‘Luke Littler is the Tiger Woods of darts. He’s made the sport aspirational’ Sport Business When Target Darts, which supplies and now manages Luke Littler, decided to test the sport’s popularity with younger audiences by exhibiting at the London Toy Fair for the first time earlier this year, the company hit a bullseye. “We made quite a bit of noise,” Target group CEO James Tattersall tells City AM. “We put [...]
Why a charity should own 10 per cent of your company’s shares Opinion The Notebook, where the City’s movers and shakers have their say. Today it’s James Reed with the pen The traditional model of capitalism is outdated and unsustainable — and I’m on a mission to change it. Yes, free markets based on short-term shareholder returns have delivered opportunities for people to succeed, encouraged innovation and entrepreneurship [...]
Lego: Profit spikes as sales pass major milestone Retail Profit at the UK arm of Lego spiked in 2024 as its sales passed the £500m mark for the first time, it has been revealed. The Berkshire-headquartered division of the Danish giant has reported a pre-tax profit of £42.9m for its latest financial year. The total comes after Lego posted a pre-tax profit of £24.2m [...]
Alton Towers operator Merlin Entertainments names new top boss February 17, 2025 Merlin Entertainments, the global giant which runs the likes of Alton Towers, Legoland and Madame Tussauds, has named a new full-time chief executive. Fiona Eastwood has been appointed to the role after serving on an interim basis since November 2024. Eastwood succeeds Scott O’Neil who stepped down after two years in the job. O’Neil had [...]
Hyper-personalisation: Has AI finally made retail’s ‘holy grail’ possible? February 8, 2025 Hyper-personalisation has long been the holy grail of retail: to recreate the customer experience of a local, everyone-knows-your-name store on a global scale. Now, with the combination of data tracking, AI and our ever-increasing tendency to consume online content, genuinely personally-tailored ads are just about within touching distance. These ads, introduced in their earliest form [...]
Minecraft theme park to open in the UK November 19, 2024 Merlin Entertainments, the giant that operates the likes of Alton Towers, has revealed plans to open a Minecraft theme park in the UK. The group is to invest more than £85m in the first two attractions, which will be launching in the US and the UK between 2026 and 2027 after partnering with Mojang Studios, [...]
Lego keeps building success in the UK despite ‘declining toy market’ September 19, 2024 Lego has continued to build on its recent success as its UK sales and profit rose for the sixth year in a row in 2023. The Berkshire-headquartered division of the Danish giant has reported a turnover of £449.2m for its latest financial year, up from the £440m it posted for 2022. According to newly-field documents [...]
Trafford Centre: Profit slashed despite revenue nearing £100m at Manchester shopping icon July 24, 2024 The company behind Manchester's Trafford Centre has seen its profit more than halve despite its revenue soaring to almost £100m, according to newly-filed documents.
Lego profits tumble as pandemic playday comes to an end August 30, 2023 The Lego Group has suffered a steep fall in profits, figures from its half year results show, as demand for the plastic bricks maker showed signs of dwindling amid a tough economic climate. Operating profit at the children’s toy brand reached DKK 6.4bn (£740m) during the first half of the year, down considerably from DKK [...]
STV buys Greenbird Media for £21.4m and gains hit series in growth push July 6, 2023 STV has acquired Greenbird Media, an unscripted television production network, for £24.1m today in a “transformative” drive for greater growth across the UK and globally. The Scottish broadcaster, which has brought popular dramas like Antiques Road Trip, Celebrity Catchphrase and Blue Lights to UK television screens, is bolstering its STV Studios production division with the [...]