Floom set to blossom across the US as it raises £2m for international growth and new software services December 3, 2018 Online flower delivery site Floom has raised £2m as it looks to expand across the US over the coming year. The business, which was founded in 2016 by Lana Elie, connects independent flower shops with a system that allows them to sell bouquets online. Likened to Just Eat, Floom has set up to offer same-day [...]
Pubs reap rewards of World Cup summer as third quarter beer sales grow, but Brexit uncertainty looms December 3, 2018 The haze of a long, hot World Cup summer drove British drinkers to buy more beer in the third quarter than the year before for the first time in more than 15 years. UK pubs saw beer sales grow 0.9 per cent year on year from August to October, with around 941.5m pints changing hands over [...]
Football fan club Otro nets £50m backing from 23 Capital December 3, 2018 Digital football fan club Otro has received backing worth tens of millions of pounds from venture capital firm 23 Capital ahead of its eagerly-anticipated launch today. Online platform Otro, which provides fans with curated content from global football stars, today revealed it had secured backing following weeks of growing speculation about the new site. City [...]
Consumers warned of Christmas cons as fake goods cases continue to rise December 3, 2018 Shoppers have been warned to be on the alert this Christmas as the number of court cases involving high value fake goods continues to rise. There have been 39 cases involving counterfeit goods worth more than £116m in the last two years, according to new data from KPMG’s Fraud Barometer. The research found that more [...]
Takeover saves 260 jobs at luxury furniture maker Smallbone December 2, 2018 Luxury furniture maker Smallbone of Devizes has been rescued from going under after finding a new buyer to help save the brand. US investor Sapphire 700 has bought the company’s parent Canburg, which also owns Mark Wilkinson Furniture and Brookmans. The deal helps save 260 jobs in the three brands, and keeps production in Devizes, Wiltshire, [...]
Oldest ever Chivas Scotch commands 21k price tag at Sotheby’s auction December 2, 2018 A bottle of Chivas’s oldest ever Scotch whisky has fetched £21,780 at a Sotheby’s auction in London, one of four limited edition bottles made to celebrate Manchester United’s 1968 European Cup victory. The bottle, containing the oldest whisky ever made by the Highlands-based producer, is the only one of the four that has been put [...]
Ted Baker staff launch petition over boss’s unwanted ‘hugs’ and alleged harassment December 2, 2018 Staff at Ted Baker have launched a petition calling for an end to a culture of “forced hugs” and unwanted attention from the company’s founder and boss. A employee-launched petition accuses chief executive Ray Kelvin of inappropriate behaviour and comments to staff. “He'll want to brush this under the carpet,” the petition’s author wrote. “But [...]
Mike Ashley acquires Intu property despite row with retail landlord over House of Fraser stores November 30, 2018 Mike Ashley has acquired a new property from Intu despite a public bust up with the retail landlord in which he threatened to withdraw 17 of his stores from their shopping centres. The billionaire has bought a long leasehold on the former BHS site in Derby from Intu, according to the Press Association. It comes just two [...]
Marriott hotel hack: Half a billion customers’ personal information stolen in data breach November 30, 2018 International hotel chain Marriott has been hacked in a security breach affecting an estimated half a billion guests, the company announced today. The data breach affects customers who booked reservations at Starwood properties in the US, and the stolen information includes names, addresses, email addresses, passport numbers, dates of birth and in some cases payment [...]
Tesco and Volkswagen team up to install electric car charging points at 600 supermarkets November 30, 2018 Tesco and Volkswagen are planning to install free electric car charging ports at 600 stores, the companies announced today. Over the next three years Britain’s largest supermarket will roll out more than 2,400 electric vehicle charging points at Tesco Extra and Superstore car parks, representing a 14 per cent increase in public charge bays across the [...]