Closing summary
The pound has risen by 0.5%, hitting a daily high of $1.2981, boosted by strong economic growth data and the perceived stability offered by UK assets following Labour’s decisive election victory last week.
Sterling is close to a one-year high of $1.2995, touched on 27 July 2023, and approaching the $1.30 level, where it last traded in April 2022.
Britain risks a tech “talent drain” to the US if British pension funds fail to back the sector, according to the co-founder of a UK chipmaker that has announced its sale to Japan’s SoftBank.
Nigel Toon, the co-founder and chief executive of Graphcore, said domestic pension funds were giving inadequate support to private businesses in the UK.
“They’re certainly not investing in private companies here in the UK,” he said. “How can we expect businesses to grow without those pools of capital unless they secure funding from other sources?”
As well as British pension fund investors missing out on the benefits, said Toon, there was a risk that UK tech talent is lured away by foreign investors that have stepped in to provide growth funding. US-based venture capital firms could, for instance, require British startups to move across the Atlantic, the Graphcore boss said.
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Thank you for reading. Have a fab weekend. We’ll be back on Monday. Take care – JK
The UK justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has just announced the release of 1,000 prisoners in an attempt to ease the pressures faced by overcrowded prisons.
James Timpson, now minister of state for prisons since resigning from his chief executive post at Timpson Group earlier this week, has long pushed for reform of prisons. He has made headlines for his radical approach to business including hiring ex-convicts, writes Jonathan Yeboah.
The company was founded in 1865 by William Timpson and has since operated as a family business spanning through five generations. It has long specialised in shoe repairs, and has also expanded into key cutting, watch and phone repairs.
A key Timpson principle has been giving people a second opportunity in life, and it started hiring former prisoners in 2002. Of its 5,600 staff, 10% are ex-offenders.
It does not require its applicants to apply with a CV, rather, they look for “fun, interesting, snappy” people, James has said.
Timpson’s net profit grew by 56% between 2021 and 2023, despite a fall in sales in the midst of the Covid pandemic. Last year, it made profits of £38.3m. The group owns seven subsidiaries which vary from photo printing to dry cleaning to locksmith services.
Branch managers and their teams at Timpson are actively encouraged to offer discounts and even free services to customers. Remarkably, 4% of Timpson’s transactions are done at no charge. “Giving things away is the most profitable thing we do. Customers always remember kindness,” the company asserts.
James Timpson, also the author of the book, The Happiness Index, urges businesses and business leaders to put people at the heart of business.
