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Sunak says ‘nothing is off the table’ as Zelensky asks for jets JESSICA FRANK-KEYES PRIME MINISTER Rishi Sunak has said “nothing is off the table” after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked the UK to supply him with fighter jets to battle Putin’s army. The two leaders spoke at a joint press conference at an army base
yesterday after the Ukrainian wartime President flew to the UK and implored the PM to bolster the country’s air power. Western allies have so far declined to further arm Ukraine but yesterday Sunak confirmed Britain would train Ukrainian pilots to fly modern warplanes, while stopping short of any commitment to supply planes.
No10 said defence secretary Ben Wallace is investigating what aircraft the UK could provide, but stressed this would be a “long-term option”. Speaking at a joint press conference at Camp Lulworth, Dorset, Zelensky warned if Ukraine continued to go without jets, the war risked military “stagnation” which would pose a “great risk to all of the world”.
He branded Russia a “terrorist” nation and said: “If we don’t get fighter jets or missiles, everything obviously will be running out. “There will be stagnation and these people will come and be living on our territory and this will pose a great risk to all of the world.” £ CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
BUY NOW PAY LATER BOOM
Fuller’s files claim against insurers LOUIS GOSS
NEARLY £1 IN EVERY £8 SPENT ONLINE VIA BNPL SERVICES LAST MONTH JACK BARNETT BRITS are turning to buy-now pay-later products to fund online spending amid a cost of living squeeze that is eroding their disposable income rapidly, exclusive research shared with City A.M. reveals. Nearly £1 in every £8 was spent online via buy-now pay-later providers last month, according to research by Adobe Analytics. The proportion is up slightly from just over 10 per cent in the same month last year, signalling shoppers are responding to
their spending power being eaten up by inflation by using firms like Klarna and Zilch to keep splashing the cash. Buy-now pay-later (BNPL) is a type of interest-free credit that allows customers to buy products by borrowing against their future income. Like credit cards, however, there is a risk that people can get tangled up in serious debt trouble if they fail to repay their debts. Adobe attributed the rise in demand for BNPL services to Brits trying to “spread the cost of January purchases to ease the financial pressure caused by continued
high levels of inflation and the cost-ofliving crisis”. Suzanne Steele, vice president and managing director for Adobe in the UK, said the increase in BNPL use “shows that consumers are still keeping a close eye on their finances”. “It’s no surprise that more and more people are turning to interest-free BNPL providers like Klarna as banks hike up credit card interest to their highest ever rates,” a spokesperson for Klarna, the darling of the buy-now pay-later sector, told City A.M.
Shoppers do not pay any interest on cash borrowed from Klarna unless they miss a payment deadline, which can vary from 30 days to spreading payments over several months. Using them can impact a consumers’ ability to borrow in the future. Philip Belamant, chief executive of rival BNPL firm Zilch, told City A.M. that the company “reports to all major [credit rating agencies], protecting customers from over-borrowing elsewhere, and has recently begun working with Stepchange, the UK’s leading debt charity, to help those who fall behind, for free”.
FULLER’s has filed a lawsuit against insurance giants Aviva and Liberty Mutual in a dispute over a “business interruption” claim. Fuller Smith & Turner confirmed to City A.M. it is suing the two insurers “in relation to a claim under our business interruption insurance” but refused to state the value of the claim or comment further. Fuller’s filed its case against Liberty and Aviva on 2 February in the UK’s commercial court. The pub group’s lawsuit follows a surge in business interruption claims from hospitality firms against insurers, which have paid out more than £1.2bn to companies that were forced to close during the lockdowns. Fuller’s currently owns around 400 pubs throughout Britain, having previously sold its brewing business to Japanese firm Asahi in 2019. The pub chain closed all of its UK pubs after the British government introduced lockdown measures in 2020 in a bid to slow the spread of Covid-19. Fuller’s posted a £59.2m loss for the financial year ending in March 2021 as the restrictions battered its revenues. Aviva was approached for comment, while Liberty Mutual declined to comment.
INSIDE TOTAL ENERGIES BUMPER PROFITS P3 WORLD CUP KICKS UP FOX REVENUES P5 A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE IN THE SQUARE MILE P13 MARKETS P14 OPINION P16-18