Boohoo share price soars as trading update suggests etailer is back “on track” June 10, 2015 Boohoo's shares soared this morning as investors lapped up a strong trading update from the etailer, following a stumble earlier this year. The figures: Revenues rose 35 per cent for the three months to May 31, while gross margins climbed more than 60 per cent. The company, which listed last year, now has 3.3m [...]
Sainsbury’s sales fall for sixth successive quarter – with 2.1 pc fall June 10, 2015 Sainsbury's sales have fallen again, showing the supermarket giant is yet to shrug off the challenges facing the big four. The figures: Like-for-like sales were down 2.1 per cent for the first quarter of 2015. Food deflation and a competitive market were blamed for the poor sales figures, which were down 2.1 per cent for the [...]
HSBC lays down the gauntlet to George Osborne on bank levy as it mulls exit from UK June 9, 2015 HSBC moved a step closer to leaving the UK yesterday, piling pressure on chancellor George Osborne to take action to persuade the bank to stay. Chief executive Stuart Gulliver set out details of HSBC’s review of the location of its headquarters, looking at 11 different criteria, including taxes, the government’s attitude to finance, and [...]
Lord Mayor to tell Mansion House: City miscreants are guilty of theft June 9, 2015 Lord Mayor Alan Yarrow will demand that the City’s bad eggs are made to pay for their misbehaviour, during a hard-hitting speech at tonight’s Mansion House dinner. “I have little sympathy for those who put themselves before their clients – using their firms to feather their own beds,” the Lord Mayor will say, arguing [...]
Mansion House speech: George Osborne says budget surplus will be a legal mandate June 9, 2015 Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne will use a major speech in the City tonight to introduce a new law requiring future governments to run an overall budget surplus. “The result of this recent British election, and the comprehensive rejection of those who argued for more borrowing and more spending, gives our nation the [...]
London Groucho Club to open a media watering hole in New York June 9, 2015 Soho’s best-known members-only establishment, the Groucho Club, is to open its second outpost in New York after being sold by owner Graphite Capital to the club’s management team. Groucho chief executive Matt Hobbs also said plans for a third club were underway. The management buyout was backed by Alcuin Capital Partners, Isfield Investments and a [...]
Vice founder hints at IPO despite admitting he is not enthusiastic June 9, 2015 VICE co-founder and chief executive Shane Smith hinted at a possible public offering of the burgeoning media outlet, but said he was personally against the idea. Smith, who was speaking at the WPP shareholder meeting yesterday, alluded to the possibility of a flotation when asked by Sir Martin Sorrell if Vice was “going to go [...]
Flexible jobs market helps UK startups as more British businesses survive first year June 9, 2015 New British businesses are more likely than European firms to survive their first year, consultancy Rousseau Associates said yesterday, as rules on hiring and firing staff are more flexible. Of the 234,000 firms launched in Britain in 2011, 93 per cent lasted at least one year. By contrast only 83 per cent of those in [...]
Challenge set for Bill Winters on day one at Standard Chartered as UK domicile remains “under review” June 9, 2015 HSBC’s plan of action to review the location of its headquarters puts pressure on Standard Chartered’s new boss Bill Winters as he takes up the role today. StanChart is domiciled in the UK but carries out almost all of its business overseas, specialising in emerging markets. As a result it is set to [...]
Graduate job market booming as jobless rate drops to 2007 levels June 9, 2015 Graduates are finding it easier to find employment, figures published yesterday by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills reveal. Meanwhile, those who complete post-graduate degrees are set to earn nearly twice as much on average as those who opt not to go university. The employment rate for working age graduates was 87.5 [...]