Sainsbury’s chairman lambasted for using staff to revamp country home January 23, 2017 Sainsbury's chairman David Tyler has been taken to task by the company board for using a supermarket employee and supplier to help refurbish his country home in East Sussex. Tyler, who was appointed chairman in 2009, was given a warning by the board after an internal investigation found that a Sainsbury's employee and supplier helped in [...]
Petra Diamonds’ gleaming results fall slightly below analyst expectations January 23, 2017 Sales and production sparkled in the first half of the year for Petra Diamonds, but flat rough diamond prices took a toll on revenue. The figures The diamond and gemstone producer said revenue is expected to increase 48 per cent to $228.5m (£183.5m) in the six months to 31 December due to increased sales volumes. However, it missed analysts' expectations of $236m due to [...]
Breaking news: Revenue woes are driving a wave of deals in the print media sector January 23, 2017 After the closure of the Independent, the failed launch of Trinity Mirror’s New Day newspaper and plummeting revenues across the industry, 2016 will likely be remembered as a messy year for the print media. Less than a month in, and with rows brewing over press regulation, part two of the Leveson Inquiry and fake news [...]
How well do you know your audience? Not as well as Spredfast’s Leo Ryan January 23, 2017 In the 1970s German philosopher Jurgen Habermas concocted the notion of Offentlichkeit – better known as the public sphere, or “an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems”. Some 40 years on, the advent of social media has realised his ideal tenfold, and the mass sharing [...]
More than concrete cows: Six things you need to know about Milton Keynes on its 50th birthday January 23, 2017 Us Brits love history. But 50 years ago today we did something that cut against the grain. The UK's cities, towns and villages are generally steeped in history. From black and white houses, old castles and local churches, you can trace the roots of many areas back for centuries. Today, however, is the birthday of Milton [...]
The clock is ticking on Spotify’s IPO January 22, 2017 The clock is ticking for Europe's most highly anticipated IPO as it creeps towards a crucial date in the financial calendar of the company. Spotify, the region's most highly funded tech startup, is approaching the deadline of a $1bn debt financing deal inked last year that will see the costs increase and a share of the compnay given [...]
Looking for a new way to Make America Great Again? Here are some merchandise highlights from the Trump campaign shop January 20, 2017 It's Donald Trump's inauguration day – and what better way to celebrate than by moseying down to the Trump campaign store and picking up a bargain? The store features the usual sweatshirts and bumper stickers (this is the US, remember), as well as that iconic red hat. But if the Trump fan in your life already [...]
Weak retail sales in December have pushed sterling below $1.23 January 20, 2017 The pound plummeted today after retail sales figures were much weaker than analysts expected. Sterling fell 0.47 per cent to 1.2284 against the US dollar. Sales in December fell by 1.9 per cent month-on-month – the largest monthly fall since May 2011 – which was considerably more than the 0.1 per cent drop analysts predicted, Martin Beck, senior economic advisor at EY said. [...]
The CMA has aired its dirty laundry after it suggests collusion between two laundry services January 20, 2017 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally concluded two NHS suppliers of cleanroom laundry services have created a market-sharing agreement, breaking competition law. The CMA found between May 2012 to February 2016, the suppliers, Micronclean Limited and Berendsen Cleanroom Services Limited, had an arrangement under which they divided up customers by geographical territory, as well as [...]
In the doghouse? Pets at Home shares fall on softer merchandise sales January 19, 2017 Pets at Home's latest update announced "softer than anticipated" merchandise sales – knocking its share price down more than nine per cent, at the time of writing, to 216.40p. The figures Group revenue rose 4.4 per cent to £203.7m, though merchandise revenues were flat at £177.4m. The growth was propelled by its services business (including veterinary practices [...]