Ofcom fines Vodafone £4.6m for multiple service failings and taking customers’ money without providing a service October 26, 2016 Regulators have slapped Vodafone with a £4.6m fine for "serious and sustained breaches of consumer protection rules" across two key investigations. Ofcom said that the telecoms giant failed to credit over 10,000 customers' accounts after they paid top-ups on pay-as-you-go contracts. Over a 17-month period, Vodafone customers missed out on £150,000 of money that should have been [...]
Ritz boss lashes out over business rates revaluation: “Most politicians have never had a job” October 26, 2016 The man behind London’s most iconic hotel has lashed out at politicians in charge of a shaking-up business rates, accusing them of failing to understand business because they have “never had a job”. Andrew Love, deputy chairman of the Ritz, told City A.M. a revaluation of business rates unveiled at the end of last month [...]
City A.M. Unregulated podcast: Ritz boss Andrew Love on running London’s most luxurious hotel October 26, 2016 Andrew Love is the man tasked with keeping up appearances at London's best-known hotel: the Ritz. He joins the Unregulated team in the Wimborne Room to discuss working with the Barclay brothers, his guests (including their outrageous requests), as well as talking about the changing face of London – and why supercars will never be welcome [...]
Procter & Gamble shaves its costs and rakes in a rise in sales October 25, 2016 US consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble has posted a surprise rise in sales that sent shares higher in New York, despite warning over growth in coming months. P&G, which owns a variety of brands including Head and Shoulders shampoo and Gillette razors, reported a profit for the quarter of $2.7bn (£2.2bn), or 96 cents [...]
Whirlpool sales lowered by the strong dollar October 25, 2016 Shares in US white goods maker Whirlpool took a hit today after it give a downbeat outlook for coming months. It cut full-year earnings per share forecasts to between $11.50 and $11.75 from $12 to $12.50. Adding to the washout Whirlpool reported it had missed expectations in both third-quarter profit and sales. Profit came in at [...]
Paddington Cube development to boost local economy by £350m a year October 25, 2016 The redevelopment around the Paddington Cube building from developer Irvine Sellar is set to add £350m to the local economy each year. The £775m scheme will create 4,500 jobs in Paddington, according to analysis by Volterra Partners, which will increase the annual spend in the vicinity of the project by £5.8m. Read more: Developer Irvine [...]
Carpetright’s share price is slightly up despite saying that the fall in the pound is squeezing margins October 25, 2016 Carpetright's share price nosed-up around one per cent today despite saying that the weakened pound is impacting profitability across its 429 UK stores. Updating the market on half-year performance, the Purfleet-based company said costs had increased as a result of sterling's post-Brexit slump and that gross profit margins – the excess that it can sell items over their cost [...]
John Lewis has hired a new boss to replace Andy Street October 25, 2016 John Lewis has appointed Paula Nickolds as its new managing director to replace Andy Street. Street, who has run the retailer since 2007, is running as Conservative candidate for mayor of the West Midlands. Like Street, Nickolds – who will step up to the role in January – is a John Lewis veteran, having joined in [...]
The Brexit vote fails to perturb Shoe Zone as its share price flies October 25, 2016 Discount retailer Shoe Zone's share price sprung over 15 per cent this morning after announcing that its cost-cutting measures had put it on track for a small increase in annual profits. In its pre-close trading statement, Shoe Zone said that it expects revenue for the year to be down by £6.8m at £160m, although this is primarily [...]
Intu reports increase in footfall and says impact of BHS closure has been offset by new lettings in 2016 October 25, 2016 Shopping centre owner Intu reported today that footfall at its UK businesses had increased during the three months to 1 October – and said the impact of the recent closure of BHS stores around the country had been more than offset by new lettings in the year. Intu, which announced today that it is to sell [...]