George Osborne is playing a dangerous game with the new Help to Buy London February 1, 2016 George Osborne is playing a dangerous game with the new Help to Buy London Back during the Autumn Statement, George Osborne announced with great pleasure that he would be introducing a London-specific Help to Buy scheme. The government are going to give a hand to struggling homeowners, to get on the first rung of a [...]
How Tyrrells aims to be the big cheese (and onion) of the crisp world January 28, 2016 Six years ago, David Milner received a phone call from private equity firm Langholm Partners, the former owners of Tyrrells Crisps. They needed help. After an eight-year growth spurt, sales at the posh crisp brand had turned rather stale and Langholm wanted the former Mars and Campbell’s Soup executive on board. “The first thing I [...]
The Guardian falls into taxing spot on Google January 25, 2016 Of all the hand-wringing and outrage over Google’s £130m tax payment, some of the most vociferous has come from everyone’s favourite loss-making publication the Guardian. An opinion piece from firebrand Labour MP Margaret Hodge appeared on the paper’s website calling the gesture from Google “pitiful”, while resident cartoonist Martin Rowson published a doodle depicting George [...]
Labour’s performance in polls since the General Election is its worst since the late 1940s, according to analysis of polls January 19, 2016 Labour's performance in the polls since the General Election has been its worst since the 1940s, according to an analysis of the polls. An ICM poll’s findings were crunched by the Press Association, revealing that the stewardship of Jeremy Corbyn has done nothing to revive Labour in the intervening months, with the party trailing the Tories [...]
Damp January instead of Dry? Find out how many calories are in your beer or wine with Diageo’s drinks calculator on DrinkIQ January 19, 2016 If Dry January seems excessive but you still want to keep some semblance of a healthy lifestyle in the new year, Damp January might be more up your street. But how to make sure that your drinking is balanced? A new drinks calculator lets you track not just how many units you’re drinking, but also [...]
Private equity firms dine out on restaurant chains January 19, 2016 The restaurants and bar sector was a veritable feeding frenzy of deals last year, with more choice of companies to buy than an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. Robust trading conditions thanks to improved consumer spending provided an opportune time for private equity companies to sell long-term investments to rival buyout firms with cash to spend. CBPE’s sale of [...]
Is Tesco saved? A small victory for Dave Lewis in the supermarket’s Christmas results, but 2016 remains a challenge January 14, 2016 Tesco reported its best Christmas trading results since Dave Lewis has been at the helm but does this really mean that ‘Drastic Dave’ and his management team can breathe a little easier? The dynamics of grocery shopping has changed with value and convenience the two biggest factors for consumers. Competition has never been fiercer so it would [...]
Where do Londoners spend the largest share of their income on rent? New analysis from Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan shows average rent now costs 62 per cent of average Londoner’s income January 12, 2016 The average London rent now eats up nearly two-thirds of an average Londoner's income, according to new research published today by Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan. Khan's campaign team crunched numbers from the House of Commons Library to find that the average London rent now consumes 62 per cent of the average Londoner's pre-tax income, compared to [...]
Bringing diversity into the boardroom: A five-point plan for business success January 7, 2016 This week Forbes published its annual 30 Under 30 list: 600 of the best and brightest across a wide range of industry sectors. Of the many responses to the list, one from Tyece Wilkins revelling in the fact that of those 600, 18 were black women, particularly resonated. Of course, 18 out of 600 is a very, very small number. But it’s [...]
Food trends 2016: black food, Persian food and cherry bakewell tarts January 6, 2016 Black to snack Bamboo blackened brioche buns, dark ribbons of squid ink pasta and even charcoal-infused water will herald the arrival of what might be this year’s least appetising food trend. In 2016 expect to eat black food, very black food, darker than the howling souls of the damned. Burger King Japan kicked off the [...]