Yes, Selfridges has just opened its Christmas shop and this is what it looks like August 1, 2016 Is that a little bit of Scrooge spirit we sense spreading across the capital? That would be because Selfridges became the world's first department store to open its Christmas shop. Bah, humbug. The retailer has put 50,000 decorations on display, with plans to expand the store later this year to accommodate another 70,000 decorations. When the [...]
Ascential step away from print advertising exposure helps media company grow August 1, 2016 Ascential, the business-to-business media company that floated in London this year, has reported a 13.5 per cent revenue growth in the first half of the year. The figures Turnover on a reported basis was £202.5m, up from £178.4m in the first half of 2015. The company’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda), [...]
Princess Beatrice to launch new career as business consultant with backing from Sandbridge Capital August 1, 2016 Princess Beatrice is reportedly set to launch a startup and begin her new career as a business consultant. Beatrice, 27, is said to have the backing of Sandbridge Capital – where she recently worked as an associate. Investment group Sandbridge focuses on lifestyle and fashion companies, including online retailer Farfetch and iconic British brand Topshop. "(Beatrice) is creating [...]
Royal Mint Court near the Tower of London gets planning permission for a redevelopment that includes space for a start up hub August 1, 2016 The capital is to get space for a new tech hub in the former home of the Royal Mint near the Tower of London. A proposal to remodel and refurbish the historic building, called Royal Mint Court, has received planning permission from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The plans by Delancey and the LRC [...]
City Moves for 1 August 2016 | Who’s switching jobs August 1, 2016 Independent Oil and Gas Independent Oil and Gas has appointed David Peattie as chairman. David has 35 years’ industry experience and was most recently the CEO of Fairfield Energy, an oil & gas company owned by a syndicate of North American and European private equity investors, led by Riverstone and Warburg Pincus. David began his [...]
Hot tub sales are bubbling in the luxury home leisure market July 29, 2016 It seems like a bit of a stretch to call it a "must have" item, but hot tubs are apparently all the rage after sales boomed in 2015. In a bubbling segment of the home leisure market, hot tub sales grew 20 per cent on 2014 figures, according to the British and Irish Spas and [...]
Petition to block M&S’ pay cut plans draws over 20,000 signatures in three days July 29, 2016 Pressure is mounting on M&S' chief executive Steve Rowe to cancel a pay cut for his staff as an online petition to block the plan has received nearly 20,000 signatures in three days. The company is consulting its staff over cutting premium pay on Sundays, and cuts to pay for bank holidays and employees working at anti-social hours, which could [...]
This Soho property boss is “on a mission” to make China town less Chinese July 28, 2016 China town is getting a revamp – and it's going to become less Chinese. Speaking to City A.M., the chief executive of Shaftesbury – which owns 3.2 acres of land in Chinatown – said there are too many Cantonese restaurants in China town, and he hopes to attract more varied set of restaurateurs to the heart of London. Read [...]
Westfield to create 8,000 new jobs at Stratford centre as part of expansion plans July 28, 2016 Shopping centre group Westfield is planning to create 8,000 new jobs at its Stratford centre in east London within the next 10 years. The jobs, mainly retail roles, will be created as part of expansion plans that also include up to 800,000 square feet of office space and 120,000 square feet of retail space, in addition to 1,225 new [...]
A sign of things to come? Countrywide shares leap despite pre-Brexit housing market slowdown July 28, 2016 The UK's largest estate agent said it had been hit by a slowdown in housing transactions in the run-up to the EU referendum. Is this a sign of things to come? The figures Countrywide said adjusted pre-tax profits fell 25 per cent to £21.8m in the six months to the end of June, although total income rose nine per cent to [...]