The non-bank of Facebook, AliBay, and AI: The future of global fintech March 5, 2015 The global fintech industry has seen some remarkable developments since we launched Level39 two years ago. But what of the future? I’d like to suggest two possibilities for what might happen, and challenge one that, contrary to some current thinking, I don’t think will. FACEBOOK: THE NON-BANK BANK More than any other social media platform, [...]
Rangers shares suspended as adviser quits March 4, 2015 FALLEN Scottish footballing giants Rangers yesterday saw trading in its shares on the Aim market suspended after the resignation of the club’s nominated adviser (nomad) WH Ireland. Unless the Championship club appoints a new nomad within a month Rangers International Football Club (RIFC) will be removed from the exchange. WH Ireland was RIFC’s fourth nomad [...]
Rangers shares suspended on London Stock Exchange following WH Ireland resignation March 4, 2015 The AIM market has suspended trading of shares in Rangers International Football Club (RIFC). The suspension follows the resignation of the club's nominated adviser (nomad) WH Ireland. Unless Rangers appoints a new nomad within a month the club will be removed from the AIM exchange. WH Ireland was RIFC's fourth nomad in two years. In [...]
Rangers seeks second tranche of Sports Direct loan – but warns it might not be approved March 4, 2015 Rangers is applying to draw down the second tranche of the Sports Direct loan to keep its head above water – but has warned that it might not receive the cash. The struggling football club was lent £10m by Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley at the start of the year for its urgent capital needs. [...]
Mike Ashley sidesteps MP grilling over USC redundancies March 4, 2015 Mike Ashley is sidestepping a meeting with Scottish MPs who want to grill him over the handling of USC's administration and his retail empire's use of zero-hour contracts. The Scottish Affairs Committee has called Ashley and other executives to appear before them as part of an investigation into how the high street chain collapsed, and [...]
Dave King claims a victory in Rangers war with Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley March 3, 2015 South African businessman Dave King yesterday claimed he had recorded a “landslide victory” in his bid to wrest control of Rangers’ boardroom. Rangers has been the subject of an ongoing tug-of-war between former club director King and Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley. King – who owns 14.5 per cent of Rangers’ shares – has called [...]
Mike Ashley hit with £7,500 fine for dual interest March 3, 2015 Mike Ashley was facing a less-than-hefty-fine of £7,500 from the Scottish Football Association for holding a dual interest in Glasgow Rangers. Ashley, who is reportedly worth £3.3bn, was found guilty of influencing management at Rangers after the appointments of chief Derek Llambias and finance director Barry Leach, both of whom are long-term acquaintances of Ashley. [...]
Use of zero hours contracts rises to record levels February 25, 2015 The finance sector once again had the lowest rate of workers on zero hour contracts in 2014, new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed. However, the total number of UK workers on zero hour contracts, which guarantee no set hours rose by 110,000 to 697,000. Just 31,000 of [...]
Allan Leighton confirmed as Co-op chairman February 19, 2015 ALLAN Leighton has no qualms about taking the toughest jobs in business. The self-style pluralist has experienced several, including Leeds United (where he organised a rescue takeover) and Asda (which he turned around after near-bankruptcy) to name a couple. The boardroom veteran added another to his list yesterday after the Co-operative Group confirmed the appointment [...]
Sports Direct on track for £360m profits despite winter slowdown February 19, 2015 SPORTS Direct said yesterday it remained “very” confident of achieving at least £360m of full-year underlying earnings after the poor skiing season at its Austrian business hit third quarter sales. The sportswear retailer, controlled by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, said sales for the 13 weeks to 25 January were up 2.6 per cent to [...]