Boy at the Almeida review: a flawed portrait of listlessness and poverty April 14, 2016 Almeida | ★★★☆☆ Boy takes place on a winding conveyor belt, with actors and props spinning before the audience like dishes at an especially dour branch of Yo Sushi. What starts out as a sexual health clinic becomes a bus stop then a housing estate then a park then a street outside a nightclub. Often [...]
JD Sports’ share price climbs as it posts another set of record results as profits soar April 14, 2016 JD Sports Fashion is showing rival Sports Direct how to do it: sales and profit have soared to record highs in the full year, with pre-tax profits leaping 45 per cent. The figures Sales at the group rose 20 per cent to £1.8bn in the year to 31 January, while profit before tax jumped to [...]
Sports Direct bags Oxford Street address for high end retailer Flannels April 12, 2016 Times might be tough for Sports Direct at the moment, but that isn't stopping the business splashing the cash – specifically on a shiny new property on Oxford Street. The premises, at 161-167 Oxford Street and 36 Poland Street, has been acquired freehold from CIP Property, a nominee of Aviva Investors for £108m. Sports Direct said [...]
Summoning Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley before MPs is further evidence of select committee arrogance – and it’s to all our detriment April 4, 2016 I’m not a great fan of the way Mike Ashley runs Newcastle United, but I would defend his right to refuse to attend the Business, Innovation and Skills select committee. Ashley has excused himself on a number of occasions from meeting the committee, and its members are now considering whether to compel him, under threat [...]
Corporate hospitality: The secret to getting it right March 29, 2016 In today's business environment, hospitality remains a vital part of building and maintaining client relationships. As an increasing amount of day-to-day contact with our customers and potential customers is conducted remotely, “face time” helps build trust, candour and forge stronger working relationships. It goes without saying that the need to demonstrate a return on investment or, [...]
Sports Direct’s share price falls after retailer clarifies Mike Ashley’s “in trouble” comments saying earnings will come in at bottom end of expectations March 23, 2016 Sports Direct has been forced to issue a clarification, confirming that the retailer's adjusted EBITDA will come within the expected range, after comments made by founder and majority shareholder Mike Ashley yesterday. Ashley – who is notoriously private and rarely speaks to the press – yesterday gave an interview with The Times in which he said the [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 rises despite tourism stocks dropping in wake of Brussels attacks March 22, 2016 Tourism stocks took a hit today in the wake of attacks in Brussels, holding the FTSE 100 index back from closing higher. The index closed 0.13 per cent higher at 6,192 points. "European equities dropped on Tuesday after a coordinated set of terrorist attacks at the airport and metro stations in Brussels sent investors out [...]
Sports Direct’s share price flops after founder Mike Ashley admits the company is “in trouble” and blames MPs for a storm of negative publicity March 22, 2016 The share price of controversial sportswear retailer Sports Direct has tumbled after billionaire boss Mike Ashley admitted in a rare interview the company is "in trouble", and "not trading very well". Speaking to The Times, Ashley blamed MPs for creating a storm of negativity around the retailer, and accused them of “abuse of parliamentary process” by requesting he attend [...]
Jonas Gutierrez suing Mike Ashley’s Newcastle United for £2m March 22, 2016 Footballer Jonas Gutierrez is suing former club Newcastle United for £2m over the way he was treated following his battle with testicular cancer. The Argentine winger, 32, has made a claim for disability discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 after he was released by the Premier League club last summer. He claims that his illness [...]
FTSE 100 falters but ends the week higher as Sports Direct and Standard Chartered share prices rise but Sainsbury’s falls March 18, 2016 The FTSE 100 index closed lower on Friday, but concluded the week higher. The index closed 0.19 per cent lower at 6,189 points. The fall comes despite a senior European Central Bank policymaker having hinted at another cut in Eurozone interest rates and having said “helicopter money” was part of the bank’s policy toolbox, said Jasper Lawler, markets analyst at [...]