Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group urges PM to reform business rates system January 14, 2020 Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, formerly known as Sports Direct, has written to the Prime Minister to ask him to urgently review the business rates scheme. In a letter to Boris Johnson, Frasers Group finance chief Chris Wootton urged the government to reform the transitional relief system, which he said results in some stores “paying the [...]
Rocket list 2020: The best London startups to work for this year January 14, 2020 Fintech firms dominate a new list of 32 fastest growing London startups released today, with the companies listing 499 open positions. Job site Otta, which focuses on the most innovative firms in the capital, has today released its Rocket List, highlighting the firms expanding the fastest in 2020. Nine fintech firms made the list, including [...]
Lululemon raises profit outlook after strong Christmas trading January 13, 2020 Exercise clothing retailer Lululemon raised its profit outlook today after a strong sales performance over the important Christmas trading period. Shares in the retailer jumped around two per cent in early trading this morning after it announced that profit per share for the quarter to 2 February is expected to be $2.22 to $2.25. Read [...]
Signs of an economy trying to grow January 13, 2020 The capital starts the new decade with a spring in its step. In fact, it bounced along nicely (and ahead of the rest of the country) throughout last year, and still found space to cash in some pent-up investment in the wake of Boris Johnson’s electoral victory. London’s dominance is a familiar story, but given [...]
Bank of England’s Sam Woods warns of crackdown on the City January 12, 2020 Deputy Bank of England governor Sam Woods has warned the City that it could face a crackdown by regulators as they try to ensure the financial system remains safe a decade on since the financial crisis. Woods – who is chair of the BoE’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) which oversees lenders and insurers – told [...]
Crypto AM Awards 2020 January 10, 2020 Crypto AM Awards 2020 The inaugural Crypto AM Awards celebrated innovation and excellence, by awarding those recipients working within AI, Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, Digital Assets and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). Impressions from the day Winners of the Crypto A.M. 2020 Awards Community Enhancement Award – CryptoCompare Service Provider Award – CMS Law Enterprise Blockchain Award – [...]
Selfridges’ Christmas sales boosted by vegan food and toys January 10, 2020 Selfridges enjoyed a five per cent growth in sales in the 24 days leading up to Christmas fueled by increasing demand for vegan food. The department store saw growth of 96 per cent in vegan confectionery sales, while a newly-launched vegan hamper sold out. Read more: Selfridges to open permanent cinema on Oxford Street The [...]
Lidl sales grow 11 per cent over Christmas period January 10, 2020 Lidl UK saw an 11 per cent increase in sales over the Christmas period, outshining bigger supermarket rivals, its latest trading update revealed today. The German discount supermarket group said it was the fastest growing bricks and mortar supermarket over the four weeks ending 29 December. Read more: Lidl sales help it hit record stake [...]
Retail CVAs decline as landlords push back against plans January 8, 2020 The number of retailers using company voluntary arrangements (CVAs) to rescue their businesses slumped last year due to backlash from landlords, as administrations spiked in December. The use of CVAs declined 24 per cent from 38 in 2018 to 29 in 2019 as landlords increasingly push back against rent cut requests by struggling retailers. Read [...]
The changing face of income January 8, 2020 Henderson High Income Trust celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2019, having launched in 1989. This was the same year that Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. Given Henderson High Income provides shareholder with a high dividend income by predominately investing in UK companies, this article looks at how the internet has led the UK market [...]