Kirin bows out of Brazilian market in style with £570m sale to Heineken February 13, 2017 The world’s second largest brewer, Heineken, has agreed to buy Japanese rival Kirin's Brazilian operations for 2.2bn Brazillian reals (£567m). Heineken said the acquisition will take place in the first half of this year, and will make the Dutch drinks maker second-largest beer producer in Brazil. Previously trading under the Schincariol brand, Brasil Kirin had been [...]
For the first time, pensioners are better off than working households February 13, 2017 We all knew older generations are increasingly better off than their younger counterparts – but now a new study has found recent retirees are actually living on more than working households. Incomes across older generations have risen so fast, the average pensioner household now makes £20 a week more than the average working-age household. In [...]
Co-op Bank’s message to customers: It’s business as usual February 13, 2017 The Co-operative Bank has moved to reassure customers after announcing it's putting itself up for sale. The bank said this morning it is seeking a buyer "alongside other options", three years into a turnaround plan put in place after the lender revealed a £1.5bn black hole in its finances. In a message to customers of the [...]
Can advertising be a force for good? Diageo’s Syl Saller certainly thinks so February 13, 2017 If the early bird catches the worm, then the attendees of this year’s Advertising Association LEAD summit must have been full by the time it began. Early starts are anathema to most in the media, myself included, but the full force of AdLand was on parade, bright-eyed – despite the culture secretary’s dry, cliched, keynote [...]
The Co-operative Bank has put itself up for sale February 13, 2017 The Co-operative Bank has put itself up for sale after making "considerable progress" on its turnaround plan that saved the lender from near-extinction in 2013, it said this morning. A number of US hedge funds came to the rescue of the ethical lender four years ago, bailing it out after the lender revealed losses of £600m [...]
New hub to help grow UK’s £6 billion fintech sector February 13, 2017 | City Talk A new specialist fintech hub, backed by the UK and Scottish governments, will open its doors to entrepreneurs in May 2017. The hub will be the first of its kind in Scotland and will be based in Entrepreneurial Spark at Royal Bank of Scotland’s base in Edinburgh. It will launch one year on from the [...]
Verizon covers move by Sprint and offers unlimited data to US customers February 13, 2017 Competition between US mobile phone firms is set to hot up as the country’s largest operator announced plans to introduce unlimited data packages. Verizon’s move – seemingly at odds with statements made by one of its top executives last month – comes after competitor Sprint last week introduced similar plans. Through an introductory plan announced on Sunday, the [...]
A lack of guidance over the EU’s GDPR could cripple British businesses February 13, 2017 There is no denying that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) marks a great step forward for data protection in the UK and across Europe. But with less than 16 months until it comes into force, it is critical for UK businesses to start preparing now. However, despite being the most powerful piece of data [...]
Early signs suggest there’s already been a fall in supply of EU nationals – contributing to UK skills and labour shortages February 13, 2017 Sectors employing a high number of EU nationals are starting to feel the pinch as uncertainty lingers over future prospects. According to the CIPD and Adecco’s Labour Market Outlook, while the short-term outlook for employment remains strong, skills and labour shortages are starting to become evident in sectors employing a raft of EU nationals. Despite [...]
Consumer spending growth at four month low after Christmas boom February 13, 2017 Consumer spending growth slowed to 0.4 per cent on the year in January, putting it at a five month low according to Visa’s UK Consumer Spending Index. Following the Christmas shopping jump of 2.5 per cent in December, January proved sluggish and saw the fastest decline of face-to-face spending in four years (-3.1 per cent). [...]