Retail union ups pay ask to £12 per hour as cost of living spikes May 2, 2022 Retail firms should pay a minimum wage of at least £12 per hour, as recent pay hikes offer little respite against soaring inflation, a trade union has urged. In recent weeks, several large employers have hiked wages for shop floor and warehouse staff. Supermarket giant Tesco will raise hourly wages by 5.8 per cent from [...]
Shareholder rebellion to hit Ocado scheme over concerns of £100m windfall for boss May 2, 2022 Ocado investors are reportedly planning to turn their nose up at an extension of a share reward scheme which would see the retailer’s boss handed £100m. Two advisory groups, the Institutional Shareholder Service and Glass Lewis, have recommended investors to reject the proposal to lengthen the so-called “valuation creation plan” at its annual general meeting [...]
Watchdog unveils plans for fund ‘side pockets’ to shield investors April 28, 2022 The UK’s top financial watchdog has revealed plans for the use of so-called fund ‘side pockets’ today to ring fence assets that have become untradeable in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Look inside: Coca Cola opens first European flagship store in Covent Garden April 28, 2022 Coca Cola has opened the doors to its first flagship store in Europe today, in a vote of confidence for the West End. After a number of stores in the US, including the beverage titan’s home territory in Atlanta, Coca Cola is testing the waters with a UK experiential destination. The store is set to [...]
New West End Company chief leaves role as chief of business group for down under April 28, 2022 The head of the New West End Company is departing to oversee improvements to Sydney’s Western Harbour shopping district. After six years at the industry body, Jace Tyrell is leaving to head Australia’s first business improvement district (BID), the New Sydney Waterfront Company. NWEC works across 80 streets in the central London heartland, representing 150,000 [...]
London has been riding high on IPOs but must find favour in its post-Brexit status April 28, 2022 Against all the odds, the London IPO markets boomed in late 2020 and 2021, defying the uncertainties of Brexit and the pandemic to bring 126 new companies to market: 60 on the main market and 66 on AIM. In addition to the sheer volume of deals, there was an encouraging pivot to technology, as a [...]
How technology is transforming and unlocking real-estate asset classes April 27, 2022 The line between technology and real estate is blurring, bringing new opportunities and asset classes, particularly in residential, office and biotech, says Samantha Kempe, co-founder and chief investment officer of IMMO Capital. The sheer size of the real estate sector – the global figure reached a record $326.5 trillion (about £251.1 trillion) in 2021, according [...]
Ted Baker: Fashion retailer receives ‘a number’ of bids from suitors as sale hots up April 27, 2022 Ted Baker confirmed it has been the recipient of a number of bids from suitors hoping to snap up the high street fashion retailer. The clothes seller entered into a formal sales process earlier this month, after being wooed several times by US private equity firm Sycamore. It had previously revealed it had been approached [...]
Jupiter’s assets under management drops as client demand held back by high inflation and war April 26, 2022 British fund manager Jupiter Fund Management has seen its assets under management drop as geopolitical and inflationary pressures dampened client demand. In a trading update for the three months to 31 March, the firm said its assets under management closed the period at £55.3bn. This marked a £5.2bn drop from 31 December, fuelled by negative [...]
Burger King plots 200 new UK restaurants as fast food giant eyes whopper £600m London float April 25, 2022 Burger King is eyeing an additional 200 restaurants in the UK over the next four years, after “significant under-penetration” in the country’s market. The burger chain, which has been eyeing a London float since last year, said its adjusted EBITDA nearly tripled to £49.5m. In results for the year ended 31 December, the fast food [...]