Debenhams sets bidding deadline for potential buyers September 1, 2020 Struggling department store chain Debenhams has set a deadline for potential buyers to make offers for the company today as it seeks to avoid further closures and job losses. Investment bank Lazard, which is overseeing the sales process, has set a deadline of 5pm this afternoon, Sky News reported. Debenhams recently entered administration for the [...]
The Race for Digital Asset Supremacy September 1, 2020 The financial services industry is in the midst of a generational transition. Where once cryptocurrencies and digital assets represented a counterculture movement, developed as a direct response to the failings of the financial system in the 2008/9 financial crash, today they have become a central part of the financial services industry. The adoption of digital [...]
FTSE 100 reshuffle: ITV set to tumble from the big league September 1, 2020 The FTSE 100 is set for another dramatic reshuffle as the blue-chip index adapts to life during the coronavirus pandemic, with telly stalwart ITV almost certain to drop from the list and bargain retailer B&M likely to rise. FTSE Russell, which runs the index, will decide who’s up and who’s down according to prices at [...]
Sweet treats: Cake Box to repay furlough money after rise in sales September 1, 2020 Cake Box today said it will repay the money it received under the government’s coronavirus furlough scheme and pay a special dividend after posting a sharp rise in sales in the last three months. The cream cake specialist said it would hand back £156,000 it had secured and would make no further claims under the [...]
Dunelm reports post-lockdown sales boom on pent-up demand September 1, 2020 Dunelm today said its sales jumped in July and August as pent-up demand helped boost revenue following the coronavirus lockdown. The furnishings retailer reported year-on-year sales growth of 59 per cent in July and 24 per cent in August. The Leicestershire-based firm said the rise was due to pent-up demand following store closures, as well [...]
BP to sell London headquarters as work patterns shift August 30, 2020 BP is reportedly planning to sell its headquarters in central London, becoming the latest employer to signal a permanent shift in its working patterns. The oil giant employs 6,500 staff across its offices in the capital and in Sunbury-on-Thames in Surrey. It plans to rent back the building from the new owner for up to [...]
Back to business: Top Cuvée’s Brodie Meah on how corona has made people value local restaurants August 29, 2020 We talk to London’s top chefs about how they are dealing with the strange ‘new normal’. This week Top Cuvée’s Brodie Meah talks about missing the buzz of service and taking solace in a spot of wine-tasting. Who are you and what do you do? I’m Brodie Meah and, along with Max Venning, I operate Stoke [...]
Could AI help Rishi Sunak revive the UK economy? August 29, 2020 This was once meant to be the year the government balanced the books, a literal pay off for years of tight purse strings under George Osborne’s austerity programme. Instead, 2020 has seen government debt balloon to over £2 trillion. The coronavirus pandemic has meant UK spending has rocketed far beyond any previous peacetime records, leaving [...]
Exclusive: Sky to open first retail stores as it takes on high street rivals August 28, 2020 Sky is set to open its first ever brick-and-mortar retail stores in the UK as the broadcaster and telecoms giant defies faltering footfall to turn up the heat on its rivals. The media group is poised to open its first outlets in the coming months, providing a physical point of sale for its mobile, TV [...]
Gap posts surprise jump in sales as online business doubles August 28, 2020 Fashion retailer Gap posted a surprise jump in quarterly sales as its online business almost doubled due to consumers buying comfortable “stay at home” clothes during the coronavirus pandemic. The US firm said same-store sales were up 13 per cent in the second quarter, compared to analysts’ forecast of a 20.97 per cent drop. The [...]