And then there was one: Sports Direct splits from top brokers January 23, 2017 Sports Direct has split from three of its brokers, announcing today that Liberum Capital would be its sole broker from hereon. The controversial retailer's former collection of brokers was made up of City heavyweights Goldman Sachs, Citi and Haitong. Haitong and Citi are both neutral on the company's shares, while, last May, Goldman Sachs stopped recommending [...]
London’s live music scene perseveres as closures stalled for the first time in nearly a decade January 23, 2017 London's smaller music venues persevered in 2016 as the number of grassroots venues remained stable for the first year since 2007, new figures show. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who has worked to build the industry, called the news a “major step towards rebuilding London’s live music scene”. A new progress report shows London has lost 35 per cent of its [...]
Sainsbury’s chairman lambasted for using staff to revamp country home January 23, 2017 Sainsbury's chairman David Tyler has been taken to task by the company board for using a supermarket employee and supplier to help refurbish his country home in East Sussex. Tyler, who was appointed chairman in 2009, was given a warning by the board after an internal investigation found that a Sainsbury's employee and supplier helped in [...]
McDonald’s gives analysts something to chew on after reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings January 23, 2017 The world's largest burger chain reported its fourth-quarter earnings were better than analysts expected as US restaurant sales beat forecasts. The figures Global sales rose 2.7 per cent in the three months to 31 December and 3.8 per cent for the full year, which was the company's strongest annual global comparable sales growth since 2011. Total revenue fell for the tenth straight [...]
Paddy Power Betfair reveals Trump win cost it £5m January 23, 2017 Paddy Power Betfair expects to report group revenue growth of 18 per cent in 2016 when it publishes its full-year results. The figures Group revenue rose 18 per cent year-on-year, to £1.55bn, from £1.23bn. In the fourth quarter, revenue was up 10 per cent to £388m from £351m. This included a 12 per cent increase [...]
Original Travel’s chief executive reveals how its services stand out in a sea of travel companies January 23, 2017 Parents have 40 opportunities to go on a holiday with their children before they outgrow family outings according to travel company chief executive Nick Newbury. He points out that there’s only so much time in a year, and so much holiday leave in a job. As well as time constraints, pressure is mounting on consumers [...]
Lloyds private equity arm takes a cut of Rush hair salon January 22, 2017 The private equity arm of Lloyd's Banking Group has announced a £16m minority investment in Rush Hair and Beauty. Backing from LDC will provide support for the business's expansion plans. The hairdressing chain currently has 85 branches, primarily in London, Essex, and the South East. More recently, branches have opened across the country in key [...]
Pub landlords call on the Pubs Code Adjudicator to rule on Heineken’s Punch Taverns takeover January 22, 2017 Pub landlords have united to criticise Heineken's £400m takeover plans of Punch Taverns, which they say will result in reduced beer and cider options for customers. The Punch Tenant Network (PTN), an independent group that represents Punch's publicans, has made an appeal to Pubs Code Adjudicator Paul Newby to give guidance on whether the bid would trigger the [...]
Weak retail sales in December have pushed sterling below $1.23 January 20, 2017 The pound plummeted today after retail sales figures were much weaker than analysts expected. Sterling fell 0.47 per cent to 1.2284 against the US dollar. Sales in December fell by 1.9 per cent month-on-month – the largest monthly fall since May 2011 – which was considerably more than the 0.1 per cent drop analysts predicted, Martin Beck, senior economic advisor at EY said. [...]
Here’s how to get £10 off orders over £50 on Amazon (but it’s only today) January 20, 2017 Amazon has been ranked top of a nationwide poll for customer satisfaction among UK brands – and to thank its customers, it's offering them discounts. Hurrah. The online retailer's UK site came top of the UK Customer Satisfaction Index, with a score of 87.3 on the index. That was followed by M&S, P&O Cruises, Greggs [...]