John Lewis picks tech winner September 28, 2014 A START-UP that has developed a way to help retailers interact with shoppers by detecting when they walk into a store was pronounced the winner of John Lewis’s technology competition yesterday. Localz was one of five start-ups given £12,500 of funding, offices and access to mentors including entrepreneur Luke Johnson as part of a technology [...]
Labour MPs speak out out against Ed Miliband’s mansion tax proposals September 25, 2014 LABOUR MPs yesterday hit out against Ed Miliband’s plan for a “mansion tax” on £2m-plus homes, which he has pledged to introduce to boost spending on the NHS. Hampstead MP Glenda Jackson joined Labour colleagues David Lammy and Margaret Hodge in warning that pensioners without the income to pay for the tax were likely to [...]
Sports Direct makes bet with stake in Tesco September 25, 2014 MIKE ASHLEY has made a £43m bet that shares in ailing supermarket Tesco will bounce back after the discovery of a £250m black hole in its accounts sent shares tumbling 16 per cent this week. The billionaire’s retail empire Sports Direct has entered into a put option agreement with Goldman Sachs over 23m shares in [...]
Hammerson raises £400m to go shopping September 25, 2014 HAMMERSON said yesterday it had raised £400m through a share placing as it planned to ramp up its exposure to the Europe’s booming outlet sector. The FTSE 100 property giant sold its last office building this month as part of a strategy launched two years ago to focus solely on prime regional shopping centres, retail [...]
Tesco admits finance boss Laurie McIlwee left in April – before £250m profit black hole appeared September 24, 2014 New revelation puts spotlight on former CEO Tesco was forced to admit last night that ex-finance chief Laurie McIlwee was not involved with the company during recent months when a £250m black hole appeared in its accounts. The troubled supermarket also confirmed that Philip Clarke, its recently-ousted chief exec, had headed up an internal finance [...]
Assura raises £180m to bolster medical centre acquisitions September 24, 2014 ASSURA yesterday tapped investors for £180m through a share placing as it looked to bolster its portfolio of medical centres across the UK. The firm, which buys premises and leases them back to NHS medical surgeries, intends to raise £155.2m by way of a firm placing and open offer. It is also set to raise [...]
Tesco rushes in new finance boss September 23, 2014 TESCO has rushed in its new finance director Alan Stewart to start two months earlier than planned after a £250m profit error and new industry data yesterday showing a slide in quarterly sales plunged the retailer into further turmoil. The retailer, which had billions of pounds knocked off its share price after revealing the error [...]
London overtakes Hong Kong as world’s most expensive city for companies to situate staff September 23, 2014 The strength of the sterling has made London the world’s most expensive city for companies to locate staff, overtaking Hong Kong which has held the record for five years in a row. Research released yesterday by Savills shows that the cost of renting living and office space for one employee in the capital reached $120,568 [...]
Liverpool FC Kops stadium approval September 23, 2014 LIVERPOOL FC scored a winning goal yesterday after plans to expand its iconic Anfield stadium were given the go-ahead by the city council’s planning committee. Phase one of the development, which received unanimous support yesterday, will see Liverpool add 8,500 seats to the new main stand, taking overall capacity at Anfield from 45,522 to around [...]
Profit warning is not sweet for Tate & Lyle September 23, 2014 SHARES in Tate & Lyle plunged to a three-year low yesterday after the food ingredients group warned that supply chain issues in the US and fierce competition in the sweetener market meant full-year profits would be lower than expected. Tate & Lyle said a “severe winter” in the US had disrupted operations at its corn [...]
