JD Wetherspoon share price drops as founder Tim Martin attacks living wage July 15, 2015 Tim Martin, founder and chairman of 900-strong pub group JD Wetherspoon, has hit out at chancellor George Osborne’s living wage policy, claiming it could have an adverse impact on pubs. Martin warned: “The recent government announcement regarding the living wage adds considerable uncertainty to future financial projections in the pub industry.” He said: [...]
Singapore developer Oxley buys stake in London house builder Galliard Group for £50m July 15, 2015 Singapore property developer Oxley has acquired a 20 per cent stake in Galliard, the leading London developer. Read more: London Octopus scrapped as Galliard Homes buys site The £50m investment from the Singaporean firm follows Galliard's ambitious £225m joint venture with US investment fund Cain Hoy to expand building in the capital. Galliard – London's second [...]
Blockchain boss Eddy Travia on Coinsilium’s IPO: Why I chose to float a FinTech business in London July 15, 2015 Whilst the bitcoin price may have stolen some headlines during the Greece negotiations it is the underlying technology, blockchain, that is really making waves across the financial world. Last year $330m (around £211m) flowed into bitcoin and blockchain companies, and in the first half of 2015 $373m was invested into the same space, bringing the [...]
Businesses are wasting money on energy – here are six ways to make your business energy-savvy July 15, 2015 Last week the Competitions and Markets Authority reported back on the fact consumers are “paying too much” for their energy bills, suggesting that customers need to help make the market be more competitive through switching suppliers on a regular basis. But 75 per cent of businesses already know that there are savings to be made [...]
Beware, Barclays bankers: John “Mack the Knife” McFarlane is on a roll July 15, 2015 It was exactly a week to the day since John McFarlane, Barclays’ new chairman, claimed his first scalp, chief executive Antony Jenkins. Today his influence was felt again, after the imminent departure of deputy chairman Sir Mike Rake was revealed in rather chaotic fashion this morning. BT chairman and Confederation of British Industry president [...]
Amazon Prime Day is not the new Black Friday as British retailers have little appetite for mega sales… yet July 15, 2015 Not content with helping bring the horror of shoppingeddon to the UK in the form of Black Friday, Amazon is now attempting to create its own, even bigger version, with Prime Day. Last year Black Friday went from being a US tradition us Brits mocked as the embodiment of America's tendency to take things to [...]
Sir Mike Rake to quit as Barclays deputy chairman by the end of the year as he signs up to chair Worldpay July 15, 2015 Barclays deputy chairman Sir Mike Rake will leave Barclays by the end of the year as he takes up a new role chairing payments processing company Worldpay. Rake told City A.M. this morning that, subject to regulatory approval, he will take up a position on its board on 1 September. Shares in the bank dipped [...]
These are Britain’s best companies for customer service: First Direct, Amazon and John Lewis July 15, 2015 Anyone who detests being taken for granted by a company will be pleased to know there's a list of firms offering shoppers the best customer service experience. Online bank First Direct scored 87 for the overall level of customer satisfaction, helping it overtake better-known brands such as Amazon and John Lewis in a ranking compiled [...]
Zoopla accidentally overvalues home located in Stornoway in Lewis by around £13.85m July 15, 2015 A wayward algorithm on online property portal Zoopla accidentally overvalued a home located in Stornoway in Lewis, Scotland to the tune of around £13.85m. Annabel and Dan MacDonald, owners of the semi-detached property which wasn't even up for sale, told the BBC they think its real value is actually closer to £150,000. The hefty price tag would still be [...]
Ryanair may close second Danish airport after row with unions July 15, 2015 Low-cost airline Ryanair has said that it may close its Billund airport base, which would be the airline’s second Danish base closure in just four days, as a union in the country frustrates the Irish carrier with plans of a strike at the airport. This occurred on the same day as Ryanair officially shut down [...]