War of words reignites over BHS as Sir Philip Green objects to comments by MP Frank Field about his company “nicking” June 29, 2016 THE war of words between retail tycoon Sir Philip Green and Frank Field, chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee, has reignited after the MP accused Green's company of “nicking” which is investigating the collapse of BHS. In an evidence session with Sir Philip’s right-hand man, Paul Budge, into the collapse of BHS, Field said: [...]
MPs investigating BHS want answers on the complex web of companies owned by Sir Philip Green’s family June 21, 2016 MPs investigating the collapse of BHS have written to Sir Philip Green's wife, Lady Tina Green, seeking greater clarity on the “complex and very opaque web” of private businesses owned by the Green family. Iain Wright MP, chair of the BIS Committee, said: “These complicated arrangements make it very difficult to trace where all the funds [...]
StreetDots rolls out 12 more London pitches for food vendors on back of three partnerships with British Land, Land Securities and TH Real Estate June 20, 2016 TECH start-up StreetDots today announced deals with three major land partners to expand its network of street-food “pitches” across London. In partnerships with British Land, Land Securities and TH Real Estate, the firm will open 12 more pitches across the capital. The pitches, in the form of large dots, play host to a rotating offer [...]
BHS ‘stripped to the bone’ and unable to plug its ballooning pension deficit, evidence to MPs shows June 19, 2016 BHS was unable to put money into its ballooning pension deficit as it was “being stripped to the bone” according to written evidence submitted to a joint parliamentary enquiry examining the collapse of the retailer. The minutes of meetings between the BHS pension trustees and Paul Coackley, the chief operating officer of Arcadia, show that [...]
Total number of female execs, at 14 per cent, is far less than the number of women at board level June 13, 2016 FEMALE executive committee members at UK financial services firms typically number just 14 per cent of the total according to research by think tank New Financial. This compares to female representation of 23 per cent among board directors at the same companies. The findings, out today, show the scale of the task in fostering more [...]
North Sea has a two year window to safeguard its future for decades June 13, 2016 THE North Sea basin has a two year window in which to safeguard its future for the next two decades, or risk “decline at an exponential rate” according to a new PwC report. The report, A Sea Change, says that a robust roadmap is needed to transform the basin, meet short-term energy needs and bridge the [...]
The impact of philanthropic donations by high net worth individuals is often not assessed June 6, 2016 HIGH net worth individuals are risking the effectiveness of their philanthropy by not measuring the impact of their donations, says Moore Stephens, the accountancy and consultancy firm. Its survey of family offices representing high net worth clients showed that while 86 per cent say measuring the impact of philanthropic donations is important, only 50 per [...]
Bookies are quids in from Euro 2016 tournament as economists predict a halo effect for countries that make the final four June 6, 2016 William Hill is predicting £500m will be wagered on the Euro 2016 football tournament across the UK's bookies as it gears up for what it calls the “biggest Euros of all time”. Over two million bets worth £100m are expected to be wagered with William Hill alone during the tournament, which kicks off this Friday. [...]
Two directors step down from Retail Acquisitions as BHS sales process drags on May 24, 2016 TWO directors of Retail Acquisitions, the company which bought BHS for £1 in 2015 from Sir Philip Green, have resigned. Retail Acquisitions' tenure at BHS ended in controversy when the retailer was placed in administration in April, putting thousands of jobs at risk. It has since emerged that Dominic Chappell, who headed up Retail Acquisitions, [...]
SME overdrafts fall off as banks adhere to new rules May 22, 2016 LENDING to small businesses via overdrafts is falling by £100m a month as SME bank overdrafts die out, says Funding Options, the online business finance supermarket. At the end of March this year, SMEs were borrowing £12.1bn in bank overdrafts, compared to nearly £14bn at the end of September 2014, a fall of 13 per [...]
