Sports Direct notifies business department as it continues auditor hunt September 18, 2019 Sports Direct has notified the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department that it is tendering for a new auditor after Grant Thornton declined to be reappointed at its annual meeting last week. Sports Direct does not have an auditor following Grant Thornton’s withdrawal from the role. Read more: Mike Ashley survives shareholder vote at [...]
Lessons from rugby to the boardroom September 16, 2019 Having been part of several world-class rugby teams, I reached a stage post-retirement when it was impossible to imagine ever being part of a team that was so trusting and technically brilliant again. Whether playing for Bath, England, or the British and Irish Lions, I had to adapt to my teammates very quickly. But now, [...]
Senior KPMG restructuring partners set for 25 per cent pay rise to stave-off break up September 15, 2019 Senior partners in KPMG’s restructuring division have received a 25 per cent pay rise as the accountancy giant tries to prevent a potential break-up, it was reported this weekend. The Big Four accountancy firm, which has been involved in high-profile business failures, including the collapse of outsourcer Carillion in January 2018, had been holding talks [...]
Topshop bottom up as it flounders in rough retail space September 12, 2019 Topshop and Topman sprung a leak in Philip Green’s pocket last year, as its parent company said it had faced a year of stiff competition. Loss before tax at the clothes retailer grew to £505m in the financial year ending 1 September last year. It was a strong rise from 2017’s much less damaging £3.8m [...]
Rugby World Cup to give Georgia the chance to earn their seat at rugby’s top table September 12, 2019 Georgia have spent the better part of a decade stuck in European Rugby’s no man’s land, wedged under the glass ceiling that separates them from the continent’s elite. Currently, their primary competition is the Rugby Europe Championship, the second tier beneath the far more prestigious Six Nations. Georgia have won nine of the last 11 [...]
Mike Ashley survives shareholder vote at Sports Direct meeting September 11, 2019 Mike Ashley emerged from today’s Sports Direct meeting relatively unscathed as shareholders voted to re-elect him as a director of the FTSE-250 firm. In total, 90.99 per cent voted to reappoint Ashley as a director and 9.01 per cent voting against. However, Ashley owns 61 per cent of the shares. Read more: Mike Ashley to [...]
Sports Direct pleads with big four auditors to check its books September 10, 2019 Sports Direct, the retailer founded by Mike Ashley, is pleading with the big four accountancy firms to audit its books as it worries smaller accountants would not be up to the task. Over the last fortnight the company has sent overtures to the auditors ahead of its annual general meeting tomorrow, Sky News reported. Grant [...]
Mike Ashley to face shareholder anger at Sports Direct meeting September 10, 2019 Retail tycoon Mike Ashley is preparing to face frustrated Sports Direct shareholders at a meeting tomorrow following a turbulent year for the business. The founder and chief executive of the sportswear retailer has come under fire from shareholder advisory groups in the run up to tomorrow’s annual general meeting. Read more: Mike Ashley makes move [...]
JD Sports revenue growth defies high street gloom as it calls for ‘fairness’ on leases September 10, 2019 JD Sports has posted a sharp rise in revenue and profit for the half year, as it called for “fairness” on its leases amid gloomy conditions on the high street. Read more: Competition watchdog kicks off probe into JD Sports Footasylum acquisition The figures Revenue soared 47 per cent to £2.7bn in the 26 weeks [...]
The Jaguar F-Pace SVR is a fire-breathing SUV brute. But Tim Pitt discovers its softer side September 9, 2019 Jaguar’s Special Vehicle Operations division hasn’t been backwards about coming forwards. Its opening salvo was the 2016 F-Type SVR, a bona fide British supercar to rival the Porsche 911 GT3. In 2018, SVO then followed up with something even more extreme. The XE SV Project 8 was a hand-built 600hp road racer that vaguely resembled [...]