Still feeling entitled? Britain is facing a crisis of intergenerational inequality February 15, 2019 This week, I was audacious enough to suggest that free TV licences for pensioners should not be a public spending priority. The backlash was fierce. “I have paid taxes all my life,” came the outraged cries on social media. This is mostly true, as long as you take “all my life” to mean “until I [...]
Former Virgin Money chief Jayne-Anne Gadhia hunts for investors in new tech startup January 28, 2019 The former head of challenger bank Virgin Money is to set up her own fintech startup, designed to save consumers money on their household bills. Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia has approached several investors regarding a new company called Snoop, which will take advantage of Open Banking rules to utilise data about customers' spending habits, according to reports [...]
Virgin Atlantic and Stobart Group poised to make takeover move for Flybe January 10, 2019 Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic and the Stobart Group are close to securing the takeover of embattled regional airline Flybe, according to reports in Sky News this evening. Flybe, which recently reported a 54 per cent drop in half-year profits, could be acquired by a consortium led by Virgin Atlantic in an offer that would represent [...]
Alexa: Tell me why I can’t have a flying car like in Blade Runner January 4, 2019 Bad news: it’s 2019, and that means we are now living through the year in which the original Blade Runner film was set. Released in 1982, Blade Runner has some interesting ideas about 2019. Yes, it’s a post-apocalyptic dystopian hellscape where sentient bioengineered robots (“replicants”) must be hunted down against a backdrop of a dying [...]
Branson’s Virgin Galactic blasted as ‘dangerous, dead-end tech’ by Aussie astronaut December 18, 2018 Virgin Galactic, the commercial space endeavour led by billionaire Richard Branson, has been rejected by an Australian astronaut as "dangerous" to human space flight. Spaceman Andy Thomas told reporters in Adelaide last night that while he supported what Branson was contributing to satellite technology, he was critical of his goals to take tourists into orbit. [...]
Hard Brexit will be a disaster for British businesses, says Sir Richard Branson December 14, 2018 Sir Richard Branson has claimed that a hard Brexit would be a disaster for the UK and called on Prime Minister Theresa May to be honest about the consequences it could have. The Virgin Group founder has warned that leaving the EU without a deal would result in the closure of British businesses and that the [...]
Mark Kleinman: Come in Houston, just as UK audit reforms bite December 14, 2018 Talk about a hospital pass. Richard Houston, Deloitte’s consulting chief, might be forgiven for feeling a bit like Theresa May this week. Houston’s is the solitary name on a ballot open to partners at the Big Four accountancy firm’s UK operation as it seeks to elect a successor to David Sproul, its chief executive for [...]
Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic tourist spaceship successfully touches the edge of the world in today’s test flight December 13, 2018 Rocket man and Virgin billionaire Richard Branson's commercial space programme successfully reached the edge of the world's atmosphere for the first time in its fourth test flight across the US today. The Virgin Galactic Spaceship Two rocket, which was carried up to a height of above 12,000 metres by a specially-designed plane before igniting its motors, reached [...]
Flybe shares head skyward as it braces for bidding war November 26, 2018 Flybe shares soared over 23 per cent in trading this morning on reports it has landed at the centre of bidding war between industry rivals Sir Richard Branson and Willie Walsh. Walsh’s International Airlines Group (IAG) is in hot competition with Branson’s Virgin Atlantic, according to reports over the weekend which have sent the budget [...]
Arch rivals Walsh and Branson in bidding war for struggling airline Flybe November 25, 2018 Arch airline rivals Willie Walsh and Richard Branson are set to go head to head in a bidding war for struggling airline Flybe. Walsh, who is chief executive of British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG), is facing competition from Branson’s airline Virgin Atlantic as the two carriers vie to take control of Flybe, which [...]