Mothercare shuts up shop in UK as PwC called in for administration November 5, 2019 Mothercare has called in the administrators, meaning it will shutter its 79 UK stores and put 2,500 jobs at risk. Administrators from PwC said the baby retailer’s outlets will go in a phased closure, after the UK business had been “loss making for a number of years” despite its international franchises being profitable. On Monday, [...]
Uber shares hit record low as early investors prepare for chance to sell off November 5, 2019 Ride hailing firm Uber’s shares hit a record low today, as shareholders geared up for the expiry of its Initial Public Offering (IPO) lock-up, when early investors will be allowed to sell their stocks. Uber’s share price fell to lows of $27.97, more than nine per cent down, eventually closing at $28.02. Read more: Will Uber’s [...]
RMT union announces 27 days of South Western Railway strikes in December November 5, 2019 Train staff on a major London rail network are preparing to down tools for 27 days throughout December, amid a long-running dispute that threatens to wreck commuters’ Christmas holidays. The Rail and Maritime Transport (RMT) union accused rail operator South Western Railway (SWR) of failing to give assurances that train guards will be kept on under a [...]
Boots owner Walgreens exploring taking pharmacy chain private November 5, 2019 Walgreens Boots Alliance has been exploring whether to go private following private equity interest in the US pharmacy chain, which has a market value of more than $55bn, according to people familiar with the matter. In recent months, Walgreens has held preliminary discussions with some of the world’s largest private equity firms about putting together [...]
One Liverpool Street: City of London approves Crossrail entrance office block November 5, 2019 Plans to build a 10-storey office building at Liverpool Street’s future Crossrail entrance have been approved, despite concerns from City heritage groups. One Liverpool Street will be run by asset managers Aviva Investors, through a joint venture with Transport for London (TfL), and will replace an existing six-storey office block. Read more: Crossrail at risk [...]
O2 steps into 5G driverless car testing in London as it grows mobile customer base November 5, 2019 O2 will have a hand in an ambitious project to trial driverless cars on London roads, using its 5G network to help test the vehicles in Greenwich. The mobile phone network, which this morning announced it had hit 34m customers following its 5G rollout last month, said using the technology on the roads could reduce [...]
Rory Stewart signals potential fare rise as he slams TfL losses under Sadiq Khan November 5, 2019 Rory Stewart has hinted he would likely increase public transport fares if elected mayor and has claimed London is “stuck in 2008”. The independent mayoral candidate, and former Conservative cabinet minister, told City A.M. it “cannot make sense to be running a system that’s losing this much money every year”. Read more: Rory Stewart: The [...]
Cobham £4bn takeover decision delayed as Leadsom looks for more time November 5, 2019 The £4bn buyout of Cobham by American private equity giant Advent could have run into problems, after the government said it would spend more time looking into whether the deal raised national security risks. In a written statement, business secretary Andrea Leadsom said defence secretary Ben Wallace had got in touch regarding the national security [...]
Morrisons takes fight over data breach liability to Supreme Court November 5, 2019 Morrisons will begin its final appeal to the Supreme Court this week after losing a landmark case over the liability of employers in staff data breaches. The supermarket giant lost an initial challenge at the Court of Appeal in October last year after a judge ruled that the supermarket was legally liable for a former [...]
Insurance industry must improve corporate culture, Bank of England warns November 5, 2019 The Bank of England sent out a warning to insurance bosses today, demanding that they improve workplace culture following a spate of sexual harassment revelations. In a “dear CEO” letter written to corporate heavyweights in the insurance industry, the Bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) flagged recent instances of alleged abuse as of “deep concern”. Read [...]