Bill Grimsey and LG Harris team up to help revive the high street November 20, 2013 FORMER Iceland boss Bill Grimsey has joined forces with decorating firm LG Harris in an attempt to revive the UK’s high street. Grimsey – who recently launched a review into the high street – and LG Harris announced plans yesterday to launch a campaign aimed at supporting independent retailers. The 85 year-old maker of decorating [...]
UK car output climbs again in strong October November 20, 2013 THE REMARKABLE upswing of the UK’s car manufacturers continued during October, registering the largest monthly increase in 2013. Output rose 17.4 per cent in comparison to the same month last year, with an astonishing 52.4 per cent improvement in domestic demand. Through the year to date, the home market for UK-produced cars has grown 26.6 [...]
Travelodge hires Safestore boss Peter Gowers as chief executive November 20, 2013 BUDGET hotel group Travelodge yesterday named Peter Gowers, a leisure industry veteran and most recently the boss of self-storage group Safestore, as its new chief executive. The 41 year-old will next week replace the chain’s longstanding chief executive Grant Hearn, who announced in January he would be stepping down after more than a decade at [...]
McCarthy & Stone chief Mark Elliott to step down after a year November 20, 2013 RETIREMENT house builder McCarthy & Stone is on the hunt for a new chief executive after Mark Elliott announced yesterday he will be leaving the company next February. Elliott will step down just one year after joining the company from Arena Leisure the operator of Royal Windsor and Lingfield Park racecourses, where he was chief [...]
City Movember efforts – just 10 days to grow November 20, 2013 WELL DONE to all the brave Movemberers who’ve battled through those awkward early days of growing a moustache (“do you think he’s doing Movember?” “Is that just a shadow?”) and made it into the third week of sporting career-limiting upper lip fuzz. To celebrate the fact that there’s just 10 days to go – and [...]
Commuters stay underground as high-flyers shun cable cars November 20, 2013 ONE of London’s great white elephant projects – the Emirates Air Line cable cars – was used by just four regular commuters in the week from Saturday 13 October. With a maximum capacity of 2,500 people an hour, the link between the O2 in Greenwich and the ExCel centre at the Royal Docks operates well [...]
UK Mail soars as online shopping boosts volumes November 20, 2013 PARCEL delivery company UK Mail Group yesterday said pre-tax profit rose 63 per cent in the first half as there were three extra working days in the period and higher deliveries of online purchases continued to drive growth. The company, which provides parcels, mail and logistics services, said pre-tax profit rose to £11.9m pounds in [...]
Bottom Line: Rival’s success shows Royal Mail dilemma November 20, 2013 AS THE research blackout for those connected to the Royal Mail flotation came to an end yesterday, analysts were quick to prove they’d been using the weeks since its listing wisely. Banks rushed to get notes out as their investment banking colleagues faced a group of select committee MPs who’d clearly already made up their [...]
Chrysler adds four bookrunners as it eyes early December float November 20, 2013 CHRYSLER Group has added four banks to help underwrite its proposed initial public offering (IPO), as the US carmaker looks to launch the deal as soon as early December, according to people familiar with the matter. Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS have been appointed as bookrunners in the offering, which is being led [...]
Gift Aid in the spotlight over value concern November 20, 2013 GIFT AID, one of the largest tax relief schemes available to charities, might not be good value for money in its current form – and the taxman does not have the figures to prove otherwise, according to the spending watchdog. The National Audit Office (NAO) said that while Gift Aid rebates have soared since the [...]
