Barter for a living: Astus co-founder Frances Dickens talks media barter, tackling China and risk aversion August 15, 2016 "I can't think of anything more stupid than setting up my own media barter company,” says Frances Dickens candidly. “But it has worked.” Since 2003, the Astus co-founder and her partner Paul Jackson have grown Astus into the largest barter company in the UK, Ireland and Australia, and with it, the size of the market [...]
City Moves for 15 August 2016 | Who’s switching jobs August 15, 2016 P-Solve P-Solve, part of River and Mercantile Group, has appointed Ajeet Manjrekar as co-head of P-Solve alongside Ross Leach. Ajeet is re-joining P-Solve, having previously worked with the company as an investment consultant and principal until 2007. He subsequently worked for Deutsche Bank’s Asset Management business and spin-off Global Thematic Partners. Ajeet is an actuary with 18 years’ [...]
Who owns America? Why Donald Trump will lose – but not by much August 15, 2016 To put it mildly, by any terrestrial standards Donald Trump has not had a good week. Be it seeming to threaten Hillary Clinton with assassination or stubbornly refusing to back down on his Oliver Stone-like claim that President Obama is the founder of Isis, Trump has stretched the already fraying bonds of American credulity to breaking point. [...]
Fintech is thriving in Edinburgh too – and it’s great news for the whole of the UK August 15, 2016 One of the good things about the Rio Olympics, quite aside from the sport, is the fact that it reminds us of four years ago when we hosted the Games. It was a month of celebration and positivity for the whole UK, not just London, and it showcased the best that Britain has to offer. [...]
Disappearing deliveries cost online shoppers £250m last year as Britons shun leaving packages with neighbours August 15, 2016 Sometimes, it seems, the postman doesn't ring at all. More than 3.6m unlucky online shoppers have been sent a package that has gone missing or not been delivered in the past year, according to figures released today by Direct Line Home Insurance. The disappearing deliveries have cost Britons more than £250m, with the average value of [...]
The Snaffling Pig co-founders talk GoPros, Dragons’ Den, jail and setting up a business with £500 August 15, 2016 This is the difference between pork scratchings and pork crackling: scratchings are cooked at one temperature, which is why they can be perilously hard. Crackling has two meanings: it’s the stuff on top of belly of pork; it’s also pieces of skin and fat cooked at a lower temperature with a short burst of more heat [...]
Pop: Sparkling wine has fizzed in the last five years as the amount on sale nearly doubles August 15, 2016 The market for sparkling wine has fizzed over the last five years as the amount on sale in the UK has grown by 80 per cent. A burst in demand for champagne and cheaper alternatives, such as prosecco, has also driven a boom in English sparkling wine, according to accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young. The amount [...]
Drop in supermarkets sales leads to UK plc revenues sliding August 15, 2016 Dwindling supermarket sales have weighed heavily on the performance of UK plc, causing listed companies’ revenues to dip 2.2 per cent to £341.7bn in the last quarter, according to new research from retail stockbroker The Share Centre. Supermarkets, which account for nearly one third of the UK's publicly listed companies, saw sales fall below £100bn [...]
More than 10 per cent of high street stores across the UK now lie vacant August 15, 2016 More than 10 per cent of high street stores across the UK now lie vacant as property costs continue to rise and retailers respond to consumer demand for online alternatives. National town centre vacancy rates rose to 10.1 percent in the third quarter of this year to July, according to new research from the British [...]
Premier Oil eyes £2.6bn restructuring deal to complete North Sea oil projects August 15, 2016 Premier Oil is targeting a huge £2.6bn restructuring deal with lenders, ahead of the release of its first half financial results this Thursday. The FTSE 250-listed oil explorer has suffered poor fortunes since the oil price collapse of 2014 and 2015, with pre-tax losses deepening further to $830m in 2015. It has been in talks with [...]