John Lewis opens £35m store in Brum September 25, 2015 JOHN LEWIS yesterday opened its new £35m Birmingham shop, the retailer’s largest shop to open in four years and one of its biggest stores in Britain. The 250,000 sq ft shop, which anchors the city’s new Grand Central retail development, has created 650 new jobs across Birmingham. Andy Street, managing director, John Lewis said: “Today [...]
I’ll drink to that: Sales at British winemaker Chapel Down up a third September 25, 2015 British winemaker Chapel Down announced sparkling interim results yesterday, with year-on-year sales up 33 per cent and gross profits up to £1.17m, a 31 per cent increase on the year before. The Kent-based vineyard’s speciality – sparkling wines – enjoyed a 45 per cent increase in sales, accounting for £2.28m of the total figure of [...]
London taxi cab drivers protest in the City over Uber regulation September 25, 2015 Black cab drivers brought traffic to a standstill outside Bank Tube station yesterday evening, in a protest against the way ride-hailing app Uber is regulated by Transport for London. Cabbies want to draw attention to what they perceive as a lack of regulation of the private hire vehicle (PHV) licences used by Uber drivers. Writing [...]
Poundland’s share sale to fund purchase of 99p Stores hurts price September 25, 2015 Poundland yesterday placed £50m worth of new shares to fund its purchase of 99p Stores. The shares, which represent approximately 7.1 per cent of the company’s existing share capital prior to placing, were placed with institutional investors at 280p, which will be worth 275p to the company after expenses. JP Morgan Cazenove acted as sole [...]
Debenhams Croydon gets to the bottom of it September 25, 2015 Big businesses are full of sass right now. Croydon-dwellers were met with quite a treat yesterday when the self-titled “world’s grumpiest old woman” glued her posterior to the shop window of a Debenhams wearing nothing but a thong and a sash. A Debenhams spokesperson’s response was nothing short of brilliant: “It is great to [...]
UK house price gap hits a 20-year high September 25, 2015 The gap between house prices in London and other major regional UK cities has grown to its widest level in 20 years. Homebuyers can expect to save on average £300,000 if they ditch the capital and move to Manchester, according to data released this morning by Hometrack. The gap was greatest in Glasgow, [...]
Emmanuel Macron: I want the UK to be part of the club says French economy minister September 25, 2015 French economy minister Emmanuel Macron told an audience in London yesterday that he wants Britain to remain in the European Union. However, he added that Prime Minister David Cameron will need to be more clear in his demands if he is going to achieve any real reform in the EU. “I want Britain to be [...]
SVG Capital’s Hugo Boss and New Look sell-off reaps rewards September 25, 2015 The sale of fashion brands Hugo Boss and New Look have helped boost SVG Capital’s returns, even as a background of currency volatility weighed on its investment portfolio. The listed private equity firm has, like its rivals, benefitted from a fertile market for asset sell-offs, and returned £101m of capital to investors in the last [...]
National Living Wage: Business groups raise red flag on future pay rises September 25, 2015 Leading business groups are cautioning against “artificially increasing pay” today, as the Low Pay Commission closes its public consultation on the minimum wage. The Low Pay Commission – an independent body set up to advise the government on the national minimum wage – opened the public consultation last month, as part of a larger [...]
Ryanair investors will reap €400m in spoils from sale of Aer Lingus September 25, 2015 Ryanair announced at its AGM yesterday it would be sharing the €398m (£293m) spoils from the sale of its Aer Lingus stake with shareholders. Ryanair agreed to sell its 29.8 per cent stake in the Irish airline to International Airlines Group, which owns British Airways and Iberia, this summer. The budget airliner also said it [...]
