ITV chief exec Adam Crozier appointed as non-exec of Costa and Premier Inn owner January 5, 2017 The owner of Costa coffee has swooped during the January transfer window to sign the former head of the Football Association as a non-executive director. Current ITV chief exec Adam Crozier will join the board of Whitbread from 1 April and will be part of the remuneration committee of the group that also owns Premier Inn hotels. [...]
British American Tobacco drops its nicotine inhaler Voke to prioritise vapour and tobacco heating products January 5, 2017 British American Tobacco (BAT) today announced it would drop its medical nicotine inhaler Voke to focus more directly on products like e-cigarettes aimed at consumers. BAT said it will give up its manufacturing, intellectual property and know-how assets to Kind Consumer, from which it licensed the product, in return for deferred, contingent payments. No financial details were disclosed. Read [...]
Stevia producer PureCircle shares plummet due to expected sales decline January 5, 2017 PureCircle's shares plummeted more than 18 per cent in early trading after it announced sales of its low-calorie sweetener stevia would drop 14 per cent in first-half group sales. The sweetener maker said the expected drop in sales in the first half of the financial year was directly caused by shipments that were detained by the US Customs [...]
Independent shareholders vote to boot Sports Direct chairman, but Mike Ashley saves his right-hand man January 5, 2017 The independent shareholders of Sports Direct have voted to boot the retailer's chairman Keith Hellawell, but the company's boss Mike Ashley has saved his right-hand man. Fifty-four per cent of independent shareholders voted to get rid of Hellawell, who has presided over several profit warnings at the company. Read more: Shareholder advice group calls for [...]
Here are five of the best alcohol-free and low alcohol beers to drink during Dry January January 5, 2017 Although you might have imagined yourself spending Dry January at the gym, cooking up healthy meals in your kitchen or proudly mastering the art of the homemade mocktail, chances are you'll find yourself in a pub at some point. Before you give in and order your standard pint, try one of the many surprisingly flavourful low or zero or [...]
After Brexit fears, Stonegate Pub Company toasts to sales growth over festive season January 5, 2017 Stonegate Pub Company today announced strong performance over the festive period despite fears of a tougher market after Brexit. The UK's leading privately owned managed pub company said total like-for-like sales grew 5.7 per cent in the four-week period from 5 December to 1 January following strong performance last year. Stonegate operates 691 drinks-led pubs and bars, including high [...]
A Lidl competition: Aldi becomes the highest-paying supermarket in the UK January 5, 2017 Aldi has given its employees a late Christmas present as it unveiled new pay rates this morning – and boasted that the new deal will make it the highest-paying employer in the supermarket sector. The supermarket is known for offering the cheapest groceries in the UK, but is now insisting it won't settle for a [...]
Professional advisers cash in on the carcass of BHS January 5, 2017 Professional advisers working on the BHS case have raked in £1m in just six weeks even as the retailer's former workers wait on Sir Philip Green to make a contrbution to the BHS pension black hole. According to Sky News, firms such as DLA and Savills earned £1.125m between 25 October and 2 December, and the [...]
Make 2017 a year of celebration – not the suffocation of London’s Night Time Economy January 5, 2017 We live in interesting times. This term, actually a Chinese curse, reflects all the hope, possibility and opportunity of a period – as well as the worst that we can imagine from it. What has been “interesting” recently is the overwhelming cultural and political view that the British public is a nasty species that requires [...]
Virtual visualisation could prevent the home improvement industry from missing out on as much as £1bn lost to the “imagination gap” January 4, 2017 UK consumers are looking to make home improvements this year, but many won't seal the deal because of the difficulty of imagining what renovations will look like in their own home, new research has found. In the next 12 months, 56 per cent of UK consumers are planning to make some kind of home improvement purchase, DigitalBridge [...]