Don’t be gloomy – but there are still risks to the strong UK recovery July 27, 2014 Friday’s GDP data took us past a very symbolic landmark. The level of output in the UK is now slightly above its pre-recession peak. However, we should bear in mind that the UK population has risen by more than 4 per cent since early 2008. Average income per person is therefore still some way below [...]
In a field of his own: FarmDrop’s Ben Pugh talks crowdfunding and the future of our food July 27, 2014 In the time it’s taken FarmDrop founder Ben Pugh to discuss his company with me, it crowdfunded £13,000. After just eight days on crowdfunding platform Crowdcube, FarmDrop raised more than its £400,000 investment target. A new way of doing food is, it seems, quite popular. The FarmDrop concept is simple: it streamlines the food [...]
UK company profit warnings at three year high, says report July 27, 2014 The number of profit warnings issued by FTSE 100 companies was at a three-year high in the first quarter, according to a report by Ernst & Young. In its quarterly Analysis of UK Profit Warnings report, the consultancy firm revealed that companies listed on the London Stock Exchange issued a total of 74 warnings [...]
Amazon shares slide as markets take a dim view of second-quarter loss July 25, 2014 Amazon shares have folded faster than high-street bookstores today after the Nasdaq showed what it thought of the world's largest online retailer posting a loss for the second quarter and falling some way short of market expectations. Shares had slumped by 11.36 per cent at pixel time with earlier losses as high as twelve per cent. That [...]
Boris Johnson avoids talking tennis by pulling on his sparring gloves July 24, 2014 It looks like the “will he, won’t he” tennis match between Boris Johnson and the Chernukhins (the Russian couple who paid £160,000 at a fundraiser to play BoJo and David Cameron) will go ahead, after Boris said he was going to get in training for it yesterday. Now we think we know how he’s getting [...]
Amazon share price dives as losses increase July 24, 2014 More of the same from Amazon, as it continues its tradition of favouring growth over profits. The e-commerce giant has just announced a loss of $126m, or $0.27 per share for the three months to the end of June, coming in significantly below Wall Street estimates of a $0.15 per share loss. The second quarter [...]
Starbucks tops expectations as profits rise by more than 10pc July 24, 2014 Global coffee giant Starbucks topped Wall Street expectations once again. The Seattle coffee chain reported earnings per share of $0.67 for the quarter ended in June, compared to $0.66 forecast by analysts. Starbucks, which has stores in 63 countries and over 200 stores in London, said revenue rose by more than 10 per cent to [...]
Royal docks business park gets go-ahead for new development July 23, 2014 Plans by a Chinese developer to create a £1bn business park in London’s royal docks aimed at attracting more businesses from China to the capital were granted planning permission last night. Beijing’s Advanced Business Park (ABP) plans to transform a 35-acre site – currently strewn with empty warehouses and unused docks – to create a [...]
Voiamo seeking to raise £10m in bid to speed up European rollout July 21, 2014 London-based low cost data roaming service Voiamo has agreed a pan-European deal with Europe’s largest consumer electronics chain, Media Markt. The chain will now sell Voiamo’ low cost data roaming sim cards across its stores in Spain and Portugal from 1 August. The company has launched a £10m fundraising round to accelerate its country roll-out [...]
The Hut Group in line for £100m KKR investment July 21, 2014 US private equity firm KKR, the owner of Boots, is set to take a major stake in online retailer The Hut Group, its first foray into the burgeoning online fashion market. A group of investors led by KKR will buy just under 20 per cent of the Manchester-based company from existing shareholders for about £100m. [...]