Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group urges PM to reform business rates system January 14, 2020 Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, formerly known as Sports Direct, has written to the Prime Minister to ask him to urgently review the business rates scheme. In a letter to Boris Johnson, Frasers Group finance chief Chris Wootton urged the government to reform the transitional relief system, which he said results in some stores “paying the [...]
Property of the Week: This £20m Fulham mansion has The Hurlingham Club and a heliport on its doorstep January 10, 2020 Cinema, swimming pool, sauna, bar, wine storage. These are things most of us can only dream of having in our homes – but that’s what one super-rich buyer will be getting if they snap up Fulham mansion, New Lodge. New to the market with a jaw-dropping £20m price tag, the six-bed, six-bath home on Broomhouse [...]
Game calls for ‘realistic’ rents as it closes 40 stores across the UK January 9, 2020 Game today urged its landlords to set “realistic” rents as the retailer confirmed it will close 40 stores across the country. The video game chain, which is owned by Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct, had already served notice to 13 sites, including Watford, Canterbury and Leicester. Read more: Sports Direct set for Game Digital takeover after [...]
Investors brace for rocky week of geopolitical tension January 5, 2020 Investors are bracing themselves for a rocky week’s trading which will be dominated by heightened tensions in the Middle East and feature a key US jobs report and many companies’ financial results. Traders started 2020 in a buoyant mood on Thursday of last week, with equity indices rising considerably. The US’s assassination of Iranian general [...]
2020 Vision: What to expect from sport this year, by industry insiders January 5, 2020 What will sport look like in 2020? We asked a host of industry experts for their predictions – and this is what they said. Neil Hopkins, global head of strategy at M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment Euros offer ticket to ride Football fans used to tournaments taking place in one or, at most, two host [...]
Sports Direct auditor RSM informs regulator and replaces management after internal accounting error January 5, 2020 The new auditor for retail chain Sports Direct has cleared out its top management team and informed the audit regulator after discovering an error in its own accounts. Challenger accountancy firm RSM scored a coup last year when it was appointed as auditor to FTSE 250 retailer Sports Direct (now Frasers Group). However, accounts for [...]
Employment tribunal rules ethical veganism is a philosophical belief January 3, 2020 A UK judge has ruled that ethical veganism is a philosophical belief and should receive the same protections as religion in UK workplaces. The ruling comes after Jordi Casamitjana brought a landmark case against his former employers, the League against Cruel Sports, who he claimed had sacked him due to his ethical beliefs. Read more: [...]
All the big high street retailers that collapsed in 2019 December 23, 2019 It has been another turbulent year for the UK high street, which has struggled to adapt to changing consumer behaviour while battling rising overhead costs. Household names such as Debenhams, Mothercare and Clintons hit the news after they were forced to launch restructuring plans, close stores or simply stop operations. Read more: Why high street [...]
Teenage Dick at the Donmar review: High school reimagining is a hit December 19, 2019 Teenage Dick transposes Shakespeare’s murderous monarch Richard III from Plantagenet England to the halls of a modern American high school; the perfect setting for a twisted tale of ambition and resentment. Roseland High School junior class secretary Richard’s desire for respect and attention is frustrated by his physical disability in a community that worships sporting [...]
Sports Direct shares soar on profit jump December 16, 2019 Sports Direct’s shares soared this morning as the retailer posted a jump in profit and revealed that it was beginning to see the “green shoots of recovery” at House of Fraser. The figures The company’s share price surged more than 30 per cent to 470p after the high street store said reported profit before tax [...]