Pets at Home share price falls despite rising sales October 30, 2015 Shares in Pets at Home slumped seven per cent to 290.4p in lunchtime trading, even though it posted a six per cent rise in revenue to £404.5m in the first half of 2015. In the six months to 8 October, total revenues for the pet retailer rose six per cent to £404.5m. The company posted like-for-like sales growth of 1.8 per [...]
UK house prices: Combined wealth of UK property investors rises 40 per cent in a year, hitting a record £306bn October 30, 2015 The UK's real estate investors are richer than ever before, with £306bn of wealth – a new record. That's according to the Estates Gazette Rich List, which said this was the first year the figure had risen above £300bn. It's a 40 per cent jump since 2014, when the total figure was £218.3bn. What's surprising is [...]
Why pumpkins are not just for carving this Halloween – and how you can turn yours into great recipes by celebrity chefs Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Ainsley Harriott and Mark Hix October 28, 2015 This week the chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall described the UK as the food waste capital of Europe. The facts make it hard to disagree. Every day 24 million slices of bread are thrown out by UK households. More than one in five households admit to binning an entire loaf of bread before even opening or slicing [...]
Out of town shopping centres jump in value on the back of growing popularity October 27, 2015 Britain's out-of-town shopping centres have jumped in value over the last three months thanks growing appetite from investors and retailers opening new shops. Research from estate agency CBRE shows that capital values increased by six per cent in the third quarter, marking the second steepest rise since 2000. That contrasted with a 3.8 per cent [...]
Morrisons staff to sue after disgruntled colleague Andrew Skelton posted bank, salary and National Insurance details online October 27, 2015 Morrisons staff are planning to sue the supermarket after a data leak led to personal details of almost 100,000 employees being posted online by "a former colleague with a grudge". Bank, salary and National Insurance details were posted by Andrew Skelton, a senior internal auditor at Morrisons' Bradford head office, on data sharing websites after being disciplined [...]
West End retailers poised for £2.3bn Christmas and Black Friday 2015 shopping bonanza October 27, 2015 West End retailers are bracing themselves for a £2.3bn shopping bonanza this Christmas, with spending set to reach its highest level since 2007, as higher disposable incomes and lower prices help boost consumer confidence. London’s main shopping streets – Oxford Street, Bond Street and Regent Street – are expecting a 1.2 per cent uplift in sales [...]
Market Tech Holdings snaps up another Camden property as it eyes main market move October 26, 2015 Market Tech Holdings, the owner of the iconic Camden Market which is majority owned by Israeli entrepreneur Teddy Sagi, said it has added another property to its burgeoning north London empire and that trading was on track. The company, which owns around 14 acres of land in and around Camden, said it has bought the freehold of [...]
Burrito restaurant Chilango to raise £1m via crowdfunding platform CrowdCube October 26, 2015 Burrito restaurant Chilango has launched a new fundraising round on crowdfunding platform CrowdCube after tapping retail investors for £2m last year. The Mexican food chain said it aims raise £1m from potential investors in return for a 3.26 per cent stake in the business. Shareholders can put as little as £10 compared with last year’s mini-bond, where investors [...]
German discounter Aldi pledges to pay all UK staff above National Living Wage October 26, 2015 Aldi has set out to trump its supermarket rivals on pay by announcing today that it will pay all UK staff "significantly" above the living wage. The discount food retailer said all UK employees will be paid at least £8.40 an hour, and £9.45 in London from February 2016. This is ahead of the government’s national living wage of £7.20 an [...]
RationalFX and Xendpay founder Rajesh Agrawal on Apple Pay, Masai warriors and the future of banks October 25, 2015 When I get the Tube, I always pay using my Apple Watch,” says Rajesh Agrawal. The Indian-born entrepreneur and philanthropist doesn’t exactly need to take the Jubilee Line to work – in The Sunday Times Rich List 2012, he was estimated to be worth around £90m. But making money has never been the aim: “look [...]