The Capitalist: Fintech furnishes office with 3D printed Lando Norris
Games Workshop’s bat, payday for George Osborne and a 3D printed Lando Norris; catch up on the latest City gossip in this week’s edition of The Capitalist
OSBORNE CASHES IN ON EVERCORE DEAL
George Osborne has come a long way since being booed at the London Olympics and his career post-government has left many former cabinet colleagues in the dust. David Cameron’s endeavours to carve out a private sector career ended in humiliation after he hitched himself to Greensill Capital and was reduced to badgering then chancellor Rishi Sunak via text during the Covid crisis, something MPs concluded was “an error of judgement”.
Osborne, in contrast, had a blast editing the Evening Standard before hopping into investment banking (with a bit of podcasting on the side). The high-end advisory firm, Robey Warshaw, has just been snapped up by US giant Evercore in a deal certain to provide Osborne (a partner) with a chunky payday. To be fair to Cameron, he did return for a quick stint as foreign secretary but it’s been left to his former political partner to demonstrate the real art of the deal.
DRINKS FOR LIFE? WE AREN’T BOWLED OVER
The Capitalist is partial to a cocktail or seven, so we were intrigued to see an offer of “free drinks for life” at Market Place Vauxhall, should one be willing to change their name by deed poll to Ben Stokes. Sure, taking on the moniker of a famous cricket player sounds like a lot of admin but… free drinks! Don’t all rush to the town hall at once, though: there is a rather jarring catch. “Free drinks” is here defined as one drink per week – for five years. And it doesn’t even include wine. By those terms, The Capitalist reckons it could see off its ‘lifetime supply’ in a couple of Thirsty Thursdays. Now that’s just not cricket!
LANDO HAS A FANDO IN AIRWALLEX
Singaporean fintech unicorn Airwallex has set its sights on UK expansion, with the firm looking to “aggressively expand its local team” and double the current office footprint of its Fitzrovia office, as reported by CityAM’s Samuel Norman. But that’s not the only way it’s showcasing its appreciation for Brits. Within its press release announcing its new office plans was also details of a more unusual office fixture: a 3D-printed sculpture of Lando Norris. The fintech, which is a partner with McLaren Racing as well as Arsenal Football Club, said the “unique ‘shifted perspective’ sculpture of McLaren F1 team driver Lando Norris” will “symbolise the powerful role that perception plays in driving success”. Galvanising stuff, we’re sure.
BATTY BUSINESS
Pages and pages of full-year trading updates can be dry affairs, even for the most ardent of City obsessives. But an earnings report on Tuesday – from FTSE 100 darling Games Workshop – will have brought smiles on the faces of cynical analysts and grizzled financial journalists across the Square Mile. In another glimmering set of results, the Warhammer-maker – and CityAM business of the year nominee – told investors that its cost management over the year had been “pretty solid”. Except – that is – for two unforeseen, and vastly differing, write-downs. Donald Trump’s capricious trade policies were likely to dent Games Workshop’s bottom line by £12m. But of much more interest to The Capitalist was its disclosure that “a cute looking pipstrelle bat” had delayed work on the firm’s new temporary car park. “We are carefully looking after the bat,” the firm said, “and we hope the uncertainty around tariffs is resolved soon”.