Morrisons cuts prices on 200 items as boss David Potts swings the axe in supermarket price wars June 8, 2015 Morrisons is the latest supermarket to swing the axe in the ongoing price wars, with price cuts on hundreds of products. David Potts, the former Tesco executive who replaced Dalton Phillips at the top, has made his first move in the battle of the supermarkets as it tries to compete with discounters and its big [...]
High street chemist Boots to cut 700 head office jobs to make it “fit for the future” June 8, 2015 High street chemist Boots will cut as many as 700 non-store roles as part of a major restructure to turn the business around. Around half of the job cuts will take place at the retailer's Nottingham head office, while the rest will be among its field teams across the UK, industry bible Retail Week [...]
Deutsche Bank bosses Anshu Jain and Jurgen Fitschen bow to pressure and quit June 7, 2015 Deutsche’s co-chief executives quit the global banking giant yesterday, bowing to mounting legal wranglings and shareholder pressure. Indian-born Anshu Jain, 52, will step down at the end of this month and co-chief executive Jurgen Fitschen, 66, will leave next May. British banker John Cryan, former UBS finance chief and current Deutsche board member, will become [...]
Shire rebuffed over £12bn move for its listed Swiss rival Actelion June 7, 2015 ADHD drug-maker Shire is looking at a £12.4bn takeover of Europe’s biggest biotech company Actelion – just months after completing another $5bn (£3.3bn) acquisition. The Irish-headquartered firm, which is led by chief executive Flemming Ornskov, approached the listed Swiss company with a proposal for a full-blown takeover but was turned down, despite offering a [...]
Legal and General calls for an end to quarterly financial report June 7, 2015 The UK’S biggest asset manager has written to the UK’s biggest 350 listed companies, urging them to ditch quarterly financial reports. Reporting which focuses on short-term performance is not necessary to building a sustainable business as it may steer management to focus more on short-term goals and away from future business drivers, Legal and General [...]
Chinese builder CCECC considering bid for UK’s Balfour Beatty June 7, 2015 British construction group Balfour Beatty is being considered as a potential takeover target by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), despite chief executive Leo Quinn’s commitment to keeping Balfour an independent company. The Chinese state-owned firm is reported to be in talks with the aim of making an offer for the company, which is [...]
Ineos crowned biggest private company in UK June 7, 2015 Chemicals group Ineos has been named as Britain’s biggest private company according to The Sunday Times Top Track 100 report. Ineos was founded in 1998 by Jim Ratcliffe, a Lancastrian industrialist turned billionaire who built the business from scratch via a decade-long acquisition spree, snapping up unwanted operations from the likes of BP, Bayer and [...]
WPP shareholder Guy Jubb set to confront advertiser over boardroom pay practices as Martin Sorrell pockets £43m June 7, 2015 One of WPP’s top shareholders is set to confront the advertising giant at its annual general meeting this week over chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell’s £43m pay package. Standard Life’s head of governance and stewardship Guy Jubb is understood to be travelling from Edinburgh to WPP’s meeting in London tomorrow to address outgoing chairman Phil [...]
Virgin staff on parental leave get year’s pay up to 100 per cent of basic salary June 7, 2015 Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin will offer staff who take shared parental leave after the birth of their child up to a full year’s pay, under new policies announced today by the fitness-to-financial services giant. The government introduced new rights in April allowing parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of [...]
Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Asda recall “gluten free” products over fears they contain gluten June 7, 2015 Three of the UK's biggest supermarkets are warning customers the “gluten-free” products they bought may contain gluten. Asda, Sainsbury's and Waitrose have all issued statements recalling certain products branded as gluten-free, ranging from pitta breads to pizza bases and pancakes. On its website, Asda said: It has been brought to our attention [...]