Good morning and welcome to the IC’s live blog, where we round up the biggest business stories of the day.
Beeb under fire
The BBC failed my mother.
That was Prince William’s message as he launched an unprecedented attack on the public broadcaster last night, after an inquiry found that BBC reporter Martin Bashir used deceitful methods to obtain an interview with the late Diana, Princess of Wales.
Bashir, according to the independent inquiry, forged bank statements to get access to Diana, before his methods were covered up in a “woefully ineffective” internal investigation led by Lord Tony Hall, who later became the BBC’s director-general.
The government is now “looking very carefully” at whether the BBC needs reforming, justice secretary Robert Buckland told the Today programme this morning. This comes after an open letter alleged yesterday that ministers were reviewing the future of the UK’s national broadcaster in secret.
With the BBC under fire from politicians, royals, and rapidly losing market share to US streaming giants, how to fix Auntie? Megan Boxall gave the lowdown in her recent cover feature.
Senior living market and rail overhaul
This week’s cover takes on a different issue: the laggard nature of the senior living market. As Emma Powell explores, the market for property specifically targeting those in later stages of their lives is small – despite a clear need for more dedicated housing.
But gaps and fragmentation aren’t specific to parts of the property industry. Such accusations have also been levelled at the UK’s rail system in recent days. With Westminster announcing plans on Thursday to absorb the network under a single brand, Oliver Telling asks what the overhaul of British rail means for listed companies.
Back to the shops
Meanwhile, Brits have flocked back to the shops since they reopened on 12 April, new data showed on Friday morning. Indeed, retail sales spiked 9.2 per cent last month, reflecting the easing of coronavirus restrictions, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Putting that growth into perspective, retail sales volumes for April were more than two-fifths higher than in the same month in 2020.
As more people ventured out (and away from their computers), all retail sectors posted a drop in the proportion of their sales stemming from digital shopping last month – falling to 30 per cent from 34.7 per cent in March.
The Covid-19 crisis has accelerated a pre-existing trend away from in-person shopping and towards the e-commerce realm. Those with significant online presence and international scale, like FTSE 100 giant Next (NXT), have ridden the crest of that wave.
But questions have abounded about how far online retail will sustain as lockdown mandates relax in the coming weeks.
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