Lidl promises to pay above the National Living Wage to all its UK staff September 18, 2015 Lidl has already beaten the big four supermarkets on price. Now, the German discounter also plans to trump them on employee benefits, after revealing that it will pay its staff above the living wage from October. The fast-growing chain announced yesterday that it will adopt the new higher rate it expects the Living Wage [...]
Glencore’s equity placing attacked for ignoring shareholders’ rights September 17, 2015 The Institute of Directors (IoD) has slammed mining giant Glencore for its recent £1.6bn equity placing, saying that the firm’s “conduct falls short of what we would expect of a major global company”. Oliver Parry, senior corporate governance adviser at the IoD, said that Glencore’s decision “appears to be in direct contravention of the [...]
Here’s what a new City office scheme with five garden roof terraces will look like at 80 Fenchurch Street September 17, 2015 Work on a new office tower that will boast the biggest number of roof gardens in the City got underway this week, as developers began knocking down the old site. Partners Group, a Swiss private equity firm, is developing a 245,000 square feet office tower at 80 Fenchurch Street together with joint venture partner Marick Real [...]
JD Sports share price rises: Retailer posts record first half profit but warns National Living Wage will bite September 17, 2015 JD Sports share price climbed 1.4 per cent this morning as the retailer revealed record first-half profit. But the company has tempered its outlook for the future with a warning over the impact of the Living Wage – yet another company to do so. The figures JD Sports' adjusted pre-tax profit jumped 82 per cent [...]
One third of Brits have already started Christmas shopping September 17, 2015 If you haven’t already done your Christmas shopping, then you might want to get stuck in because a third of UK shoppers are already one step ahead of you this season. A survey conducted by New York-listed technology company Rubicon Project found that 30 per cent of us have already started Christmas shopping. Among parents [...]
Merlin Entertainments share price falls as Alton Towers offsets strong growth at Legoland September 17, 2015 Merlin Entertainment's share price fell this morning as the theme park group revealed it was still struggling to shrug off the impact of the shocking accident at Alton Towers earlier this year. The figures Group like-for-like sales rose 0.3 per cent in the 36 weeks ended 5 September, including the key summer trading period of July [...]
The unexepected financial advantage of going green: green funds are outperforming fossil fuel black funds September 17, 2015 Going green is finally paying off, as a study has shown that green funds are significantly outperforming “black funds”. Green funds invest only in environmentally friendly companies. But it seems ethical preoccupations needn’t be the only reason for choosing them. The University of Edinburgh Business School analysed 1,400 funds and found that over the past [...]
David Beckham signs deal with Kent & Curwen September 17, 2015 David Beckham has signed a five-year deal with upmarket British sportswear retailer Kent & Curwen that will see the former England captain design ranges and promote the brand overseas. The deal is the first to come out of Beckham and his business partner Simon Fuller’s joint venture with Hong Kong-listed Global Brands Group last year, [...]
Beer giants AB InBev and SABMiller in takeover talks: The long-awaited superbrew merger starts September 17, 2015 The world's largest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) has set its sights on a takeover of rival SABMiller, which would create a mammoth global brewery worth $275bn (£177bn). Shares in SABMiller shot up by nearly 20 per cent on the news, pushing the FTSE 100 to a one-week high during yesterday’s trading. The [...]
Insurance deal frenzy shows no signs of stopping as Phoenix considers offer for Cinven subsidiary September 17, 2015 Insurer Phoenix Group today confirmed it’s in talks about a possible takeover of Cinven-owned Guardian Financial Services. “Phoenix has been evaluating Guardian Financial Services as part of an on-going sale process for the Guardian Financial Services business,” it said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange today. “Discussions remain on a non-exclusive basis. There [...]