PMQs today: Prime Minister David Cameron under pressure on zero-hour contracts and comments by pro-Leave ministers June 8, 2016 Prime Minister David Cameron came under fire from opposition in PMQs today on zero-hour contracts in the aftermath of the revealed exploitation at Sports Direct. "Will the Prime Minister do what some other European countries have done and ban exploitative zero-hour contacts here?," Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn asked. David Cameron acknowledged that the practice of Sports [...]
Dominic Chappell faces MPs’ questions on BHS collapse as retailer’s management appear at BIS select committee hearing June 8, 2016 Former BHS owner Dominic Chappell, the majority shareholder of Retail Acquisitions, which bought BHS for £1 last year from Sir Philip Green, is giving evidence on the retailer's collapse this morning. The business, innovation and skills (BIS) select committee has already heard explosive evidence about the sale of BHS to Retail Acquisitions and its subsequent demise – with [...]
Sports Direct debacle: “I’m not Father Christmas,” says Mike Ashley June 8, 2016 Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley admitted to MPs yesterday that some of the working conditions at the firm were “unacceptable”, arguing that he could not control every aspect of his company. Addressing the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee, which is investigating the retailer for poor working practices, Ashley said: “I can’t be responsible for [...]
Here are the very best quotes from Mike Ashley’s appearance at the business select committee June 7, 2016 Mike Ashley put in an explosive performance appearing in front of MPs today to defend the working practices at Sports Direct. The Twittersphere went wild as Ashley not once, but twice, denied that he is Father Christmas. But what else did Ashley, who only rarely puts in media appearances, say? Here are some of the very [...]
A family affair: How Ben and Ollie Black built their childcare empire June 6, 2016 Two minutes with the Black brothers and Laurel and Hardy come up. “You know, ‘another fine mess you’ve got me into’,” says Oliver Black, describing how he initially conceived of working with his brother. “I spent Christmas trying to convince Ollie that I knew about buying a company,” says Ben Black. The pair bought failing childcare [...]
Low fuel prices means it’s cheaper to run a car now than it was in 2013 June 6, 2016 One of a household's biggest bills is being held down by low oil prices. The average annual cost of running a car is around 22 per cent – or £622 – less than 2013, coming in at £2,197.42. The decline is due to the price of petrol at the pump, which makes up almost half of the costs of [...]
RAC says petrol prices below £1 a litre “distant memory” June 4, 2016 The RAC declared the days of sub £1 a litre petrol a "distant memory" as it said prices rose for the third consecutive month in May. The average unleaded pump price rose 2p to 110.59p a litre, while the average diesel forecourt price jumped 2.2p to 110.7p. Average supermarket prices for petrol and diesel increased by two per cent [...]
Private equity guru Jon Moulton considered buying BHS and Austin Reed June 2, 2016 Private equity guru Jon Moulton has said he had considered snapping up collapsed retailers BHS and Austin Reed. Moulton told City A.M. that he decided against rescuing the businesses as it was “too hard” to revive them. Speaking about why BHS failed, the Better Capital founder said “tough competitive market with too much traditional retail trading space” led [...]
How digitisation can help save the UK’s creative industries June 1, 2016 Creativity is the lifeblood of the modern world we live in. From writers and designers, to architects and musicians, the world around us would not exist as it is if it wasn’t for our creators, who give every office, city and country its identity and history. The UK's creative industries, which generate £9.6m per hour for the UK [...]
Toyota is in talks to buy two robotics businesses from Google June 1, 2016 Motor company Toyota is in talks to buy two robotics divisions from Google's parent company, Alphabet. The Japanese firm is interested in buying Boston Dynamics – the firm behind Cheetah, said to be the fastest-legged robot in the world – and Schaft, according to a report from Nikkei. Alphabet is reported to be interested in [...]