WEBVTT - Currys CEO on What the UK Needs Right Now 0:00:03.120 --> 0:00:10.200 Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News same week, but another 0:00:10.240 --> 0:00:12.640 episode of In the City of podcasts from Bloomberg about 0:00:12.640 --> 0:00:14.280 the stories shaping the city of London. 0:00:14.320 --> 0:00:16.320 I'm Francin Laqua and I'm David Merritt. 0:00:16.520 --> 0:00:18.319 David were in the London studio again because we have 0:00:18.720 --> 0:00:20.880 all these chief executives wanting to come to talk to 0:00:20.960 --> 0:00:22.360 us ahead of the UK election. 0:00:22.640 --> 0:00:25.720 That's right, proper election fever. We're in the thick of it. 0:00:26.000 --> 0:00:28.240 I think it's safe to say here at Bloomberg HQ 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:31.000 and the city and as you say, lots of people 0:00:31.000 --> 0:00:33.479 coming through to talk to us, and we notice that 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:35.520 we have the boss of one of Britains big It's 0:00:35.520 --> 0:00:39.280 retailers Curries in the building, so we had to put 0:00:39.320 --> 0:00:41.960 them aside into the studio and you because this is 0:00:41.960 --> 0:00:45.360 somebody who is hearing on the ground what are consumer's saying, 0:00:45.600 --> 0:00:47.760 what is the mood out there? And the economy is 0:00:47.760 --> 0:00:49.720 such a big subject in this election and he's got 0:00:49.720 --> 0:00:50.640 a great read on it. 0:00:50.800 --> 0:00:53.520 Yeah, he sees everything firsthand because they sell of course 0:00:53.560 --> 0:00:57.360 items such as vacuum cleaner's, laptops iPhones to British consumers. 0:00:57.400 --> 0:01:00.000 So he's going to talk to us about the customer 0:01:00.000 --> 0:01:03.600 living crisis, how people are spending differently, and what he's 0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:04.959 expecting from labor policies. 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:08.480 I think he's been a conservative donor in the past, 0:01:08.640 --> 0:01:12.319 so prospects not looking so great for the Tories. Of 0:01:12.319 --> 0:01:14.880 course at this moment when we were taping this, if 0:01:14.920 --> 0:01:18.920 the polls are accurate, so what is his view on 0:01:19.400 --> 0:01:23.000 the Tory chances, but also how he might be embracing 0:01:23.000 --> 0:01:24.400 a potential new labor government. 0:01:27.200 --> 0:01:29.640 Welcome to the City of London, the city of the 0:01:30.160 --> 0:01:35.320 City of London's mind, the gap. 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:44.839 Between the and the financial hearts of the country, the city, 0:01:45.120 --> 0:01:50.720 the city. Welcome to in the city. Then clear of 0:01:50.920 --> 0:01:52.320 the doors. 0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:56.120 What we have with us Alex boaldarka chief executive Curries 0:01:56.160 --> 0:01:58.800 now for international listeners, and we do have many currieres 0:01:58.920 --> 0:02:01.240 is and electricals, retail or not. Something we'd have to 0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:04.560 explain to anyone who lives in the UK. They're everywhere, Dave, 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:08.440 including all around your house. I'm a customer. I don't 0:02:08.440 --> 0:02:10.000 know whether I need a disclaimer for that, but I 0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:11.880 am a good currier's customer. 0:02:12.160 --> 0:02:14.480 Well, welcome to in the city act, thank you very much, 0:02:14.480 --> 0:02:16.760 and I'm delighted to hear we've got some customers as 0:02:16.800 --> 0:02:17.840 well as some interrogators in. 0:02:17.840 --> 0:02:21.079 The room and talk to us a little bit about 0:02:21.400 --> 0:02:24.280 what kind of economy you see in the UK right now. 0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:27.079 So we're, you know, two weeks three weeks from an election. 0:02:28.120 --> 0:02:30.920 The consumer has been feeling a little bit of a pinch, 0:02:31.000 --> 0:02:33.280 have a cost a living crisis. The economy is kind 0:02:33.280 --> 0:02:35.760 of better than expected, but flatlining. 0:02:36.880 --> 0:02:40.840 The UK consumer definitely still speaking in general terms, feels 0:02:40.840 --> 0:02:43.320 hard pressed and is very conscious of a cost of 0:02:43.360 --> 0:02:47.160 living crisis and is watchful of their spending, particularly on 0:02:47.240 --> 0:02:52.560 bigger ticket discretionary items such as the technology that carries sells. 0:02:52.040 --> 0:02:55.120 All of that's certainly true. However, if you wanted to 0:02:55.160 --> 0:02:58.160 take a more optimistic view of the prospects for the 0:02:58.280 --> 0:03:02.160 UK consumer, you could, I mean, for start, consumer confidence 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:05.079 as measured by GfK and the like has been up 0:03:05.320 --> 0:03:08.080 pretty much with the exception of two months every month 0:03:08.200 --> 0:03:12.000 for twenty two months. Real wages are continuing in growth, 0:03:12.080 --> 0:03:16.040 Employment is still high, and retained savings are still relatively 0:03:16.080 --> 0:03:18.760 high for this stage of the cycle. And all of 0:03:18.800 --> 0:03:22.560 that is starting to translate into a more benign environment 0:03:23.280 --> 0:03:25.760 for selling the sort of stuff that carries sells. 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:30.720 How important is the inflation number to your business and 0:03:30.720 --> 0:03:33.079 to that sense of sentiment? The data taping this, we've 0:03:33.120 --> 0:03:35.960 seen finally, for the first time for years, inflation out 0:03:36.000 --> 0:03:38.600 at the two percent Target's that a big milestone, you 0:03:38.640 --> 0:03:40.520 think in terms of like changing the mood out there 0:03:40.560 --> 0:03:41.320 among consumers. 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:44.280 I mean, the mood has already been improving amongst consumers 0:03:44.280 --> 0:03:47.040 as I say that, whether you look at stated consumer 0:03:47.080 --> 0:03:50.760 confidence or whether it's confidence in one's own finances or 0:03:50.800 --> 0:03:54.560 propensity to buy bigger ticket items, all of that has 0:03:54.600 --> 0:03:58.240 been trending upwards for getting on for two years now. 0:03:58.240 --> 0:04:02.200 But undoubtedly, I mean real wage growth, both perceived and actual, 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:05.000 is really important for consumer confidence and their willingness to 0:04:05.040 --> 0:04:08.760 loosen the purse strings, and so inflation coming down to 0:04:08.800 --> 0:04:10.000 the target will definitely help. 0:04:10.040 --> 0:04:13.040 Yeah, we had a technical recession here in this country. 0:04:13.160 --> 0:04:15.200 Did you notice that we were in this contraction route? 0:04:15.200 --> 0:04:16.960 Did it feel like we were going to reverse or 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:20.599 was that more of a kind of technicality. Really, and 0:04:21.200 --> 0:04:23.680 broadly the economy is on a up pertic. 0:04:24.080 --> 0:04:26.880 Well, if the technology market can be a useful proxy 0:04:27.080 --> 0:04:31.880 for customers big ticket spending, discretionary spending, then the technology 0:04:31.920 --> 0:04:34.520 market has been in decline for every year for four 0:04:34.600 --> 0:04:37.800 years in the UK since the pandemic. So it certainly 0:04:37.839 --> 0:04:40.280 hasn't felt like a technicality for those of us who 0:04:40.279 --> 0:04:43.039 sell technology, no, because we've been running up a down 0:04:43.160 --> 0:04:46.400 escalator for the past year. When it comes to when 0:04:46.440 --> 0:04:49.720 it comes to financial performance. Now that said, I mean, 0:04:49.760 --> 0:04:52.280 in Curry's case, we've been able to show four years 0:04:52.279 --> 0:04:54.920 of improving financial performance in the UK through self help 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:57.440 on margin and on cost, even in the absence of 0:04:57.480 --> 0:05:00.320 many sales growth. But looking forward, I think this is 0:05:00.360 --> 0:05:04.679 the year where, in part because of recovering consumer sentiment, 0:05:04.800 --> 0:05:08.320 but also in part because of various opportunities specific to us, 0:05:08.400 --> 0:05:10.000 this is a year where we can see a realistic 0:05:10.040 --> 0:05:12.599 prospect of a return to market and market growth and 0:05:12.640 --> 0:05:14.080 the sales growth for US as well. 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:16.800 But this is what laptops did. People spend a lot 0:05:16.880 --> 0:05:20.039 on laptops and technology to upgrade their homes during COVID, 0:05:20.200 --> 0:05:22.240 and so is that a natural kind of trend. 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:25.640 That's one factor. Yeah, And the replacement cycle, I mean, 0:05:25.960 --> 0:05:28.720 if it's roughly four years and it varies between products, 0:05:28.720 --> 0:05:33.880 but many pandemic era purchases will be coming up coming 0:05:33.920 --> 0:05:36.919 up for a mule, Yeah, But there are others AI 0:05:37.880 --> 0:05:40.040 is you know it may as we managed to get 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:43.880 this far into the podcast without mentioning a we are AI. There, 0:05:43.880 --> 0:05:49.040 you go very convincingly from a yeah. But AI is 0:05:50.000 --> 0:05:52.520 going to have many effects in direct and indirect on 0:05:52.560 --> 0:05:54.400 businesses like us. But it does provide us with more 0:05:54.440 --> 0:05:57.000 things to sell. So we've already seen, for example, AI 0:05:57.120 --> 0:06:00.840 powered mobile phones take off quite nicely, and consumers are 0:06:00.839 --> 0:06:03.920 starting to see how this this rather abstract and maybe 0:06:03.920 --> 0:06:06.719 slightly frightening technology can be useful to them, for example 0:06:06.720 --> 0:06:11.000 with simultaneous translation or with help making them world class photographers. 0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:14.000 That there are real use cases coming from AI now 0:06:14.440 --> 0:06:15.880 which are meaningful to consumers. 0:06:15.920 --> 0:06:18.080 How excited are you about the election? We're all very 0:06:18.080 --> 0:06:21.360 excited around here two weeks ago. The result doesn't look 0:06:21.400 --> 0:06:25.080 to be in much doubt at this point. But what's 0:06:25.120 --> 0:06:26.360 going to be the fallout from that? I mean, it's 0:06:26.400 --> 0:06:28.200 sort of steady as they goes with the Labor Party 0:06:28.600 --> 0:06:32.279 manifesto in terms of the economics. You know you've donated 0:06:32.279 --> 0:06:34.000 to the Conservatives in the past, But how are you 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:36.680 feeling about and the prospect of a new government. 0:06:37.320 --> 0:06:39.280 Well, I mean, the first thing is my job is 0:06:39.480 --> 0:06:42.159 to make sure that Curries is successful whoever's in office, 0:06:42.160 --> 0:06:45.400 and so that's how that's how I approach it. Now, 0:06:45.440 --> 0:06:48.080 there's a few things that businesses tend to look for, 0:06:48.120 --> 0:06:51.000 and Curries included. I mean the first is mood music. 0:06:51.080 --> 0:06:54.200 I mean this matters and pro business mood music is 0:06:54.240 --> 0:06:57.560 now coming out of the current labor party in a 0:06:57.560 --> 0:07:01.320 way that perhaps wasn't wasn't always the case. I mean second, 0:07:01.720 --> 0:07:04.039 and you will be you'll forgive me because I'm sure 0:07:04.040 --> 0:07:06.120 you're tired of people like me banging on for the 0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:09.800 need for stability. It's on every business leader's lips, but 0:07:09.800 --> 0:07:13.800 it's true. I mean, wild swings in policy, interest rates, currencies, 0:07:13.880 --> 0:07:18.240 prices aren't Regulation aren't helpful, nor is a more general 0:07:18.280 --> 0:07:20.600 sense that the UK's are risky or a difficult place 0:07:20.600 --> 0:07:22.920 to do business. And so to the extent that you 0:07:22.920 --> 0:07:25.440 know there are, in the words of one US investor, 0:07:25.480 --> 0:07:27.600 that there are grown ups in charge on both sides 0:07:27.640 --> 0:07:28.080 of the aisle. 0:07:28.120 --> 0:07:28.360 Now. 0:07:28.840 --> 0:07:31.360 As well as providing a stable environment, there are also 0:07:31.640 --> 0:07:33.960 there are also things any government should be able to 0:07:34.000 --> 0:07:38.840 do to provide the conditions for growth. And both parties 0:07:39.400 --> 0:07:43.240 are intent on growth as a as a priority, which 0:07:43.280 --> 0:07:45.960 is good and we would argue that there are things 0:07:46.000 --> 0:07:49.360 that anyone should, any party should do on skills, on infrastructure, 0:07:49.400 --> 0:07:52.240 on taxation, on regulation, and on the rule of law. 0:07:52.320 --> 0:07:54.160 By the way, when it applies to retail. 0:07:53.880 --> 0:07:57.000 Colleagues, what are you expecting terms of workers' rights under 0:07:57.080 --> 0:08:00.080 a labor government? So you've increased actually base pay for 0:08:00.440 --> 0:08:02.880 a lot of your employees, I think by almost ninety percent, 0:08:02.920 --> 0:08:05.840 if not more, for the start of twenty twenty. 0:08:05.680 --> 0:08:08.760 Four, by twenty nine percent over the twine over the 0:08:08.760 --> 0:08:11.760 past three years. 0:08:11.280 --> 0:08:13.120 Based colleagues, but this year nine percent. 0:08:13.240 --> 0:08:15.960 That's right. As curries, we're a retailer, and retailer is 0:08:16.000 --> 0:08:18.320 the largest private sector employer in the country. I mean, 0:08:18.320 --> 0:08:21.200 we've got three million jobs in our sector, and we 0:08:21.840 --> 0:08:24.600 encourage were not the only retailer who are determined to 0:08:24.600 --> 0:08:28.040 provide really good, secure jobs that are often many people's 0:08:28.080 --> 0:08:30.520 first job in the employment ladder, and provide them with 0:08:31.480 --> 0:08:33.040 a good first step in that career ladder. 0:08:33.080 --> 0:08:35.640 Do you think you'll have to increase pay further under 0:08:35.640 --> 0:08:36.480 a labor government. 0:08:37.240 --> 0:08:39.800 Let's see, I mean, the national minimum wage has risen 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:43.880 significantly in recent years. I mean we've said and we've 0:08:43.920 --> 0:08:45.800 acted on it that we want to keep ahead of 0:08:45.800 --> 0:08:47.960 that and to make sure that our colleagues both on 0:08:47.960 --> 0:08:49.800 their pace pay, but also by the way, on their 0:08:49.880 --> 0:08:52.840 variable pay and on their other benefits, are well rewarded. 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:54.760 I mean, I think if we take a step back 0:08:54.760 --> 0:08:57.000 for a moment, I think any government would do well 0:08:57.160 --> 0:09:00.280 to recognize that modern businesses don't necessarily have to be 0:09:00.320 --> 0:09:02.760 compelled to treat their colleagues well. And it's not just 0:09:02.840 --> 0:09:05.080 because we're nice guys, but for us to attract and 0:09:05.120 --> 0:09:08.280 retain top talent, as any business must do, you have 0:09:08.360 --> 0:09:10.520 to treat your colleagues well. It's a commercial imperative as 0:09:10.520 --> 0:09:12.319 well as the right thing to do, which is why 0:09:12.360 --> 0:09:15.040 businesses like Curries invest so much not just in reward, 0:09:15.120 --> 0:09:19.520 but in development, in learning, in training and communications, in leadership. 0:09:20.000 --> 0:09:22.600 But isn't it different if a government mandate it? 0:09:24.000 --> 0:09:26.559 Well, I mean clearly that law the law is the law, 0:09:26.600 --> 0:09:28.480 and we're going to We're going to more than abide 0:09:28.520 --> 0:09:31.679 by that, as we have done with base rates of 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:34.080 colleique pay. All I would say is there's clearly a 0:09:34.120 --> 0:09:37.079 balance to be struck here, and here Curries takes the 0:09:37.080 --> 0:09:39.840 same view as our industry as articulated by the BRC 0:09:40.000 --> 0:09:44.400 and in our trade body that you know, further significant 0:09:44.720 --> 0:09:48.040 increases to the national minimum wage should be done with caution, 0:09:48.480 --> 0:09:51.040 because clearly there is a balance here between wanting to 0:09:51.080 --> 0:09:54.719 protect and fairly reward people but also providing incentives for 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:58.319 further job creation for businesses. And as I say, there 0:09:58.360 --> 0:10:00.400 are many jobs at stake in retail, there are three 0:10:00.440 --> 0:10:00.920 million of them. 0:10:01.000 --> 0:10:03.520 I just want to ask you about the broader UK market. 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:05.440 You'll remember that, you know, you're one of the two 0:10:05.480 --> 0:10:09.559 fifty companies of the biggest two hundred fifty companies publicly 0:10:09.600 --> 0:10:12.800 traded in Britain. You've had an approach this year for 0:10:12.880 --> 0:10:16.200 the US hedge fund, Elliott. What does that say about 0:10:16.200 --> 0:10:18.920 the valuations across the whole of the UK market. There's 0:10:18.920 --> 0:10:22.760 a lot of commentary around Britain being undervalued compared to 0:10:22.840 --> 0:10:27.560 other sizable comparable economies. Is Britain cheap at the moment? 0:10:27.679 --> 0:10:30.000 Companies like yours too cheap? That's why the US hedge 0:10:30.000 --> 0:10:31.200 funds are circling. 0:10:31.120 --> 0:10:33.200 What you could make that argument? I mean, in one 0:10:33.280 --> 0:10:37.120 fact is that we've recently sold our Greek business, and 0:10:37.440 --> 0:10:39.720 if the whole of Curriers was valued at the at 0:10:39.760 --> 0:10:41.440 the same level as we sold the Greek business, for 0:10:41.559 --> 0:10:43.240 or the share price will be twice what it is today. 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:46.400 So I mean that's one. That's one fact, but there 0:10:46.720 --> 0:10:48.600 there are obviously plenty of others, and some of which 0:10:48.600 --> 0:10:50.680 are beyond the control of any one company. I mean, 0:10:50.920 --> 0:10:53.920 I can't not much we can do about thirty consecutive 0:10:53.960 --> 0:10:56.880 months of net outflows from UK equities, for example. It's 0:10:56.920 --> 0:10:59.640 not in my power to do something about the unnecessary 0:10:59.679 --> 0:11:02.600 friction of the stamp duty on share sales, for example. 0:11:02.679 --> 0:11:04.160 But all of that said. 0:11:03.960 --> 0:11:05.440 I mean, there are all these measures the government had 0:11:05.480 --> 0:11:07.560 tried to the current government are trying to put in 0:11:07.559 --> 0:11:09.400 place to improve all of that. Are they to reverse 0:11:09.720 --> 0:11:13.640 the flows? But of course they're about to potentially leave office. 0:11:13.720 --> 0:11:16.200 So do you think they're asking that the government has 0:11:16.200 --> 0:11:17.960 a role in this? Don't they? In terms of regulation? 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:20.080 And well, of course. But I mean we go back 0:11:20.080 --> 0:11:21.880 to the things we were talking about before. I mean, ultimately, 0:11:21.880 --> 0:11:24.960 the UK equity market is largely There are some technical 0:11:25.040 --> 0:11:27.280 factors there, like stamp duty on shares for example, but 0:11:27.360 --> 0:11:29.599 ultimately the UK equity market is a reflection of the 0:11:29.600 --> 0:11:32.439 broader UK economy and if there's a if the UK 0:11:32.480 --> 0:11:34.640 economy is stable and seen as a good place, a 0:11:34.640 --> 0:11:37.640 good place to do business. If the skills, the infrastructure, 0:11:37.760 --> 0:11:40.800 the tax the planning, the regulatory regimes are all in 0:11:40.840 --> 0:11:44.599 good Nick Will, that will have a beneficial impact on 0:11:45.040 --> 0:11:47.120 UK equities as well. But I do want to draw 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:50.439 us a distinction here. You won't find me whining about 0:11:50.480 --> 0:11:53.240 the state of UK equities when it comes to the 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:55.280 Curry's share price. I see it as my job to 0:11:55.360 --> 0:11:57.840 make sure that we're doing the things to make sure 0:11:57.880 --> 0:12:00.600 that investors want to invest in our share and in 0:12:00.640 --> 0:12:04.360 our case is quite straightforward. The UK business Curries in 0:12:04.400 --> 0:12:06.520 the UK has been showing great momentum for the past 0:12:06.600 --> 0:12:08.880 four years. We need to keep that going. We've had 0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:11.360 some issues with our international business. That's getting back on 0:12:11.640 --> 0:12:14.200 track and we need to keep that going. And we've 0:12:14.240 --> 0:12:17.400 got now rock solid balance sheet and liquidity and we 0:12:17.440 --> 0:12:20.000 need to keep that. Now. Happily, all three of those 0:12:20.000 --> 0:12:21.720 things are heading in the right direction. It's my job 0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:24.439 to make sure that they continue doing so, and when 0:12:24.480 --> 0:12:27.600 they do, that will ultimately be rewarded by the share price. 0:12:27.960 --> 0:12:29.720 Was it a nightmare having Elliott on your back? 0:12:30.240 --> 0:12:34.240 No? I really don't see it that really, No, No, 0:12:34.360 --> 0:12:37.280 not at all. Firstly, it was actually pretty flattering. They're 0:12:37.280 --> 0:12:40.280 no fools, and they saw value as we do in 0:12:40.320 --> 0:12:43.480 our business, and they've backed our prospects and our plans. 0:12:44.679 --> 0:12:46.720 So that was the first thing, now that said, you know, 0:12:46.920 --> 0:12:51.080 the board decided that the two bids substantially undervalued the business. 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:53.480 And I suppose that's the second thing that's flattering is 0:12:53.760 --> 0:12:56.160 when you get the board and eight of the top 0:12:56.200 --> 0:12:58.880 ten shareholders within twenty four to forty eight hours whatever 0:12:58.920 --> 0:13:01.400 it was, coming out publicly and saying no, there's a 0:13:01.440 --> 0:13:03.320 lot more in the tank in this business. We believe 0:13:03.320 --> 0:13:05.679 in the current plans and we want we want to 0:13:05.679 --> 0:13:07.839 see them realized. That was good validation for all the 0:13:07.880 --> 0:13:10.120 hard work of all our thousands of colleagues as well. 0:13:10.320 --> 0:13:16.600 So I chose to experience it as flattering and whimistic. Well, 0:13:16.600 --> 0:13:18.640 that's part of the job, right, and these things can 0:13:18.679 --> 0:13:21.240 be as distracting as you allow them to be. Without 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:23.880 interest from from private equity has gone away for now. 0:13:24.160 --> 0:13:26.199 But honestly, I didn't spend I didn't spend a great 0:13:26.240 --> 0:13:28.680 deal of my time sitting speculating and worrying about it. 0:13:28.960 --> 0:13:31.360 I spend my time on the things that we can control, 0:13:31.360 --> 0:13:33.439 and as we're just talking about there's plenty that we can. 0:13:33.520 --> 0:13:35.960 What one thing that some companies have decided to do 0:13:36.080 --> 0:13:38.680 to fix the valuation problem is to move the listing 0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:41.600 to New York. Is that cross your mind at all? 0:13:41.760 --> 0:13:44.800 No, it hasn't. We're admitted to the London stock extrage 0:13:44.960 --> 0:13:48.199 were I can you can have it here first? An 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:50.400 exclusive for Bloomberg. I know we're committed to the London 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:52.680 Stock Exchange and we're committed to making it work here. 0:13:52.920 --> 0:13:54.800 What do you want labor to do when it comes 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:59.120 to the stock exchange attracting more capital FDI and really 0:13:59.120 --> 0:14:01.160 supporting I guess you're growth well. 0:14:01.200 --> 0:14:03.360 I think, as I say, there's some technical things that 0:14:03.400 --> 0:14:06.480 any government can do, I mean taking stamp duty of 0:14:07.040 --> 0:14:11.000 share shared dealing seems like a sensible removal of unnecessary friction. 0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:15.240 But more than that, I think there's there are plenty 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:17.400 of speculation about what might might or might not be 0:14:17.440 --> 0:14:21.280 done to encourage or other encourage UK based pension funds 0:14:21.320 --> 0:14:24.240 to invest more of their money in UK equities and fine, 0:14:24.600 --> 0:14:26.680 but I think more more generally, as I say, UK 0:14:26.720 --> 0:14:30.280 equity markets are a reflection of UK PLC, reflection of 0:14:30.320 --> 0:14:33.440 the economy at large. And if there's a stable, a 0:14:33.440 --> 0:14:36.520 stable environment where the UK is not seen as a 0:14:36.600 --> 0:14:40.040 risky or a volatile place to do business, and when 0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:43.400 skills and infrastructure and planning and regulation and tax are 0:14:43.400 --> 0:14:45.760 all in good shape. That will translate to a healthier 0:14:45.760 --> 0:14:46.440 stock market. 0:14:46.920 --> 0:14:49.640 Alex. When you look at you know what happens after 0:14:49.680 --> 0:14:53.360 the election. What's the most pressing concern for businesses in 0:14:53.400 --> 0:14:54.960 the UK under a labor government? 0:14:56.080 --> 0:14:59.600 I think the most pressing concern for any for any 0:14:59.600 --> 0:15:03.440 business under any administration is for the conditions for growth 0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:07.560 to be there. Everyone agrees that growth is essential and 0:15:07.720 --> 0:15:09.920 to be able to provide that growth, the government needs 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:11.800 to provide the right conditions for it. It needs to 0:15:11.800 --> 0:15:15.520 provide the right stable environment first of all, and avoids 0:15:15.560 --> 0:15:18.320 of unpleasant shocks and the perception that this is a 0:15:18.360 --> 0:15:23.080 risky place to do business. But then attend to making 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:26.920 sure that the skills and the infrastructure, and the taxation regime, 0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:31.320 and the planning and the regulation and energy costs and 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:34.040 all of the all of the various things that any 0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:37.920 government needs to do to enable businesses to prosper and 0:15:37.960 --> 0:15:40.720 to grow, to allow business to be a powerful force 0:15:40.720 --> 0:15:43.200 for societal good, which I believe I can can and 0:15:43.280 --> 0:15:45.320 should be. That's the regime that governments need to put 0:15:45.360 --> 0:15:45.800 into place. 0:15:46.560 --> 0:15:47.800 Thank you so much for joining us. 0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:48.320 My pleasure. 0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:57.360 Thank you, and that's a long list, Alex. Thanks for 0:15:57.400 --> 0:15:59.440 listening to this week's In the City from Bloomberg. This 0:15:59.480 --> 0:16:02.760 episode hosted by me Francis Laqua and David Merritt. It 0:16:02.840 --> 0:16:06.120 was produced by Summersati production support and sound designed by 0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:09.720 Moses and dam Brendan. Francis Newman is our executive producer. 0:16:09.960 --> 0:16:12.920 Sage Bauman is Head of Podcasts. Special thanks to Alex 0:16:13.000 --> 0:16:17.040 Baldoc and Sabam Meddings. Please subscribe, rate, and review wherever 0:16:17.080 --> 0:16:18.119 you listen to podcasts.