Abercrombie & Ditch – logos go as sales fall August 28, 2014 ABERCROMBIE & Fitch shares slumped yesterday after it reported its 10th straight decline in quarterly like-for-like sales. The retailer said it planned to shed its traditional logo-centric clothes in a bid to revive the brand as like-for-like sales fell seven per cent in the second quarter.
End of student cap helps fill up rooms at Unite as universities prepare for surge August 28, 2014 Government measures to remove the cap on the number of students universities can admit has helped boost room reservations and lift rental growth at student digs provider Unite. A record 500,000 students are expected to start university next month after changes announced in last year’s Autumn Statement meant universities were able to admit an extra [...]
Migration at its highest since 2011 despite Cameron’s pledge to cut immigration August 28, 2014 THE LATEST figures on immigration to the UK show the highest levels of net migration in nearly three years, souring the Conservative party’s hopes for a continued decline. During the year to March, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) recorded net migration of 243,000 people, the highest figure since the year to June 2011. Net [...]
Hays records jump in profits and aims to double earnings by 2018 August 28, 2014 RECRUITMENT firm Hays reported a solid jump in profits yesterday, along with a plan to double earnings from operations in the next five years. Operating profit in the year to June swelled by 12 per cent, compared with the same period last year, hitting £140.3m. Profit before tax rose by the same proportion, climbing to [...]
Snoozebox signs deal to provide pop-up hotels at 2018 World Cup August 28, 2014 Snoozebox said yesterday it had struck a deal to supply Saransk in Russia with pop-up hotels for fans attending the 2018 World Cup. The operator of portable hotels at events such as the British Grand Prix confirmed it had signed a preliminary agreement with organisers at the host city and said “a feasibility study and [...]
London helps to drive profits at hotelier PPHE August 28, 2014 PPHE Hotel Group, the owner of the Park Plaza at Westminster Bridge (pictured below), reported a surge in profits and revenue in the first half of the year, boosted by a rise in visitor numbers and a room price hike. The group, which owns and manages 38 art’otel and Park Plaza hotels across Europe, the [...]
A fracking great win for Cuadrilla backed farmers August 28, 2014 It often feels as though fracking firm Cuadrilla doesn’t have many friends in the countryside. But yesterday a fracking court case came to a conclusion, which saw local farmers and landowners team up with Cuadrilla to get rid of the protesters on their land. The frackers had some backers. Local landowners from Lancashire went to [...]
Bill of the Week (It’s Back!): Lidl’s lavish V&A dinner August 28, 2014 Bill of the Week is coming out of retirement for a special appearance today. But contrary to its predecessors, which regularly toted up the price of umpteen bottles of Krug and countless Grey Goose martinis, this bill is all about frugality. One might call it a really Lidl bill. One of our roving reporters [...]
Euro sentiment drops again on dismal outlook August 28, 2014 ECONOMIC confidence in the Eurozone’s recovery has dropped to the lowest level so far this year, as the currency union’s recovery from recession looks increasingly fragile. The European commission’s own economic sentiment indicator fell again, dropping to 100.6, just above the level with denotes the long-term average confidence level. The measure is now at its lowest [...]
Deutsche Bank fined £4.7m for misreporting market transactions August 28, 2014 BRITAIN’S financial watchdog yesterday fined Deutsche Bank £4.7m for wrongly reporting a number of market transactions for nearly six years. The Financial Conduct Authority said in a statement that the bank had failed accurately to report its contract-for-difference (CFD) equity swaps, totalling £29m, it executed between November 2007 and April 2013. CFDs allow a buyer [...]