European markets fall from record highs as political uncertainty hits sterling April 13, 2015 Following the jubilant highs achieved by European markets on Friday, things looked rather more muted this morning. Stocks across Europe started the day down amid political and economic uncertainty, while Greece prepared to enter yet another last-chance saloon. The FTSE 100 was down 0.29 per cent in early trading, while Germany's Dax fell 0.27 per [...]
Halfords finance chief Andrew Findlay flies off to EasyJet April 13, 2015 The finance chief of Halfords is swapping bikes for airplanes, flying off to EasyJet to fill the CFO role at the budget airline. Findlay fills the position left vacant by Chris Kennedy who announced his departure for UK chip designer ARM at the start of the year. It's the second time a senior executive has [...]
The death of cash: Brits pay by card and mobile instead April 13, 2015 Cash makes up just £18.33 of every £100 spent in the UK, Halifax said today, as card and digital payments take over. The rise of digital payments is starkly outlined in new figures from the bank, which show how quickly Britons have adopted cutting-edge technologies. Cheques account for just 1.2 per cent of all current [...]
Edi Truell looks to sell Tracker Network in £100m IPO April 12, 2015 Venture capitalist Edi Truell has hired investment bankers to advise him on the possible sale of Tracker Network. Truell hopes the vehicle tracking firm, which has sales of around £20m per year, would be worth around £100m. He has hired bankers at Evercore to look into the possibility. Alternative options include debt financing, a trade [...]
London leads UK business activity April 12, 2015 London is leading the way as the UK sees business activity rise at a pace not experienced for seven months, a survey of firms released today shows. Lloyds’ purchasing managers’ index shows all regions across England and Wales were boosted by gains in employment growth.
Sainsbury’s cuts back on Nectar loyalty rewards April 12, 2015 Sainsbury’s has halved the number of Nectar points its customers can earn, sparking fears that frustrated shoppers will turn to discounters such as Aldi and Lidl instead. The retailer made changes to the loyalty scheme this weekend, meaning members now only earn one point for every £1 spent in-store and online, as opposed to two [...]
Zara founder Amancio Ortega’s buying spree on Oxford St April 12, 2015 The billionaire founder of Spanish clothing empire Inditex has snapped up a cluster of buildings on the east end of London’s Oxford Street. Amancio Ortega, who founded the fashion giant Zara in 1975, is understood to have bought a development at 26-48 Oxford Street from property companies Land Securities and Frogmore through his investment vehicle [...]
Investment bankers lead City workers in favouring diversity April 12, 2015 Investment banking staff are the most convinced of all City workers of the benefits of workplace diversity. Workplace diversity was rated as important or very important by 59 per cent of investment bankers, according to survey figures released today by recruiters Astbury Marsden. “Investment banks pride themselves on being fiercely meritocratic – they will take [...]
Zero hours, infinite rows: Is job growth stagnating or recovering? A look at Britain’s labour market April 12, 2015 Expect a screaming match this Friday – the jobs numbers are out. It isn’t every day that official statistics generate this much excitement, but we are in the middle of an election campaign. Economists expect another fall in unemployment, a decent rise in the number of jobs and another month of wages rising faster than [...]
Majestic Wine gets Naked truth from new CEO Rowan Gormley April 12, 2015 The new chief executive of Majestic Wine says he will “unleash” the retailer’s entrepreneurial spirit and shake-up its online business following the £70m acquisition of younger rival Naked Wines. Rowan Gormley founded Naked Wines in 2008 after coming up with the idea of using crowdfunding to help forward-fund independent vineyards in return for exclusive wines [...]