Gap is closing down all of its UK Banana Republic stores October 18, 2016 Gap has said it will be closing all eight of its Banana Republic stores in the UK as part of a global re-evaluation. The retailer will be focusing its attention on North America, after announcing in May that it was reassessing the overseas presence of Banana Republic, which has suffered falling sales. Net sales in [...]
Sterling and FTSE 100 jump as inflation hits two-year high October 18, 2016 Sterling recovered some poise today, soaring higher after inflation jumped to a two-year high. The FTSE 100 also jumped back above 7,000 in early morning trading, fading only slightly to end the day up 0.7 per cent at 6,994 as traders and investors digested the news that prices rose by one per cent in the year to [...]
Asos to move employees onto a higher living wage in the next 18 months October 18, 2016 Hitting back at accusations that it mistreats workers, Asos said today it will be moving employees onto the living wage foundation level of pay over the next year and a half. The Living Wage Foundation sets a separate minimum wage for employers that companies opt-in for. Currently, companies in the scheme pay a minimum of £8.25 [...]
Profit at the world’s largest asset manager rose in the last quarter October 18, 2016 BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, has posted a rise in quarterly profit, beating analyst expectations. The New York-based firm's performance will be seen as a strong sign of resilience in a weak market for many traditional asset managers. The numbers Third quarter earnings came in at $5.14 a share on $2.84bn in revenue, beating Thomson Reuters consensus expectations of about $5 [...]
Gear4music proves that buying musical instruments online is the way to go October 18, 2016 Shares in Britain's largest online musical instrument retailer fell by two per cent despite posting half-year results that showed it had grown revenue and profit by over 70 per cent. The numbers Aim-quoted Gear4music's revenue increased from £12.5m to £21.6m with gross profit rising from £3.3m to £5.8m. The company's gross margin percentage – the percentage of [...]
The EU’s maddening, opaque, confusing and illogical import tariffs must be scrapped October 18, 2016 As you sit down to read City A.M. today over a perfectly smooth coffee from one of London’s ubiquitous coffee shops, you’re probably well aware that we don’t grow coffee in this country, never will and don’t care either. So why does coffee need seven different types of import tariffs set by the EU? Today we [...]
Focus On Holloway: How the area went from “no-go area” to a thriving hotspot for independent businesses October 17, 2016 Holloway may be one of the oldest neighbourhoods in north London, but it hasn’t always been popular. Londoners who weren’t Arsenal fans might only pass through to get on to the M1 and its infamous women’s prison on Parkhurst Road hardly does wonders for its reputation. For a long time, its only cultural claim to [...]
Meet the woman who wants to make the private jet market greener October 17, 2016 From bouts of turbulence to nightmare passengers, air stewardesses have to cope with their fair share of challenges on a daily basis. “You learn to keep a smile on your face,” says Gabriella Somerville as we climb to 12,000 feet above the capital. The founder of private aviation firm ConnectJets – which manages private jet [...]
Interserve seals £37.5m account with Land Securities October 17, 2016 Interserve has won a three-year facilities management account with commercial property firm Land Securities, valued at £37.5m. The support services company announced it would be providing a range of services to Land Securities, including security, cleaning, customer service support and waste management. This would be across eight of its shopping centres, with a ninth – Westgate [...]
City Moves for 17 October 2016 | Who’s switching jobs October 17, 2016 Yorkshire Building Society Yorkshire Building Society has appointed Mike Regnier as chief executive. Mike, who joined the Society in 2014, is currently chief customer officer and executive director. Mike, who has 20 years’ corporate experience in consulting and retail financial services, was formerly products and marketing director at Lloyds Banking Group, where he was responsible for the [...]