International News

The newspaper said that Mubadala, one of the UAE's most active state funds, will invest £800 million into life sciences over the five years as part of a post-Brexit deal that will also include a £200 million investment by the British government. Similar investments are expected to follow in the technology, clean energy and infrastructure sectors. Lord Gerry Grimstone, minister at the Office for Investment established by the government last November, said he was expecting "equa...

Boris Johnson has said that he is "immensely proud to lead a government that is so comprehensively committed” to supporting the tech sector, as a major new report highlighted the soaring levels of capital tech firms are raising for London IPOs. Tech Nation, a growth platform for tech companies and leaders that has seen start-ups including Monzo through from very early stage, released its annual report on the state of the sector on Tuesday. The report found tech firms raised twice as mu...

This year, the index has introduced a transport score into the ranking, with a particular focus on mass transit systems. As a result, car-reliant Los Angeles fell from first place last year to 14th position. Cities in the Schroders’ Global Cities Index are scored on four metrics: economic, environmental, innovation and transport. The ranking identifies cities with a combination of economic dynamism, excellent universities, forward-thinking environmental policies and excellent trans...

TikTok, the social media company owned by China’s ByteDance Ltd., has agreed to lease a new London office building months after a spat between the U.K. and China threatened to derail its expansion. The firm has signed a 15-year lease for the 88,500 square foot (8,200 square meters) Kaleidoscope building in Farringdon, according to a statement from developer Helical Plc. The property was built above London’s still unfinished Crossrail train line and boasts a 5,000 square foot roof ...

The government will offer incentives to lenders, bringing back 95% mortgages which have "virtually disappeared" during the pandemic, the Treasury says. Chancellor Rishi Sunak says public finances are facing a "challenge" from the pandemic's impact on the economy. The government has borrowed £271bn this financial year - up £222bn on 2019-20. This has pushed the national debt to £2.13 trillion. Explaining the government's economic response to the pandemic, Mr ...

Rishi Sunak is preparing to extend the stamp duty holiday by three months until the end of June in an attempt to keep the property market firing as Britain emerges from lockdown. In July last year the government exempted most buyers from the levy if they completed their purchase before March 31, 2021. The holiday enables people to save up to £15,000 in tax. The chancellor has faced pressure to extend the deadline amid concerns that it would create a “cliff-edge”, jeopardisin...

The Pound-to-Euro exchange rate took the market by storm having risen to nine-month peaks last week but could continue steamrolling higher into month-end, leading to a test of 1.17 in the process, as the UK economic backdrop brightens and Sterling proves popular among central bank reserve managers. Pound Sterling was the best performing major currency again last week despite already having advanced strongly in February against all nine of its largest counterparts, as the British currency con...

“Extend the Stamp Duty Holiday for an additional 6 months after 31st March 2021”, a petition which was started at the end of October, has been thrashed out in an online debate this afternoon after securing enough signatures for it to be considered by the government. The virtual 90-minute debate, which kicked off at 4.30 pm, saw the Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP, financial secretary to the Treasury, responding for the government after calls were made to extend the current stamp duty break...