Asos share price opens lower after “Black Friday” style outage as customers clamour for discount June 1, 2015 Shares in online retail giant opened 1.5 per cent lower at 3,630p after a day-long outage prevented thousands of customers from taking advantage of a 20 per cent discount. Banners on the website advertised a 20 per cent discount on "Every. Single. Thing", causing customers to flock to the site. But it failed to stand [...]
Lloyds shares to be sold to retail investors within 12 months, says Treasury June 1, 2015 The government has sold off more of its shares in Lloyds and is planning to sell to retail investors within the next year in "Tell Sid" style sell-off. Another one per cent has been sold off by the Treasury, reducing its stake in the bank to 19 per cent. "The trading plan has been a [...]
WPP braced for new revolt over Martin Sorrell’s £43m May 31, 2015 Controversy over WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell’s remuneration has erupted once more, after two leading proxy advisory groups raised concerns over the £43m pay package he received last year. The size of Sorrell’s payout has remained a sticking point for many investors, despite the advertising giant introducing a new policy in 2013 and abandoning [...]
Deloitte promotes more female partners in drive for equality May 31, 2015 Big four accountancy firm Deloitte promoted 22 women to the position of partner today, in its biggest ever round of appointments. The promotion of 75 new partners also includes 23 outside London as the business expands its reach outside the capital. And it announced a “return to work” scheme designed to help women who have [...]
Brookfield: Center Parcs’ next big owner May 31, 2015 Family favourite Center Parcs looks set to change owners, with Brookfield interested in snapping it up Adventure holidays are very big business. Family-friendly Center Parcs runs five sites around the UK, and made profits of £147m last year. And its sustained success attracts the very biggest investors. Private equity group Blackstone is selling the group, [...]
Dunelm founder Bill Adderley sells majority of his stake in Marks & Spencer May 31, 2015 Bill Adderley, the billionaire founder of homeware retailer Dunelm, has sold most of his shares in Marks & Spencer three years after building up a stake to become the firm’s largest private shareholder. Adderley has sold two thirds of his three per cent stake in M&S, telling the Sunday Times that there were “a couple [...]
Morrisons may face revolt over Dalton Philips’s £3m pay package May 31, 2015 Morrisons is expected to clash with shareholders this week over the supermarket’s ousted chief executive Dalton Philips £3m pay package. Philips was forced to step down in February, after failing to halt the decline in sales at the grocer during his five years in charge. He walked away with a £1.1m payoff, as well as [...]
Fishing Republic IPO: Fish tackle group nets £1.5m as its shares go public May 31, 2015 Tackle shop group Fishing Republic successfully raised £1.5m in its initial public offering, revealing today that it will be worth approximately £3.6m when the shares start trading on Thursday 4 June. The group, established by life-long fishing enthusiast Steve Gross, hopes to be the first retailer to consolidate a fragmented market. There are 2,500 independent [...]
William Hague gets new private sector role with Teneo May 31, 2015 Former foreign secretary William Hague has taken a high-profile new job in the private sector. Hague, who was leader of the Conservative party from 1997 to 2001, has joined Teneo Holdings, an international business consultancy with ties to former US president Bill Clinton and former prime minister Tony Blair, the Sunday Times reported yesterday. [...]
G7 agrees Chinese currency should be in IMF currency reference basket May 29, 2015 The G7 has agreed that the Chinese yuan should be part of an international basket of reference currencies. German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, announced the decision after a meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors. However, he told a press conference that there was no need to rush the process. He said: There [...]