LONDON’S BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
REALLY? IN THE WOODS? OUT AND ABOUT WITH ITALY’S STUNNING WILD BEARS P16-7 MONDAY 16 JANUARY 2023
ISSUE 3,916
NORTH LONDON FIRST - NOW THE TITLE? TIME FOR ARSENAL TO BELIEVE P20
CITYAM.COM
FREE MINISTER SPEAKS
City minister: Fintech is a growth icon EXCLUSIVE
SASCHA O’SULLIVAN
REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL?
NEW LONDON ECONOMY FIGURES SUGGEST UNEXPECTED OPTIMISM JACK BARNETT LONDON is outperforming the nationwide economy, indicating the capital is on course to avoid what experts think will be a long recession in the UK, a new survey out today shows. An index of business output in London compiled by Natwest jumped to 50.2 last month, up from 48.2, meaning the capital’s economy is growing. At a UK level, activity contracted for the fifth month in a row, with the same index in December dropping below the 50 point
threshold that separates growth and contraction. The figures offer further evidence illustrating the capital’s economy is resisting roaring inflation and higher interest rates better than the rest of the country. According to the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a quarter of the capital’s firms tried to take on more staff last quarter, the highest proportion since they started tracing the data. The positive surveys suggest London will lead the UK back to economic
strength if it does tip into what the Bank of England has forecast will be the longest recession in a decade. A string of data out this week will signal whether the country tipped into a technical slump at the tail end of last year. New figures on Wednesday are expected to show inflation dropped again to 10.5 per cent, while numbers tomorrow are also likely to show unemployment still hovering at multidecade lows. Data last week showed the UK economy unexpectedly grew 0.1 per cent in
November, meaning the country may have narrowly avoided a recession last year. Consumers and businesses are being crushed by inflation hitting a 40-year high and the Bank of England hiking interest rates nine times in a row to 3.5 per cent to contain price rises. Governor Andrew Bailey could provide clues on whether he will back another 50 basis point rate increase at the Bank’s next meeting on 2 February during a grilling session with MPs on the treasury committee at 3pm today.
THE CITY minister Andrew Griffith has said it is time to raise the “aspirations” of the United Kingdom in order to create a more innovative, growing economy. Griffith, a former Sky exec, writes in City A.M. today that the “stunning success of UK fintech, which supports tens of thousands of jobs,” can provide a roadmap for other service industries. The Treasury minister was in the States last week drumming up interest in the UK’s tech scene. Griffith says the success of open banking in particular serves as an example of disruptors, established players, government and regulators working together to deliver a growing industry. “My task now is not just to lock in this progress – but to build on it to ensure the benefits of open banking technology and broader innovation are felt by as many people and businesses in the UK as possible,” he writes. Some fintechs have called for faster progress on growing the open banking industry. £ OPINION: PAGE 15
Gaucho to open in Covent Garden in further proof of restaurant group’s turnaround EXCLUSIVE
ANDY SILVESTER COVENT GARDEN has been the home of ballerinas, opera singers and street performers for more than a century – and it will soon add Argentinian cowboys to its cast with the opening of a new outpost of steakhouse favourite Gaucho.
The man behind the group, Rare Restaurants boss Martin Williams, told City A.M. he would be taking over a site on James Street just off the famous shopping square in the heart of Theatreland, previously occupied by Mark Wahlberg’s burger joint Wahlburgers. It will be the brand’s first London opening in a number of years, with
the restaurant slated to open in June of this year. It will also be an exclamation point for Gaucho, which Williams – a former MD of the firm – and partners bought out of administration in 2018. Williams told
City A.M. his Rare Restaurants group – which includes City and Canary Wharf’s M Restaurants – saw ebitda north of £10m last year, on turnover of £73m, up from £55m
when he took the reins. “Many brands that have twenty restaurants, like we do, may just be focusing on national expansion,” he said. “But we’ve had so much success, so well-known and so wellloved in London, that this is a reflection of confidence that our regular guests love the brand and will use it a lot.”
INSIDE HOUSE PRICES ON THE RISE AGAIN P3 CREDIT SUISSE LAYOFFS P6 BANKS ON FINTECH SPREE P7 LEGAL PAY WAR TO FINALLY SUBSIDE P8 STRIKES UPDATE P10