0 690.0 436.0

Mitchells & Butle . . . . . .387.0 3.5 394.5 238.0National Express . . . . .406.0 -2.0 438.4 361.4PPHE Hotel Group . . .1780.0 -10.0 1990.0 1525.0Rank Group . . . . . . . . . .186.4 4.4 195.0 135.0Restaurant Group . . . . .133.3 -3.7 218.4 111.9Stagecoach Group . . . . .132.2 -1.4 177.0 115.5TUI AG Reg Shs (D . . . . .901.8 -2.2 1391.0 698.0Wetherspoon (J.D. . . .1500.0 -19.0 1624.0 1066.0Whitbread . . . . . . . . .3996.0 8.0 5114.0 3956.5William Hill . . . . . . . . . .186.9 1.9 237.6 132.3Wizz Air Holdings . . . .3625.0 72.0 3769.0 2329.0

Abcam . . . . . . . . . . . . .1116.0 -2.0 1500.0 1017.0Advanced Medical . . . .236.5 1.5 354.5 225.0Alliance Pharma . . . . . . .75.5 -0.3 80.4 60.0ASOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2424.0 54.0 6050.0 2107.0Blue Prism Group . . . . .868.0 -34.0 2002.0 860.5Camellia . . . . . . . . . . .9550.0 0.0 11750.0 9100.0CareTech Holding . . . . .358.0 0.5 406.0 325.0Central Asia Meta . . . . .200.5 2.1 266.5 180.0Ceres Power Holdi . . . . .218.0 -1.0 219.0 130.0Clinigen Group . . . . . . .836.5 -9.5 1069.0 721.0CVS Group . . . . . . . . . . .955.0 -29.0 1029.0 395.0Dart Group . . . . . . . . . .920.5 -4.5 983.5 709.5Diversified Gas & . . . . .106.5 -0.5 134.0 97.0Draper Esprit . . . . . . . .464.0 18.0 610.0 410.0Eland Oil & Gas . . . . . . .125.4 -0.6 134.0 97.0EMIS Group . . . . . . . . .1008.0 -40.0 1242.0 864.0Fevertree Drinks . . . . .2100.0 -12.0 3199.0 2070.0First Derivatives . . . . .2165.0 15.0 3555.0 2050.0Frontier Developm . . .1024.0 -26.0 1200.0 740.0Gamma Communicati .1110.0 -35.0 1195.0 688.0GB Group . . . . . . . . . . .530.0 -6.0 631.0 410.5Gooch & Housego . . . .1185.0 5.0 1880.0 954.0Hurricane Energy . . . . . .38.8 0.1 60.8 37.8Impax Asset Manag . . .256.5 1.5 295.0 184.0Iomart Group . . . . . . . . .361.5 -3.0 425.0 308.0IQE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61.2 0.7 98.0 47.6James Halstead . . . . . .508.0 -8.0 532.0 367.0Johnson Service G . . . . .172.2 -1.2 183.2 113.6Keywords Studios . . . .1205.0 36.0 1838.0 900.0Learning Technolo . . . . .107.8 0.8 130.0 62.2M. P. Evans Group . . . . .646.0 4.0 722.0 630.0Midwich Group . . . . . . .518.0 -10.0 660.0 474.5Mortgage Advice B . . .560.0 10.0 620.0 490.0Next Fifteen Comm . . . .510.0 2.0 658.0 469.0Nichols . . . . . . . . . . . . .1582.5 32.5 1880.0 1240.0Numis Corporation . . . .229.5 1.5 314.0 212.0Pan African Resou . . . . . .12.2 0.3 14.5 7.9Polar Capital Hol . . . . . .532.0 12.0 610.0 448.0Purplebricks Grou . . . . .110.0 0.0 232.4 90.0Redde . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102.8 2.2 187.0 90.0Renew Holdings . . . . . .385.5 -2.0 436.5 333.0RWS Holdings . . . . . . .620.0 0.0 652.0 415.5Scapa Group . . . . . . . . .209.0 13.0 445.0 157.0Secure Income Rei . . . .452.0 0.0 456.0 371.0Serica Energy . . . . . . . .132.0 0.4 142.0 103.6Smart Metering Sy . . . .415.0 12.8 665.0 310.0Thorpe (F.W.) . . . . . . . .282.0 0.0 340.0 248.0Watkin Jones . . . . . . . .224.5 1.0 232.5 192.2Young & Co's Brew . . .1590.0 22.5 1885.0 1322.5Young & Co's Brew . . .1140.0 0.0 1195.0 1030.0

GVC Holdings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .788.6 5.2London Stock Excha . . . . . . . . .7248.0 3.3Pagegroup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .378.6 2.9Bakkavor Group . . . . . . . . . . . . .116.4 2.7Equiniti Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205.8 2.6Hargreaves Lansdow . . . . . . . .1816.5 2.5Ascential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .357.4 2.5Rank Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186.4 2.4Airtel Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51.0 2.2Greggs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1797.0 2.1

Telecom Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1164.0 -5.4OneSavings Bank . . . . . . . . . . . .323.2 -5.2Oxford Instruments . . . . . . . . .1216.0 -4.1FDM Group (Holding . . . . . . . . .674.0 -4.0Drax Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265.8 -3.84Imprint Group . . . . . . . . . . . .2900.0 -3.7Fisher (James) & S . . . . . . . . . .1858.0 -3.5TBC Bank Group . . . . . . . . . . . . .1154.0 -3.5Rightmove . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .519.0 -3.5Wood Group (John) . . . . . . . . . .327.4 -3.1

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FOOD & DRUG RETAILERS

FOOD PRODUCERS

FORESTRY & PAPER

GAS, WATER & MULTIUTILITIES

OIL & GAS PRODUCERS

OIL EQUIPMENT & SERVICES

PERSONAL GOODS

PHARMACEUTICALS & BIOTECH

REAL ESTATE INVEST. & SERV.

SUPPORT SERVICES

TOBACCO

TRAVEL & LEISURE

AIM 50

Tsy 4.750 20 . . . . . .101.66 0.00 105.5 101.7Tsy 2.500 20 . . . . . .354.87 -0.01 360.9 354.6Tsy 2.000 20 . . . . . .101.08 0.02 102.2 101.0Tsy 3.750 20 . . . . . .102.89 0.02 105.6 102.8Tsy 8.000 21 . . . . . . .112.63 0.04 118.7 112.3Tsy 1.875 22 . . . . . . .116.55 0.09 118.3 115.5Tsy 0.500 22 . . . . . .100.63 0.10 100.8 97.7Tsy 4.000 22 . . . . . .108.95 0.08 110.7 108.5Tsy 2.250 23 . . . . . . .107.76 0.14 108.0 104.7Tsy 2.500 24 . . . . . .375.29 0.18 377.9 359.1Tsy 0.125 24 . . . . . . .115.03 0.14 115.8 110.9Tsy 5.000 25 . . . . . .125.48 0.18 126.1 122.1Tsy 4.250 27 . . . . . .132.06 0.29 132.8 122.6Tsy 1.250 27 . . . . . . .139.82 0.26 141.1 128.6Tsy 6.000 28 . . . . . . .151.01 0.31 152.2 140.5Tsy 0.125 29 . . . . . . .133.74 0.30 134.7 119.0Tsy 4.125 30 . . . . . .399.34 0.32 404.2 356.1Tsy 4.750 30 . . . . . .146.65 0.39 147.9 132.1Tsy 1.250 32 . . . . . . .164.82 0.28 167.7 144.3Tsy 4.250 32 . . . . . .144.82 0.42 146.4 128.5Tsy 0.125 36 . . . . . . .157.73 0.10 162.5 133.9Tsy 4.250 36 . . . . . . .153.71 0.42 155.7 133.1Tsy 4.750 38 . . . . . .169.46 0.48 171.8 144.9Tsy 0.625 40 . . . . . .179.56 0.01 185.7 153.1Tsy 4.500 42 . . . . . .174.65 0.53 176.7 145.9Tsy 3.500 45 . . . . . . .157.07 0.59 159.0 128.0Tsy 4.250 46 . . . . . .178.74 0.60 181.0 145.7Tsy 4.025 49 . . . . . .186.46 0.62 188.9 150.0Tsy 0.500 50 . . . . . .212.05 -0.01 222.9 173.7Tsy 0.250 52 . . . . . .208.98 0.01 221.1 168.8

WORLD INDICES

FTSE 100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7166.50 23.35 0.33FTSE 250. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19171.60 -29.30 -0.15FTSE All-Share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3926.97 8.80 0.22FTSE AIM All-Share . . . . . . . . . . . . . 856.50 -0.83 -0.10

S&P 500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2919.40 26.34 0.91Dow Jones I.A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26346.01 181.97 0.70Nasdaq Composite . . . . . . . . . . . . 7903.74 79.96 1.02Xetra DAX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12094.26 124.06 1.04

CAC 40 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5499.14 42.52 0.78Swiss Market Index. . . . . . . . . . . . 9830.05 29.81 0.30ISEQ Overall Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6152.18 37.56 0.61FTSEurofirst 300 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1497.02 6.91 0.46

Hang Seng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25682.81 -210.59 -0.81Shanghai Composite. . . . . . . . . . . 2924.86 11.29 0.39STI Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3093.23 -15.61 -0.50ASX All Ordinaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6667.00 -46.70 -0.70

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MOBILE TELECOMS

MEDIA

MINING

SOFTWARE & COMPUTER SERV.

HHOLD GDS & HOME CONSTR.

NON LIFE INSURANCE

INDUSTRIAL TRANSPORTATION

GENERAL RETAILERS INDUSTRIAL METALS & MINING

CONSTRUCTION & MATERIALS

€/$ 1.0971 0.0016

€/£ 0.8991 0.0027

€/¥ 117.95 0.6560

/€ 1.1122 0.0030

/$ 1.2204 0.0012

/¥ 131.20 0.4080

FTSE 100

7166.5023.35

FTSE 250

19171.6029.30

FTSE ALL SHARE

3926.978.80

DOW JONES

26346.01181.97

NASDAQ

7903.7479.96

S&P 500

2919.4026.34

FINANCIAL SERVICES

GENERAL INDUSTRIALS

LIFE INSURANCE

HEALTH CARE EQUIPMETN & S.

INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

REAL ESTATE INVEST. TRUSTS

CITYAM.COM18 THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019OPINION

EDITED BY RACHEL CUNLIFFE

WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR VIEWS › E: theforum@cityam.com COMMENT AT:cityam.com/forum

LETTERSTO THE EDITOR

Can we get one thing straight please.Whether you do/don’t want RoryStewart to stand for London Mayorshould have ABSOLUTELY NOTHINGto do with whether a posh white manshould stand against a Muslim or ablack man. Londoners just want aGOOD mayor. Race/religion irrelevant.@JuliaHB1

Is there a sadder moment evercommited to film than Rory Stewartsaying he goes to Pret a Mangerinstead of the pub@ChrisMcQueer_

Now in Southwark. #PretCrawl@RoryStewartUK

Tech companies issue fresh warningover the rise of deepfake videos afterworrying footage appears to showJeremy Corbyn making a decisiveBrexit statement.@haveigotnews

Coming up short

BEST OFTWITTER

THE DEPARTURE of JohnBercow from the speaker-ship of the House of Com-mons will create a vacancyof huge importance.

Yesterday, nine hopefuls vied witheach other for the honour of replac-ing him, answering journalists’questions on everything from theimpartiality of the role, to West-minster’s alleged drug problem, tothe rules on breast-feeding in thechamber. Even the merits of thespeaker’s traditional dress (includ-ing a wig and knee breeches) wereup for discussion.

The candidates know, no doubt,that whoever the Commons selectswill have vital powers at a crucialpoint in our political history. It isperhaps the most significantspeaker’s election in centuries.

It is easy to overlook the role ofthe speaker, but his or her influ-ence over the Commons is vast. Thespeaker controls who speaks in de-bates, what amendments can betabled, and has the casting vote inties. Each of these is a hugely influ-ential power, and whoever inheritsthem now will be far less fetteredthan previous speakers, thanks inpart to the behaviour of the out-going office-holder.

There is little formal oversight ofthe speaker, but normally pressurefrom inside the Commons acts as acheck. Indeed, Bercow’s own oppor-tunity came when Michael Martinresigned in 2009 rather than facebeing the first speaker since 1695 tolose a vote of no confidence.

Yet with no clear majority for any-one in the Commons, the chance ofcensuring the new speaker for any-

The speakershipused to be a noblesacrifice, puttingaside any ministerialambitions for a rolethat was high onresponsibility andlow on glory

Order, order: The race is on tobe the next Commons speaker

John Oxley

thing short of flagrant transgres-sions will be slight. They will pre-side free of the usual pressures.

On top of their formal role, thespeaker sits as sole judge of parlia-mentary procedure.

Though they reflect precedent,they are not bound by it and arefree to create it. Many of the “rules”of parliament have been inventionsof the speaker, from Denison’s rulethat their crucial deciding voteshould be used to maintain the sta-tus quo, to the prohibition onbringing the same vote multipletimes. A radical speaker can rewritethe rule book as opportunity arises.

In following Bercow, the newspeaker will also have some con-trol over how the role itself is seen.

There is no denying that Bercowhas been an activist speaker, ar-guably to the point of being parti-san. Certainly, his rulings on Brexitresults have shown a cavalier (orperhaps more strictly, Roundhead)approach to convention, repeatedlyruling in favour of Remainers whenit came to procedural margin calls.

Should the next speaker recoilfrom this, it would mark Bercow asan aberration. Should they embraceit, the partisanship of the speakerwould be hard to row back from.

The new speaker will have to de-cide on how to confront the ugliestparts of Bercow’s legacy: the failureto deal with bullying and sexual ha-rassment within the parliamentaryestate. This will appeal more tosome of the candidates than mak-ing their name over contentious po-litical issues.

As for the election itself, the par-ties in the Commons will face a dif-

ficult choice in deciding if theywant a friend or a foe in the chair.

The speaker resigns from theirparty on appointment, and can, ashas already been noted, only vote intie-breaks. This means that it is ef-fectively one seat off your majority– fine in times when elections werewon by big margins, but a problemin an age of coalitions and pacts.

Parties will have to calculate care-fully whether losing a seat is worth

it to take over the chair. That the po-sition alternates between the twomain parties is a newish innova-tion, broken more often than it ishonoured. Do not expect it holdthis time round.

As we move through and beyondBrexit, there are likely to be moreclosely-fought votes, battles overamendments, and difficult callsover parliamentary procedure.

The new speaker will not onlyhave to make these decisions, butalso set the tone for how they aremade – deciding whether the role isfurther politicised or is returned tothe esteemed neutrality it once had.

While Bercow has seen it differ-ently, it is worth rememberingthat the speakership used to be anoble sacrifice, putting aside anyministerial ambitions for a rolethat was high on responsibilityand low on glory.

It was once the case that speakershad to be dragged to the chair, sopoisoned was the chalice of mediat-ing between the Commons and theCrown. In 1449, an Agincourt vet-eran knighted on the field of battlerefused to become speaker, notwanting to deal with the aftermathof England’s retreat from Nor-mandy. As recently as 1971, aspeaker could be nominated againsttheir own wishes from the floor ofthe House.

There is evidently no shortage ofvolunteers this time around, so par-liament must think carefully aboutwho they choose, and what thatchoice will do to the role.

£ John Oxley is a Conservativecommentator.

THE NUMBER of female en-trepreneurs is on the rise,and their share of invest-ment funding is increas-ing. It’s not a line you read

very often, but it’s something weneed to celebrate louder, becausethe perception can sometimes beanything but.

Often, we hear about the chal-lenges facing women, but littleabout their successes. In fact, the UKis not short of inspirational femaleentrepreneurs, and there are manymore in the pipeline. A report re-leased today by the Female FoundersForum, with a forward by interna-tional trade secretary and ministerfor women and equalities Liz Truss,champions these women, theirachievements, and their role in in-spiring the next generation.

Female-founded startups representa growing share of investment activ-ity. In 2011, 11 per cent of startupsthat raised equity investment werefounded by women. By 2018, this fig-ure had almost doubled to 21 per

cent. Female-founded businessesalso have similar rates of follow-onfunding. Once they receive an in-vestment, the percentage that se-cure additional rounds of capital isalmost equal to male-founded firms(52 per cent versus 51 per cent).

Despite these strides, there is stilla huge amount to be done to boostfemale entrepreneurship in the UK,and there’s a seriously strong eco-nomic case for ensuring that thisprogress continues – as Truss knowsonly too well. Earlier in the year, shehighlighted a Treasury reportwhich found that the gender gap ininvestment accounts for approxi-mately 1.1m missed business oppor-tunities, equating to a £250bnpotential for the UK economy.

This lost opportunity is one of thereasons why we launched the Fe-male Founders Forum with The En-trepreneurs Network four years ago– to encourage, support and pro-mote female entrepreneurship.

To continue moving forward, it isvital that we make the UK the best

place for a woman to start and scalea business – and despite the doomand gloom narrative that is so per-vasive, there are reasons to feel op-timistic that we can achieve thissooner rather than later.

The private and public sectors arefinally starting to work together inan effective way. The timely Rose Re-view and the Investing in WomenCode that followed – of which we area proud signatory – outline both theopportunity and a way forward.

Part of the answer to closing thisgap starts at school. Instil girls withthe right skills, financial literacy,and self-belief, and they are morelikely to see themselves as both en-

trepreneurs and leaders in business. And helping more women be-

come founders also means puttingmore of the right support networksin place. I am lucky to spend timewith a variety of inspiring womenand men who have launched andscaled successful businesses. Theseimpressive individuals often citetheir own role models, mentors,and a wide support network as rea-sons for their success.

And that’s why tonight we arehosting our annual EntrepreneurAwards, to celebrate the incrediblesuccesses of some of the country’smost inspirational entrepreneurs.

The UK the startup capital of Eu-rope, with our companies attract-ing more venture capital than anyother country on the continent. It’stime to shout louder about the suc-cess of our entrepreneurs, and in-spire the next generation to followin their footsteps.

£ Juliet Rogan is head of high growthand entrepreneurs at Barclays.

Despite the doom and gloom narrative,female entrepreneurship is on the rise

Juliet Rogan

FORUM

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Certified Distribution from 29/07/2019 till25/08/2019 is 76,030

[Re: Burford Capital goes to High Courtto demand identities of traders whotanked its stock]Sadly, activities to manipulate share pricesare becoming increasingly common.Whether this is in the form of order bookspoofing, as allegedly happened to Burford,or so-called “short and distort” attacks, thephenomenon is on the rise. More and morecompanies are resorting to legal action touncover sufficient evidence to motivateregulators or law enforcement to takeaction. This too seems to be a trend thatwill increase. Currently, regulators cannotaccess all the places where bets on stockprices can be made, so it is hard for them toact. Some enforcement can be conductedthanks to the evidence trail linking thosewho profit in this way with theirwrongdoing, but new regulations couldmake it easier to keep share prices fair.Benedict Hamilton, Kroll

19THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019 OPINIONCITYAM.COM

MAKE no mistake, the tradewar is real. But it is beingused as a proxy by Chinaand the US to fight a biggerbattle: one that transcends

orthodox definitions of hard and softpower to incorporate “sharp” power –influence over finance, information,ideas, even thought and behaviours.

It is a fight for control of the new dig-ital paradigm. But right now, it risksbeing influenced by domestic consid-erations – with potentially disastrousconsequences for the rest of the world.

Take last week. President DonaldTrump asked China to investigate theBiden family’s business dealings, butBeijing’s foreign policy principles, in-sofar as they are transparent, explic-itly state that it will not interfere inthe affairs of another country.

The demand clearly provides thestrategic context for the ongoing dis-cussions. With trade talks resumingtoday, China’s vice president Liu Heand the US trade representative RobertLighthizer will be attempting to avoidany further escalation of tensions.

If they fail, the US will increase thetariffs imposed on $250bn of Chinesegoods from 25 per cent to 30 per cent.For the last 18 months, the two coun-tries have escalated the crisis by em-broiling themselves in the tit-for-tatattritional tactics that are endemic tothis type of conflict. On the face of it,neither side is winning, and theknock-on effects on the global econ-omy are potentially catastrophic.

Last week’s move, however, suggeststhat Trump’s current strategic gameis to use rhetorical dominance overforeign policy as a show of strength to

a domestic audience, at a time whenimpeachment proceedings againsthim require both a strong rebuttaland a win against China.

Trade has always been Trump’s pre-ferred tool in the zero-sum game thathe plays at home and abroad. So itmay seem unsubtle, but he wouldthink nothing of embroiling his chieftrade adversary into his domesticchallenges and offering them a con-cession on the tariffs in return.

China, by contrast, is likely to see thisfor what it is: a move with a short-termdomestic political objective ratherthan a longer-term globally economicone. However, China’s “socialism withChinese characteristics” can allow con-flict and peace to exist at the sametime: it can be at war with the US forcontrol of the digital paradigm whilesimultaneously expanding its reachpeacefully across the Belt and Road

Initiative sphere of influence. So China’s strategy this week is likely

to be equally clear. It will engage in thetalks, but will maintain its firm posi-tion on the key sticking points: cybersecurity, intellectual property theft, ac-cess to Chinese markets, and disputeresolution mechanisms outside ofWTO frameworks. It does not need toshift its position on tariffs: if China’sgrowth slows, so does that of the restof the world. China can afford to risk abreakdown of talks as a result.

What is interesting here is that bothsides are in similar positions. Whilethe problems that Trump’s adminis-tration faces may seem to be centredaround the man himself, the long-

term concern for the US is the threatposed to American hegemony fromChina’s control of the digital space.

Equally, President Xi Jinping is all-powerful, but has to acknowledge thepersonal challenges his leadershipfaces from the protests in Hong Kong.

So while both countries face similarlong-term challenges to their globalpower, their leaders have more imme-diate domestic concerns, which mayinfluence how they act.

Expect Trump to play more tradegames in the coming months. Whilehe is under the threat of impeachmentand also looking to the 2020 election,the trade war will be the best way of di-verting attention away from his own

actions domestically. China, mean-while, will see the current noise in thediscussions as a facade hiding the in-trinsic weakness of the US position.

Crucially, trade is not the real issuefor either side – for both, short-termcontrol of the domestic agenda andlong-term control of the digital para-digm are far more important.

Trade is a proxy war and, given thesize and power of their economies,both sides can afford it to be attri-tional. The rest of us, however, can-not. We ignore it at our peril.

£Dr Rebecca Harding is chief executive of Coriolis Technologies and author ofGaming Trade.

Rebecca Harding

DEBATE

In an ideal world, we wouldn’t need thewinter fuel allowance. All older peoplewould be free from poverty and live inwarm, well-insulated homes.

But we are a long way from that. Asenergy prices have rocketed in recentyears, this payment has become a crucialweapon in the battle to help older people,particularly those on a low income, to staywarm and well through the winter.

Given that around 25,000 older peopledie prematurely every year from cold-related illnesses as it is, we fear theconsequences of a means-testedallowance. Means-tested benefits can becostly to oversee, complicated, and oftenfail to reach the most in need. It isprecisely because the winter fuelallowance is paid automatically to

everyone, without the need to put in aclaim or prove eligibility, that it reachesthe very poorest and most vulnerable.

As well as the inevitable human cost, ahefty price would be paid by an alreadystretched NHS and social care systemrequired to support older people sufferingfrom unheated homes. Means-testing thewinter fuel allowance would be a disaster.

£Caroline Abrahams is charity director atAge UK.

Last year’s winter fuel allowance for pensioners cost almost £2bn –should the benefit be means-tested?It is vital that those struggling to heat theirhomes receive support, but handing outcash to wealthy pensioners is a waste oftaxpayers’ money. Age alone is an unfairway to decide who gets a £100-£300 lumpsum from the government.

Statistics show that fewer than 10 percent of older households (with one personaged 60 or over) are in fuel poverty,compared to 26 per cent of single-parenthouseholds. And while private renters areat the highest risk of fuel poverty, less thanfour per cent of over-65s live in the privaterental sector.

Handing out the winter fuel allowance toall pensioners, regardless of their income,is a thinly-veiled election bribe. With manyworking-age benefits frozen and families

struggling to make ends meet, all partiesmust set aside concerns about winningover the “grey vote”. Means-testing thebenefit would ensure that the poorestpensioners continue to receive this vitalsupport, while enabling much-neededpublic funds to be redirected towardscash-strapped public services.

£ Imogen Farhan is a researcher at theindependent think tank Reform.

The trade spat is a proxy war in a much bigger battle

IMOGEN FARHAN

YES

CAROLINE ABRAHAMS

NO

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STYLE WITH CONFIDENCE

China and the US are fighting forcontrol of the newdigital paradigm

ENTREPRENEURSCITYAM.COM20 THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019FEATURE

EXPORTS? IT’SALL ABOUT THEFREEZER AISLE

EXPORTING is a major topic aheadof the Brexit deadline of 31 Octo-ber. Hundreds of thousands ofbusiness across a range of sectorsare understandably concerned

about how to overcome the challenges as-sociated with exports after leaving the EU.

Sam Dennigan, founder and chiefexecutive of Strong Roots, managed tocrack this conundrum with a seeminglyordinary product: frozen vegetables.

Dennigan is not selling boring bags offrozen peas. Strong Roots offers originalfood products such as courgette andspinach hash browns, broccoli and purplecarrot bites, and kale and quinoa burgers.

Founded in the Republic of Ireland in2015, Strong Roots is stocked in all majorUK retailers and exports to countriesaround the world in the EU and beyond.

Dennigan launched the company afterspending 10 years selling fruit and vegwith his family’s business in Dublin.Frozen food may not be the sexiestproduct, but he felt he had noticed alack of innovation in the market, andthat there was a gap for exciting food thatpeople would actually want to eat.

“For the previous 50 years, thedefinition of innovation in the frozencategory was changing the packagingdesign,” he says. “We came withsomething genuinely new and different.”

Dennigan saw two main advantages tofrozen food over fresh. From a businessperspective, fresh vegetables areperishable, making them less profitableand harder to export for a small startuplooking to scale. Then there was theenvironmental sustainability aspect to hisbrand. Dennigan argues that if consumersswitched from fresh vegetables to frozen,food waste would be drastically reduced.

“That’s not to say I’m a frozen advocateand we shouldn’t eat fresh food, but ifwe’re going to be serious about being afood business with an agenda ofsustainable growth, it’s something thatpeople need to be conscious of.”

This is a hot topic right now. Food wasteis a major concern – it’s estimated thatover a third of all food produced globallygoes in the bin – and is a majorcontributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

Consumers are also increasinglyconscious about the environmentalimpact of what they eat, eschewing meatin favour of plant-based options. That’swhy trends like “Veganuary” havebecome more popular, and why animalrights campaigners from ExtinctionRebellion blockaded the meat trade atSmithfield Market this week.

Certainly, Dennigan is aware of thishealthy-eating, environmentally-conscious trend, and it’s something that

his brand is leaning into.“When we launched our

veggie burger, we weren’ttrying to convert peopleto veganism, it was justsimply ‘vegetables aregreat, and we don’t needthe meat, try this’,” herecalls. “Now, it’s led by amuch more focusedcommunication ofpurposeful change. That hasgotten stronger as a result ofwhat the consumer wants.”

This sustainability angle alsoplays into how the product ismade. Rather than mass-producing vegetables in fewlocations, Strong Roots hasseveral sites around the worldselected based on seasonalityand soil suitability.

“Our veggie burgers come from arich-growing horticulture area in northernItaly and Austria as a result of a very fertilevalley, where we can grow more intenselywithout ruining the soil,” explainsDennigan. “There’s a huge consciouseffort to take things from places thatwork, as opposed to mass-producing inplaces where things are scarce.”

And it seems to be working. This year,Dennigan secured £15m in fundraising,and is now selling in US stores such asTarget and Whole Foods. The companyexpects sales of $50m this year.

“Things are going really well in the US,”he tells me from New York, where he isoverseeing the expansion. “The stores wehave launched into are tradingsuccessfully. The most difficult thing is notgetting the product on shelves, butkeeping it there. All of our efforts at themoment are making sure the traction thatwe won early on is maintained.”

So what’s his advice for other firms thatwant to be successful exporters? The keything is: don’t rush into it.

“Concentrate on what you’re good at,where you’re good at it. A lot of youngcompanies rush towards export becausethere’s a certain gravitas and premiumassociated with a product being exported,but people need to focus on whetherthey’ve capitalised on their full potential inthe countries they’re at,” Dennigan says.

And he is particularly keen to add thatthere is still plenty of potential in the UK.

“We’re betting on Britain’s economy,” hesays. “We don’t think people are going tostop eating healthy food – in fact, wethink it’s going to accelerate. There are65m people on a small island, who havevery discerning tastes. We’re an exporterfrom Britain, and an exporter to Britain.We’re definitely going to stay that way.”

For the previous50 years, thedefinition of

innovation in thefrozen category

was changing thepackaging design.

We came withsomething

genuinely new

Luke Graham speaks to Strong Roots aboutcracking into America with bags of frozen veggies

Sam Dennigan’s firm producesplant-based frozen foods, likethis kale and quinoa burger

SONOS ONE SPEAKER£179, SONOS.COM

Amazon and Google are the divorced parentsof the smart speaker world, with their respective

voice assistants both vying for your devotion. Ifyou just can’t choose between them, consider theSonos One. It’s the first smart speaker from Sonos,and integrates both Amazon’s Alexa and Google’s

Assistant into one unified package. It’s the idealchoice for those who have already kitted out theirplace in Sonos devices, which allow you to easily

stream music throughout your entire home.

21THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019 LIFE&STYLECITYAM.COM

TECHNOLOGY

HOMEADVANTAGE

Turn your dumb house into a smart homewith the very best in connected tech

PHILIPS HUE BULBSFROM £25, MEETHUE.COM

Never touch a light switch again byreplacing every bulb in your housewith a smart, colour-changing bulbfrom Hue. You can set them to changecolour depending on what’s on the TV,or switch on and off on a schedule, orbecome warmer in the evening tocreate a cosier mood. Integrate Huewith online service ITTT and you couldeven have every bulb in your houseflash red if your stock portfolio isdown, or glow blue when you get aretweet. The future is here, and it’s aninscrutable kaleidoscope of internet-enabled bulbs pulsating like WillyWonka’s demented boat ride.

SAMSUNG FAMILY HUB£2,749, SAMSUNG.COM/UK

As seen in every episode of Queer Eye, thiscavernous fridge freezer from Samsung is about

the size of some London flats and lets you spy onyour vegetables while you’re out of the house. It’sgot a big touchscreen on the front where you can

leave notes and photographs, rendering fridgemagnets not just obsolete, but a threat to the

proper functioning of the fridge.

NEATO BOTVAC D7£799, NEATOROBOTICS.COM

This robot hoover scans its surroundings as itcleans, creating maps of your home that it thenuses to clean more efficiently. It can be set on aschedule to hoover while you’re out, can navigateon to rugs and around chair and table legs, andwill stay out of any areas you designate as no-gozones in the app. It also makes a decent entry-level pet for those who can’t commit to a cat.

AMAZON ECHO (2019)£90, AMAZON.CO.UK

The Amazon Echo speakerhas slowly evolved sincefirst launching in 2014,spawning a family of spin-offs as it went. As well asbeing the gateway gadgetof choice for those lookingto dabble in smart hometechnology, the mostrecent iteration of thestandard issue AmazonEcho now boasts audioquality nearer to that of thebeefier Amazon Echo Plus.You can ask it to controlyour lights and TV, playmusic, or if you really wantto impress your guests,make fart sounds.

RING DOORBELL£139, RING.COM

As well as sending analert to your phone whensomebody’s at the door,smart doorbells also letyou see, respond andspeak to visitors nomatter where you are.You can either pretendthat you’re home to deteranyone who shows up ina stripy vest and a bagwith a big dollar bill onthe side, or ask the guyfrom DPD to hide yourGousto box behind thewheelie bins.

GOOGLE NEST HUB MAX£219, STORE.GOOGLE.COM

The Google Nest Hub Max is a touchscreen tablet that you place in your livingroom or kitchen, acting as a dashboard for your connected home. It uses acamera to recognise your face and show you personalised information aboutthings like upcoming meetings and flights, and will know whose mother you’retalking about when you say “call mum”. It’s also a convincing digital photoframe, a security camera and a voice-activated music and video player, which isuseful in the kitchen when your hands are full of onions or what have you.

NEST THERMOSTAT£219, STORE.GOOGLE.COM

By monitoring how you adjustthe temperature and whenyou’re in and out of the house,the Nest Thermostat slowlylearns your routines until it canheat your home automatically,warming it up for you beforeyou get in or switchingradiators off if you’re out.

CITYAM.COM22 THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019FEATURE

OFFICE POLITICS

TODAY is the 116th anniver-sary of the Women’s Socialand Political Union in the UK– the organisation that se-cured universal suffrage in

Britain. It is an inspiring date. Today, women do experience greater

parity with men than ever before.However, all over the world, patriar-chal cultures still restrict women’sability to be successful in business.And, more damagingly, they can alsorestrict their ability to believe in theirown talents.

It doesn’t help that there exist twoequally potent prevailing models ofwhat female “success” looks like in abusiness context. One, the chief exec-utive of the north American ultra-powerhouse, the Sheryl Sandberg

A tale of twohalves – exceptit doesn’t haveto be that way

figure. The other, the internet sensa-tion and entrepreneur, the Kim Kar-dashian model. Both are wealthybeyond dreams. And to their admir-ers, they are towering pillars of un-fathomable success.

However, do these individuals repre-sent powerful models for all women,or is their prominence in fact a dailyreminder that we are missing more

attainable ideals of success?Consider the fact that there were just

30 women in full-time executive rolesat FTSE 250 firms last year. And havingmillions of Instagram followers is ananomaly, not the norm. Clearly, notevery woman can be a Sheryl or aKim – and nor should they aspire to be.

There are vast swathes of womenwho might feel constrained by thevery existence of these two ideals. In-deed, trail-blazing success stories arenot always the motivation womenneed to be inspired to succeed inbusiness at all.

I look at my own career – candidly. ithas been one of two distinct halves. Atthe beginning, I tried to fit in. I wasoften the only woman on a team, andin my efforts to navigate a very male-

dominated and patriarchal environ-ment, I tried to act as I thought a manwould. In short, I was not myself. Athome, things were totally different – Iwould laugh and was more support-ive. I was a woman split in two.

And for a time, it worked. I wasmade a partner at a global manage-ment consultancy. But it was not allsuccess. A deal failed unexpectedly,causing me huge stress, and my trueself fought to come out.

Through this experience, I found mytrue personality and my empathy. Iapplied my emotional intelligence,and accepted that as a woman I couldadd huge value to a boardroom.

I found success again, but this time,I felt that I could be me – my authen-tic, happy self. My sense of relief washuge and palpable.

More importantly, my team under-stood and emulated me, and thenthey went on to lead by example. Real,authentic experience like this can bea much more powerful motivatorthan either the Kim or Sheryl ideals.

I am certainly not the only womanto have felt this way, which is why Icreated WomanID – a motivationaland educational platform which re-volves around encouraging women tosucceed, while preserving their au-thenticity and individuality. It is asafe space for women to get togetherand support each other.

We are launching in London todayto show that there are many differentmodels of and avenues to success –myriad women in business to aspireto, while still being true to ourselves.

£Ekaterina Kozinchenko is the founder ofWomanID.

RISE ANDSHINE

Starling BankFree

If you are settingup a business,you’ll need atrusty bankaccount by yourside. You couldgive Starling awhirl – it lets youapply for asimple accountin minutes, withno setup costs. The bank hasjust launched aweb portal tohelp customersbetter managetheir businessaccounts online.As well as a loadof other perks,Starling is one ofthe few banks inthe entire worldto be set up by awoman. It’s notentirely a man’sworld after all.

Having millions of Instagramfollowers like Kim Kardashiandoes is ananomaly, not the norm

Ekaterina Kozinchenko

Kim Kardashian and Sheryl Sandberg aren’tthe only models of female business success

23THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019 SPORTCITYAM.COM

AFTER a disastrous start to theRugby World Cup, Scotlandappear to have drasticallyturned their fortunesaround. Having looked un-

convincing in their opening 27-3 de-feat by Ireland, they have notconceded a single point since, beatingSamoa 34-0 before thumping Russia61-0 yesterday. It is the first time theyhave kept their opponents scoreless inback-to-back Tests since 1964.

It took a man-of-the-match displayfrom Stuart Hogg to inspire the Scotsto a bonus-point win over Samoa andsettle nerves, but with just a four-daylayover between games against Japanand Russia, Gregor Townsend en-trusted a second-string side to deliverthe goods yesterday.

Adam Hastings started at fly-half asone of 14 changes from the Samoa vic-tory, with just wing Darcy Grahamkeeping his place. The No10 helpedhis side race into a 14-point lead withtwo tries and conversions in the 13thand 17th minute, the second a greatsolo effort in which he kicked andchased twice before touching down.

Four minutes later scrum-halfGeorge Horne intercepted a pass fol-lowing a Russian line-out to add athird try on his first World Cup start.He went on to complete a hat-trick inthe second half as Scotland scorednine tries in total. 

It means that Sunday’s matchagainst Japan, a game at risk of beingmoved due to Typhoon Hagibis, will

be the decisive fixture in Pool A as thehosts, Scotland and Ireland scrap overtwo quarter-final places. 

Townsend’s side looked in seriousdanger of heading home early afterdefeat in Yokohama but consecutivebonus-point wins have left them onepoint behind Ireland and four behindJapan after three matches, followingthe hosts’ shock win over the Irish.

Assuming Ireland beat Samoa onSaturday they will finish the groupstage on 15 or 16 points, dependingon whether they also claim a bonuspoint. Scotland, then, will need tobeat Japan in order to overtake thehosts in the standings as well asmatch any bonus points they earn.This would see Ireland top the groupand Scotland finish second, settingup a quarter-final with New Zealand. 

However if Japan pull off anotherhuge victory against a Tier One na-tion, they will top the group with Ire-land in second and tee up aquarter-final against South Africa,who they famously beat in Brightonat the 2015 World Cup. 

And in the unlikely although possi-ble scenario that all three sides endup on 15 points, the winner will be de-cided by points difference, with sec-ond and third place settled onhead-to-head record. In that instance,Scotland’s demolition of Russia willcome in handy. They currently have apoint difference of 71, 19 better thanIreland, who would then face elimina-tion due to their defeat to Japan.

SUNDAY is a big day for Sir MoFarah. Having chosen to sitout of the World AthleticsChampionships in Doha onlyto see his name in the news

for all the wrong reasons, followingthe four-year doping ban issued to hisformer coach Alberto Salazar, Farah isback racing this weekend.

The Chicago Marathon is a majorevent in the calendar of elite distancerunners but might not normallymake it into the peripheral vision ofmost sports fans. However, it means agreat deal to Farah, who has a lot rid-ing on his performance in the UnitedStates.

Farah is defending his title in

Chicago after winning his first – andso far, only – marathon at this eventin 2018. His time of two hours, fiveminutes and 11 seconds remains aBritish and European record.

But while retaining his title againsta strong field which includes 2015winner Dickson Chumba, this year’sBoston Marathon champion LawrenceCherono and Farah’s former NikeOregon Project stablemate GalenRupp, a bronze medallist at thelast Olympics, is important, hehas bigger concerns.

EGGS IN ONE BASKETThe six-time world cham-pion and doubleOlympic champion atboth 10,000m and5,000m retired fromthe track in August2017 to focus onroad racing. Allhis eggs are nowin one basket:having woneverything onthe track, suc-

cess over 26.2 miles is now his holygrail.

Despite his chosen path, the 36-year-old admitted to missing his old eventsin March, while the fact he has onlyrun three events this year – the Lon-don Marathon, Vitality 10k and GreatNorth Run – plus the Salazar storm

have amped up the expectationin Chicago.

Although Farah left Salazar’sOregon Project in 2017, hasnever failed a drugs test andhas always strongly denied

breaking any rules, the extentof the revelations surrounding

the coach credited with help-ing him reach stardom

have reopened oldwounds and forced himto distance himselffrom Salazar onceagain. The situation hasn’t

been helped by Farah’sphysiotherapist Neil Black,who has been forced tostep down as performancedirector of UK Athletics at

the end of the month after aligninghimself closely with Salazar.

LOTTERY FUNDINGVictory in Chicago wouldn’t make thecloud above his head disappear – infact, in some circles in might actuallyprompt more questions – but it wouldbe confirmation for Farah himselfthat he made the right call, if notwith his former coach, but with hiscareer trajectory.

Despite moving away from the trackin the summer of 2017 Farah is still inreceipt of National Lottery funding. Ifhe performs well this weekend itwould make a return to the Team GBvest at next year’s Tokyo Olympics,and the wider public eye, a fair biteasier, especially considering theemergence of Callum Hawkins, whofinished fourth in the marathon inDoha this month.

After weeks of hitting the headlineson account of those around him, andwith Olympic ambitions at the fore-front of his mind, Farah might just beinspired to push that little bit harderin the closing stages of Sunday’s race.

CHRIS Silverwood has beenappointed as England’s newhead coach and I think theECB hierarchy have made agood decision.

I came across Silverwood in countycricket and, like others, all the feed-back I’ve heard has been positive: hehas a simple approach, is a strongcommunicator and man-manager.

I’ve written previously that Englandshould go for someone with a similaroutlook to Trevor Bayliss and that’s ex-actly what they’ve done. OverallBayliss changed things for the betterand although the tactics need to be al-tered in Test cricket his legacyshouldn’t be discarded.

Silverwood has been inside the set-up for a few years, so knows the sys-tem and the players well. A completelyfresh face can take two or three seriesto settle into the role, but thatshouldn’t be the case on this occasion.

Stepping up from bowling coach tohead coach won’t be an issue either.Some head coaches like to put theirstamp on teams, but England havelots of people around in meetings andBayliss isn’t the authoritative type.

I worked under him at Sydney Sixersand the atmosphere was so relaxed itsometimes felt like a club cricket ses-sion. Silverwood will be taking onmore responsibility, becoming thehub of the decision-making and deal-ing with the media, but his existingrelationships with the players andstaff and his experience as Essex headcoach will stand him in good stead.

Despite the drawn series meaningAustralia retained the Ashes, I thinkSilverwood is taking on the role in apositive light.

At 44 he’s a young, hungry and mo-tivated coach, which is important be-cause someone like Ireland coachGraham Ford, who was in the picture,has loads of experience yet might nothave the same drive to succeed.

Another feather in Silverwood’s capis his grounding in and knowledge ofthe County Championship. Baylisstook little interest in the domesticgame, which was fine for a settledone-day side, but was a weaknesswhen it came to Tests.

Silverwood is English, played in theCounty Championship himself andwon the Division One title with Essexjust two years ago, so he will be ableto take a deeper look at players. Itcan’t hurt to have someone else look-ing beyond the statistics to try andidentify the right kind of players whocan step up.

That’s an important attribute tohave because selection can be madedifficult by the playing conditions,which aren’t helpful in breeding Testplayers.

In the long run the domestic systemneeds looking at, but with Silverwoodworking alongside director of cricketAshley Giles, I think England are in anencouraging position.

Chris Tremlett is a former England andSurrey fast bowler. @ChrisTremlett33

CRICKET COMMENT

Chris Tremlett

Silverwood isyoung, hungryand perfect forEngland role

Buoyant Scotsset up decideragainst JapanRevival gathers pace with nine-try routof Russia, writes Michael Searles

Farah hits Chicago with a point to proveMarathon defencewould be timelyboost amid falloutover Salazar ban,writes Felix Keith

George Horne (l) and Adam Hastings (r) scored tries as Scotland beat Russia 61-0

CITYAM.COM24 THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2019SPORT

SPORTCHRIS TREMLETT Silverwoodhas all the attributes to thriveas England head coach PAG E 23

INJURED RAMSEY RULEDOUT OF SLOVAKIA MATCH £Wales will be without AaronRamsey in their Euro 2020 qualifieragainst Slovakia in Trnava thisevening after the Juventusmidfielder suffered an injury.Ramsey, who hasn’t played for hiscountry since November 2018, isunavailable due to “tightness in hisadductor” according to managerRyan Giggs. Wales are fourth inGroup E with two wins from theirfour matches so far.

ANDERSON TO REFINDFITNESS WITH MAN CITY£England fast bowler JimmyAnderson is to train at ManchesterCity in a bid to recover from the calfinjury which blighted his summer.Anderson, 37, bowled just four oversin the Ashes due the problem, whichstruck in the opening stages of thefirst Test in August. He will now trainat City’s Etihad campus in the hopeof being fit for England’s four-Testseries against South Africa, whichstarts on Boxing Day.

CECH MOVES INTO ICEHOCKEY WITH GUILDFORD£Former Chelsea and Arsenalgoalkeeper Petr Cech has signed forice hockey side Guildford Phoenix.The 37-year-old retired from footballat the end of last season andbecame technical and performanceadviser at Chelsea. Cech will be agoaltender with Phoenix, who wereformed in 2017 and play in the fourthtier of Britain’s ice hockey pyramid.

CRESSWELL SIGNS NEWCONTRACT AT WEST HAM£West Ham defender AaronCresswell has signed a new contractwith the Premier League club. The29-year-old left-back, who joined theHammers from Ipswich in 2014, hassigned a deal until 2023. Cresswellhas made 184 appearances for theclub and is the third longest-servingplayer, after captain Mark Noble andcentre-back Winston Reid.

SPORT DIGEST

Winger Josh Adams scored a hat-trick as Wales overcame a spirited Fiji 29-17 to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup yesterday. Warren Gatland’s side haveguaranteed their progression ahead of Sunday’s final Pool D game against Uruguay, but it was far from straightforward. Fiji raced into a 10-0 lead, while fly-half Dan Biggarsuffered a head injury which will see him miss Uruguay and Adams and centre Jonathan Davies also picked up knocks. However, Adams (pictured) produced three finishes in thecorner to make the game safe before Liam Williams added a bonus point. “It was tough. From 10-0 down I would've taken a bonus-point win,” said Gatland. “We showed somereal character to get back into that. They have some incredible individual athletes, we showed some character to fight back. I’m pleased with that performance and result.”

WALES BATTLE TO WIN Adams hat-trick sees off Fiji and seals quarter-final place

WHEN France face Eng-land at the Rugby WorldCup on Saturday, therewill be more than just aplace at the top of Pool C

on the line for Les Bleus.They may have been misfiring at

this tournament so far, hobbling to a23-21 victory against Tonga last week-end, but when it comes to Le Crunchthey will be fired up – particularlygiven the humiliating 44-8 defeat suf-fered at Twickenham during thisyear’s Six Nations.

Following three underwhelmingvictories so far at the World Cup andreports of a mutiny behind thescenes, they have plenty to prove to

those questioning them back hometoo. They looked to be cruising when17-7 up at half-time against Tonga butceded territory to the Pacific Is-landers’ kicking game throughoutthe second half and were lucky tocome away with four points in theface of a late comeback.

It led to strong criticism back home,with Toulon owner Mourad Boudjel-lal calling on the players to channelthe spirit of their 2011 World Cupcampaign and “take control” fromthe coaching staff. Eight years ago theteam sidelined coach Marc Lievre-mont after losing to Tonga and wenton to reach the final, where they onlylost 8-7 to New Zealand.

“Take control guys, take the power,because there are coaches all over theplace. Our team spirit is almost non-existent,” Boudjellal said in a videoblog. “Individually, we have playerswho are world class. Collectively, foryears, that hasn’t been the case. Tellthe coaches to go on holiday. Writeyour story yourself.”

It comes after a training session on

Mutiny talk has leftEngland’s pool rivalsat crossroads aheadof ‘Le Crunch’, saysMichael Searles

TYPHOON CAUSING CHAOS

£England and Scotland’s final WorldCup pool matches are under threat, asorganisers sweat on the direction of apowerful tropical cyclone. TyphoonHagibis is expected to make landfall inJapan on Saturday and could causedisruption, or even cancellation, ofEngland’s game against France inYokohama, near Tokyo, on Saturdayand Scotland’s with the hosts in thesame venue on Sunday. World Rugbycalled a news conference early thismorning to spell out its plans after theMet Office warned of “strong and severewinds, very heavy rain” which carry “arisk of flash flooding”. England havequalified for the quarter-finals, butcancellation would knock Scotland out,if Ireland beat Samoa on Saturday. “I’msure that alternative venues andarrangements are being looked at, notjust for our game but the other gamesthat could be affected by it,” saidScotland coach Gregor Townsend.

Monday was cancelled with reports inFrance suggesting that captain Guil-hem Guirado had fallen out withhead coach Jacques Brunel and his re-placement-in-waiting, Fabien Glathie,who is currently an assistant.

Former France captain Galthie wasbrought into the set-up in April fol-lowing a disappointing Six Nationsthat included three defeats and hasseen pressure on Brunel mount. 

Hooker Guirado looks unlikely tostart against England and is said tofeel increasingly marginalised bymanagement who do not consult himon key decisions. He also endured astrained relationship with Galthie atToulon during the 2017-18 season,French newspapers claim.

Despite the coaches’ efforts to handthe armband to Jefferson Poirot, play-ers including Gael Fickou andMaxime Medard have rallied behindtheir captain. “There is no debate onthe captain,” Fickou said. “Guirado isour captain. He always has that influ-ence on our set-up, he always speaks.We are all behind him.”

The lack of cohesion in the team hasbeen apparent and while their notori-ously strong pack has not yet clickedinto gear, there have been momentsof individual quality among the backsto give England reason enough to fear.

Romain Ntamack, 20, has taken theNo10 jersey from Camille Lopez andfellow youngsters, Antoine Dupont,22, and Damian Penaud, 23, com-bined with the experienced heads ofYoann Huget, Fickou and Medard areamong the likely candidates to fill aformidable back line.  

They pride themselves on playingunpredictable rugby and that cer-tainly looks to be what England canexpect given the apparent heated ex-changes in the dressing room.

For some teams the high emotions,alleged rift and sub-par performanceswould spell disaster going into a chal-lenge such as the one England pose. Itcould for the French, too. Or, as in2011, the necessity of rallying anduniting behind their captain couldspark the improvement they need togo deep into the tournament. 

A FRENCH DISCONNECTION