Tesco moves £90m media account to WPP’s Mediacom ending 20 years with IPG’s Initiative April 30, 2015 Tesco boss Dave Lewis has done some more kitchen-sinking, ditching the company that has been in charge of placing its advertising for the last 20 years. The beleaguered supermarket has switched its media planning and buying account – worth £90m a year – to WPP's Mediacom from IPG's Initiative after a review, MediaWeek reports. It's [...]
The Leap 100 have fallen out of love with British banks April 29, 2015 THE NARRATIVE of growing businesses struggling to find finance is familiar: post-crash, banks won’t lend and cash for expansion can be difficult to access. On the face of it, the experiences of The Leap 100 give the lie to this simplistic tale: 64 per cent say that they haven’t found it difficult to access sufficient [...]
Wimbledon champions deserve record prize money, say bosses April 28, 2015 WIMBLEDON chiefs have defended their prize money policy after confirming that players at this year’s championships are to earn more than at any tennis tournament in history. A seven per cent increase in the total pot to £26.75m is reflected in prize money for all rounds, with the men’s and women’s winners banking £1.88m each [...]
Broadcasters told by Ofcom to make phone-in charges simpler April 28, 2015 Telecoms regulator Ofcom has forced TV companies to change how they advertise phone-in and mobile voting competitions – because, it says, they're currently too confusing. The watchdog has changed the broadcasting code – the rules which govern TV and radio in the UK – to reflect how they can make pricing clearer. Viewers [...]
Regulation pushes EE revenue down ahead of £12.5bn BT deal April 27, 2015 Revenue at mobile phone network EE dropped by 1.1 per cent in the three months to 31 March, down to £1.47bn, ahead of its £12.5bn takeover by BT. The group linked the decline in revenue to the impact of regulation, and said underlying revenue had improved by 0.3 per cent compared to the first quarter [...]
Sky scopes out price hikes as loyalty increases April 21, 2015 BROADCASTER Sky opened the door to further price hikes for viewers yesterday as it reported the best customer retention numbers in 11 years. Sky boss Jeremy Darroch said there was scope to raise prices more in future as the group introduced better services and products for viewers. “We think generally the prospect for a little [...]
BT and Williams Martini Racing close to inking tech partnership April 21, 2015 LUIS Alvarez, the boss of BT Global Service, was revving up for the telecoms giant’s new partnership with the Williams Martini Racing Formula One team yesterday. The pair worked together on a pilot scheme last season and now plan to collaborate in the spheres of communications expertise, technology and consulting services. The benefits of the [...]
Sky share price touches 14-year high as profit and customers jump after splashing billions on Premier League rights April 21, 2015 Shares in Sky jumped as much as five per cent in early trading, touching a 14-year high, after the firm announced it had grown profit, revenue and customers The figures For the nine months to the end of March, Sky operating profit was up 20 per cent to £1.025bn on revenue of £8.453bn, which also grew five per [...]
Beware, Sid – Lloyds sale could be tricky April 19, 2015 A big retail offering of Lloyds shares is on the cards. Large-scale privatisation is back. David Cameron is promising a £4bn sale of Lloyds shares to retail customers, swapping one big government shareholder for thousands of individuals. An instant comparison is with the 1980s. Giant firms like BT, BP and British Gas were taken out [...]
London house prices: This nine-bedroom Chelsea mansion just sold for £51m – 300 times the average house price April 10, 2015 A house just outside Chelsea's super-upmarket square The Boltons has sold for just over £51m – that's 300 times the average house price for England and Wales. The Daily Mail reported the nine-bedroom property in Boltons Place had been sold to an offshore company – although the buyer got a deal: it was originally on [...]