From Milifans to the Hound of Hounslow: here’s what got us talking this week April 24, 2015 It was the week which began with the transformation of the Labour leader into an idol (stop cringing at the back, please) and ended with HSBC threatening to leave these fair shores (again)…. Here’s what got us talking this week 1. Election The election campaign trudges on wearily, with a little under two weeks until [...]
Tesco share price falls as Fitch downgrades its long-term rating April 24, 2015 Credit ratings agency Fitch has downgraded Tesco's long-term rating to BB+, from BBB-. Shares in the supermarket were down 1.1 per cent to 222.6p in mid-afternoon traading after the ratings giant said its decision reflected a "weakening outlook for the group's near term profitability in its core UK operations". The news comes days after Tesco [...]
Tesco appoints DTZ to sell HQ April 23, 2015 TESCO has appointed DTZ to sells its Cheshunt headquarters after the grocer’s shock decision in January to shut the office and move staff to its other corporate building in Welwyn Garden City. The property advisory firm said it is exploring selling the leasehold or the freehold of New Tesco House. It declined to comment on [...]
Sainsbury’s to shed 800 store jobs in bid to save £500m in supermarket price war April 23, 2015 Sainsbury’s is set to axe 800 jobs in stores as part of a shake-up aimed at saving £500m over the next three years to better position itself in the ongoing supermarket price war. The supermarket chain said yesterday that it plans to remove department and deputy managers from certain stores in order to invest [...]
WPP sales are up, but chief executive Martin Sorrell is cautious about the year ahead April 23, 2015 The world's biggest advertising firm had a good first quarter, but warns that clients are giving away less business. The figures During the first three months of 2015, like-for-like sales went up by 2.5 per cent for WPP, mainly driven higher by a strong performance in North America. Revenue was also up 8.3 per cent [...]
Dave Lewis admits long road ahead for Tesco recovery April 22, 2015 Tesco boss Dave Lewis admitted yesterday that he faced a larger task than expected turning around the struggling supermarket giant, as it reported the worst results in its 96-year history. Lewis – known as “Drastic Dave” for his radical overhaul of businesses at Unilever and now at Tesco – acknowledged that the task of turning [...]
Banks forced to compete hard for current accounts April 22, 2015 Britons have been shaken out of their traditional apathy towards their banks, as the switching scheme has successfully encouraged them to shop around, new data shows today. The seven-day switching service was used by 1.14m people to change current accounts, the Payments Council said, up seven per cent on the year. And the proportion who [...]
Historic Tesco loss sparks share price slump: Dave Lewis has to move from “drastic” to “dynamic” April 22, 2015 2007: TESCO’S PEAK MARKET SHARE 31.7% MARKET SHARE MARCH 2015 28.4% Shares in Tesco slumped by five per cent yesterday after the retail giant capped a year of profit warnings, accounting scandals and fraud investigations by posting one of the biggest losses in corporate history. Britain’s biggest supermarket made a statutory pre-tax loss of £6.4bn [...]
Tesco turmoil proves toxic for the FTSE 100 – London Report April 22, 2015 TESCO’S massive loss dragged the FTSE 100 down yesterday. It was also hampered by heavy declines in banking stocks. Shares in Tesco closed down 5.2 per cent, at the bottom of the FTSE 100, after the UK’s biggest retailer plunged to an annual loss of £6.4bn and failed to provide details about the planned disposal [...]
Back to basics for Tesco: Dave Lewis’s plan has a fighting chance of success April 22, 2015 If Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis takes any pleasure in yesterday’s apocalyptic-sounding headlines, it will be the knowledge that the “kitchen sinking” is complete – surely there can be no more bad news for the retailer to announce. Such a huge loss – £6.4bn in the year to the end of February, and one of [...]