Mike Ashley will be absent from this year’s Sports Direct AGM August 31, 2018 Mike Ashley will not face investors at this year’s Sports Direct AGM, due to “overriding demands on his time”. Chairman Keith Hellawell will chair the meeting on 12 September as planned, but the company’s founder and chief executive will be absent, Sports Direct said in an announcement this afternoon. Mike Ashley’s acquisition of House of Fraser at the [...]
Creditors approve plan to close 42 Homebase stores August 31, 2018 Creditors have thrown DIY store Homebase a lifeline and approved the closure of 42 stores and rent cuts on several others. At a meeting held today in London, creditors passed the proposals with 95.9 per cent voting in favour. Damian McGloughlin, chief executive of Homebase, said: “We are pleased that an overwhelming majority of our creditors, [...]
Costa sold to Coca-Cola: Here’s how the City reacted August 31, 2018 Coca-Cola is buying Britain's biggest coffee chain Costa in a deal valued at a whopping £4bn. Following this morning's surprise announcement, City analysts were quick to react. The high price paid, the opportunities for expansion, and the future of Whitbread all came under the microscope. Here's a few of the talking points. A coffee battle [...]
Dominic Raab ‘stubbornly optimistic’ a Brexit deal can be done August 31, 2018 Dominic Raab is "stubbornly optimistic" that a Brexit deal is within reach, he said today at the end of another week of negotiations with the EU. But Michel Barnier warned that a Brexit deal will not be possible if the two parties cannot reach a backstop agreement for the border with Northern Ireland. "With no [...]
CMA launches court action against ticket reselling site Viagogo August 31, 2018 The competition watchdog is taking ticket reselling site Viagogo to court after the company failed to make reforms to its business. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) began action against four secondary ticket sites last November, but Viagogo is the only one not to have offered formal commitments to overhaul its practices. Legal proceedings have now [...]
Whatever happened to Fitbug? Cash shell Kin Group to put ad tech firm Bidstack on Aim August 31, 2018 The remains of the ill-fated company Fitbug are to becomes a video game advertising company through a reverse takeover. Aim-listed Kin Group, which was formerly known as Fitbug, today announced the proposed acquisition of Bidstack, a technology company which inserts native advertising into video games, for £6.8m. It has also conditionally raised around £3.5m through a [...]
Sales down again for Frankie & Benny’s owner The Restaurant Group but share price rises August 31, 2018 Frankie & Benny's owner The Restaurant Group reported another slip in sales this morning, as this year's changeable weather deterred punters from eating out. But shares in the company were up 3.8 per cent in early trading as it flagged improved trading since the end of the first half of the year. The figures Like-for-like [...]
Two in five Londoners have seen a favourite restaurant shut down this year August 30, 2018 Two in five Londoners say they have seen a favourite local restaurant shut down this year, as high costs hit the industry hard. According to food tech startup GoKart, 43 per cent of adults in London have seen a favourite eatery close in the past year. This is higher than the national average of 37 [...]
Campbell’s Soup to sell off divisions as activist investor calls for sale August 30, 2018 Campbell's Soup said today that it will sell two of its divisions as it faces pressure from investors to put the whole business up for sale. The food company, which was made iconic by Andy Warhol's paintings of its tomato soup, plans to flog its international business as well as its fresh refrigerated foods unit. [...]
Seven of Brewdog’s weirdest publicity stunts as it pledges to end ‘shock tactics’ August 30, 2018 Brewdog may have made its name off the back of a bizarre series of publicity stunts, but the indie brewer has pledged to “focus more on beer” and drop the “high octane shock tactics”. Following backlash to its parody porn website earlier this week, Brewdog posted a message to fans and shareholders on its website [...]
