Governance won’t make a Big Bang but it can ensure the City’s competitiveness February 23, 2023 In this guest opinion piece, James Ashton, the chief executive of the Quoted Companies Alliance argues that governance improvements in the City – not least more use of the QCA Code – could be transformative for the Square Mile’s competitiveness WITH all the talk that another Big Bang is needed to revive the City’s global [...]
Virgin Media O2 reveals plans to open new London HQ as it dials in earnings of £10.36bn February 23, 2023 Virgin Media 02 has said it is “confident” it will deliver its 2023 profit guidance, as the group posts strong revenues in its first few months of merging. For the year ending 2022, the broadband giant saw revenues of £10.36bn up slightly from the pro forma figure of £10.35bn the previous year. The group which [...]
UK inflation will drop back to Bank of England two per cent target by end of this year, economists predict February 22, 2023 Inflation in the UK is on track to fall exactly back to the Bank of England’s target by the end of this year, according to forecasts by two top City of London economists. The rate of price increases will tumble to two per cent in the final three months of 2023, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics. [...]
Next: Share price up for luxury interior brand Sanderson Design after £2.6m licensing deal February 22, 2023 The share price of luxury interior furnishings group Sanderson Design skyrocketed 12 per cent to 132.7pt this morning, after a £2.6M licensing agreement with London listed retailer Next was announced. The group will sell its Clarke & Clarke products, which includes wallpaper and rugs, in Next’s online and physical stores, with the deal meaning a [...]
Brits flocked back to hotels in post Covid rebound as Holiday Inn owner’s revenue up 34 per cent February 21, 2023 Holiday Inn owner Intercontinental Hotels Group experienced a strong post-pandemic rebound, with revenues up 34 per cent in 2022 as consumer demand for hotels soared. The group, which has over 50 hotels across London, posted total revenues of $3.bn (£3.22bn) in the year ending December 2022, up 34 per cent from $2.90bn (£2.41bn) in the [...]
Sainsbury’s cuts prices as supermarkets battle to provide cheap food in cost of living crisis February 20, 2023 Sainsbury’s has become the latest British supermarket to try and reduce the price of their products, after it revealed it will launch discount £2 fruit and vegetable boxes. Sainsbury’s said that its ‘Taste Me, Don’t Waste Me’ boxes will include a variety of surplus fresh fruit and vegetables with the boxes being sold at a [...]
Tesco raises store workers pay by 7 per cent February 20, 2023 Tesco, Britain’s biggest retailer, will raise hourly pay for about 220,000 store workers by 7 per cent from April – another increase that will likely catch the attention of the Bank of England, which is worried about inflationary pressure in the economy. The supermarket group, one of the country’s largest private sector employers, said a [...]
Planet Organic calls in advisers as it views sale to fund £30m growth plans February 20, 2023 Last September, the organic grocer said that it was looking to raise £30m over the next two years to help with the roll out of over 100 stores across the UK.
The Square Mile and Me: PwC chair Kevin Ellis on favourite city haunts and the pub he started his career in February 16, 2023 This week PwC’s chair and senior partner Kevin Ellis tells us the stories of his beloved City haunts, including the pub where he started his career and the spots he uses to lift his spirits. What was your first job? My first job was delivering double-glazing leaflets around Chingford in East London where I grew [...]
Rail and postal strikes ‘decimated’ festive trade with worst impact for a decade February 14, 2023 London’s festive economy was “decimated” by rail and postal strikes, as new figures revealed the disruption caused by walkouts was the worst month on record since 2011. Around 843,000 working days were lost to strike action in December – the highest for more than a decade – according to official figures from the Office for [...]