Virtual wellbeing sessions Centrica hopes to win back investors

Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce will start a virtual wellbeing programme next month.

The programme will consist of seven weekly sessions, featuring key experts from across the region, starting on August 19.

The topics being covered are mindset, kindness, mindfulness, volunteering, resilience, exercise and green space.

Chamber chief Alison Henderson said that as lockdown restrictions begin to be lifted and employees return to work from furlough it is imperative there is support to help the workforces settle back into the “new normal”.

She said: “We know that the psychological effects of lockdown, tied to worries about job security and finances, and the implications of changes in workplaces, are likely to make workrelated stress worse for many people.

“We’ve launched this programme to build a community of people who want to understand how to build their personal skills to weather the current storms.”

Centrica hopes to win back some investor confidence this coming Friday as it presents its latest figures amid a tough battle with unions.

A good set of numbers for the British Gas owner, or at least some more clarity on the firm’s turnaround plans, could be crucial for new Centrica boss Chris O’shea to keep investors on side.

The firm needs to regain the confidence of long-suffering shareholders as it faces what is proving to be acrimonious talks with unions over the future of many of the staff at the struggling energy supplier.

Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Emilie Stevens said investors may at least hope for some clarification on how Centrica’s restructuring plans are progressing.

The company has long been in need of a drastic rethink after spending much of the last half-decade haemorrhaging customers. British Gas is still the biggest energy supplier in Britain, but has gone from supplying 25% of the market in 2013 to less than 19%.

DACC chief executive Alison Henderson.