Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct HQ raided by police investigating former Rangers owners May 6, 2015 Scottish police have raided Mike Ashley's Sports Direct headquarters as part of a two-year investigation into two takeovers of Rangers football club. Mike Ashley owns an 8.6 per stake in Rangers, whose previous owners Craig Whyte and Charles Green are the subject of the investigation that led police to Sports Direct's Derbyshire base. In a statement [...]
Sports Direct allegations leads to shopper snubs on the High Street – Brand Index May 5, 2015 With sales booming and a healthy share price reflecting their success, everything on the surface looks rosy for retail giant Sports Direct. However, a Channel 4 Dispatches programme aired last week made allegations of a far more salacious nature. Workers on controversial zero-hours contracts were said to be shamed over a tannoy system for a [...]
Sainsbury’s braced for first loss in a decade as supermarkets move to downsize May 5, 2015 Battling with excess space and a revival at Tesco, Sainsbury’s is having to fight harder than ever. It is early on a weekday morning, and the first wave of customers are yet to arrive at Sainsbury’s revamped store in Wandsworth – its aisles stacked high with everything from garden furniture to Le Creuset-style saucepans [...]
The strong arm of the Rugby law: 2015 World Cup legal partner Clifford Chance has long been part of the rugby family May 4, 2015 Would you like to watch this year’s Rugby World Cup through the eyes of Dan Carter or Sam Warburton? Effectively play the game with them. As them. In them. Feel what it’s like to react in that nano-second that takes them away from a defender or straight into the arms of a gigantic monster. [...]
ECI Partners cycles off with Evans Cycles May 1, 2015 The 90-year-old bike shop Evans Cycles has been sold by former owners Active Private Equity to another private equity firm ECI Partners for an undisclosed sum. ECI Partners said it will hold a "significant majority stake" in Crawley-based bike chain, which has 56 stores and employs around 1,200 people. This will leave its management with the remaining minority stake. [...]
Sports Direct’s put options in Debenhams are starting to expire – but did Mike Ashley’s bet pay off? April 30, 2015 Sports Direct's put options are starting to expire. The question on everyone's lips is, did Mike Ashley's bet pay off? The retailer, which first took a punt on the struggling department store in 2014, has gradually increased its stake in Debenhams to 16.6 per cent back via a series of put options. A put gives [...]
The cost of charismatic leadership: Strong personalities can be distracing April 27, 2015 Companies are better off relying on old-fashioned expertise and openness to feedback. General Electric’s former chief executive Jack Welch is often posited as the archetype of the successful “charismatic” business leader. He rose to fame for setting big goals and communicating them with confidence, and his influence on business more generally has been substantial. [...]
FTSE boosted by utilities to reach near record high – London Report April 23, 2015 BRITAIN’S top equity index pushed higher yesterday, boosted by a bump-up for utilities stocks just two weeks before the General Election, while mining stocks also outperformed. United Utilities climbed 1.1 per cent, SSE advanced 1.4 per cent and National Grid rose 0.6 per cent after investment bank Citigroup said the sector would be favoured as [...]
Navinder Singh Sarao: Quiet man of Hounslow in eye of a share storm April 23, 2015 A younger Navinder Sarao, the 36-year-old UK day trader facing extradition to the US for his alleged role in 2010’s flash crash, was a quiet man and a whizz at maths as a student, according to his neighbours. Anil Puri, a childhood friend, said Sarao was a “bright kid” and “definitely had a good future”. [...]
Veteran dealmaker Rupert Hume-Kendall calls time on City career at Bank of America Merrill Lynch April 22, 2015 One of London’s best-known investment bankers is bowing out after 18 years at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Rupert Hume-Kendall, one of the best-known dealmakers in the City, is stepping down from his position as chairman of global corporate and investment banking for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. [...]