Amazon planning to more than double its workforce in London September 11, 2014 Online retail giant Amazon has signed a deal to open a huge office around the corner from Silicon Roundabout, where it will more than double its current total UK corporate workforce to more than 5,000 employees. Amazon’s new home will be Principal Place, a massive development between Liverpool Street and Shoreditch High Street stations, which [...]
DIY expert nails the top job at Kingfisher September 10, 2014 Veronique Laury set to become only one of five female FTSE 100 chief executives FEW PEOPLE on this side of the Channel will have heard of Veronique Laury, but after renovating three houses of her own, the incoming chief executive of Europe’s largest retailer has knowledge of the DIY sector that goes beyond just the [...]
How to save up for a house deposit September 9, 2014 With property prices surging in recent years – by 19.3 per cent in London in the 12 months to June, according to ONS data – the amount needed for a house deposit has shot up. The latest figures from LSL Property Services show that the average first-time buyer put down just over £30,000 for a [...]
Why Richard Branson isn’t afraid to fail: Four Virgin businesses that didn’t work out September 9, 2014 It was only a year ago that Richard Branson was prancing around in a red kilt at the launch of Little Red, his domestic airline for the UK, which was designed to provide competition after British Airways owner International Airline Group acquired BMI. Since its launch, though, Little Red has been dogged by rumours [...]
Biggest bank IPO of the year, as RBS values US bank Citizens at up to $14bn September 8, 2014 RBS hopes to raise $3.5bn (£2.2bn) by selling the first chunk of its US retail bank Citizens, the bailed-out bank announced yesterday. It will be the biggest banking sale of the year, and reflects the renewed confidence markets have in newly-floated stocks. RBS is selling Citizens as part of its wider plan to cut back foreign [...]
Virgin on ridiculous: Four businesses showing how Richard Branson likes to “fail fast” September 8, 2014 It was only a year ago that Richard Branson was prancing around in a red kilt during the opening of Little Red, his domestic airline for the UK, which was designed to provide competition after British Airways owner International Airline Group acquired BMI. Since its launch, though, Little Red has been dogged by rumours [...]
City AM awards: Business of the Year nominees announced September 7, 2014 I have great pleasure in introducing the first of our shortlists for the annual City A.M. awards. As ever, the awards have attracted nominations from all sorts of diverse businesses and people who have done great things during the course of the past year, a year of recovery in the UK. We have taken on [...]
And the nominees are… September 7, 2014 TOMORROW: ACCOUNTANCY FIRM OF THE YEAR ALDI The German discounter has taken the British high street by storm. Aldi now has a 4.6 per cent share of the UK market, up more than one third in a year due to consumers choosing its quality and low prices over the more established retailers. It has even [...]
London Report: Retailer data to reveal strength of UK recovery September 7, 2014 THE NEWLY-MERGED Dixons Carphone will report its maiden quarterly results tomorrow in a week containing a flurry of updates for retailers. Figures for the company, whose merger only completed a month ago, will be keenly watched by investors, who will be hoping the firm’s planned synergies are starting to take effect. Other retailers due to [...]
Barts Square: A new quarter in the heart of the City September 5, 2014 Behind the shimmering tower of 200 Aldersgate – a modern office block at London Wall – is a myriad of streets that once served as the City of London’s trading lifeline. They wind in between Smithfield meat market, the Barbican, St Bart’s Hospital and up to the Old Bailey and the cells of Newgate Street. [...]