City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile today? December 10, 2021 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every morning. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Tesco Bank Tesco Bank has bolstered its board with a new independent non-executive director, who brings three decades of financial services experience to the position. Liz Buckley, a former group transformation director at Direct Line Group, has [...]
Urgent calls for a ‘lessons learned’ review into impact of pandemic handling on high streets December 10, 2021 The government is facing calls to conduct an “immediate lessons learned” review into how high streets were affected by the handling of the pandemic. An online sales tax should also be introduced and go towards a reduction in business rates for the retailer, the cross-party Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee agreed. In a [...]
Plan B: Central London footfall to plummet with businesses in the lurch December 9, 2021 Central London footfall is anticipated to shrink to 50 per cent below 2019 levels following the government’s move to plan B Covid restrictions this winter. Areas like the West End are currently 20 per cent less busy than pre-pandemic levels, with retail experts at Springboard predicting the gap to widen further. Office workers were told [...]
MADE revises down revenue forecast amid ‘significant’ supply chain struggles December 9, 2021 Home retailer MADE has revised down its revenue guidance as it battles the “significant” supply chain disruptions that have hit most industries. It has also warned investors of a potential £12m to £15m loss in adjusted earnings, which it expects to recover next year. The news prompted shareholders to pile out of the stock, leaving [...]
Moonpig momentum dips following lockdown-induced spending boom December 9, 2021 Moonpig’s revenue and profits have slipped as the lockdown-induced spending momentum dials down. After shops reopened in the six months to October 31, Moonpig’s revenue has sunk 8.5 per cent to £142.6m, with it struggling to compete with the lure of brick and mortar card stores. Investors were not deterred, however, with Moonpig’s share price [...]
Fashion firm Quiz reports rebounding sales as shoppers buy party clothes again December 8, 2021 Fast fashion retailer Quiz posted a first half sales rebound after it was battered by pandemic store closures last year. Sales more than doubled year-on-year in the two months to November, following the lifting of restrictions on social gatherings. Shoppers flocked back to stores to buy occasion and dressy products. A higher level of full [...]
NFTs – the death knell of mortgages? December 8, 2021 The advent of blockchain, distributed ledgers and automated market makers has now allowed the exchange of titles instantly with 100 per cent surety on their authenticity at all times.
Central bank of Norway acquires stake in fast fashion firm Boohoo December 7, 2021 The central bank of Norway has acquired a 3.1 per cent stake in fast fashion retailer Boohoo, according to documents filed on the London Stock Exchange. Norges Bank is now the fifth largest institutional investor in the online retailer, following confirmation of the investment this week. Boohoo co-founder Mahmud Kamani is still the largest single [...]
Outlook 2022: Global economy December 7, 2021 2022 is set to be another good year for growth, albeit the recovery is likely to remain unbalanced. Anticipated withdrawal of emergency levels of support will play important role in shaping outlook. Risks include higher-than-expected inflation and weaker growth. The emergence of the Omicron Covid variant has reminded us of the uncertainties which remain around [...]
West End laments government Covid messaging as footfall falls flat December 7, 2021 The West End has bemoaned government messaging on Covid as it reported no uptick in footfall last week. New West End Company, which represents 600 brands in the area, said yesterday footfall was still down 30 per cent on pre-pandemic levels. Flat footfall was blamed on “the impact of Government messaging around Omicron,” and tube [...]