Pizza Express takes a slice out of home market March 9, 2015 Pizza Express yesterday reported strong half-year trading with like-for-like sales ahead by 6.8 per cent in the 28 week period to 11 January 2015. Chief executive Richard Hodgson said the restaurant chain’s strong performance is down to new openings, continuous innovation and a record Christmas trading period, which saw like-forlike growth of 11.2 per cent [...]
Steve Easterbrook sees problems stack up on his plate at McDonald’s March 9, 2015 Fast-food giant McDonald’s yesterday revealed that customers were “lovin’ it” a lot less after unveiling another slide in worldwide sales, for the ninth month in a row. Worldwide sales fell 1.7 per cent, where analysts polled by Consensus Metrix had been expecting a 0.3 per cent decline. In the US, sales at restaurants open at [...]
Retails sales increase in UK after fall in 2014 March 9, 2015 UK retail sales increased by 0.2 per cent on a like-for-like basis compared with February 2014) – when they had decreased one per cent on the previous year – according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Overall, sales were up 1.7 per cent against a 0.7 per cent rise in February 2014. “After the bustle [...]
WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell slams critics of his pay deals March 9, 2015 WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell hit back at criticism that his remuneration was excessive yesterday, saying that if you personally risked investing in and building a business from scratch to the global leadership position in its sector it would be only natural to be rewarded for it Sorrell, who saw off a shareholder revolt over [...]
Coffee-to-go speculation at Tesco as another top executive departs March 9, 2015 TESCO yesterday lost another senior executive after the man in charge of its in-store dining, Michael Holmes, stepped down. Holmes served as the director of a number of Tesco’s businesses, including restaurant chain Giraffe, coffee shop Harris + Hoole, in-store restaurant Decks and Tesco’s Euphorium bakeries. The exit follows a string of departures that have [...]
Cobbold is back on board after two month absence from UBM March 9, 2015 TIM COBBOLD was back at the helm of UBM yesterday after his absence from the events group left the company rudderless since January. The chief executive has taken the past two months off due to an unspecified operation. However, the timing was less than ideal as it coincided with the absence of the company chairman [...]
Former Dyson boss Martin McCourt to advise VentureFounders March 9, 2015 Montagu Private Equity director and former chief executive of Dyson Martin McCourt will act as a senior advisor to VentureFounders – a UK-based equity crowdfunding platform. McCourt brings with him more than 35 years’ experience in manufacturing, design marketing having spent time at Mars, Duracell and Toshiba. He spent 15 years at Dyson. He is also [...]
Alcoa buys RTI International Metals in bid to boost aerospace arm March 9, 2015 US metal manufacturer Alcoa is to pay $1.3bn (£860m) for RTI International Metals, in a stock-for-stock deal with an enterprise value of $1.5bn. Alcoa, which is best known as an aluminium producer, said yesterday that the deal will boost its aerospace business. RTI specialises in titanium and products and services for the commercial aerospace, defence, [...]
Solar Impulse 2 follows the sun around the world from Abu Dhabi March 9, 2015 SWISS adventurers Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg yesterday took off from Abu Dhabi on a round-the-world flight – with no jet feul. The plane, the “Solar Impulse 2”, is powered by 12,000 solar cells on the wings and weighs about the same as a family car. It can run both day and night off solar [...]
Antofagasta copper production hit by protests at Chilean mine March 9, 2015 Mining company Antofagasta yesterday revealed that copper production has been reduced by an estimated 5,000 tonnes as a result of ongoing protests at the Los Pelambres mine in Chile. Protestors are seeking action by Pelambres and the government to help alleviate the current drought conditions in the area. Antofagasta said discussions regarding water availability have [...]
