Daniel Thomas
@DanielThomasLDN
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Global media editor at the Financial Times; former chief UK business, telcos, property etc.
London
Joined May 2011
In breaking (personal) news, I have been appointed as the new FT media editor. Open to all offers of news, views and gossip in the usual ways! And massive thanks for all those that have made the past five years covering UK business so busy and such fun.
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Observer owner Scott Trust has delayed making a final decision on the sale to Tortoise after meeting this afternoon, but said that "talks continue to progress and there are a few outstanding points".
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The Treasury has now taken an 8% stake in 15th-placed League One football club Bolton Wanderers as part of its Future Fund scheme (designed to support fast growth, innovative businesses). We are all now club owners.
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The annoying red light of Blackberry will blink no longer. Shares jump on plans to scrap making phones via @fastFT.
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Scoop: Mobile World Congress canceled. Story on soon.
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Key advice to all those working from home: “Get up and get dressed — don't lie in your PJs all day." via @financialtimes.
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In today's FT: I hit the road in an HGV travelling around England to find out why its been so hard to recruit new drivers (and keep the 50k or so leaving the industry every year) which has caused the supply chain chaos of recent months.
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@JimMFelton As someone who edited this story and put the headline on, I am feel obliged to point out HE IS NOT IN CUSTODY. Or custardy. He is definitely in a jam though, and Luke Johnson has certainly got egg on his face *checks lawyer*.
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UK businesses win big concession on post-Brexit quality mark - scoop w/ @pmdfoster. Manufacturers warned on supply chain chaos under rush for new CA certification
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Hearing that Knight Frank has withdrawn the £18m sale of grade-II listed Hamstone House, the massive St George's Hill mansion, after sanctions against the seven oligarchs today.
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Incredible doctor & nurses to fix my sons hearing at Royal Throat, Nose Ear Hospital. So lucky to have NHS thx @uclh
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Lachlan Murdoch took a personal role in the Sun deciding to back Labour. He was spotted in the Sun’s newsroom today with editor Victoria Newton.via @ft.
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Never let rejected government policy branding go to waste
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Overnight scoop: concerns among BBC board will add to pressure on Sharp to resign as chair today. Inquiry into Sharp's appt to be published later - even if not conclusively critical, will it force a resignation?.
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Fully on board with off record Spanish police briefing
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Law firm Schillings takes on PR industry - setting up its own company with top City spinners
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Fortnum & Mason stopped the clock at its Piccadilly store, while John Lewis said the proceeds of flowers sold in its London stores would be passed to charities.
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The ‘London laundromat’: will Britain wean itself off Russian money?
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Scoop w/ our ace new telecoms corrrespondent @yasemin_cm: Sky suffers mobile outages as operators step up efforts to strip Huawei from UK 5G networks before govt-set deadline at the end of the year.
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Employee concerns about travelling to the financial heart of London clear from travelling patterns - Bank station traffic so much lower and lagging still.
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An all day 99p a pint session is probably not what the government had in mind for Wednesday via @financialtimes.
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UK offices empty fast as Covid infection rates reach record high
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Heartbreaking text from my mum. She voted Remain; her friends did not.
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Sure, you are having serendipitous water cooler moments in the office about your next major promotion, but are you listening to the entire Slowdive back catalogue while eating fruit shortcakes?.
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So we have finally found out what it takes to suspend shares in a FTSE 100 company:. - complex secret off balance sheet financing ✅.- boardroom clearout ✅.- unknown share ownership among major investors ✅.- doubts over its balance sheet disclosures ✅.
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Companies are racing to beat the rush with orders for PPE kit to protect workers as the govt plots the end of the lockdown - but raising concerns that they will be taking from the NHS via @financialtimes.
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Curious about who the Tory candidates are appealing to with the corporation tax cut pledges given businesses care much more about pretty much every other biz tax (VAT, rates, NI). You have to make money to pay CT, and thats a real problem for many.
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Last time I climbed the chimneys of Battersea Power Station in 2008 it was a ruin. Now looking pretty good ahead of its relaunch next week.
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Damning report from the NAO over the failings of the government to prevent wholesale fraud in its bounce back loan scheme at the cost of about £5bn to the taxpayer.
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Desperate times for small businesses in the UK as they start to run out of cash. And w/ thanks to the ace bizes so honest about their toughest months yet @bristolguinea @PandPflowers @teamwrkskarting @MattWGriffith @tonydanker @UKHospKate.@1Rebel_UK.
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Without fear or favour. but the best bunch of people you could hope for. RIP OSB
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Spotify is not pulling its punches with recommendations for my WFH playlist
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What is even more extraordinary than the CEO pay to worker ratio is the assumption that the average boss works 12 hour days and most weekends
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Scoop - MoD battles Guy Hands over £7.6bn housing portfolio to unwind a privatisation deal regarded as one of the worst struck in the 1990s.
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We have run out of wine and am having to raid the back of the cupboard for random gifts/holiday booze. Does anyone know anything about Croatian wine and whether this 2004 effort is even worth refrigerating?
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I just got to speak to Joe Wicks with my two kids and at least now they think a home working dad isn't a totally terrible idea.
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Today's big read: a detailed look at the problems faced by millions of the smallest companies in the UK during the pandemic. You might never have heard of that many of the 6m firms, but they employ more than 16m people and generate £2.2tn.
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I wanted to see what the £1.4bn Global Britain investment fund launched last year with some fanfare by Sunak was doing. so after an FOI and a little digging it turns out that the "new fund" was neither quite as new or fund-like as suggested.
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Making Britain great
The UK is no longer the world's 5th largest economy. The £ has fallen so far that France has overtaken us. #EUref.
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And they said that the pandemic had stifled business confidence.
A Wotsit measuring 10.66 metres (35ft) has broken the world record for the longest puffed corn snack on the planet
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“It ripped a knife through the business. Its like a forced closure — but this way they do not have to provide any compensation.” @SorenUJessen says bookings at City institution 1 Lombard Street are down 80% after latest covid warnings.
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Finally a story bringing together my loves of media AND property: Cash-strapped BBC sells off EastEnders’ Elstree home via @ft.
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In a statement confirming, the GSMA said that "global concern regarding the coronavirus outbreak, travel concern and other circumstances, make it impossible for the GSMA to hold the event". Cancel those hotel rooms quick.
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For when the crypto market finally collapses on itself, I am already calling the 'Silence of the Lambos' headline
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Rob Winnett's move to the Washington Post is off. staying at the Telegraph - does he become the fall guy for the botched Will Lewis overhaul?.
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This is genuinely cool - Sony's smart projector that turns any surface into a screen
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I went to Sunderland last week to see how this leave voting, trade dependent region was feeling about Jan 31 - if anything it feels positions have hardened, with support for both Brexit and Johnson in a traditional Labour area.
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City of London covid recovery plan revealed: hundreds of new homes, low cost rents for creative and startup type, and. all night parties via @financialtimes.
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England has only a 1% chance of winning the world cup according to quant analysis from Goldmans http://t.co/UKRvOJB4N3.
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Scoop - Labour donor and former Autoglass boss Gary Lubner to back Tortoise’s proposed purchase of the Observer newspaper. Further cash coming from US fund Standard Investments as ex-BBC news boss James Harding closes in on deal via @ft.
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Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer: ‘If you try to make a show for everyone, you make a show for no one’ via @ft.
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Ministers set to appoint veteran TV executive Samir Shah as chair of BBC to replace Richard Sharp. Scoop via @ft
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Here is me after eight hours in the cab - and still with a few more to go before it was time for the home stretch
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I know its not top of mind for govt, but will no-one think of the PRs who have polled 1,000 key decision makers about how they were getting their staff back to work with free cappuccinos?.
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I followed Jim as property correspondent in 2007, and my first front page was a scoop on. comprehensive reform of the planning system to encourage house building. Lost count how many planning shakeups have come and gone since.
the mega shake-up of planning referenced by the PM (expected to include controversial 'zoning' system) won't come for a few weeks:. Johnson said his new “Policy Paper” with “comprehensive” reform of England’s planning system will come some time in July. .
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Spurred by the looming London cockapoo shortage, I got to talk about puppies all morning: .via @financialtimes.
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This week's Britain after Brexit is out! @peterfoster takes a well deserved break so I get to write about Trusseconomics and the City, and how better regulation beats deregulation .
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From white collar to no collar: why getting City workers to return is easier said than done via @financialtimes.
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@duncanrobinson Sources tell me that nationalising underperforming Northern football teams is a key plank in the levelling up white paper.
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The Independent in talks to take control of BuzzFeed UK and Huffington Post in UK - scoop on @FT -
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Some amazing restaurants under serious threat because of coronavirus that do a lot for their local community. I spoke to a few about the strain they are under - not just financially but also mentally - with help from the great @sarahcurryqueen.
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LetterOne nears Holland & Barrett debt deal to resolve one of the largest looming loan refi cliffedge in the UK corporate market - w/ @BondHack
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Today is very much the day of politicians awkwardly talking loudly from 2m away at shop workers, though Boris by the hats at Westfield is still winning (mostly for the manager lurking at the back)
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The Spectator has only its 15th owner in its 200 year history after hedge fund tycoon Paul Marshall completed his acqusition today for £100m. The FT reveals the plans for the storied title sold at a whopping price via @ft.
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UK tech group WANdisco becomes latest - and first listed company - to adopt a four-day working week. No longer just a workplace experiment
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Am I:. A) shooting aliens.B) riding a pony.C) sacrificing all dignity to show the HTC Vive again . #MWC16
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Do you regret not listing in London.
$ARM is now up 45%. CEO @renehaas237 joins us on @technology at 8am PT. What questions do you have for Arm and Renee Haas?.
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Companies are offering DJs, free yoga, food and cash bonuses for a new work wardrobe to tempt back their office-shy staff. Clifford Chance has even enlisted clinical psychologist help to prep staff "emotionally and physically” for the office.
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Very enjoyable lunch with Sony Music boss Rob Stringer talking about the past and future of music, TikTok and taking his friend Harry Styles to watch Luton Town FC via @ft.
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Proper print front page for one of the last proper newspaper barons.
🇬🇧 End Of An Era As Murdoch Hands Reins Of Media Empire To Elder Son. ▫Steps down as chair from Fox and News Corp.▫Vows to stay involved at 92.▫Rails against 'elites'.▫@annaknicolaou @DanielThomasLDN 🇬🇧. #frontpagestoday #UK @FinancialTimes
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Full story here: Mobile World Congress cancelled over coronavirus
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I am in a hotel so posh that even the birds have to wear suits
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BBC chair Richard Sharp announces resignation: "I have decided that it is right to prioritise the interests of the BBC".
Overnight scoop: concerns among BBC board will add to pressure on Sharp to resign as chair today. Inquiry into Sharp's appt to be published later - even if not conclusively critical, will it force a resignation?.
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My 6 year old has an entire book of egg-based jokes that he has taken to reading out loud in the lockdown. I hate each and every one but they are still better than this.
Egg prices soar, forcing supermarkets and farmers to scramble
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Well if this is a thing. My Prince Philip story. He asked me what I did. “Journalist,” I said. “Oh dear,” he replied, and walked off.
My Prince Philip story. He asked me where I was from. “Brighton,”.I said. “Well, you must be very seedy then,” he replied, and walked off. RIP.
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The UK’s SMEs are increasingly polarised between those really struggling to survive under the restrictions, and those that are having a remarkably good crisis, using booming online sales or tapping health or educational trends.
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UK to scale back corporate governance reforms after business backlash - a win for many private company execs esp, but poses problems for the auditors, w/ @_MODwyer and @PickardJE
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Prets across the City had run out of ice for coffee by 2.30pm on the hottest day of the year which is all I need to know about British preparedness.
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New York Sun owner Dovid Efune is closing in on a deal to buy the Telegraph for more than £550m - agreement expected as early as Monday. Story soon on with @JFK_America @IvanLevingston.
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Reader under TalkTalk hack story: "I'm surprised hackers even managed to log into the site!" Not happy customers:
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“It’s a fucking disaster for Rupert if Trump wins and Fox is not on side" - inside the uneasy truce between Donald Trump and the Murdoch's Fox News by @annaknicolaou, @LaurenFedor and me.
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Still find it odd that I can take my kids down the park, where they can swing, slide, and generally play human jenga with all comers but they can't go their carefully covid prepared Saturday football lessons.
Had to explain to our kids:.- no Saturday football club.- no football after school in park.- no playdates with friends.- no swimming.- no cinema.- no seeing family. And this is before we know for sure what is happening at Christmas.
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