Majestic Wine unveils turnaround to deliver £500m sales by 2019 as profits halve November 16, 2015 Majestic Wine has unveiled a three-year plan targeting over £500m sales by 2019 as part of a shakeup that saw the company buy Naked Wines in April and its founder Rowan Gormley take over as chief executive. The FTSE 250 wine retailer has struggled over the last few years with stiff competition from major supermarkets, [...]
Barclays: It’s a great time to start a business in the UK November 16, 2015 It’s a great time to start a business in the UK, according to research published by Barclays today. Start-up survival rates are at their highest since Barclay’s began their in-depth Entrepreneurs Index in 2012 while the number of active companies in the UK increased to 3,260,879 in June 2015 – a 3.86 per cent climb on [...]
Barings Bank rogue trader Nick Leeson is back – with a risk management enterprise called Risk Team November 16, 2015 Nick Leeson, the man who single-handedly brought down Barings Bank, is back in business – and he's taking a punt on businesses hiring him to help them manage risk. Today Leeson, best known as the stripy jacket-wearing inspiration behind Ewan McGregor movie Rogue Trader, said today that the idea the company will focus on raising risk awareness around [...]
Paris attacks: Oil prices climb nearly two per cent on Middle East uncertainty November 16, 2015 Oil prices edged up today with analysts attributing the climb to greater uncertainty in the Middle East as a result of the Paris Attacks and the French strikes on Isis targets in Syria. Brent crude – the North Sea benchmark – climbed 1.1 per cent, just creeping past $45 a barrel. The US benchmark, West Texas [...]
Marriott International to buy Starwood Hotels and Resorts for $12.2bn November 16, 2015 Marriott International said today it had agreed to buy Starwood Hotels & Resorts in a $12.2bn (£8bn) cash and shares deal, creating the world's largest hotel company. In a statement today, the company said the combined company – which will include the Sheraton, W Hotels and Ritz-Carlton brands, will have more than 5,500 hotels, with more than [...]
Eurozone inflation edges up to 0.1 per cent in October as European Central Bank vice president Vitor Constancio hints at more stimulus measures November 16, 2015 Eurozone inflation ticked up in October, but remains far too weak to deter analysts from betting that stimulus measures will be ramped up – while yet another European Central Bank (ECB) official has strongly hinted the central bank will take further action to boost growth and inflation in the currency-bloc. October’s annual inflation rate was 0.1 [...]
Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley buys Goals Soccer Centres stake November 16, 2015 Outspoken Sports Direct majority shareholder Mike Ashley has diversified again: this time into Goals Soccer Centres, the Aim-listed five-a-side pitch operator. In a statement this morning, Goals Soccer said Sports Direct had bought a 4.9 per cent stake in the company – worth just under £4m – via a contract for difference (CFD). It's not the first time Ashley [...]
Knight Frank development opportunity areas: These 18 places could experience the highest levels of housebuilding over the next few years November 16, 2015 The Conservatives may have promised a housebuilding revolution during the election – but where will those new homes actually appear? New research by Knight Frank suggests the answer is Manchester and Leeds. The upmarket estate agent has ranked the local authorities which provide the best opportunities for property developers over the next 10 years – and the two areas are [...]
Eurozone recovery unlikely to be derailed by Paris attacks, but long-run growth will depend on political responses, say economists November 16, 2015 The attacks in Paris are unlikely to derail the economic recovery in France and the Eurozone, economists have said, but equities could be hit this week and the longer-term economic outlook is clouded by possible political decisions. "It is obviously likely to significantly hit the Paris economy in the near term, and there could also be a knock-on [...]
BT Openreach boss Joe Garner steps down to move to Nationwide November 16, 2015 The chief executive of BT Openreach has handed in his notice, after he was offered a job leading high street lender Nationwide. It's not exactly classic timing: BT's local access network division is currently at the centre of a competition row. In a statement today, BT said Joe Garner will step down in the spring of 2016, [...]