Barclays’ second boss in a week exits bank: Sir Mike Rake follows Antony Jenkins as chairman John “Mack the Knife” McFarlane wields axe July 15, 2015 Barclays deputy chairman Sir Mike Rake has become the second casualty of newly-installed chairman John McFarlane in a week, after he confirmed plans to leave the bank “by the end of 2015” yesterday – which leaves the rest of the Barclays board looking decidedly exposed, analysts have suggested. BT chairman and Confederation of British [...]
Severn Trent targeting positive 2016 performance as costs drop July 15, 2015 Utility firm Severn Trent issued a reassuring trading update yesterday, and told investors it is on track to deliver a full year performance in line with expectations. The update boosted shares by almost one per cent. Operating costs are expected to be lower compared with last year, which the company attributed to organisational changes and [...]
Burberry share price hit by slower trade in Hong Kong July 15, 2015 British fashion brand Burberry hopes to head off deceleration in the Hong Kong market with a variety of cost-reducing moves, including possible job cuts and downsizing. The company reported an eight per cent uplift in retail revenue to £407m in the first quarter of 2015. Shares in the group were down by 2.59 [...]
Cath Kidston moves towards global expansion with Japanese purchase July 15, 2015 Cath Kidston Group has taken a major step towards achieving its global expansion plan by buying back its Japanese franchise business from Sanei International. The company did not reveal how much it had paid to buy back the Japanese operations. Cath Kidston Japan will take full control of the Japanese business from 1 September. Sanei, [...]
Lidl celebrates record £4bn turnover as discounter cements place in UK with new head office July 15, 2015 Lidl’s UK operation has announced plans to build a new head office in Tolworth, south west London, in a move seen as cementing its big player status in the UK supermarket sector. The expansion comes in the wake of what the company said is its most successful trading year yet. The new office [...]
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 [...]