Category: Great Britain

MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Scottish Tory leadership election shows they will hold onto the title of nasty party

Source: Scottish Greens

27 Sep 2024

Support for Liz Truss, attacks on Scottish democracy, and the undermining of climate action. The Scottish Conservative’s new leader plays all the old hits.

The election of Russell Findlay as leader of the Scottish Conservatives shows their determination to hold onto the title of the nasty party, says Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie.

After a contentious leadership contest where his supporters were accused of lying to members about other candidates, Russell Findlay was elected with 61.7% of the vote.

Patrick Harvie MSP said:

“I’d obviously congratulate Russell Findlay on his election, but it does seem to confirm that the Scottish Tories are determined to hold on to the title of the nasty party, and to lurch ever further to the right.

“Like his colleagues, he was a cheerleader for Liz Truss, urging the Scottish Government to copy her disastrous plans. He backed the undermining of the Scottish Parliament through Section 35 and the new Internal Market Act. He’d rather cut taxes on the rich than fund public services. He’s an enthusiastic supporter of the Tory culture war agenda, punching down against marginalised people at every opportunity. And in the midst of the climate emergency he wants to hand multinational corporations more licences to drill for fossil fuel – something the world’s scientists are screaming at us to stop doing.

“In short, he’s probably a good fit for all the worst instincts of the Conservative Party.

“We’ve all seen the catastrophic consequences of Tory leadership over the last 14 years. Whether it’s Douglas Ross or Russell Findlay, I’m confident Scotland will continue its long and proud history of rejecting them at the ballot box.”

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Global: Autoworkers, Boeing machinists, cannabis drivers: Labor unions are mobilizing in new and old industries alike

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Robert Forrant, Professor of U.S. History and Labor Studies, UMass Lowell

Members and supporters of an International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union district local convene in Seattle on July 17, 2024. Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images

What do violinists, grocery store clerks, college dorm counselors, nurses, teachers, hotel housekeepers, dockworkers, TV writers, autoworkers, Amazon warehouse workers and Boeing workers have in common?

In the past year or so, they’ve all gone on strike, tried to get co-workers to join a union, or threatened to walk off the job over an array of issues that include retirement plans, technology replacing workers and lagging wages as inflation increased.

The array of Americans who are organizing unions extends to the tech, digital media and cannabis industries. Even climbing gym employees have formed a union.

This is happening as U.S. workers in general are finding themselves in an increasingly precarious position. As a labor historian, I believe mobilization is the result of economic disruption caused by the relocation of jobs, the impact of new technologies on work and the erosion of income stability. It’s become very unlikely that today’s workers will have the same employer for decades, as my father and many men and women of his generation did.

Greatest generation of jobs

My father, a butcher, worked for the same company for 40 years and raised a family of seven on his union-secured wages and benefits. While back in the 1950s and 1960s many working-class Americans took that kind of job security for granted, it’s no longer the case. Some career coaches consider keeping a job for many years as a character flaw.

The upsurge in labor organizing is in part a way for workers to gain some sort of say about what happens to their jobs. It’s also helping employees plan for the future.

Union members are increasingly using strikes to demand higher wages, better benefits and increased job security. Why should it be, some low-income earners are asking, that in my family we must hold down two or three jobs to make ends meet, while CEO pay goes through the stratosphere?

There were 33 major strikes involving nearly a half-million workers in 2023, the most since 2000. Many labor scholars attribute much of this uptick in organizing to several long-term trends. They include stagnating wages, high out-of-pocket health spending costs – even for those with insurance coverage – and growing concerns over job insecurity caused by the expanded use of labor-saving technology.

Hundreds of Los Angeles County workers rally on Sept. 24, 2024, to show support for their union, SEIU, to hold a strike. Many held signs regarding alleged unfair labor practices, abbreviated to ULP.
Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Precarious work

In many industries, large numbers of the reliable jobs that paid enough for workers to be in the middle class have dwindled. That’s largely due to technological advances that replaced labor with automation and manufacturers moving to lower-income places, including Mexico, China and other foreign countries, as well as southern states such as Alabama and Tennessee. These trends have left behind a Rust Belt strewn with decaying buildings that once housed bustling factories and increasing numbers of what are sometimes called “precarious” jobs, which are poorly paid and lack sick leave, vacation time and other basic protections.

This isn’t new.

I’ve researched how New England’s textile industry fled cities such as Lowell, Massachusetts, as early as the 1920s for nonunion locations in South Carolina, while precision metalworking plants in Springfield, Massachusetts, sent work to Mississippi and South Carolina starting in the 1950s.

But faced with mounting economic uncertainty, public support for unions is increasing. A 2024 Gallup Poll found that 70% of Americans approve of them – close to the 71% level seen in 2022, which was the highest approval rating that unions had gotten in half a century.

Support is even rising among Americans who identify as Republicans, a political party that has historically frowned on organized labor: Gallup found it stood at 49% in 2024, down from 56% two years earlier but up from a low point of 26% in 2011.

Hotel workers strike

On Labor Day weekend in 2024, more than 10,000 hotel workers represented by the UNITE HERE union and employed by 24 hotels from Boston to the West Coast to Hawaii went on strike. Their labor actions disrupted travel plans during a busy time.

Most hotel work stoppages lasted for three days and intended to pressure the companies that own hotels as part of a larger labor contract negotiation strategy. Later in September, workers kept walking off the job at other hotels to pressure management to improve pay, expand health insurance coverage, boost retirement benefits and agree to resolve important job security issues.

Although the hotel industry has been booming since 2023, UNITE HERE contends that employment has decreased by nearly 40%, while wages have stagnated. On the picket line, workers have described living paycheck to paycheck and working one or two additional jobs to cover recent rent hikes.

Hotel workers have more bargaining power today because, according to an industry study, 79% of the 450 hotels surveyed looking to hire people said they could not fill open jobs.

That strike shows no sign of ending. Thousands more hotel workers were joining in by late September.

Striking hotel workers make way for an airline crew while picketing outside of the Hilton Boston Park Plaza in Boston, Mass., on Sept. 2, 2024.
Sophie Park/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Boeing strike

Unlike the hotel workers’ brief rolling work stoppages, the Boeing strike hasn’t let up since it began on Sept. 13, 2024. About 32,000 workers, mainly in Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, have walked off the job.

Boeing workers declared the strike even though the International Association of Machinists District 751 leadership in Seattle wanted to accept a deal from Boeing’s management. But on Sept. 12, 94.6% of all rank-and-file workers rejected the tentative contract their leadership recommended the union accept.

The Boeing strike started the next day; it could last a long time. On Sept. 25, the workers rejected what the company had called its “best and final offer” to settle the strike.

This is the eighth time these workers have gone on strike since their union formed in the 1930s. Its two most recent strikes, in 2008 and 2005, lasted 57 days and 28 days, respectively. Boeing’s management, already reeling from the company’s numerous operational and safety problems, has announced several cost-cutting measures, including furloughs for some nonunion employees.

Boeing’s nonunion backup plan

Boeing has assured its shareholders and the public that the strike would not hinder production of the 787 Dreamliner jets at the company’s nonunion factory in South Carolina.

International Association of Machinists union members have never forgiven Boeing for deciding to build that assembly plant. Operational since 2011, it now employs roughly 6,000 workers. Most of them would have been union members had Boeing built that plant or expanded production in Washington or Oregon, because the existing labor agreement would have covered the new workers.

However, the agreement did not extend to South Carolina.

At the time of the decision, a Boeing spokesperson said, its contract with the machinists’ union “acknowledges our right to locate work elsewhere, and that’s what we chose to do in this case because we just couldn’t get the terms from them that we needed.”

Dockworkers could be next

The timing of the hotel and Boeing strikes makes them perhaps more visible than they might have been because union members’ votes are coveted by both major parties in the 2024 presidential election.

Meanwhile, 25,000 dockworkers who belong to the International Longshoremen’s Association are planning a possible shutdown of ports from Boston to Houston on Oct. 1, over the union’s concern for job loss due to automation.

How job security issues are addressed following this wave of strikes could set the tone for what other hospitality, manufacturing and transportation unions seek when their contracts are up for negotiation again.

Robert Forrant does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Autoworkers, Boeing machinists, cannabis drivers: Labor unions are mobilizing in new and old industries alike – https://theconversation.com/autoworkers-boeing-machinists-cannabis-drivers-labor-unions-are-mobilizing-in-new-and-old-industries-alike-239371

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI NGOs: Northern Ireland: Failure of Martin O’Hagan murder investigation has created ‘an environment of impunity’

Source: Amnesty International –

27 Sep 2024, 02:37pm

Martin O’Hagan with the NUJ banner on May Day in Belfast 2001 © Kevin Cooper/Photoline NUJ

Amnesty International backs calls by NUJ for a fresh investigation into the killing

No-one convicted in 23 years since murder of journalist

The failure to bring to justice those responsible for the murder of Martin O’Hagan has helped create an environment of impunity for those who continue to threaten journalists in Northern Ireland today, Amnesty International has said on the eve of the twenty-third anniversary of the killing of the reporter.

On September 28 2001, Sunday World journalist Martin O’Hagan was shot dead in Lurgan by members of an illegal paramilitary group. To this day, no one has been held to account for his brutal murder.

Amnesty has backed National Union of Journalists (NUJ) calls for a fresh investigation into the killing.

Journalists in Northern Ireland, particularly those covering activities by paramilitary and organised crime groups, are regularly subject to threats of violence.

Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland Director, said:

“The public execution of Martin O’Hagan was designed to send a clear message to journalists in Northern Ireland that they are not safe.

“It is simply unacceptable that, in the twenty-three years since Martin O’Hagan was shot dead, not a single person has been held accountable.

“This failure has created an environment of impunity for those who continue to threaten journalists in Northern Ireland today.

“It is notable that, in 2024, threats of serious violence continue to be directed at journalists from the very same sort of armed groups which killed Martin O’Hagan.

“We support calls from the National Union of Journalists for a fresh investigation into the killing. Press freedom must be resolutely defended.”

View latest press releases

MIL OSI NGO –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Advocate General for Scotland, Catherine Smith KC, sworn in
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Appointment marks the first time Scotland’s three law officers have all been female
Catherine Smith KC was sworn in as Advocate General for Scotland at a ceremony at the Court of Session in Edinburgh today (Friday 27 September).

Ms Smith’s appointment means that for the first time, Scotland’s three law officers are all female, following Dorothy Bain KC and Ruth Charteris KC being appointed Lord Advocate and Solicitor General of Scotland respectively in 2021.

Ms Smith said: “It is a privilege to be sworn in as Advocate General for Scotland. As a Law Officer in the UK Government, I have a responsibility, along with the Attorney General and the Solicitor General for England and Wales, to uphold and promote the rule of law in government.

“I look forward to collaborating with the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General for Scotland on areas of shared interest. I am honoured to join them as a Scottish Law Officer, the first time that the three offices have been concurrently held by women.”

Ms Smith was called to the Bar in 2007 and took silk in 2021. She acted as a part-time Sheriff and sat on the Scottish Civil Justice Council. She was Standing Junior Counsel to the Advocate General from 2012 – 2021 and conducted many cases representing the UK Government. She is one of only two advocates in Scotland to have acted as Counsel to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal and was on the Equality and Human Rights Commission Panel of Counsel.

Ms Smith has had a varied career at the Bar, specialising in criminal law in the early years and later working in public law, personal injury and clinical negligence. She has also conducted public inquiries, including representing COSLA and 29 of the 32 Scottish local authorities in the UK and Scottish Covid Inquiries.

She is also a founding member and former Deputy Chair of JUSTICE Scotland. She has travelled extensively in the post-Soviet states to support human rights focused activities, including visiting Kyiv and Warsaw in the last year.

Share this page

The following links open in a new tab

Share on Facebook (opens in new tab)

Share on Twitter (opens in new tab)

Updates to this page

Published 27 September 2024
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
September 29, 2024

MIL-OSI: Results for the Period Ended 30 June 2024

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Octopus Future Generations VCT plc

Results for the Period Ended 30 June 2024

Octopus Future Generations VCT plc (‘Future Generations VCT’ or the ‘Company’) is backing businesses that aim to address society’s biggest challenges, providing an opportunity for investors to share in the growth of ambitious, purpose‑driven companies.

The Company is managed by Octopus AIF Management Limited (the ‘Manager’), who has delegated investment management to Octopus Investments Limited (‘Octopus’ or ‘Portfolio Manager’) via its investment team Octopus Ventures.

The Company today announces the unaudited financial report for the twelve months ended 30 June 2024.

Chair’s statement

Highlights

£46.1m in total net assets
86.8p Net Asset Value (NAV) per share
36 portfolio companies

I am pleased to present the unaudited financial report and accounts for the Company for the twelve months to 30 June 2024.

I would like to welcome all new shareholders to the Company. Future Generations VCT invests in exciting early-stage companies which aspire to address current environmental and societal issues.

The NAV per share at 30 June 2024 was 86.8p, which represents a net decrease of 6.9p per share from 31 December 2023, the latest released NAV. In the twelve months to 30 June 2024, we utilised £8.3 million of our cash resources, including £7.2 million which was invested into 13 new portfolio companies. The cash balance of £17.5 million as at 30 June 2024 represents 37.8% of net assets at that date. The loss made in the period to 30 June 2024 was £4.0 million. This decline is mainly caused by the downward movements in some portfolio company valuations. It is reflective of some company specific performance challenges and the difficult funding conditions in the early stage space. Given the Company is still a new VCT, many of its portfolio companies are at the beginning of their journey and will likely require further funding to succeed, so it is to be expected to see under performance or even failures before any growth in value of companies which are ultimately successful.

Fundraise
On 31 January 2024 we launched a new offer to raise up to £15 million, and to date we have raised £3.2 million. The offer will close for new applications on 27 January 2025, or earlier at the Board’s discretion. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all shareholders for their continued support.

As investors will be aware, the intention is to invest in businesses which meet one of three key themes, which we believe demonstrate good investment prospects as well as having the potential to transform the world we live in for the better.

VCT qualification
I am pleased to report that in April 2024, the Company met the requirement for 80% of the Company’s funds to be invested in VCT qualifying holdings by 1 July 2024 (for funds raised up to 30 June 2022). The remainder will be invested in permitted non-VCT qualifying investments or cash.

In November 2023, a ten-year extension was announced to the ‘sunset clause’ (a retirement date for the VCT scheme), meaning VCT tax reliefs will be available until 5 April 2035. This extension passed through Parliament in February 2024 and on 3 September the Treasury brought into effect the extension through The Finance Act 2024.

Principal risks and uncertainties
The Board continues to review the risk environment in which the Company operates on a regular basis. The principal risks as described on pages 32 to 34 of the Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2023 remain, however there is increased exposure to investment performance and loss of key people These will be reported on in detail in the annual report to 31 December 2024.

Change to year end
In 2023, the Board reviewed and approved a proposal to move the Company’s year-end from 30 June to 31 December. This change is largely being driven by operational efficiency gains by aligning year-end periods with other funds with which the Company co-invests. As a result, shareholders will receive an annual report for 31 December 2024 covering an extended 18-month period. After this, the normal cadence of reporting will resume.

Board of Directors
As announced in our half-yearly report to 31 December 2023, Ajay Chowdhury was appointed as an independent Non-Executive Director on 1 March 2024. Ajay is a serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist and author, and recently retired from his role as senior partner at the Boston Consulting Group. We look forward to benefitting from his wealth of experience in the early-stage venture ecosystem.

AGM
The AGM will take place on 10 December 2024 from 10:00am and will be held at the offices of Octopus Investments Limited, 33 Holborn, London, EC1N 2HT. Full details of the business to be conducted at the AGM are given in the Notice of AGM.

Shareholders’ views are important, and the Board encourages shareholders to vote on the resolutions within the Notice of AGM using the proxy form, or electronically at www.investorcentre.co.uk/eproxy. The Board has carefully considered the business to be approved at the AGM and recommends shareholders to vote in favour of all the resolutions being proposed, as the Board will be doing.

Outlook
The decline in the NAV is disappointing, with some of the portfolio companies struggling to scale, secure customer wins and successfully fundraise meaning they are not achieving the milestones set at the time the Company invested. With companies not able to prove their business models, we will unfortunately see companies fail. The Board is mindful that it is not an unusual outcome for a Company at this stage of its investment life cycle, with any failures likely preceding valuation growth which is expected once the portfolio matures. While the Company continues to add to its portfolio, there is also currently a greater concentration of value in fewer companies, so performance will be more sensitive to valuation movements in the underlying holdings than if the portfolio was larger.

The decline has been amplified by challenging global economic conditions which have characterised the last few years particularly impacting on growth and early-stage businesses. We are hopeful that there are signs of recovery on the horizon, with the Bank of England cutting interest rates for the first time since 2020 and the conclusion of the UK General Election bringing more political certainty and stability. The exit environment is also starting to show signs of recovery, with Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) having their strongest start to the year since the peak of 2021, bringing renewed optimism in the market¹. Together, this gives us some confidence that the challenging environment our portfolio companies are operating in will start to improve, and with diversification across the three investment themes, it should mean the Company is well positioned to generate long-term value for shareholders.

I would like to conclude by thanking both my Board colleagues and the Octopus team on behalf of all shareholders for their hard work. The Board’s long-term view of early-stage venture capital remains positive, and I am looking forward to seeing what the remainder of the year brings for your Company.

Helen Sinclair
Chair
27 September 2024

1 Pitchbook, European Venture Report Q2 2024 https://pitchbook.com/news/reports/q2-2024-european-venture-report#:~:text=Our%20Q2%202024%20European%20Venture,most%2Dactive%20vertical%20after%20SaaS.

Portfolio Manager’s review

Focus on Future Generations VCT’s investments
Below is a breakdown of the 36 investments held as at 30 June 2024, showing the proportion and value of the portfolio in each investment theme:

Proportion by number of portfolio companies in each theme
Revitalising healthcare: 50%
Empowering people: 31%
Building a sustainable planet: 19%

Value of the portfolio in each theme
Revitalising healthcare: £12.3m
Empowering people: £10.4m
Building a sustainable planet: £5.9m

Overview of investments
The Company completed 7 new investments in the six months to 30 June 2024 (comprising a total of £5.2 million) and 2 further investments after the reporting date totalling £0.5 million. More information on three of these businesses can be found below:

A selection of our completed investments

Empowering people
Swiipr
Swiipr has developed a digital payments platform specifically for the airline industry. The platform enables airlines to instantly compensate passengers in cases of disrupted or cancelled flights, using virtual or pre-paid cards. Swiipr aims to streamline payment processing for airlines and improve the reimbursement experience for affected passengers.

Building a sustainable planet
Drift
Drift Energy is designing sailing vessels and the routing algorithms required to capture deep water wind energy and convert it into onboard hydrogen gas. This would then be transported back to shore using a fully integrated desalination, electrolysis and storage system.

Revitalising healthcare
Manual
Manual is looking to become the go-to global platform to increase healthy lifespan and build a series of direct-to-consumer health brands for high importance, non-critical areas of health. To achieve this, it will provide easy to access advice and medical support for diagnosis, custom treatment plans and holistic care to induce long-term behaviour change.

Top ten investments

Portfolio company		Cost	Valuation at 30 June 2024	Investment theme
1.	Perk Finance, S.L. (t/a* Cobee)	£2.6m	£3.7m	Empowering people
2.	HelloSelf Limited	£2.6m	£2.6m	Revitalising healthcare
3.	Neat SAS	£0.8m	£2.2m	Building a sustainable planet
4.	Infinitopes Ltd	£1.6m	£1.6m	Revitalising healthcare
5.	TYTN Ltd (t/a TitanML)	£0.5m	£1.5m	Building a sustainable planet
6.	Mr & Mrs Oliver Ltd (t/a Skin + Me)	£1.0m	£1.4m	Revitalising healthcare
7.	Apheris AI GmbH	£1.2m	£1.2m	Empowering people
8.	Remofirst, Inc.	£1.2m	£1.2m	Empowering people
9.	Intrinsic Semiconductor Technologies Ltd	£0.9m	£1.0m	Empowering people
10.	Inflow Holdings Inc.	£1.0m	£1.0m	Revitalising healthcare

* Trading as

Portfolio engagement – D&I and carbon emission measurement
As part of our strategy, we require portfolio companies to put in place a Diversity and Inclusion policy (D&I) and an Anti-Harassment policy. We also engage with each company to help them understand their greenhouse gas emissions and support them to take action to minimise them. You can see how we are progressing with these goals below, as at the date of this report:

D&I policy status
Policy in place: 36
In progress: 0

Engaged in monitoring 2023 greenhouse gas emissions
Signed up: 12
Introduced: 22
In progress: 2

Focus on performance
The NAV of 86.8p per share at 30 June 2024 represents a decrease of 6.9p per share versus a NAV of 93.7p per share as at 31 December 2023. The decline in valuation over the six-month period has been driven by the downward valuation movements across 13 companies which saw a collective decrease in valuation of £6.5 million. The businesses that contributed most significantly to this were Tympa Health, Pear Bio and Elo Health. In the six months, the Company further invested into Tympa Health as this was the committed second tranche of the original investment case from 2023. During the investment period, Tympa Health over-invested in growth and has now had to make significant cost cuts and changes to senior management whilst running a fundraise process. It has successfully secured an external lead investor, but at a reduced valuation and the Company now sits behind a large preference stack, meaning that other investors get paid back first before the Company would see any returns. Pear Bio has also had to significantly reduced its cash burn but has limited runway and needs to further fundraise, so the valuation has been reduced to reflect this risk. Elo Health has struggled to find a market fit and execute on the investment thesis, so to extend its cash runway it has had to raise an investment round at a reduced valuation. These three valuation movements account for 87.6% of the total decline in the six months.

Octopus Ventures believes that some of the companies which have seen decreased valuations in the year have the potential to overcome the issues they face and get their growth plans back on track. Octopus Ventures will continue to work with them to help them realise their ambitions. In some cases, if a company is achieving
its performance milestones, the support offered could include further funding, to ensure a business has the capital it needs to execute on its strategy.

Conversely, 6 companies saw an increase in valuation in the period, delivering a collective increase in valuation of £2.9 million. These valuation increases reflect businesses which have successfully concluded further funding rounds, grown revenues or met certain important milestones. Notable strong performers in the portfolio include Neat and TitanML, both of which have shown impressive capital efficient growth. These strong performers demonstrate that there are opportunities available for companies to scale.

At this early stage of the Company’s life cycle, it is to be anticipated that failures will likely precede valuation growth, which takes longer as the portfolio companies have to achieve their agreed milestones and mature.

The gain on Future Generation’s uninvested cash reserves was £0.9 million in the twelve months to 30 June 2024 (31 December 2023: gain of £0.5 million), driven by returns on money market funds. The Board’s objective for these investments is to generate sufficient returns through the cycle to cover costs, at limited risk to capital.

Outlook
We are pleased to report the Company’s first disposal as it was agreed that Cobee (an employee benefits and engagement platform) will be acquired by Pluxee Group as part of its strategic growth plan. The transaction is subject to approval by the Spanish regulatory authorities over the coming months, so we look forward to reporting further after completion has taken place. The transaction is a great result for the Company at such an early point in its investment lifecycle and a good proof point of the investment strategy.

The decline in NAV over the six-month period is disappointing but attributable to both the stage of the Company and the headwinds the portfolio companies have been facing. We continue to closely monitor the portfolio to ensure support and resources are being directed in the most impactful way, both through Octopus-appointed non-executive directors or monitors on the Boards and our in-house People and Talent team. This team works directly with the portfolio company management teams, offering training and recruitment support to ensure the best talent pool is being explored to help drive success in this more challenging climate.

We are excited to have the opportunity to continue to scale the Company, support its ambition to make the world a better place for future generations, and hope to deliver attractive returns to shareholders.

Directors’ responsibilities statement

The Directors confirm that to the best of their knowledge:

the financial statements for the twelve months ended 30 June 2024 have been prepared in accordance with ‘Financial Reporting Standard 104: Interim Financial Reporting’ issued by the Financial Reporting Council;
the financial statements give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the Company;
the report includes a fair review of the information required by the Financial Conduct Authority Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, being:
- we have disclosed an indication of the important events that have occurred during the twelve months of the period and their impact on the set of financial statements;
- we have disclosed a description of the principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining six months of the period; and
- we have disclosed a description of related party transactions that have taken place in the twelve months of the current financial period, that may have materially affected the financial position or performance of the Company during that period and any changes in the related party transactions described in the last annual report that could do so.

By order of the Board

Helen Sinclair
Chair
27 September 2024

Income statement

	Unaudited			Unaudited			Audited
	Twelve months to 30 June 2024			Six months to 31 December 2023			Year to 30 June 2023
	Revenue	Capital	Total	Revenue	Capital	Total	Revenue	Capital	Total
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Net loss on valuation of fixed asset investments	—	(3,495)	(3,495)	—	(136)	(136)	—	(6)	(6)
Investment management fees	(238)	(712)	(950)	(117)	(350)	(467)	(174)	(522)	(696)
Investment income	973	—	973	515	—	515	424	—	424
Other expenses	(535)	—	(535)	(246)	—	(246)	(500)	—	(500)
Profit/ (loss) before tax	200	(4,207)	(4,007)	152	(486)	(334)	(250)	(528)	(778)
Tax	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Profit/ (loss) after tax	200	(4,207)	(4,007)	152	(486)	(334)	(250)	(528)	(778)
Earnings per share – basic and diluted	0.4p	(8.4)p	(8.0)p	0.3p	(1.0)p	(0.7)p	(0.6)p	(1.3)p	(1.9)p

The ‘Total’ column of this statement is the profit and loss account of Future Generations VCT; the supplementary revenue return and capital return columns have been prepared under guidance published by the Association of Investment Companies.
All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing operations.
Future Generations VCT has only one class of business and derives its income from investments made in shares and securities and from bank and money market funds. Future Generations VCT has no other comprehensive income for the period.

The accompanying notes form an integral part of the financial statements.

Balance sheet

	Unaudited		Unaudited		Audited
	As at 30 June 2024		As at 31 December 2023		As at 30 June 2023
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Fixed asset investments		28,566		26,729		24,895
Current assets:
Applications cash*	153		100		370
Debtors	212		240		379
Cash at bank	192		107		152
Money market funds	17,265		19,998		20,140
		17,822		20,445		21,041
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	(256)		(177)		(518)
Net current assets		17,566		20,268		20,523

Net assets		46,132		46,997		45,418

Share capital		53		50		48
Share premium		51,177		48,372		46,461
Capital reserve realised		(1,352)		(990)		(640)
Capital reserve unrealised		(3,492)		(133)		3
Revenue reserve		(254)		(302)		(454)
Total equity shareholders’ funds		46,132		46,997		45,418
Net asset value per share		86.8p		93.7p		94.3p

* Cash received from investors but not yet allotted.

The accompanying notes form an integral part of the financial statements.

The statements were approved by the Directors and authorised for issue on 27 September 2024 and are signed on their behalf by:

Helen Sinclair
Chair
Company Number: 13750143

Statement of changes in equity

	Share capital £’000	Share premium £’000	Capital reserve realised £’000	Capital reserve unrealised £’000	Revenue reserve £’000	Total £’000
As at 1 July 2023	48	46,461	(640)	3	(454)	45,418
Comprehensive income for the year:
Management fees allocated as capital expenditure	—	—	(712)	—	—	(712)
Net loss on fair value of fixed asset investments	—	—	—	(3,495)	—	(3,495)
Profit after tax	—	—	—	—	200	200
Total comprehensive income for the year	—	—	(712)	(3,495)	200	(4,007)
Contributions by and distributions to owners:
Shares issued	5	4,814	—	—	—	4,819
Share issue costs	—	(98)	—	—	—	(98)
Total contributions by and distributions to owners	5	4,716	—	—	—	4,721
Balance as at 30 June 2024	53	51,177	(1,352)	(3,492)	(254)	46,132

The accompanying notes form an integral part of the financial statements.

	Share capital £’000	Share premium £’000	Capital reserve realised £’000	Capital reserve unrealised £’000	Revenue reserve £’000	Total £’000
As at 1 July 2023	48	46,461	(640)	3	(454)	45,418
Comprehensive income for the year:
Management fees allocated as capital expenditure	—	—	(350)	—	—	(350)
Net loss on fair value of fixed asset investments	—	—	—	(136)	—	(136)
Profit after tax	—	—	—	—	152	152
Total comprehensive income for the year	—	—	(350)	(136)	152	(334)
Contributions by and distributions to owners:
Shares issued	2	1,971	—	—	—	1,973
Share issue costs	—	(60)	—	—	—	(60)
Total contributions by and distributions to owners	2	1,911	—	—	—	1,913
Balance as at 31 December 2023	50	48,372	(990)	(133)	(302)	46,997

The accompanying notes form an integral part of the financial statements.

	Share capital £’000	Share premium £’000	Capital reserve realised £’000	Capital reserve unrealised £’000	Revenue reserve £’000	Total £’000
As at 1 July 2022	33	31,572	(118)	9	(204)	31,292
Comprehensive income for the year:
Management fees allocated as capital expenditure	—	—	(522)	—	—	(522)
Net loss on fair value of fixed asset investments	—	—	—	(6)	—	(6)
Loss after tax	—	—	—	—	(250)	(250)
Total comprehensive income for the year	—	—	(522)	(6)	(250)	(778)
Contributions by and distributions to owners:
Shares issued	15	15,164	—	—	—	15,179
Share issue costs	—	(275)	—	—	—	(275)
Total contributions by and distributions to owners	15	14,889	—	—	—	14,904
Balance as at 30 June 2023	48	46,461	(640)	3	(454)	45,418

The accompanying notes form an integral part of the financial statements.

Cash flow statement

	Unaudited	Unaudited	Audited
	Twelve months to	Six months to	Year to
	30 June	31 December	30 June
	2024	2023	2023
	£’000	£’000	£’000
Cash flows from operating activities
Loss before tax	(4,007)	(334)	(778)
Loss on valuation of fixed asset investments	3,495	136	6
Decrease/(increase) in debtors	167	138	(103)
Decrease in creditors	(45)	(71)	(325)
Outflow from operating activities	(390)	(131)	(1,200)
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of fixed asset investments	(7,166)	(1,970)	(23,238)
Outflow from investing activities	(7,166)	(1,970)	(23,238)
Cash flows from financing activities
Application account inflow	4,602	1,685	13,634
Application account outflow Proceed from share issues	(4,819) 4,819	(1,955) 1,955	(15,179) 15,179
Share issue costs	(98)	(41)	(275)
Inflow from financing activities	4,504	1,644	13,359
Decrease in cash and cash equivalents	(3,052)	(456)	(11,079)
Opening cash and cash equivalents	20,662	20,662	31,741
Closing cash and cash equivalents	17,610	20,206	20,662
Cash and cash equivalents comprise
Money Market Funds	17,265	19,998	20,140
Cash at Bank Applications cash	192 153	107 100	152 370
Closing cash and cash equivalents	17,610	20,205	20,662

The accompanying notes form an integral part of the financial statements.

Condensed notes to the financial report

1. Basis of preparation
The unaudited results which cover the twelve months to 30 June 2024 have been prepared in accordance with the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) Financial Reporting Standard 104 Interim Financial Reporting (January 2022) and the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) for Investment Companies re-issued by the Association of Investment Companies in July 2022.

The Directors consider it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting. The Directors have not identified any material uncertainties to the Company’s ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis over a period of at least twelve months from the date of approval of the financial statements. In reaching this conclusion, the Directors have taken into account the potential impact on the economy including inflation and the recession.

The principal accounting policies have remained unchanged from those set out in the Company’s 2023 Annual Report and Accounts.

2. Publication of non-statutory accounts
The unaudited financial report for the twelve months ended 30 June 2024 does not constitute Statutory Accounts within the meaning of s.415 of the Companies Act 2006 and has not been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The comparative figures for the year ended 30 June 2023 have been extracted from the audited financial statements for that year, which have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The independent auditor’s report on those financial statements, in accordance with Chapter 3, Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006, was unqualified. This financial report has not been reviewed by the Company’s auditor.

3. Earnings per share
The loss per share is based on 50,107,452 Ordinary shares (30 June 2023: 40,987,288, 31 December 2023: 48,725,532) being the weighted average number of shares in issue during the period. There are no potentially dilutive capital instruments in issue and so no diluted returns per share figures are relevant. The basic and diluted earnings per share are therefore identical.

4. Net asset value per share

	30 June 2024	31 December 2023	30 June 2023
Net assets (£’000)	46,132	46,997	45,418
Shares in issue	53,160,670	50,165,822	48,138,337
Net asset value per share (p)	86.8	93.7	94.3

5. Allotments
During the twelve months to 30 June 2024, 5,022,333 shares were issued at a weighted average price of 95.2p (30 June 2023: 15,569,169 shares at a weighted average price of 98.6p, 31 December 2023: 2,027,485 shares at a weighted average price of 97.3p per share).

6. Transactions with the Manager and Portfolio Manager
Future Generations VCT is classified as a full-scope Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) under the Alternative Investment Fund Management Directive (the ‘AIFM Directive’). Future Generations VCT has appointed Octopus AIF Management Limited to provide the services of an Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) of a full scope AIF. In accordance with its power to do so under AIFMD, Octopus AIF Management Limited has delegated portfolio management to Octopus Investments Limited, whilst retaining the obligations of a risk manager.

Future Generations VCT paid Octopus AIF Management Limited £950,000 in the period as a management fee (30 June 2023: £696,000, 31 December 2023: £467,000). The annual management charge (AMC) is based on 2% of Future Generations VCT’s NAV. The AMC is payable quarterly in advance and calculated using the latest published NAV of Future Generations VCT and the number of shares in issue at each quarter end. Once the quarter has ended, an adjustment will be made if the NAV at the end of the current quarter is calculated and which differs from the NAV as at the end of the previous quarter.

Octopus also provides Non-Investment Services to Future Generations VCT, payable quarterly in advance. The fee is 0.3% of Future Generations VCT’s NAV, calculated at quarterly intervals. The Non-Investment Services Agreement (NISA) fee is calculated using the latest published NAV of Future Generations VCT and the number of shares in issue at each quarter end. As with the AMC, an adjustment will be made once the quarter has ended if the NAV at the end of the current quarter is calculated and which differs from the NAV as at the end of the previous quarter. During the period £143,000 was paid to Octopus for Non-Investment Services (30 June 2023: £122,000, 31 December 2023: £70,000).

In addition, Octopus is entitled to performance-related incentive fees, subject to Future Generations VCT’s total return at year end exceeding the total return at the previous year end when an incentive fee was paid or 97p if the first incentive fee has not yet been paid (the ‘Excess’), equal to 20% of the Excess. Future Generations VCT’s total return at year end exceeded the total return at the previous year end when an incentive fee was paid or 97p if the first incentive fee has not yet been paid (the ‘Excess’), equal to 20% of the Excess. No performance fee will be paid prior to the financial period ending 30 June 2025, dividends (paid or declared) being equal to or greater than 10p per Ordinary share and the total return exceeding 120p.

The cap relating to Future Generations VCT’s total expense ratio, that is the regular, recurring costs of Future Generations VCT expressed as a percentage of its NAV, above which Octopus have agreed to pay, is 3.0%, and is calculated in accordance with the AIC Guidelines.

7. Related party transactions
Several members of the Octopus investment team hold non-executive directorships as part of their monitoring roles in Future Generations VCT’s portfolio companies, but they have no controlling interests in those companies.

Emma Davies, a former Non-Executive Director of Future Generations VCT, previously held the role of co-CEO of Octopus Ventures. On 24 March 2023, Emma Davies ceased to be employed by Octopus Capital Limited and therefore she is no longer considered a related party. Emma retired as a Non-Executive Director of Future Generations VCT on 31 March 2024.

No dividends have been paid to the Directors of Future Generations VCT.

8. Voting rights and equity management
The following table shows the percentage voting rights held by Future Generations VCT in each of the top ten investments, on a fully diluted basis.

Investments	30 June 2024 % voting rights held by Future Generations VCT
Perk Finance, S.L. t/a Cobee	2.8%
HelloSelf Limited	4.1%
Neat SAS	3.2%
Infinitopes Ltd	4.4%
TYTN Ltd (t/a TitanML)	4.2%
Mr & Mrs Oliver Ltd (t/a Skin + Me)	0.6%
Apheris AI GmbH	3.2%
Remofirst, Inc.	1.4%
Intrinsic Semiconductor Technologies Ltd	5.1%
Inflow Holdings Inc.	1.9%

9. Post balance sheet events
The following events occurred between the balance sheet date and the signing of this financial report:
● 2 new investments completed totalling £0.5 million.

10. Financial Report
The unaudited results which cover the twelve months to 30 June 2024 will shortly be available to view at https://octopusinvestments.com/our-products/venture-capital-trusts/octopus-future-generations-vct/ .
A copy of the report will be submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at: https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism

For further information please contact:

Rachel Peat
Octopus Company Secretarial Services Limited
Tel: +44 (0)80 0316 2067

LEI: 213800AL71Z7N2O58N66

The MIL Network –

September 29, 2024

MIL-OSI Global: Five classic concept albums that will take you on a sonic road-trip across America

Source: The Conversation – UK – By David Scott, Head of Division, School of Business and Creative Industries, University of the West of Scotland

The concept album is often viewed as an art form that is primarily focused on lyrical storytelling. But in these five key records, musical ambition, performance and production combine to take the listener on a road-trip through America.

1. Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs by Marty Robbins (1959)

Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, by Marty Robbins, has rightly been lauded as one of the most important artworks of the 20th century – indeed it was preserved in the Library of Congress in 2017.

The thematic album transports the listener into a mythical west. Each song tells its own story, but there is a distinct unity of characterisation. The tearful convict awaiting death in They’re Hanging Me Tonight might well be an alter ego of the desert rider, hallucinating and desperate in Cool Water. Or even the ebullient narrator celebrating his own American dream in A Hundred and Sixty Acres.

Marty Robbins performing El Paso.

The album’s arrangements are mostly simple and stripped back, allowing Robbins’ extraordinary vocal performances and expressive backing vocal arrangements to fly. This reaches a stylistic peak in his greatest song, the white-knuckle ride of El Paso, wherein our protagonist willingly throws himself into a living hell.

2. Smile by Brian Wilson (2004)

The Beach Boys released 15 studio albums in the 1960s. Their voluminous output represented one of the most supercharged evolutions in contemporary music – fired by the imagination, energy and ambition of Brian Wilson.

In 1965, in partnership with lyricist Mike Love, Wilson was extolling the virtues of California girls. Just a few months later, he was creating the mature, introspective humanity of Pet Sounds with collaborator Tony Asher. From there Wilson engaged lyricist Van Dyke Parks to help him realise an “American gothic trip”. Smile describes a journey across the country on the “ribbon of concrete”, or along the railroad with the early settlers.

Heroes and Villains by Brian Wilson, from Smile.

One key track on Smile, Heroes and Villains, took its narrative cue directly from Marty Robbins’ El Paso. But others – Cabin Essence and Surf’s Up – painted a new old west and still feel revolutionary today. However, the album became most famous for being left unfinished for 34 years, with snippets appearing piecemeal before its completion as a new recording by Brian Wilson in 2004.

Van Dyke Park’s lyrics remain intriguing and unique. But I’d argue the real conceptual unity of Smile comes from its musical design. This is an album about American music as much as it is about America. It’s a kaleidoscope of Gershwin, Ives, Bernstein and goofy doo-wop, scaffolded by unexpected and rich textural juxtapositions (double bass, banjo and backing vocals going “boing boing” anyone?). And, of course, there’s the peerless vocal performances of The Beach Boys.

3. The Delta Sweete by Bobbie Gentry (1968)

Bobbie Gentry’s The Delta Sweete is another concept album that looks at both America (in this case the Mississippi Delta) and American music.

Gentry first found fame with Ode to Billie Joe, a narrative ballad that became a major hit single. In The Delta Sweete, Gentry blended her own distinctive vignettes of southern life with skilfully curated covers of classics, like Mose Allison’s Parchman Farm.

In Reunion, Gentry invites listeners into the front parlour of an alternately loving and warring southern family. She illustrates the scene by interweaving dialogue, vocal chants and rhythmic solo cello. Elsewhere we meet the swaggering, comedic Okolona River Bottom Band and experience a southern gothic nightmare in Refractions.

Bobbie Gentry performs Courtyard.

The sense of journey is enhanced by a series of orchestral pieces that link each of the 12 tracks. So when we finally alight on the solitude of the closing track, Courtyard, there is a feeling of coming home.

The ambition of The Delta Sweete was not met with commercial success, but Gentry never quite gave up the conceptual flame. Her follow up – Local Gentry, in 1968 – shared some of the same approach to musical portraiture. And in her final studio album, Patchwork (1971), she returned to a series of vignettes with orchestral links. All make for essential listening.

4. What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye (1971)

From a journey across America, to a journey across the Mississippi Delta, we turn now to the streets of 1971 inner-city America, via Marvin Gaye’s masterly record, What’s Going On.

This album represented a clear shift in Gaye’s artistic voice towards commentary, question and critique, against the will of Motown Records boss Berry Gordy resulting in a standoff during which Gaye threatened never to record for the label again. What’s Going On is perhaps most famous for its engagement with the social and political issues of the day, but the ambition of the music, performance and sound stand up thrillingly, 55 years after its release.

A new music video for What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye, released in 2019.

Motown Records house arranger David Van De Pitte set congas and guiros against sweeping orchestral arrangements, glockenspiel, choirs and jazz influences. The juxtaposition of tempo and feel created by transitions between the tracks hold you there as listener, walking around Gaye’s landscape, and seeing it through his eyes.

The key sound of What’s Going On though – and the element that most solidifies its status as a conceptual album – is the approach taken with the vocals. Different takes of the same song overlap, and different ad libs collide and diverge as choral passages peek out from the background. These are the voices talking to Gaye during his walk through the inner city of What’s Going On.

5. Cowboy Carter by Beyoncé (2024)

Cowboy Carter’s conceptual birth sprang from the artist’s performance at the 2016 Country Association Awards, where prejudiced questions were raised (in the room and online) about Beyonce’s legitimacy and place in the context of a country music performance. Her ultimate response was this detailed exploration, celebration and critique that gets under the skin of American music itself. Beyoncé creates a searing and detailed a commentary on, and road-map to, American music.

Read more:
The genius of Cowboy Carter is Beyoncé’s accent – a musicologist explains

Jolene by Beyoncé.

Big questions around the origin and evolution of genre are asked via the medium of a Jolene cover, use of the banjo, impressionistic music arrangements and flights of performative imagination.

There are spoken inserts (from Linda Martell, Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton) and striking musical juxtapositions. Like other albums on this list, Cowboy Carter’s conceptual veracity springs as much from this kaleidoscopic approach to sound as from the central narrative at its heart.

In this collage we hear new songs, interpretations of classic songs and quotes from American classics, including one from The Beach Boys’ Smile – Good Vibrations.

Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

David Scott does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Five classic concept albums that will take you on a sonic road-trip across America – https://theconversation.com/five-classic-concept-albums-that-will-take-you-on-a-sonic-road-trip-across-america-239011

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Piano man comic David O’Doherty to make welcome return to The Alley

Source: Northern Ireland – City of Derry

Piano man comic David O’Doherty to make welcome return to The Alley

27 September 2024

Award-winning comedian, author and musician David O’Doherty is bringing his brand new show ‘Tiny Piano Man’ to The Alley Theatre, Strabane on Friday 25^th October 2024

The show features a lot of talking and a few songs on a glued-together plastic keyboard from 1986.

David has previously appeared on TV shows such as Live at the Apollo and 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown, as well as writing a children’s book, hosted various radio shows and plays.

With over 20 years’ experience entertaining audiences worldwide, O’Doherty is looking forward to impressing the Strabane audience with his hilarious new show.

He first walked out on stage at Dublin’s Comedy Cellar in 1998 and in that time has won the Perrier Award for Best Newcomer and the Main Award.
He thrilled crowds at The Alley last year when performing his ‘Whoa Is Me’ tour to a packed house.

Tickets are selling fast so get yours now at www.alley-theatre.com or call 028 71 384444. Tickets are £20.

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Review of EU Citizens’ voting rights
Source: City of Derby

Changes to the law mean Derby City Council needs to review its electoral register, and if you are from the European Union, this could affect you.

Following the UK’s departure from the European Union, The Elections Act 2022 brought with it changes to elections where EU citizens can vote, or stand as a candidate.

Derby City Council will now conduct a review to determine who can remain on the electoral register, and may have to contact you for further information. This will by post or email, and you will receive the outcome of your review in writing.

The changes apply to local and mayoral elections in England from 7 May 2024. If you’re an EU citizen, you will now only be able to register, vote or stand as a candidate if you meet one of the following criteria:
- Citizens of Ireland, Cyprus and Malta living in the UK are unaffected by the changes and can vote and stand as candidates in all UK elections.
- Citizens of Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, and Spain living in the UK can still stand and vote in local elections but not UK Parliament elections.
- Citizens of EU countries who were legally resident in the UK on or before 31 December 2020 with permission to enter or stay in the UK, Channel Islands, or Isle of Man. This status must have continued without interruption.
Emily Feenan, Electoral Registration Officer for Derby City Council, said:

“This review is an important part of keeping our electoral register up to date following recent legislation changes.

“We understand that these changes may cause some concern, but we’re here to support our residents through this process and ensure everyone who is eligible can exercise their right to vote.”

For more detailed information about changes to EU citizen’s voting and candidacy rights please see the Electoral Commission website. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Elections Team at elections@derby.gov.uk.
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Deputy Mayor approves planning application for All England Lawn Tennis Club
Source: Mayor of London

Following a public hearing today at City Hall, Jules Pipe, the Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and the Fire Service, has approved the planning application for All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) to transform the former Wimbledon Park golf course.

The plans will see an additional 38 grass courts, as well as a new Show Court, allowing the AELTC to bring the Wimbledon Qualifying event on-site for the first time – with the tournament bringing a wide range of economic and social benefits to London and nationally.

At today’s public hearing, GLA officers provided a detailed update on the proposals. Jules Pipe then heard views from Merton and Wandsworth Councils, and a range of supporters and objectors who had registered to speak.

The plans include:
- An additional 27 acre (11.1 hectares) of public park, the site of a former private golf course, to be publicly accessible, managed and maintained as parkland.
- Improvements to Wimbledon Park Lake and the creation of a new 3km boardwalk for the public. This is together with over £10 million of further improvements to the existing public park to include the provision of an enhanced multipurpose sports and leisure facility, drainage improvements to the sports fields, improved footpaths and new toilets, alongside a range of other recreational and heritage enhancement works.
- A minimum of seven new Championship standard grass tennis courts open for community use.
- The planting of 1500 new trees and an increase to the extent and quality of biodiversity across the land, with a suggested measurable biodiversity net gain of at least 10 per cent.
- Increased provision of tickets to the Championships to the local community and schools, including 450 tickets per day prioritised for Merton and Wandsworth residents at face value and 50 made available free of charge through the Wimbledon Foundation. 1000 free qualifying tickets for the Qualifying Event will also be made available for school children in Merton and Wandsworth.
The GLA considered the benefits and disadvantages of the proposals in relation to a range of areas including environmental, design, transport, social, economic and cultural. While the plans have a significant effect on the use of metropolitan open land, the GLA considered the overall benefits to outweigh any harm in this area – including the provision of 11.1 hectares of publicly accessible parkland that will be managed and maintained.

The GLA found that the total economic impact of the Championships, incorporating these plans, are projected to be worth in the region of £336 million to the UK economy each year, of which it is estimated that £326 million would occur within London. These plans will support 40 new jobs across the year and more than 250 new jobs during the Championships. Additionally, the plans will employ an average of between 50 to 400 construction workers per day between 2025 and 2033.

The very significant public benefits of the scheme, including enhancements to open space and recreation, economic, employment and heritage were therefore deemed to clearly outweigh the harm identified and allow for planning permission to be granted.

Jules Pipe CBE, Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and the Fire Service, said: “These plans for the site of a former private golf course will bring significant benefits to the local area, the wider capital and the UK economy, providing increased access to open green space and sport, new parkland and a host of new jobs. Hosting qualifying events on the same site as the Championships will put Wimbledon on a global footing with other Grand Slam tournaments and ensure it remains one of the world’s top sporting events. The scheme brings a huge range of economic, social and cultural benefits which will contribute to building a fairer, greener and more prosperous London for everyone.”
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
September 29, 2024

Category: Great Britain

Greatest generation of jobs

Precarious work

Hotel workers strike

Boeing strike

Boeing’s nonunion backup plan

Dockworkers could be next

Share this page

Updates to this page

1. Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs by Marty Robbins (1959)

2. Smile by Brian Wilson (2004)

3. The Delta Sweete by Bobbie Gentry (1968)

4. What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye (1971)

5. Cowboy Carter by Beyoncé (2024)

Piano man comic David O’Doherty to make welcome return to The Alley