Institute of Directors boss slams Arcadia chairman over BHS collapse in open letter to MPs June 3, 2016 A day after its collapse, the boss of one of the UK's largest business lobbying organisations has said he "can't defend" the running of BHS – and added that "serious questions need to be asked of almost everybody concerned". In an open letter to MPs Frank Field and Iain Wright, chairs of the Commons Select [...]
It’s a hat trick: UK growth to dip in the second quarter as service sector activity disappoints again in May June 3, 2016 Activity in the UK's most dominant sector rose slightly in May – but remained disappointing, pushing down expectations for GDP growth, data published today showed. Markit said the purchasing managers' index rose to 53.5 in May, from 52.3 in April. Anything above 50 indicates an expansion. But April's figure was a 38-month low – and May's [...]
Scientists have proved you only need two brain cells to be properly decisive – while snails’ decision making abilities could help us train robots June 3, 2016 Consider yourself the indecisive type? Consider again: scientists have just proved it only takes two brain cells to make a good decisions – information which could help us to design robots. The scientists, from the University of Sussex, studied the brain activity of freshwater snails as they chose which direction to go in in pursuit of [...]
Now Savills has got into online estate agency with its latest investment June 3, 2016 Savills has jumped into the online estate agent market with both feet, after it ploughed "a substantial amount" into "hybrid" estate agency Yopa. Yopa said today that it had raised £16m, including investment from Grosvenor Hill Ventures, Savills' proprietary investment arm. Yopa, which was only launched at the beginning of this year, allows people to [...]
End of an era: thousands of jobs to go at BHS stores to close as administrators call time on sale June 2, 2016 BHS is being wound down today after administrators revealed no deal was found to rescue the store, likely putting 11,000 staff out of work. In a statement this afternoon, administrators Duff & Phelps said it had "not been possible to agree a sale of the business". BHS is now being “wound down” because no buyer would [...]
Timeline: A blow-by-blow account of how BHS’ demise unfolded June 2, 2016 One of the biggest names on the UK's high street could be about to disappear, after its administrators began the process of winding it down. The news comes after a tumultuous few months for the retailer, which announced in April that it was entering administration – just over a year after it was sold for £1 by Arcadia [...]
From Sir Philip Green to Frank Field, these are the most important reactions to BHS’ wind-down June 2, 2016 It's the end of an era: after weeks of uncertainty, today BHS' administrators finally announced they were calling time on the sale of BHS – without a buyer. That could mean the disappearance of one of the high street's biggest names, with all 163 stores closing. Not surprisingly, given the size of the collapse – some [...]
Could new City skyscraper 1 Undershaft host London’s highest museum? June 2, 2016 The City's next tallest skyscraper could become home to the capital's highest museum, after the Museum of London unveiled plans to create public viewing galleries on the 71st and 72nd storeys of 1 Undershaft. Property Week reported this morning the museum has been in talks with the tower's developer, Aroland Holdings, about managing the building's free public viewing [...]
Quiz: Could you pass AQA’s tough “entrepreneurial” new business GCSE? June 2, 2016 After years of complaints from the nation's business owners, AQA has unveiled a new, more "entrepreneurial" business GCSE. Today the exam board said it was "shifting the focus from stock-taking to risk-taking" by adding "enterprise" as a topic, allowing students to study the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs and learn how to think commercially and creatively (although you could [...]
