LONDON BRIEFING March 2005

News this month

Back to Neverland

Can Peter Pan rescue Great Ormond Street Hospital? In early March, the world-renowned children’s hospital revealed it had closed one-fifth of its beds and re-scheduled operations after running up a £1.7m ($3.3m) deficit. Hospital authorities blamed the shortfall on treating more patients than they had funding for; John Reid, the government’s health secretary, pledged to investigate the hospital’s finances.

Help may come from an unexpected source. J.M. Barrie, the author of “Peter Pan”, assigned the book’s copyright to the hospital in 1929, netting it “significant” royalties since then. The copyright is due to expire in 2007, which explains why the hospital's trustees announced on March 13th that they have commissioned a sequel. The book, tentatively titled “Captain Pan”, will be written by Geraldine McCaughrean, a three-time winner of the Whitbread Children’s Book Award, who was selected from more than 100 applicants. Proceeds raised will be put towards a much-needed renovation of the hospital's ageing facilities.

Jilted at the altar

A shareholder rebellion forced Deutsche Börse to withdraw its £1.35 billion ($2.6 billion) bid for the London Stock Exchange on March 6th. The revolt was led by hedge funds that wanted the Frankfurt-based exchange to pay dividends instead. In response to the news, shares in the LSE fell by 7.8%; those in Deutsche Börse lost 2.6%. This was the second time that a Deutsche Börse bid to buy the LSE has failed.

The LSE's rival suitor, Euronext, is now in the spotlight. The pan-European stock exchange—which already controls Liffe, the London-based international derivatives market—is interested, but has yet to make a formal bid. The LSE said it was “willing to continue discussions” but raised the bar for future offers to £5.90 per share. Euronext’s shareholders are wary of paying too much; some have made clear that they will not accept an offer price much higher than £4. Deutsche Börse has said it may re-enter the fray if a formal bid is made.

Two battles

Peace has been declared in the short-lived “class war” between the mayor, Ken Livingstone, and the Royal Ballet School. Hostilities began in early March when the mayor refused the school permission to improve its crumbling facilities in scenic Richmond Park. His reason? The “remote location...acts against the promotion of inclusiveness”. The school responded by promising to expand its outreach programme, to involve more Londoners from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds. This appeared to satisfy Mr Livingstone, who withdrew his opposition. Both the mayor and Conservative-controlled Richmond council are claiming victory.

The Royal Ballet School was not the only institution to find itself involved in a row about its admissions policy. On March 11th, the Times Higher Education Supplement revealed that the London School of Economics (LSE) has been secretly reserving 40 places each year for pupils from poorly performing state schools. The revelation elicited condemnations from the Independent Schools Council, and Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference. The LSE explained that such quotas were a new experiment.

Depleted

Britain’s oldest and richest local authority, the Corporation of London, is running out of cash. In a sombre speech on March 3rd, Ian Luder, its financial chief, forecast a £9.3m ($17.9m) revenue deficit for 2005-6, rising to £12.2m the next financial year. Falling property income and the ending of a special rebate deal with the government (the “City Offset”) account for most of the shortfall. The Corporation is expected to use its cash reserves to fill the gap—though Mr Luder said these would be exhausted by 2011-12 if finances failed to improve.

Cutbacks now seem inevitable. Indeed, Mr Luder suggested the Corporation—which controls the City, the River Thames and some of the capital’s green spaces—might discontinue some of its services. (It has already decided not re-open some public toilets in the City.) Changes to Hampstead Heath's management, such as charging for swimming and car parking, and cancelling some public concerts, could prove controversial. In 2003, the Corporation sparked a furious row when it tried to close the Heath’s bathing ponds. Mr Luder said the proposed cuts would be presented to the Corporation’s decision-making body in May.

Flying further

Flying into central London is set to become easier. On March 14th, the Financial Times reported that London City Airport, the smallest and most central of the capital’s main airports, is planning a £40m ($77m) expansion. The changes will include an enlarged terminal building and more parking space for aircraft. Richard Gooding, the airport’s managing director, also said he hoped to add services to Glasgow and possibly Newcastle this year. New destinations in 2005-06 could include Copenhagen, Stockholm, Madrid, Milan and Vienna.

The airport's links with the rest of London are also set to improve. An extension to the Docklands Light Railway, scheduled to open this December, will connect it to London’s financial hubs: the City and Canary Wharf. Journeys to both will take around 15-20 minutes. But news that corporate jet take-offs and landings will double to 14,000 by 2007 is sure to irritate local residents.

Catch if you can

April 2005

Caravaggio: The Final Years

February 23rd-May 22nd 2005

Caravaggio's last four years (1606-10) come under the spotlight in this exhibition at the National Gallery. This was a peripatetic period for the painter, whose bold realism had made him one of Rome's most feted artists. Fleeing the papal authorities after killing a man in a duel in 1606, Caravaggio passed through Naples, Malta and Sicily, producing darker, more introspective works—a reflection, no doubt, of his growing anxiety. This small exhibition (just 16 paintings) is evidence that being on the run in no way diminished the painter's extraordinary powers.

National Gallery, Sainsbury Wing, Trafalgar Square, London WC2. Tel: +44 (0) 020 7747-2885. Tickets: £7.50. Open: daily 10am-6pm, Wed until 9pm. The National Gallery posts a full programme on its website.

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