France evicts hundreds of migrants from Paris squat ahead of Olympics

Estelle Emonet
Wed, April 17, 2024 

Among those evicted were women and children (Emmanuel Dunand)


French authorities on Wednesday evicted hundreds of migrants from a squat in a southern suburb of Paris with just 100 days to go until the Olympics, encouraging them to board buses to other parts of France.

Charities have accused the authorities of seeking to clear homeless people from the French capital to make it look better for the Games from July 26 to August 11.

The abandoned office building in Vitry-sur-Seine had been home to up to 450 migrants, most of them documented but awaiting social housing, according to non-governmental organisations who visited to help them.

Several had left the building earlier in the week after authorities announced the upcoming eviction.

Clutching their belongings in bags, suitcases or trolleys, some 300 people who had remained left calmly on Wednesday morning under the eye of police in riot gear, looking worried about their next step.

Most were young men, but several women with children were also among the crowd.

One by one, holding documents in plastic folders, they approached immigration officials sitting behind tables to explain their situation in broken French or stilted English.

Buses waited outside, ready to take them to the central city of Orleans or the southwestern city of Bordeaux.

But many people said they did not want to leave the Paris region.

"I want to stay here," said Abakar, a 29-year-old from Sudan who did not give his second name.

He said he was in Paris to follow a logistics course and had been promised a job in a supermarket.

- 'Bordeaux is nice' -

At one table, a woman official tried to convince another young man to try his luck in Bordeaux.

"You know in France, there isn't just Paris. Bordeaux is nice, it's warmer than here," she said.

But he too was attending training in the capital region, and so she directed him to another table where a colleague was in charge of accommodation near Paris.

Merci Daniel, a mother from Sudan, said she had sent her children to stay in a nearby shelter because there was "too much violence" inside the squat.

But she did not want to leave the area as she was scared she would no longer see them if she did.

An official found her a room at a hotel outside Paris for several days.

Migrant and homeless charities have accused the authorities of seeking to remove the homeless from Paris and its outskirts before tourists arrive for the Olympics.

"There are spaces in shelters near Paris, but clearly they want to move them away from the capital. Especially before the Olympics," said Paul Alauzy, a representative from medical charity Medecins du Monde (Doctors of the World).

Some mayors in rural and small-town France have also become increasingly angry over the transfer of migrants from the capital to their communities.

Police clear France's largest squat ahead of Paris Olympics

RFI
Wed, April 17, 2024 



France's largest squat, which housed up to 450 mostly legal immigrants, was on Wednesday evacuated in the southern suburbs of Paris – 100 days ahead of the Olympic Games.

The operation to evict people from a disused factory in Vitry-sur-Seine reportedly took place without incident, with some occupants already having left the premises in anticipation of the arrival of police.

Some 250 officers were mobilised according to the Val-de-Marne prefecture. Shelters were planned for those evicted, both in the Ile-de-France area surrounding Paris and other regions, such as Bordeaux.

Carrying their belongings, the 300 or so remaining occupants – men, women and children – left the premises shortly after 8am.

Some had been living at the site for several months, either unable to find accommodation in the private sector or still awaiting social housing.

According to the United Migrants NGO, which regularly provides assistance, 80 percent of migrants are legally residents of France.

The Revers de la Médaille (Flip Side of the Coin) group, which brings together NGOs that help people living on the streets, has for months warned of the plight of the homeless, whose makeshift camps are being dismantled as the Olympic Games approach.

Mohammed Sayed, an Eritrean, had been living in the squat for three years.

He has refugee status and works in electrical maintenance for the construction company Eiffage on a permanent contract, but has been unable to find accommodation.


Read also:
Homeless charities warn of 'social cleansing' ahead of Paris Olympics
Anger as police clear homeless from tents along banks of Seine
French NGO warns situation is getting worse for homeless people

Justin Trudeau's government raises taxes on wealthiest Canadians in federal budget

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, from left, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland and cabinet ministers pose for a photo before the tabling of the federal budget on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

Associated Press
Updated Tue, Apr 16, 2024

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ’s government announced Tuesday it is imposing higher taxes on the wealthiest Canadians as part of the federal budget.

The budget proposes to increase the capital gains inclusion rate, which refers to the taxable share of profit made on the sale of assets.

The taxable portion of capital gains above $250,000 Canadian (US$181,000) would rise from half to two-thirds, which the federal government says will only affect 0.1% of Canadians and raise nearly $20 billion Canadian (US$14.5 billion) in revenue over five years.

“I know there will be many voices raised in protest. No one likes paying more tax, even — or perhaps particularly — those who can afford it the most,” Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said.

“But before they complain too bitterly, I would like Canada’s one per cent — Canada’s 0.1% — to consider this: What kind of Canada do you want to live in?”

Freeland presented the federal budget, which pledges $53 billion Canadian (US$38 billion) in new spending that she says is focused on economic justice for younger generations.

Freeland denied that her latest budget is mainly a political exercise — but nonetheless acknowledged that for anyone under 40 in Canada, it’s “just harder to establish yourself” than it was for the generations that came before.

Freeland delivered a budget that she said capped the federal deficit at $40 billion Canadian (US$29 billion).

Trudeau's Liberal government is trailing badly in the polls amid concerns over the cost of living in Canada.

“This budget will do very little to improve Liberal prospects. They will be going down to defeat, and they know it,” said Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto. “Their only hope is if Justin Trudeau steps aside and a new Liberal leader is selected. And, even then, it would be difficult for them to prevail.”

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland and cabinet ministers pose for a photo before the tabling of the federal budget on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. 

Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, right, and Prime Minister of France Gabriel Attal, look around the Prime Minister's office in West Block on Parliament Hill, before a meeting in Ottawa on Thursday, April 11, 2024.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland are joined by cabinet ministers for a photo before the tabling of the federal budget on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. 

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland and cabinet ministers pose for a photo before the tabling of the federal budget on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland holds a press conference in the media-lockup prior to tabling the Federal Budget in Ottawa, Ontario, on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, center, presents the federal budget in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Ontario, on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. The Liberal government has already unveiled significant planks of the budget, including billions of dollars to build more homes, expand child care and beef up the military.

Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, center, tables the federal budget in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Ontario, on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. The Liberal government has already unveiled significant planks of the budget, including billions of dollars to build more homes, expand child care and beef up the military. 

Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland rises to present the federal budget in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Ontario, as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, lower right, listens on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. The Liberal government has already unveiled significant planks of the budget, including billions of dollars to build more homes, expand child care and beef up the military. 

(Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)

'Definition of a toxic work environment.' Every worker quits Stark Soil & Water District

Tim Botos, Canton Repository
Updated Wed, April 17, 2024 

Every employee at the Stark Soil and Water Conservation District office in Massillon has quit the agency. To stay afloat, the district's volunteer board of supervisors had to temporarily outsource most of the agency's workload and divvy up other duties to the board members themselves.


MASSILLON ‒ The Stark Soil & Water Conservation District is a muddy mess.

Every employee of the government office has quit. To stay afloat, the district's volunteer board of supervisors had to temporarily outsource most of the agency's workload and divvy up other duties to the board members themselves.

Former employees blame the mass exodus on Executive Director John Weedon. The five-member board, they added, ignored signals that the office was ready to implode.


"The definition of a toxic work environment; that was Stark Soil & Water," said Taylor Noble, a drainage specialist who left on March 27 for a job in the Pacfic Northwest.

"Weird, backstabbing kind of stuff," said former Outreach Technician Adrienne Bock, who left in October.

"We'd all went to the board and nothing was done," said Rome Marinelli, a drainage specialist who quit last year.

By the time its staff of seven employees had eroded to three by mid-March, it was too late. The floodgates opened. The remaining trio was gone by month's end.

Among that group was Weedon, who skipped a board meeting and resigned on March 18. His departure came days after the board gave him written warnings for having alcohol in his office and for creating public documents about employees.

John S. Weedon, who recently resigned as executive director of the Stark Soil & Water Conservation District, is shown in this November 2023 file photo. The agency's entire staff has quit, blaming him for the mass exodus.

The latter was a series of writings dubbed "Game Plan," which read like a scheme on how to win over certain employees while making others quit by isolating them, making one feel bored, and holding another to task "so that he snaps."

Assistant Stark County Prosecutor Jerry Yost was called in by the board the day Weedon quit because it requested assistance on how to move forward and continue functioning.

"Mr. Weedon seemed to have difficulty gaining the respect and cooperation of his staff and the difficult work environment appears to have continued until the whole system failed," Yost wrote in an email response for this story.

Weedon, reached by the Repository, said, "There are two sides to every story."

He said he'd accepted board reprimands last month for the alcohol and his "Game Plan" documents and that both sides had moved on. However, after careful thought in the following days, Weedon said he realized he and the board were moving in different directions, which is why he resigned.

"And I never fired anyone," he said.

He said he was willing to remain as director until a replacement was hired, an offer the board rejected.

"My intention was not to leave the district high and dry," Weedon said.
Stark Soil & Water: Why did everyone quit?

Public records and interviews, along with office communications and files obtained by The Canton Repository, reveal details of an ongoing divide between staff and Weedon.

It first came to a head in the spring of 2023, said Bock. She said she saw Weedon touch the butt of another female employee, then overheard him tell a sexually charged joke to another female in the office.

"It was uncomfortable," Bock said.

She said she couldn't complain to Weedon so she reached out to Board Chairman Ann Wolfe. Bock said no one interviewed her further about the complaints.

Wolfe declined comment for this story.

"All those false allegations were investigated by the board," Weedon said.

Noble said the board's inaction only fortified the staff's resentment of Weedon and the board.

On one side was Weedon and Sarah Clutter, formerly Sarah Matheny, who left last year only to return in December as a special projects coordinator. The other side, to varying degrees, was everyone else in the office, which included those hired during the past year.

"(Weedon) knew we had went to the board ... and he retaliated," said Marinelli. "It's really too bad because I loved my job. But I felt like I had to leave."

Rome Marinelli, a former drainage specialist at the Stark Soil & Water Conservation District, didn't want to quit the agency. "I loved my job. But I felt like I had to leave."

Clutter, who now works for the Canton city engineer, did not return a phone call seeking comment for this story.

Weedon's "Game Plan" documents seem to illustrate how much office relationships had deteriorated. They appear to have been written a year ago to Clutter because she's the only one not referred to by name.

"We both should look for other jobs," it states. "I don’t want to work for or supervise people that think so little of me or treat you the way they did.

"We have a good shot to survive but it is uncertain given the unprofessional board and backstabbing staff. Our goal is to reduce the chances of being fired so we have the time to land elsewhere."

The plan lays out the following "core principles:"

"Trust no one. Only business-like language on work email, teams, work phone text. Rely on our personal phones for the other stuff. Reduce the time we are together in front of staff. Everything we say can and will be used against us. Pretend the board is in the room. Document, document, document."

It goes on to decribe how to handle the board, and the need to find a legitimate candidate to run in a fall election.

Then, this, "Break up the pack by changing expectations," it states. "Go from informal to formal organization; go by the book. Have them turn on each other. Keep them so busy they don’t have time or energy to support each other."

And ultimately, "Make them jealous of each other (unsure how do this; still thinking)," it states. "This requires me to be ruthless; this requires you to stop being (maternal)."

On the other hand, office documents indicate Weedon had reprimanded an employee for using a shared cellphone system feature to track locations of Weedon, Clutter and others, mostly during non-working hours.

"Why are you tracking staff and recording staff locations when neither Sarah nor myself have every asked you to do this?" he wrote. "This is disappointing ... inappropriate ... unsettling ... "
Lots of help to keep operation going

Presented with a clean slate, Yost said, the board is focused on moving the district forward.

"Currently the board’s plan is to hire a director and that way the director will have some input on the selection of the staff," Yost said. "This did not happen when (Weedon) took over for the former director and the transition was not an easy one."

Each of Ohio's 88 counties has a soil and water district. Although they fall under oversight of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, each tax-funded district's operations are run by independent elected boards of supervisors.

In Stark's case, that's Wolfe, the chairman, Vice Chair Natalie Hammer, fiscal agent Rodney Campbell, Secretary Andy Wentling and member Rick Horner.

Its duties include handling drainage complaints, performing storm water inspections and reviewing development plans on projects of more than one acre.

Every employee at the Stark Soil and Water Conservation District office in Massillon has quit the agency. To stay afloat, the district's volunteer board of supervisors had to temporarily outsource most of the agency's workload and divvy up other duties to the board members themselves.

Yost said the board has received and reviewed some applications for its executive director post.

For now, he said, the board has hired former Cuyahoga County Soil & Water Director Janine Rybka at $30 per hour to temporarily oversee the office.

The board has informal agreements with Summit and Cuyahoga counties to handle some work; pledges for help from the Department of Agriculture; and assurances that board members will share duties to investigate drainage complaints.

This month, the board also agreed to a contract with EnviroScience, a firm in Stow.

The private firm will be paid as much as $288,000 through the end of the year to handle stormwater pollution prevention plan reviews and approvals, construction site inspections and complaints and violation support.

Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 or tim.botos@cantonrep.com.On X: @tbotosREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Mass exodus at Stark Soil & Water office; all work now outsourced

X may start charging new users to post, says Elon Musk

Martyn Landi, 

PA Technology Correspondent
Tue, 16 April 2024 


X is planning to start charging all new users a “small fee” in order to interact with posts, the social media site’s owner, Elon Musk, has said.

Replying to an account which had posted about the possible changes, the Tesla and Space X boss said charging new users to post, like and reply is the “only way” to stop fake or bot accounts on the platform.

Last year, X, formerly known as Twitter, launched a pilot scheme in New Zealand and the Philippines which required new users to pay a one-dollar-a-year subscription in order to access key features.

Mr Musk’s comments suggest that trial will now be rolled out more widely.


“Unfortunately, a small fee for new user write access is the only way to curb the relentless onslaught of bots,” he said.

“Current AI (and troll farms) can pass ‘Are you a bot?’ with ease.

“The onslaught of fake accounts also uses up the available namespace, so many good handles are taken as a result.”

In a further reply to another account which questioned the approach, Mr Musk said the fee might only be in place for the first three months after a new user joins the platform.

The billionaire said eradicating fake and bot accounts was a key priority for him when taking over the platform in late 2022. However, many users have since reported seeing an increase in spam content, in part due to Mr Musk’s substantial cutbacks to staff, including the firm’s content moderation team.

The revamp to the verification system, which means anyone can now pay to be verified on the platform and have their posts and replies placed more prominently on the site, has also been attributed by some to the rising visibility of spam content.

Mr Musk has previously suggested that all users could eventually have to pay to use X.

Since his takeover, it has been reported that the platform has seen substantial revenue decline as advertisers have abandoned it over concerns about Mr Musk’s belief in “absolute free speech” and his tolerance of more controversial content.

It has led the company to turn to subscription options – including X Premium, which enables users to pay to be verified – in order to open up new income streams.

Bras are a ‘basic necessity’ and should not be subject to VAT – radiographers

BRAS IN THE WORKPLACE

SHOULD BE A UNION ISSUE

Josie Clarke, PA Consumer Affairs Correspondent
Mon, 15 April 2024 



Bras are a basic necessity and should not be subject to VAT, according to radiographers.

The tax disproportionately affects women and could be considered discriminatory under the Equality Act, delegates at the Society of Radiographers will hear at their annual conference on Tuesday.

Diagnostic radiographers carry out X-rays, MRI and CT scans, which can be used to identify the musculoskeletal problems caused by poorly-fitted bras.

Proposing the motion during the three-day conference in Leeds, delegates will say: “The imposition of VAT on bras disproportionately affects women. Taxing bras could be considered discriminatory as per the Equality Act 2010.


“While there may not be any health conditions related to wearing a bra, there could be some musculoskeletal ones, particularly if you wear a larger cup size.

“Those who are wearing a bra size D or above often get backaches, aching shoulders and neck pain, because of the weight of their breasts. Wearing a good-quality, well-fitted bra could alleviate some of these issues, and reduce time off sick for musculoskeletal issues.”

Delegates will liken bras to menstrual products as a necessity, which should therefore not be subject to VAT.

In January, VAT on period pants was dropped following a two-year campaign by brands, retailers, women’s groups and environmentalists dating back to 2021, when the so-called “tampon tax” was dropped from other period products such as pads, tampons and menstrual cups.

A 20% tax on period pants, which are designed to be worn as an alternative to using tampons and sanitary towels, had remained because they were classified as garments.

Women who have had breast cancer surgery – whether a mastectomy, partial mastectomy or lumpectomy – are exempt from VAT when buying certain bras.

UK packaging firm DS Smith agrees £5.8bn takeover by US group

Julia Kollewe
Tue, 16 April 2024

International Paper said it would set up a European headquarters at DS Smith’s base in London.

Photograph: Stéphane Mahé/Reuters

The FTSE 100 UK packaging firm DS Smith is to be taken over by a bigger US rival, International Paper, after the companies agreed a £5.8bn all-share deal.

Tennessee-based International Paper, one of the largest paper and pulp companies in the world, moved in late March to gatecrash a £5.14bn all-share deal put forward by its British rival Mondi, based in Weybridge, that month.

International Paper said it would seek a secondary listing on the London stock market, and set up a European headquarters at DS Smith’s base in London.

The companies recommended the deal to both sets of shareholders, arguing that they will bring together complementary businesses with “industry-leading positions in two of the most attractive geographies of Europe and North America”.

The companies believe the deal will create a global leader in sustainable packaging and create the opportunity for savings by optimising the mill network, supply chains and freight costs. They expect to reap cost savings of at least £413m a year by the end of the fourth year after the takeover.

This includes cutting 400 head office and senior management jobs, equating to 0.6% of the combined workforce. DS Smith employs 30,000 people worldwide, including 4,750 in the UK, while International Paper employs 39,000.

Under the terms of the takeover, which needs the approval of both sets of shareholders, DS Smith investors will receive 0.1285 International Paper shares for each DS Smith share. This values each DS Smith share at 415p based on the closing International share price of $40.85 on 25 March, the last day before the announcement of a possible offer.

Once the deal is completed, International Paper shareholders will own about 66% of the combined company and DS Smith investors will hold the rest.

The DS Smith chief executive, Miles Roberts, is to act as a consultant to the combined company and Richard Pike, the UK company’s financial director, will be paid a retention award of £550,000 to stay on at the new business.

DS Smith was founded in east London in the 1940s by two cousins, David G and David S Smith, as a box-making business, and was named after their grandfather, a Polish immigrant who had set up the original business.

The company listed on the London Stock Exchange in the late 1950s and has grown through a series of acquisitions, carving out a strong position in packaging and paper products. It operates in 30 different countries.

The proposed deal is the latest in a flurry of takeover bids for UK firms in recent weeks.

Private equity and some industry firms have been snapping up British assets considered cheap, as sterling remains weak after Brexit, the Covid pandemic and the Liz Truss government’s disastrous mini-budget in the autumn of 2022.

TGI Fridays acquired by listed UK outfit in rare win for the capital


Jack Mendel
Tue, 16 April 2024 

Hostmore runs TGI Fridays in the UK, and will now own it too

TGI Fridays’ largest franchisee Hostmore has agreed to a £177m takeover of the fast-food dining chain in the UK, in a rare burst of good news for a firm listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The agreement would lead to Hostmore shareholders holding a 36 per cent stake in the enlarged business with TGI Fridays shareholders having 64 per cent.

The “transformational combination” would merge “TGI Fridays’ largest franchisee with the global franchisor”, and is being classed as a reverse takeover.

Hostmore, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, will buy TGI Fridays for 5.4x its EBITDA, which it said represents a “a highly attractive acquisition”, with a combined revenue of £490m.

It currently operates 89 TGI Fridays across the UK and employs approximately 4,380 staff.

Stephen Welker, Chairman of Hostmore, said the talks “would reunite two businesses that are a natural fit, and were one business until as recently as 2014.”

“Hostmore has made good progress in executing its turnaround strategy over the past year by reducing costs, revising our capital allocation policy to focus on debt repayment and shareholder distributions.

“This acquisition would give us the scale and flexibility to accelerate our existing strategy and enhance the financial outlook for Hostmore and scope for shareholder returns, while also strengthening our ability to provide an exceptional guest experience by harnessing our distinctive, trusted brand as the home of celebrations.”

Rohit Manocha, chairman of TGI Fridays, said the moved marked “an exciting moment for the next chapter of the TGI Fridays story, as we continue to drive forward our brand revitalisation strategy.”

“Bringing together TGI Fridays with our leading franchisee partner in Hostmore, in our largest international market, the United Kingdom, has a compelling and highly complementary strategic logic to it.”

“Our two companies share close ties and have a longstanding, excellent working relationship and mutual respect. A combined group would stand to gain from our focused efforts with the benefit of greater combined scale, efficiencies and flexibility.”

“By joining forces with Hostmore, this would support our long-term organic growth strategy and enable us to better harness (our) global franchising and licensing infrastructure”.

Richard Branson loses more than £2.5bn after the value of Virgin Orbit and Virgin Galactic collapses

Amber Murray
Tue, 16 April 2024 

Virgin Atlantic expects to return to profit in 2024.

Sir Richard Branson and his company, Virgin Group, are household names in the UK. He’s long held the title of Britain’s most famous entrepreneur and owns more than 400 businesses in everything from space to banking to cruise ships.

His net worth in 2022 was nearly £5bn, making him one of the wealthiest businessmen in the UK.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, it is now closer to £2.5bn

What happened?

What happened to Virgin Group

Virgin Group capitalised heavily on the rise of SPACs in 2021.

SPACs – or Special Purpose Acquisition vehicles – had their moment in the sun during the super-low interest rate environment that prevailed after the pandemic. Hundreds of companies jumped on the bandwagon, netting huge returns for some investors.


SPACs are effectively shell companies used as props to take over private firms and bring them public.

These “blank check companies” were a major driving force behind the 2021 IPO boom. They accounted for 61% of US public listings that year. By 2022, SPACs had already dwindled to 8% of new IPOs, leaving hundreds of underperforming acquisitions and liquidated shell companies behind them.

Virgin used the SPAC boom to take two affiliated companies public, Virgin Orbit and Virgin Galatic. Both were well received by the market.

In 2022, the group had invested over a billion dollars in companies that had listed through these vehicles, according to Bloomberg. These investments, like the rest of the market, have now stumbled.

Satellite launch service Virgin Orbit registered for bankruptcy in 2023, less than 18 months after completing a merger with blank-check firm NextGen. Virgin Group’s stake in the business reached a high valuation of $998m (£800m) in July 2022.

Similarly, Virgin Group Acquisition Corp merged with consumer goods company Grove Collaborative in a $1.5bn (£1.2bn) SPAC deal 2021. The value of Grove has fallen more than 90 per cent since the deal completed. The firm has a market value of just $61m (£49m).

The value of Virgin Galactic’s stake has also plunged from £180m in 2022 to £31m today.

Why did the SPACs fail?

SPACs became popular because they offered lower financial disclosure requirements than traditional IPOs, making the process quicker and simpler.

However, as regulators and courts began to question the SPAC model and interest rates climbed, financial markets turned away from SPACs.

Those that survived found themselves struggling. The average one-year return on a company that went public via SPAC merger in 2021 was -64.2%, according to data from Jay Ritter, a finance professor at the University of Florida.

Risky business strategies, structural flaws in the SPAC process, and higher financing costs meant that many companies struggled to become profitable.

The De-SPAC Index, a basket of companies that completed their tie-ups, has fallen more than 20% this year as many firms. That compares with the nearly 10% rally in the S&P 500 Index.

Is Richard Branson doomed?

The short answer is… probably not.

Branson’s empire is incredibly diversified: assets like a five-star hotel in Mallorca and airline Virgin Atlantic are doing well, while Virgin Group’s licensing arm is making more money than it did before the pandemic.

Virgin Group has also launched new divisions in the hotel and cruise-ship sectors.

What’s more, the billionaire is set to receive a £400m payout from the sale of Virgin Money to Nationwide for £2.9bn.

A Virgin Group spokesperson said: “For more than 50 years, Virgin has built consumer-facing businesses and brands that shake up markets and create a lasting impact. During the past year, the Virgin Group has achieved significant growth and industry firsts.

“From making history with Virgin Atlantic’s Flight100 – which was the first time 100% SAF has been flown in both engines by a commercial airline across the Atlantic – to launching Virgin Hotels in New York and Edinburgh. Virgin Voyages has also achieved exponential growth in bookings and we have opened our exclusive Virgin Limited Edition Son Bunyola property in Mallorca.

“The Virgin Group continues to strengthen post-pandemic whilst successfully financing its evolving portfolio: investing in and growing businesses that demonstrate Virgin’s purpose of Changing Business for Good.”

Richard Branson’s empire has gone through decades of ups and downs: ventures like record seller Virgin Megastore, Virgin Cola, Virgin Vodka, Virgin Vie (cosmetics) and Virgin clothing have all failed or been sold only to be replaced by new enterprises.

Branson’s foray into SPAC-driven investment seems likely to simply be a similar dip in the cycle.

This article was updated to reflect the fact the value of Virgin Galactic has collapsed, not the company itself. The article has also been updated to show Virgin launched its SPACs in 2021, not 2000 and its stake in Virgin Orbit peaked in July 2022.

Rachel Reeves tells the City she wants to close gender pay gap if she becomes first female chancellor


Jess Jones
Tue, 16 April 2024 

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said Labour is "under no illusions about the scale of challenge Labour will inherit."

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said she wants to close the gender pay gap “once and for all” if she becomes the UK’s first female Chancellor after the next general election.

Speaking at a Labour business event on Monday evening, Reeves said a topic that felt “personal” to her was that, although the position of Chancellor has existed for 800 years, it has always been filled by a man.

“So, if Labour win the election later this year, I will be the first ever female Chancellor of the Exchequer,” she declared to rapturous applaud.

“Along with that huge privilege comes an immense responsibility to close the gender pay gap once and for all and to ensure we have proper system of childcare in our country so that all women who want to go out to work and balance family and work contributions can do so.

“That is the difference that a Labour government will make,” she added.

In her three years as shadow Chancellor, Reeves has faced four Conservative Chancellors, including Rishi Sunak, Nadhim Zahawi, Kwasi Kwarteng and current one Jeremy Hunt.

Before entering the world of politics, she worked as an economist at the Bank of England for a number of years.

In her speech at the event, Reeves also said Labour is “under no illusions about the scale of challenge Labour will inherit. The economy is on its knees.”

Her party’s manifesto includes a number of measures to become the “undisputed party of business”. In November last year, it revealed a plan to support small businesses, including revitalising high streets and removing barriers to exports.

On Monday, Reeves also said Labour will invest alongside businesses and in green energy solutions to “take Putin’s foot off our necks” and bring down energy bills.

Labour plans to create a national wealth fund to invest with businesses in carbon capture and storage, green hydrogen, renewable ports, battery factories for electric vehicles.

The event was attended by representatives from a variety of small and medium British businesses, a number of them tech and energy companies.

One of those was Khalid Talukder, co-founder of fintech DKK Partners, who said Britain is home to some of the fastest growing businesses on the planet and a “world class” financial services industry.

“The next government needs to recognise this fact,” he told City A.M., “and work with entrepreneurs to fuel economic growth, helping these firms expand both at home and overseas.”

Also in attendance was Oseloka Obiora, chief of technology at cyber security company RiverSafe. He stressed that SMEs play a “crucial role” in the UK’s economic growth, both in terms of productivity and job creation.

“It was interesting to hear the Shadow Chancellor set her plan of action to support and defend ambitious businesses, as well as workers and entrepreneurs,” he said.

Pret changed subscription app ‘to harvest and sell customer data’, claim experts


Tom Haynes
Tue, 16 April 2024

Pret app

Pret’s attempts to crack down on subscription sharing was partly driven by a need to harvest valuable data from its customers, experts have claimed.

In March, the company announced that members of the Club Pret scheme, which allows them five free drinks a day for a £30 monthly subscription, would have to log into the app every time they claimed the offer.

It was rumoured the change was part of a crackdown on subscription sharing.

Last week the coffee giant admitted it had been forced to offer refunds after customers complained that they had been locked out of their accounts as a result of the change.


Tech experts have suggested the main reason Pret has cracked down on account sharing is to harvest personal data about its customers, which it can then sell to advertisers.

Jake Moore, cybersecurity advisor at internet security firm ESET, said Pret will “have already planned to write off five coffees per customer”, knowing the cost will effectively be offset by data harvested through the app.

Users who access the offer by using a digital wallet or screenshotting a QR code had previously been able to bypass Pret’s attempts to collect information about its customers.

As part of the overhauls to the app, Pret removed compatibility with Apple and Google Wallets, and disabled screenshotting.

Afterwards, customers began reporting that they were unable to log into their accounts, and had been denied rewards known as “Pret Perks”, accrued by spending money at the chain, because of technical glitches.

Mr Moore said: “The reason companies offer freebies is often offset by the data collection and analysis that goes with it but if QR codes are used by others not associated with the app, the data collected can potentially become fruitless.

“Data collection is a currency in its own right – Pret is simply going above other data collections in keeping it specific to their account holders.”

Loyalty schemes have proven lucrative ways for brands to make money by selling customer data.

Britain’s biggest supermarkets, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, make roughly £300m a year from selling information about shopper preferences gathered through membership cards, the Times reported last year.

Third parties can then purchase the data from loyalty scheme providers and use it to create more targeted advertising.

Pret’s cookie policy says data collected by the app can be shared with Google, Meta, and Microsoft unless customers manually opt out.

Chad Teixeira, an entrepreneur and angel investor, believes Pret’s aim in tackling password sharing “was not to crack down on people drinking free coffee, but rather to draw valuable insights to help drive profits and re-engage their customers”.

Pret posted profits of £50.6m in the 2022 financial year – a figure more than double the last time it had been profitable in 2018.

The chain credited its success to the subscription service, first launched in 2020.

Mr Teixeira said: “Subscriptions represent a commitment from customers to repeatedly purchase their products or services but the additional selling of the additional data capture creates a new income stream for Pret.

“By leveraging the customer data they’ve captured on the app their focus will be to shift this to third parties, like Google, to be able to increase ideal customer visibility online.

“Unbeknown to consumers who may just think they’re joining the subscription model for free coffee and a discount, their data will actually be being used for a much larger purpose of tracking purchasing behaviour, understanding customer preferences and eventually increasing profits.”

Pret has been contacted for comment.