Ocado sued by Norwegian tech firm over alleged patent infringement October 1, 2020 Shares in online supermarket Ocado dipped this afternoon after Norwegian tech firm Autostore announced it is suing the firm for alleged patent infringement. Ocado’s share price fell more than five per cent after Autostore said it had filed lawsuits in the UK and the US to prevent the FTSE 100 firm using retail storage and [...]
FTSE 100 firms ‘should have one BAME board member by 2021’ October 1, 2020 FTSE 100 firms should have at least one black, Asian, or minority ethnic (BAME) member on their boards by 2021, the Confederation of British Industry has said. The CBI is set to launch its Change the Race Ratio campaign later this month with support from companies including Aviva, Brunswick, Deloitte and Microsoft, in a bid [...]
Playboy set for Wall Street listing as iconic publisher looks to float October 1, 2020 The company, founded by Hugh Hefner in 1953 and forever synonymous with nude female centrefolds, said today it will merge with SPAC Mountain Crest Acquisition in a deal that values Playboy at $415m (£323m). Hugh Hefner’s company has in recent years moved into selling clothes, consumer accessories, gaming and promoting “sexual wellness”. It stopped printing [...]
No refunds for railcard users despite travel restrictions October 1, 2020 More than 5.1m people who were unable to use their railcards for months due to the coronavirus pandemic will not be entitled to refunds, the government has decided. In March, passengers were told to avoid non-essential rail travel wherever possible in a bid to free up services for essential workers. Across England and Scotland, these [...]
UK food exports fall but China brings home the bacon October 1, 2020 British food and drinks exports fell for the first time since 2015 in the first half of the year, with pork the only product to see a jump in sales due to massive exports to China. A new report from the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) showed that exports fell 13.8 per cent year-on-year to [...]
Cazoo doubles valuation in latest funding round October 1, 2020 Used car sales platform Cazoo has doubled its valuation after raising a further £240m in its latest funding round. The fresh fund raise more than doubles the startup’s previous valuation to over $2bn, and brings its total funding to a record £450m. Cazoo buys and reconditions cars before selling them through its website. The new [...]
Lockdown restrictions tightened in Liverpool as coronavirus cases rise October 1, 2020 The government has extended lockdown restrictions in Liverpool, just days after sweeping new rules were imposed in the North East. In a statement to the House of Commons, health secretary Matt Hancock announced restrictions would be extended to the Liverpool city region, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesborough. Hancock said people could no longer mix with other [...]
EU takes legal action against UK over Brexit treaty breach October 1, 2020 European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has confirmed the EU has begun legal action against the UK over the controversial Internal Market Bill for its potential breaches of the Brexit treaty. The EU has sent a formal notice of proceedings to the UK government, with von der Leyen warning some provisions in the parliamentary [...]
Irish Supreme Court rules Subway bread is not bread October 1, 2020 Ireland’s Supreme Court has ruled that Subway sandwiches do not meet the legal definition of bread, and therefore are not liable for tax exemptions. The court’s ruling on Tuesday ends a 14-year battle by the US takeaway chain to have its sandwiches recognised as a tax-free staple, after a five-judge court determined Subway’s rolls to [...]
H&M to close 250 stores as pandemic accelerates shift online October 1, 2020 H&M has announced plans to close around 250 stores globally next year, as the Swedish retailer looks to bolster its online presence following a slump in bricks-and-mortar sales during the pandemic. The announcement comes on top of the 50 H&M stores already permanently shuttered this year, and will likely add to the “tens of thousands” [...]