Off to Lunch

Hello everyone, The latest episode of our Business Leader podcast looks at the story behind how Newcastle-based Sage became the biggest UK technology company on the stock market, valued at more than £10 billion.

Morning everyone, the new episode of our Business Leader podcast is live and ready for you to enjoy. We have covered some remarkable stories in our podcast, but this one is unique. It combines adventures, world records, a rescue in the Atlantic and venture capital investing. How do you turn a bold idea into reality? How do you deliver when things get really hard? If you are interested in the answer to these questions then you should listen to this episode.

Morning everyone, the new episode of our Business Leader podcast is live and ready for you to enjoy. The new episode looks at the story behind Motorway, which sells second-hand cars online and is one of the UK’s unicorns - a tech company valued at $1bn or more. We speak to Tom Leathes, the co-founder and chief executive of Motorway. I am delighted to say that this episode is hosted by Dougal Shaw.

Morning everyone, the new episode of our Business Leader podcast is live and ready for you to enjoy. The new episode features an interview with Lord Mark Price about the John Lewis Partnership, joining the government as trade minister and why happiness at work matters. The episode is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all podcast platforms as usual.

Hello everyone, A quick update from me on Off to Lunch and a request… This week we have launched a revamp of Off to Lunch. The design has been refreshed and there is lots of new content. However, as a result of the revamp, Off to Lunch may have gone to your spam folder or promotions tab this week. So, if you are wondering where the newsletter has been, it should be there. Apologies for this. It is really straightforward to stop this happening.

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Off to Lunch… 2021 saw the release of WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47bn Unicorn and the following year was the premiere of the TV show WeCrashed, starring Oscar winners Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway. Countless podcasts and business case studies have been published on the company. And yesterday we received confirmation that it’s officially making a comeback.

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Off to Lunch… He was well-known for his obsession with the appearance of his company vans. “Our biggest advertisement out on the streets of London is our vans,” he said. “They represent the company and have become a bit of an icon now.” This stellar reputation, alongside its fast growth, led Pimlico Plumbers to a £145m exit for the entrepreneur in 2021, but now he can’t stop talking about how much he regrets that sale.

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Off to Lunch… Did you know that almost two-thirds (64 per cent) of workers trust a robot more than their manager? The statistic, from a survey of more than 8,500 workers conducted by Oracle, also found that just over half have turned to AI for advice. With a handful of companies already instating an AI CEO, the impact of the technology may be turning away from workers and onto leadership.

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Off to Lunch… Ahh politics. We’re in the midst of a constant firestorm of coverage as we build to the general election on 4 July. Whether it’s the revival of national service (or natty serves as the kids call it) or VAT on private schools, every move the leaders of the major parties make is devoured by a 24-hour news cycle. However, when you see that more than 120 prominent business leaders are backing a party, it’s time to start really taking notice.