John Lewis scraps staff bonus as it crashes to £635m loss September 17, 2020 John Lewis today confirmed it will not pay a staff bonus for the first time in more than 70 years as the department store chain posted a pre-tax loss of £635m in the first half. The retailer reported a 2.7 per cent uptick in revenue to £4.9bn over the period, but said shoppers had spent [...]
Co-op warns on outlook as revenue rises after lockdown shopping boom September 17, 2020 The Co-operative Group today reported a rise in revenue for the first half of the year as the coronavirus lockdown drove up grocery sales, but warned of a challenging six months ahead. The figures The Co-op reported revenue of £5.8bn in the 26 weeks to 4 July, up 7.6 per cent on last year. Pre-tax [...]
Amazon Music launches podcasts as it puts Spotify in its sights September 16, 2020 Amazon Music today said it will add podcasts to its streaming service at no additional cost, as the ecommerce giant looks to muscle in on the booming on-demand audio market. Amazon said it will launch podcasting in the US, UK, Germany and Japan on all tiers of its subscription service. The offering will include existing [...]
London First taps former Today programme editor to join board September 16, 2020 London First today said it has tapped former Today programme editor Sarah Sands to join its board as an adviser. The business campaign group said Sands will take up her role with immediate effect and will help guide the organisation through a challenging period for the capital in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. In [...]
UK news website readership rises by a fifth amid Covid-19 crisis September 16, 2020 Readership of UK national news websites has jumped by a fifth as Brits flock to trusted sources for updates about the coronavirus crisis. The number of daily readers rose by 3.7m year on year to hit 22m in June, according to the latest figures from audience measurement body Pamco. Across print and digital, national news [...]
Big businesses have a ‘national duty’ to return to work, says ad boss September 16, 2020 The UK’s large businesses and public sector have a “national duty” to get back to work, the chief executive of ad firm Ocean Outdoor has said. Tim Bleakley told City A.M. that mid-cap firms were leading the charge in getting back to the office, but urged larger companies to follow suit. Management at Ocean Outdoor, [...]
Gary Lineker takes 25 per cent pay cut as BBC promises reform September 15, 2020 Gary Lineker will take a 23 per cent pay cut as part of a fresh five-year deal to continue hosting Match of the Day. New figures published today showed the former England footballer remains the BBC’s best paid star, pulling in a salary of £1.75m. But the new contract, which will keep Lineker at the [...]
Former Tory MP Charlie Elphicke jailed for two years for sexual assault September 15, 2020 Former Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke has been jailed for two years for sexually assaulting two women. Elphicke, who previously served as MP for Dover, was convicted of committing the first offence against one woman in 2007 and two further offences against a second woman in 2016. He denies the charges but was found guilty on [...]
Eve Sleep narrows loss as post-Covid sales bounce back September 15, 2020 Mattress maker Eve Sleep today reported a narrower loss in the first half of the year as it hailed a strong improvement in trading since April. The figures Eve Sleep reported revenue of £12.2m in the six months to the end of June, down five per cent on the same period last year. Statutory loss [...]
Coronavirus: Keir Starmer to call for furlough scheme replacement September 15, 2020 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will today urge the government to replace the furlough scheme to avoid the “scarring effect” of mass unemployment. The government’s job retention scheme has been used by more than 10m workers since its launch in March, but is set to end on 31 October. Speaking to the Trades Union Congress [...]
