Ocado eyes locations for third warehouse January 19, 2014 ONLINE grocer Ocado is understood to be searching for a third giant warehouse to increase its capacity for grocery deliveries. Morrisons bought the rights to half of its capacity at its Dordon fulfilment centre as part of the £216m tie-up last year. Ocado has suggested since that as a result it may have to look [...]
Energy customer satisfaction falls to all-time low January 19, 2014 ENERGY customers’ satisfaction has plummeted to an all-time low, with the big six suppliers performing the worst, according to new research. An annual survey from consumer group Which? showed that the overall customer rating for energy companies has dropped to 41 per cent from 49 per cent last year. Npower scored the lowest for the [...]
Sophos refinancing includes a euro loan to satisfy demand January 19, 2014 COMPUTER security company Sophos, owned by private equity giant Apax Partners, has carved out a quarter of a $400m (£243.6m) loan for syndication in euros due to increased demand from investors. The Oxford-based business, which offers anti-spyware and anti-virus software to businesses and consumers, refinanced its debt pile through the $400m seven-year loan marketed by [...]
Disclosure rules push up fraud cases in finance January 19, 2014 TIGHTER regulations have led to a spike in reported fraud in financial services firms and in money laundering, research out today claimed. Overall reported fraud fell from £1.37bn in 2012 to £1.05bn last year, marking the second consecutive year of falling total values. However, the figures are likely to underestimate the overall level of fraudulent [...]
Shoe repair business Timpson launches its thousandth store January 19, 2014 FAMILY-OWNED shoe repair business Timpson is opening its thousandth shop today in Wrexham, North Wales, as the company’s expansion plans gather momentum. Timpson will be renting the space at a Tesco site, a spokesperson from the supermarket chain told City A.M. The unit is part of a joint venture between Timpson and Tesco. It will [...]
G4S sells Canadian division of cash solutions unit for £61m January 19, 2014 OUTSOURCING company G4S has sold the Canadian arm of its cash solutions business to Garda World for C$110m (£61m), having rejected a £1.55bn offer for the entire unit last October. The FTSE 100-quoted firm, which is struggling to turn around its reputation after a series of high-profile scandals including allegations of fraud, said on Saturday [...]
Resource Guru raises £530,000 January 19, 2014 Resource Guru, the London-based online team scheduling service with clients including ASOS and Vodafone, has raised $870,000 (£530,000) from Index Ventures in order to accelerate hiring and fund product development and customer acquisition. “We’ve been impressed how Resource Guru tackled this problem with its simple to use online tool that leads to huge time savings [...]
Amcu confirms strike at Amplats January 19, 2014 The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), the main trade union representing South African platinum miners, yesterday confirmed it will strike on 23 January at Anglo American Platinum. In recent days, Amcu members had also voted to strike at rival miners Lonmin and Impala Platinum, calling for higher wages. The strikes will hit over [...]
Sabic profits undershoot forecast January 19, 2014 Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic), one of the world’s largest petrochemical groups and the Gulf’s biggest listed firm, reported a 5.7 per cent rise in fourth-quarter net income yesterday, missing forecasts. It earned 6.16bn riyals (£1bn) in the quarter, up from a slightly revised figure of 5.83 bn riyals a year earlier, Sabic said. Operating [...]
Cath Kidston prints help boost popularity January 19, 2014 Cath Kidston, the retailer famed for its English floral prints, has seen the biggest jump in consumer awareness of all brands in its sector over the last three years. According to an independent survey by consultancy firm Pragma, 62 per cent of Britons are now aware of the brand, up 11 per cent on 2011 [...]
