Arts and crafts giant Hobbycraft’s expansion drift undiminished with new stores and recruitment drive planned June 27, 2022 Several new stories and a recruitment drive are on the agenda of arts and crafts retail chain Hobbycraft as the company confirmed this morning it plans to continue its expansion after a lift in profits for the past year. The company said its adjusted pre-tax profit for the 2022 financial year was £15 million, which [...]
Investors pile into real assets amid equity market turbulence June 26, 2022 Investors are piling into so-called real assets this year as equity markets plunge amid soaring inflation and rising interest rates, new data has revealed.
Law firms join forces to press claims on Woodford fund collapse June 15, 2022 Two of the law firms pressing claims over the alleged mismanagement of the now collapsed Woodford Equity Income Fund are looking to join forces in a bid to win redress for investors.
Atos chief exec leaves job after French IT firm sets out plans to split June 14, 2022 Atos chief executive Rodolphe Belmer today left his position as chief executive of the French IT consultancy, following a boardroom spat over plans to split Atos’ business into two separate, publicly-listed firms. The French exec, who only took on his new role January, is now set to be replaced by two new deputy CEOs, who [...]
London Metal Exchange faces second lawsuit this week after Jane Street sues over nickel trading fiasco June 7, 2022 New York trading firm Jane Street Capital has followed its Wall Street rival Elliot Management in filing a lawsuit against the London Metal Exchange (LME), over its decision to halt trading of nickel and cancel trades in March. The high-frequency trading firm is suing the LME for $15.3m (£12.2m), after the Hong Kong Exchanges and [...]
‘Back to business’ for City favourite T.M. Lewin after 120-year old menswear brand strikes rescue deal May 27, 2022 British menswear brand TM Lewin, for decades a favourite among workers in the Square Mile, told City A.M. this morning it is back in business. Announced six weeks after the heritage brand struck a rescue deal with TM Lewin Shirtmaker Limited, the company is relaunching solely online, for now. Established over 120 years ago, TM [...]
Marks & Spencer’s CFO urges Chancellor Rishi Sunak to firmly reject online sales tax May 19, 2022 Marks and Spencer has reportedly warned the Government that an online sales tax would do more harm than good for the high street. In February, the Government launched a consultation into possibilities for an online sales tax to ease the business rates burden on high street stores. In a letter to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, reportedly [...]
From Boxpark to Punch Pubs: Cash influx for leisure sector as UK private equity deals double in just one year May 16, 2022 The number of UK private equity deals for companies in the leisure sector has more than doubled from 12 to 26 in the past year, according to research by one of the City’s biggest law firms. Private equity funds are taking the opportunity to pick up assets at comparatively low prices ahead of the leisure [...]
Post-pandemic expansion push for Screwfix as DIY giant goes on hiring spree for 800 people to staff 80 new UK stores May 16, 2022 As part of plans to open 80 new shops across the UK and Ireland, home improvement business Screwfix said this morning it is to create 800 retail jobs by January. The retailer’s sales were boosted during the pandemic as locked-down Britons hired tradespeople to spruce up their properties and gardens. Screwfix and B&Q owner Kingfisher [...]
Generation AI: Breakthrough for automation as robot ‘chef’ in Cambridge can taste food at different stages of the chewing process May 11, 2022 A robot “chef” has been trained to taste food at different stages of the chewing process to check if it is salty enough, imitating a similar process in humans. The University of Cambridge researchers suggest their results could be useful in the development of automated or semi-automated food preparation by helping robots to learn what [...]