JD Sports in talks with Authentic Brands over potential Topshop bid January 13, 2021 JD Sports is reportedly in talks with Authentic Brands, the US owner of Barneys department store, about a potential bid for Topshop following the collapse of Sir Philip Green’s retail empire Arcadia. The firms are in early-stage discussions about a partnership, which would see JD Sports running the operations of an Authentic Brands-owned Topshop, Sky [...]
FTSE 100 and Wall Street flat in subdued day for markets January 13, 2021 The FTSE 100 was flat by the mid afternoon as markets slipped into a lull after a rapid start to the year. After rising 6.4 per cent last week, London’s leading index has faltered this week with two consecutive sessions of losses. By 3pm the bourse was down 0.05 per cent at 6,751 points. The [...]
London health startup Cera to create 5,000 jobs in expansion drive January 13, 2021 London health startup Cera is set to hire 5,000 new employees as it looks to double its headcount this year. Cera, which uses AI to provide in-home care, said it is recruiting data scientists and analysts, software engineers, IT professionals and operational and logistical staff, as well as frontline care workers. The company said its [...]
How retail can survive in a post-Covid world January 13, 2021 This has been a momentous year for us all. The retail sector has been at the forefront of many of the changes and challenges that have arisen as a result of Covid. While physical stores have spent much of the year closed, the pandemic has driven innovation and fuelled a huge acceleration in what were [...]
Singapore audit reform stresses need for UK action, IIA warns January 13, 2021 Recent changes to rules surrounding audit in Singapore have highlighted why action on audit reform in the UK is crucial, the CEO of the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors has warned. CEO John Wood said reform of the UK’s audit sector was necessary to protect the UK’s leading reputation in corporate governance. The Singapore stock [...]
Debenhams closes six stores including Oxford Street flagship January 13, 2021 Debenhams has permanently closed six department stores, including its flagship site in Oxford Street, due to the third national lockdown. The retailer had planned to reopen the stores to sell off remaining stock, but the introduction of new Covid-19 restrictions means that sites where it was unable to secure lease extensions will close. The closures [...]
London Stock Exchange gets green light for $27bn Refinitiv deal January 13, 2021 EU competition regulators have approved London Stock Exchange’s $27bn (£20bn) takeover of Refinitiv, clearing the way for a major new rival to Bloomberg. The European Commission today said its investigation had raised a number of concerns about the deal, but that these would be addressed by a number of remedies. These include LSE’s €4.3bn sale [...]
Chris Tremlett: Sri Lanka Test series is chance to showcase wealth of England options January 13, 2021 England are in good shape as they prepare to kick off a big year with a two-Test series in Sri Lanka, starting tomorrow. The tourists have a very balanced squad and a lot of depth to choose from; that hasn’t always been the case in previous years. With Ben Stokes, Rory Burns, Moeen Ali, Chris [...]
Square Mile sees four times as many commuters than during first lockdown January 13, 2021 There were four times as many trips made on public transport in the City of London last week than during the spring’s first lockdown, Transport for London (TfL) data shows. Last week there were around 80,000 entrances and exits from Tube stations in the capital’s financial district, which equates to 40,000 journeys. By contrast, back [...]
Debate: Should Primark open an online store? January 13, 2021 Overnight opening hours, queue-management systems and lashings of promotions – Primark did everything it could to keep its customers happy amid a year of on/off lockdown restrictions. But with parent company Associated British Food’s trading update out this week, is it time for the High Street phenomenon to go digital, too? Kam Phullar, Lead Strategist [...]
