Inmarsat signs 10 year deal with Lufthansa to provide in-flight wifi October 20, 2015 Inmarsat, London's very own rocket-launching satellite communications company, has signed a 10 year deal with Lufthansa, Europe's largest airline, to provide high-speed internet across all its European airline fleet. Under the agreement, Inmarsat will connect more than 150 Lufthansa aeroplanes to its Global Xpress (GX) satellite network, the first of which should be ready to [...]
Waitrose boss Mark Price to step down amid rumours of Channel 4 job October 20, 2015 Waitrose’s managing director Mark Price is stepping down from his role at the upmarket supermarket chain amid rumours he is being lined up for the top job at Channel 4. The ebullient 55 year-old, who gave himself the nickname the “chubby grocer”, will leave in April next year after 33 years at the John Lewis [...]
Healthcare M&A heats up: More tie-ups in the pipeline for London-listed Al Noor October 20, 2015 London-listed Al Noor can't get a minute's rest. Just a week after agreeing to a £1.4bn merger with South African company Mediclinic, it has received interest from yet another rival healthcare company. In an announcement today, it revealed that VPS, a privately-held healthcare provider with a network of hospitals in the UAE, has shown preliminary [...]
Trouble for the big four supermarkets as Aldi and Lidl growth speeds up again October 20, 2015 German discounters Aldi and Lidl both saw growth rates return to over 17 per cent over the last three months, dashing hopes for the Big Four that a slowdown earlier in the year may have been part of a longer term trend. The cut-price chains have been the fastest-growing grocers in the sector for some time now. But in [...]
Rio Tinto rolls out driverless trucks to transport iron ore at mines in Australia October 20, 2015 Mining giant Rio Tinto has rolled out driverless trucks to transport iron ore at two of its mines in Australia. The driverless trucks are able to operate 24 hours, 365 days a year, according to the report by ABC news, and industry insiders estimate each truck could save up to 500 work hours a year. But the miner still [...]
Costa Coffee adds shot to Whitbread despite Living Wage costs October 20, 2015 The figures Pre-tax profits at Whitbread jumped 13 per cent to £291.3m in the six months to the end of August, beating expectations. Underlying profit at Costa Coffee steamed ahead 28.4 per cent to £67.3m while Whitbread's hotel and restaurant business ticked up 10.8 per cent to £249.4 per cent. Meanwhile, total revenues came in at £1.4bn, a [...]
Awkward: Deutsche Bank’s “fat finger” slip-up as bank accidentally pays out $6bn to a single customer October 20, 2015 After what was hardly a sterling week for Deutsche Bank following lower-than-expected results, it's now been reported the lender mistakenly misplaced $6bn (£3.9bn) as part of a "fat finger" transaction. Worst day at work ever? The FT reported that in June, a junior member of the bank's foreign exchange sales team accidentally sent $6bn to one [...]
Traditional independent shops fall into decline for the first time in three years October 20, 2015 Traditional independent shops are disappearing from the high street at a faster rate than before after new figures show that the number or closures outstripped new openings in the first half of 2015. For the first time since 2012, independent shops have gone into decline with a loss of 144 shops in the first half of 2015, [...]
PwC says new programme will help mothers going back to work October 20, 2015 A leading professional services firm is today launching a new programme to help people get back on the career ladder after an extended break. PwC’s “Back to Business” programme is aimed at mothers who took time out, but the firm says the 12-week course is open to men and women of all experience levels. PwC [...]
City Moves for 20 October 2015 | Who’s switching jobs October 19, 2015 CARTER JONAS The property consultancy has appointed Darren Yates as head of research. He was formerly a partner at Knight Frank, where he worked as head of global capital markets research. Yates has over 20 years’ experience, and has also worked at Cushman and Wakefield, and Management Horizons Europe. MAREX SPECTRON Andrew Strickland has been [...]