British Land posts upbeat third quarter as London mayor Boris Johnson approves Norton Folgate plans January 19, 2016 Customers flocking to British Land’s shopping centres and ongoing demand for its offices helped the landlord deliver a strong performance in the third quarter, as the group also revealed that plans for a controversial Shoreditch scheme had been approved. The FTSE 100 property giant said retail footfall rose by two per cent over the Christmas quarter, with Meadowhall [...]
Pinot Noir Madam? Aldi challenges retail rivals by launching online wine shop January 19, 2016 Discounter Aldi has stepped up competition with its retailing rivals after launching its first online shopping service today selling over 90 different wines and champagnes by the case. The German retailer's new online wine cellar includes best sellers from its in-store ranges as well as a new range of "fine boutique wines", called the Lot Series, available only [...]
Struggling pubs will lose a lifeline under new venture capital rules that ban angel investors from rescuing flailing businesses January 19, 2016 Struggling pubs have lost a lifeline under new rules which ban venture capital from investing in existing business. Rules preventing venture capital trusts and enterprise investment schemes from buying out the management of failing businesses or undertaking acquisitions came into effect before Christmas, as part of the Finance Act 2015. They came from the European Union, [...]
Forget peak oil, Ikea says we’ve hit “peak stuff”: It’s curtains for home furnishings says sustainability boss Steve Howard January 18, 2016 Someone clearly got Marie Kondo's book for Christmas. Apparently we've reached "peak stuff", bringing to an and the era of cheap flat pack furniture frustration and a desire for the latest designer cushions, according to – of all people – an executive at furniture giant Ikea. "If we look on a global basis, in the west we [...]
Asda will axe jobs in the UK as supermarket struggles continue January 18, 2016 Asda will axe jobs in the UK amid increasing pressure on British supermarkets. The redundancies will be at Walmart-owned supermarket's Leeds head office. The supermarket said in a statement: "It’s well documented that in recent years, customers have radically changed the way they shop. "We were the first of the “big four” to recognise this and [...]
Labour’s latest attack on private enterprise January 18, 2016 There’s a popular game called Cards Against Humanity that shocked and delighted families around the table this Christmas. The idea is simple: one card contains the fairly innocuous opening part of a sentence and a second card is then offered that completes the phrase in a particularly vulgar, amusing and random fashion. Hilarity ensues. The [...]
Doddle’s Tim Robinson talks 2016, the future of shopping and why he’s looking for a new partner January 18, 2016 Have you used Doddle? If you have, then you’ll either have done so once or 13 times, Tim Robinson, chief executive of the parcel collect and send service tells me. Founded in the autumn of 2014, Doddle has done rather well so far. Over its 2015 peak trading period (the run-up to Christmas), it saw [...]
UK footfall slumps in December as Britons spend Christmas online January 18, 2016 Britain's high streets suffered their biggest drop in footfall in over a year in December, as Britons shunned stores in favour of buying Christmas presents online. Traffic fell by four per cent year-on-year, which is far greater than the drop of 1.8 per cent in December 2014 and marked the biggest drop since November that same [...]
Alex Salmond wants to ban Donald Trump from the UK and Jeremy Corbyn wants to take him to a mosque ahead of petition debate in parliament January 17, 2016 The war of words between the former First Minister Alex Salmond and wannabe President Donald Trump escalated today, after the Scottish MP backed calls to ban the billionaire from the UK over anti-Muslim comments. The two are unlikely to become the best of friends – Trump labelled Salmond a "has-been" with an "over-inflated ego" before Christmas in [...]
From retail mania and the Tube strike to oil prices and the Chinese economy: Here’s what got us talking this week January 15, 2016 We all got invited to a very special birthday party, while someone else got an early birthday present. Meanwhile, the details of Boris Johnson's Iraq antics were leaked. Oh no, BoJo. Here's what got us talking this week 1) Ground control to major Tim The world mourned as we digested the news that David Bowie had died [...]