Sports Direct investors vote against chair Keith Hellawell’s re-election as he vows to leave next year if he fails to win over shareholders September 7, 2016 Investors in troubled British retailer Sports Direct today voted against the re-election of chairman Keith Hellawell as chairman of the board – but he's not in any rush to leave. Hellawell said he will step down next year if he does not receive the backing of independent shareholders at the 2017 annual general meeting (AGM), after 53 [...]
Morning Wire Unregulated podcast: Leadership in a warzone – What one man learned from building an orchestra in Iraq September 7, 2016 Conductor Paul MacAlindin was in a cafe in rain-soaked Scotland when he read an Iraqi girl was looking for someone to put together a national youth orchestra. Eight years later MacAlindin explains the lessons he learned about leadership from the experience – from the challenge of finding instruments that stayed in tune to the difficulties [...]
Millennials’ “live now, pay later” motto has made them clueless about saving and understanding interest rates September 7, 2016 Millennials may be a health-conscious bunch that are drinking less and even shunning bacon as part of their lifestyle choices, but they are absolutely clueless about one thing: money. The “Yolo” (you only live once) generation is getting by on a "live now, pay later" motto, according to new research. A quarter (26 per cent) of young Britons in the [...]
Sports Direct AGM: Retailer issues earnings warning as it asks chair Keith Hellawell to stay on board despite offering to step down September 7, 2016 Sports Direct has issued a number of updates to the market this morning – including a warning of a dip in earnings and profit this year – ahead of its AGM, due to start at 11am. The retailer said it expects underlying profits for the full year to come in £120m lower than previously expected, while earnings [...]
Health-conscious millennials go bananas for fruit and herbal infusion teas September 6, 2016 Health-conscious millennials have been behind a boom in demand for fruit and herbal infusion teas sales this year at one of the world's fastest-growing premium tea brands. Young tea drinkers have pushed sales of non-traditional fruit and herbal brews up 43 per cent at Southampton-based Ahmad Tea in the last eight months alone. The bestselling blends have [...]
Don’t fall for the illusion of a good first impression September 6, 2016 "If you want us to invest, don’t upset the receptionist”. Passion Capital founder Eileen Burbidge sets great store by how those seeking investment from her treat the most junior of her employees. Walt Bettinger, chief executive of Charles Schwab, reportedly takes this even further. He invites prospective hires to breakfast, tips the waiter to provoke them [...]
Women are totally leaning in – they just don’t get a pay rise out of it September 6, 2016 The famous mantra of top Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg is "lean in", but it turns out women are already doing that when it comes to negotiating that all important pay rise. While conventional thinking indicates that "don't ask, don't get" is to blame for holding women back from getting pay rises, and contributing to the well documented gender discrepancy in [...]
Why Neil Woodford’s experiment could impact your workplace September 6, 2016 Bonuses are disappearing from the City, and not necessarily because the firms offering them have suffered poor financial performance. Senior figures in the fund management world, most notably Neil Woodford, have decided to scrap bonuses in their firms, challenging the conventional wisdom that they are necessary to incentivise employees to perform. The argument goes that [...]
A Royal Air Force attitude will see your career take off September 5, 2016 The military and the world of business aren’t all that different. There are huge similarities between the two, in terms of attitude and strategy, which could determine whether a business plan works or fails. As a former serviceman in the Royal Air Force, I moved away from my roots in South East London and quickly learned [...]
Peter Stringfellow on closing Angels, Theresa May, virtual reality clubs and setting up a lingerie range September 5, 2016 The floor of Peter Stringfellow’s office at Angels, his legendary Soho club, was strewn with packing boxes last week. In case anyone imagined his office to be an extension of the club – all leopard print, velvet and disco balls – it isn’t. It’s just a normal office. I visited him on Thursday; on Saturday, [...]