Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct accuses Debenhams of ‘deliberately misleading’ the market March 13, 2019 Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct has accused the Debenhams board of “deliberately misleading” the market as the retail tycoon continues to pile the pressure on the struggling high street firm. Sports Direct, which owns a 30 per cent stake in Debenhams, has written to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with concerns that recent trading updates have misled investors [...]
Watchdog bans Sky Bet ad starring Jeff Stelling over sports knowledge claim March 13, 2019 A Sky Bet advert starring football presenter Jeff Stelling has been banned by the industry watchdog over fears it could lead to irresponsible gambling. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the advert implied those with a good knowledge of sports would have more gambling success and gave an exaggerated perception of how much control punters [...]
Karren Brady and a lesson on the duties of directors March 13, 2019 Several months after Sir Philip Green became embroiled in a highly publicised scandal, Karren Brady resigned as chair of his retail empire. Despite allegations of harassment and discrimination made by staff against Green, Brady initially intended to remain with Taveta Investments, the holding company of Green’s Arcadia Group. She cited her duty to employees as [...]
Dixons Carphone hit with £30m fine for mis-selling mobile phone insurance March 13, 2019 Dixons Carphone has been fined £29.1m for historic mis-selling of mobile phone insurance. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued the penalty for behaviour between December 2008 and June 2015 at Dixons’ subsidiary, Geek Squad. Read more: Games and TV boost helps offset mobile phone slump at Dixons Carphone Geek Squad staff were trained to recommend [...]
Morrisons hikes dividend on confident outlook despite £86m blow to profits March 13, 2019 Morrisons has welcomed last year's jump in like-for-like sales with a special dividend, it revealed today, though profits were hit by £86m in costs as the supermarket closed a pension scheme and paid off loans. Read more: Morrisons and Tesco flag concerns over Sainsbury's-Asda merger The figures Profit before tax fell 15.8 per cent year on year [...]
Wonga compensation claims four times higher than expected March 12, 2019 The number of customers that have unresolved complaints with Wonga over mis-sold loans after the payday lender collapsed into administration is four times higher than originally estimated. Wonga’s administrators Grant Thornton told the Treasury Committee that as many as 40,000 consumers could be affected, almost four times the 10,500 estimate given by the Financial Ombudsman [...]
Mothercare sells Early Learning Centre to The Entertainer March 12, 2019 Mothercare has sold the Early Learning Centre to the owner of The Entertainer for up to £13.5m. The struggling retailer sold the brand to Teal Group as it does not have the “necessary capital, resources or scale” to continue to invest in Early Learning Centre own-brand toys. Read more: Mothercare sticks to guidance despite falling [...]
Domino’s profits hit by international ‘growing pains’ March 12, 2019 Domino’s saw profits fall last year as it suffered ‘growing pains’ in international markets, the pizza company announced today. Shares in the fast food firm were up 6.18 per cent to 247.5p this morning after it said it continued to perform well in the UK and Ireland, and revealed plans to break even internationally next [...]
DEBATE: Are smart speakers really a better measure of inflation for the ONS than envelopes? March 12, 2019 Are smart speakers really a better measure of inflation for the ONS than envelopes? Vicky Pryce, former joint head of the Government Economic Service and author of It’s the Economy, Stupid, says YES. It makes sense for the ONS to rethink its inflation basket. Fewer people write letters now, although parcels have increased with online [...]
Eve Sleep announces boardroom overhaul as results fall short of expectations March 12, 2019 Eve Sleep has announced sweeping changes to its management team as its full-year results fell short of market expectations. The figures Group revenue grew 25 per cent to £34.8m. Gross profit jumped 15 per cent to £18.4m. Statutory loss before tax deepened from £19m to £20.3m. Net cash dropped more than 20 per cent to [...]