Mike Ashley’s empire tightens grip on Boohoo as crunch vote nears November 15, 2024 Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has continued to up its stake in Boohoo as a war of words over the future of the fast-fashion giant rumbles on. The owner of the likes of Sports Direct and House of Fraser now has a 28 per cent stake in the Manchester-headquartered group, which itself features brands such as [...]
Has London’s commercial property market finally recovered from the pandemic? November 15, 2024 High-quality office space in London has “continued and sustained appeal” in London, with property take-up finally exceeding pre-pandemic levels, while retail vacancy rates have similarly dipped to their lowest level since 2019. Cushman & Wakefield and Savills have both reported that the central London property market has begun to stabilise, while British property investment trust [...]
Landsec returns to profit as London property market stabilises November 15, 2024 British property investment trust Land Securities, known as Landsec, swung back into profit and hiked its forecast for the year today after a rebound in occupancy and rental income in London. Landsec told markets this morning that it had returned to the black in the first half of the year, reporting profit after tax of £243m [...]
Cinemas warn tax hikes may cause credits to roll November 15, 2024 The UK cinema industry has warned that higher taxes on employees’ wages announced in the Budget will be the final straw for some venues in what has become a core cultural industry. Chancellor Rachel Reeves increased the amount employers have to pay in NICs by 1.2 per cent, and lowered the wage threshold employers must start paying [...]
Knoops: Boss reveals plans to become £4bn global giant November 13, 2024 The boss of Knoops has outlined his plans to the grow drinking chocolate chain into a $5bn (£3.9bn) giant with at least 3,000 stores across the world. William Gordon-Harris, who is both the chairman and chief executive of the London-headquartered business, said his revenue target is “readily achievable” when each of its hoped-for stores hit [...]
Fuller’s pub boss warns Budget tax changes will drive hospitality to the brink November 13, 2024 The boss of pub chain Fuller, Smith and Turner has made a stark warning about the effect of recent tax rises on hospitality, warning it will increase inflation and drive businesses “to the wall”. Chair of the London-listed firm known as Fuller’s, Michael Turner, said that the changes to employer’s national insurance contributions (NICs) announced [...]
UK office market fails to keep up with European upswing in property values November 13, 2024 The value of commercial property has risen for the first time since mid 2022 in Europe, although the UK office market bucked the trend and failed to show gains. Overall, property values rose by 0.63 per cent in the third quarter of 2023, following eight consecutive quarters of decline. European property prices have been hit [...]
Cycling brand ASSOS of Switzerland hits Asos with legal action November 12, 2024 Premium cycling brand ASSOS of Switzerland has launched legal action to a British court against UK fast fashion giant Asos, City AM can reveal.
Burberry braced for Moncler takeover as staff given heads up November 11, 2024 Luxury fashion house Burberry is braced to be taken over by Italian company Moncler amid staff at one of its flagship London stores being given a heads up on the deal, according to reports. Rumours began to circulate last week that the listed brand was set for a takeover by the skiwear maker, but both [...]
Ministers either don’t understand private sector, or don’t care November 11, 2024 No politician could actually get away with telling businesses to “suck it up” when they warn about the impact of tax rises, though Labour’s Darren Jones came dangerously close yesterday, airily telling the BBC that bigger businesses can handle higher costs. While it’s true that they’ll find a way to pay these new taxes and [...]