Estonia arrests 10 in Danske Bank money laundering case December 19, 2018 Ten people have been detained in Estonia relating to the Danske Bank money laundering investigation, the country's state prosecutor said yesterday. Danske Bank is currently facing probes from Estonian, Danish, British and US authorities over an alleged €200bn (£180bn) money laundering scandal involving so-called non-resident clients at its Estonian branch between 2007 and 2016. Estonian prosecutors said [...]
Asos bosses snap up cheap shares after day of horror for fashion sector December 18, 2018 Asos boss Nick Beighton and chairman Adam Crozier have snapped up thousands of shares in the company in a show of confidence following the retailer’s profit warning. The two executives each bought shares worth roughly £100,000 this morning after the company saw £1.3bn wiped off its value in a disastrous day of trading. Beighton and [...]
John Lewis defies retail troubles as it reports festive sales rebound December 18, 2018 John Lewis has bucked the downward retail trend, reporting a rebound in sales last week as it matches rival pre-Christmas promotions. The department store said total sales for the week to 15 December were up 1.8 per cent compared to the same period last year. The employee-owned company said the sales boost was due to [...]
AA wins multi-million-pound contract to service VW cars December 18, 2018 The AA today secured a two-year extension to its contract with Volkswagen in a deal worth tens of millions of pounds. The breakdown cover provider will continue to cover all new vehicles in the Volkswagen group, which includes Audi, Seat and Skoda, the company said today. The two companies have worked together since 2014, and [...]
Cityfibre secures £1.12bn debt package to fund UK full-fibre rollout December 18, 2018 Fibre network provider Cityfibre has secured a £1.12bn debt package from seven major financial institutions to help fund its rollout of full-fibre broadband across the UK. Proceeds from the infrastructure debt package will be used to fund the first part of Cityfibre’s £2.5bn plan to bring full-fibre to five million homes, the company said today. [...]
Ofcom unveils new rules on spectrum auction amid mobile blackspot crackdown December 18, 2018 Ofcom today unveiled new rules to make operators improve mobile coverage as it vows to crack down on blackspots in rural areas. While 66 per cent of the UK has good 4G coverage, too many rural areas are left with “patchy or unreliable” mobile reception, Ofcom’s Connected Nations report found. Ofcom said complete 4G coverage in [...]
BT to shake up executive pay amid shareholder revolt over boss’s bonus December 18, 2018 BT today said it will rethink its executive pay strategy after shareholders fought back at the outgoing chief executive’s £2.3m pay packet. The embattled telecoms group said it was “disappointed” at the results of a vote on its annual remuneration report, which saw 34 per cent of shareholders vote against the proposed pay. Much of [...]
Angling Direct sales jump 32 per cent after bumper Black Friday December 18, 2018 Fishing specialist Angling Direct saw its sales soar in the four months to the end of November as customers rose to the bait of its Black Friday offers. Angling Direct reported a 31.5 per cent increase in sales to £14.6m, boosted by a 24 per cent rise in online sales and record Black Friday trading. [...]
New fines rolled out as government targets company bosses in cold call crackdown December 17, 2018 Bosses of companies that make nuisance calls face personal fines of up to £500,000 as part of a new government crackdown. New laws allow the UK’s data protection watchdog, the Information Commissioner's Office (OCI), to directly target bosses responsible for the cold calls. It is hoped the measures will stop directors filing for bankruptcy in [...]
H&M shares tumble as sector uncertainty outweighs sales growth December 17, 2018 H&M today reported a rise in sales in the three months to the end of November, but saw its shares tumble amid doubts about the company’s recovery. The Swedish fashion brand said sales rose 12 per cent year-on-year to 56.4bn Swedish krona (£4.9bn). But the positive trading update did little to prevent a fall in [...]