Npower on Ofgem’s naughty list as it is handed a £26m fine over billing and complaints failings December 18, 2015 Looks like Npower will find nothing but coal in its stocking this Christmas. The power supplier has been hit by a £26m fine from energy regulator Ofgem, after it was accused of failing to handle complaints from customers effectively. The issue affected more than half a million customers between September 2013 and December 2014, the [...]
Aggreko ditches bid for Rio Olympics 2016 contracts December 18, 2015 It looks like Aggreko's dreams of Olympic gold are over. The power generation outsourcer has ditched plans to bid for contracts at next year's Rio Olympics, saying the amount of preparation required isn't worth it. In a statement this morning it said it had been advised it had "not been awarded the first tranche of contracts". [...]
Accountant KPMG posts a rise in revenue as profits take a hit December 18, 2015 Big four accountant KPMG has announced a growth in revenue by 2.6 per cent to £1.96bn for the year ended 30 September. However, overall profits before tax were down seven per cent from £414m to £383m. KPMG blamed the fall on high investment, spending a total of £196m through out the year. Profits from the advisory [...]
High street retailers preparing themselves for a pre-Christmas spending rush December 18, 2015 High street retailers are bracing themselves for a pre-Christmas spending boom, with shoppers tipped to splurge around £4.7bn in stores over the next four days, allaying fears that November’s Black Friday bonanza and the rise of online shopping would keep customers away. Brits will splash out around £5.9bn on last-minute presents and food over the four days starting tomorrow [...]
Cybercrime: UK businesses slower than US, Germany and Australia when spotting data breaches December 17, 2015 UK businesses take an average of nine hours to discover data breaches, putting them at the bottom of the list when different countries’ response times were ranked. This less than flattering accolade comes from Clearswift, as the firm put countries to the test and found that Australian firms were the best at spotting cyber attacks [...]
Financial watchdog, the FCA, pushes back RBS report on small business practices December 17, 2015 The release of a review into whether business customers of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) were mistreated has been pushed back until early 2016. The first part of the investigation into RBS's global restructuring group (GRG) was meant to be announced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) before the end of this year. The financial [...]
Accounting watchdog scrutinising KPMG over HBOS failures December 17, 2015 The accounting industry regulator, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), is reviewing whether to investigate big four accountant KPMG over its role in the collapse of HBOS. The bank was given a clean bill of health in an audit by KPMG shortly before needing to bailed out by the government and Lloyds TSB in 2008. The [...]
Lotus Bakeries buys Bear Fruit snack maker Urban Fresh Foods in £70m deal December 17, 2015 London-based healthy snack maker Urban Fresh Foods has been snapped up by Lotus Bakeries in a £70m deal. This is the second time the Belgian baker has bought a British firm in 2015, having bought Natural Balance Foods this summer. The deals means Bear Fruit snacks join Nakd and Trek snack bars under the same [...]
Lonmin is the most shorted company in Europe as its shares fall 99 per cent in the face of ongoing commodities rout December 17, 2015 It is not a prize many companies want to win: Lonmin is the most ‘shorted’ businesses in Europe in 2015 according to Markit data. The embattled miner has seen its share price drop 99 per cent this year, as it struggles with a mounting debt pile, and falling platinum prices, and in April, 9.6 per cent of [...]
Ted Baker buys Ugly Brown Building headquarters for £55m December 17, 2015 Ted Baker's founder Ray Kelvin and his staff have become very attached to their quirky King’s Cross offices they call the Ugly Brown Building. So much so, the fashion brand has bought the freehold to the property, formally known as Block B, Canal Reach on St Pancras Way, for £55.25m through its subsidiary, Big Lobster, after [...]