Anything Aston Martin can do… Lexus unveils its first sport yacht January 12, 2017 It was only a few months back Aston Martin dipped its toe in the water of day cruisers, with its first ever boat. And now Lexus has unveiled its concept for its very first sport yacht. The luxury division of Toyota said it delved into how it might expand into "new areas of lifestyle and [...]
Winners and losers from retail’s “Super Thursday” January 12, 2017 So many retailers decided to update the market on trading today that Shore Capital analysts published a note to complain about it. But as the morning has progressed, clear winners and losers have emerged from the data deluge. Here are our picks: Winners JD Sports put its gymwear rival Sports Direct to shame today as it scored [...]
JD Sports smashes expectations January 12, 2017 JD Sports shares jumped over seven per cent after the sportswear retailer smashing market expectations on full year numbers. The self-proclaimed "King of Trainers" said profit before tax and exceptional items will be be up to 15 per cent more than the £200m anticipated by analysts. After revealing 10 per cent sales growth at the half [...]
Former Bank of England deputy governor chosen as new BBC chair January 10, 2017 Sir David Clementi, the former deputy governor of the Bank of England, has been named as the government’s preferred candidate for the BBC chairmanship. He is set to head up the new BBC board, which is replacing the BBC Trust under the terms of the government’s new royal charter for the corporation. Clementi will appear [...]
Sports Direct may sell famous brands in bid to become more upmarket January 8, 2017 Sports Direct is looking into selling several of its brands as part of its bid to become the “Selfridges of Sports”. Founder Mike Ashley’s mission to turn the company’s standing around and to make Sports Direct more upmarket has reportedly progressed to ditching brands no longer deemed relevant to the UK market. According to sources, [...]
A big year, but it won’t Trump 2016’s shocks January 6, 2017 2016's events made fools of most pundits, and looking back at my column exactly a year ago, I fared little better. True, I correctly said that Santander UK would re-engage in an effort to buy Royal Bank of Scotland's Williams & Glyn unit, but I was well wide of the mark arguing that the FTSE-100 [...]
Calls for better governance at Sports Direct heighten, after Mike Ashley defies the will of the company’s other shareholders January 5, 2017 Sports Direct has today sparked more ire over the state of its corporate governance, including calls for a rethink on how listed firms are overseen The comments come after a second vote in less than half a year on whether to keep Keith Hellawell as chairman was waved through at the company's general meeting, as chief [...]
Independent shareholders vote to boot Sports Direct chairman, but Mike Ashley saves his right-hand man January 5, 2017 The independent shareholders of Sports Direct have voted to boot the retailer's chairman Keith Hellawell, but the company's boss Mike Ashley has saved his right-hand man. Fifty-four per cent of independent shareholders voted to get rid of Hellawell, who has presided over several profit warnings at the company. Read more: Shareholder advice group calls for [...]
Ex-migration chief recruited to crack down on workplace exploitation January 5, 2017 The former chair of one of an independent migration watchdog has been recruited to lead a government crackdown on exploitation of workers. Sir David Metcalf has sat on the Migration Advisory Committee since its creation in 2007, and will now serve as the first director of labour market enforcement. Metcalf, who was also a founding member [...]
Shareholder advice group Pirc and Aberdeen Asset Management call for Sports Direct chairman to be axed January 3, 2017 Shareholder advice group Pirc has called on investors to drop Sports Direct's chairman in a vote on Thursday. Aberdeen Asset Management has also backed calls for chairman Keith Hellawell to go. Read more: Sports Direct chairman: I have dealt with killers, I can survive board heat Hellawell faces expulsion after the majority of the retailer's independent [...]