Whitbread wields axe as speculators circle October 24, 2005 Whitbread is expected to reveal plans to axe a quarter of its head office work force tomorrow. As he reports disappointing interim figures on Tuesday, chief executive Alan Parker is expected to confirm that up to 250 jobs will go at the leisure group’s Luton headquarters. Parker is fighting to keep the disparate business together. [...]
A question of success October 21, 2005 After often being called in the early hours of the morning by her boss to locate information fast, Sarah McVittie realised she could make a living providing answers via text messaging. The meaning of life and a FTSE 100 share price are just a couple of questions the founders of 82ASK can answer in a [...]
On top of the world October 21, 2005 Retail may be struggling, but Philip Green has just taken a £1bn dividend. Is he embarrassed? Not much. Displaying the timing for which he has become famous, retail entrepreneur Philip Green paid himself a whopping £1.2bn dividend from his retail chain Arcadia. At a time when retailers nationwide are struggling, Arcadia announced a 10.1 per [...]
IT jobs growth boosts profits at Harvey Nash October 18, 2005 Harvey Nash, the recruitment specialist, revealed soaring profits yesterday, singling out the IT sector for its robustness. The company saw first half profits rise 47 per cent to £1.7m on sales of £92.7m compared to £78.9m in 2004. It also beefed up its board with the addition of two new directors. Richard Ashcroft has joined [...]
Women need a helping hand October 17, 2005 Mentoring could be the key to success for female entrepreneurs. More women than ever before are cracking the glass ceiling. New research by women’s business support group Everywoman and IBM reveals that 900,000 women today own British enterprises, with a further 1.5m employed in successful leadership roles within larger companies. But while women are becoming [...]
MONEY MOVER October 17, 2005 The creator of the world’s first online currency trader wants the site to become as big as eBay. Vijay Kumar has set up a business that he claims could prove to be the eBay of foreign exchange. Fx Auctions, which is based in Canary Wharf, is believed to be the first online site in the [...]
Prettejohn leaves Lloyd’s for Prudential October 17, 2005 Nick Prettejohn, the chief executive of Lloyd’s of London, is set to join Prudential as its boss in Britain. Confirmation of the appointment, due today, comes as the Pru prepares to reveal the outcome of a root and branch strategy review later this month to be published alongside third quarter results. Prudential’s chief executive Mark [...]
New Star set for float next month October 17, 2005 Renegade fund manager John Duffield is set to create 40 millionaires when he embarks on the £600m float of New Star Asset Management next month. The company will confirm its long expected float this morning alongside what analysts expect to be a sparkling set of results. The IPO is expected to take place next month [...]
