Morrisons steps up battle with rival supermarkets as it slashes prices of kitchen staples such as meat, poultry and vegetables September 4, 2016 Britain's fourth largest supermarket provided some Autumn cheer for consumers by announcing a series of price cuts to key products in a move that could spark a price war. Morrisons announced that prices of staples such as meat and poultry will be slashed by 20 per cent with some vegetable prices a third lower. Industry leaders said [...]
City Moves for 2 September 2016 | Who’s switching jobs September 2, 2016 Noble Foods Group John Gildersleeve has been appointed chairman of Noble Foods Group. John will oversee the implementation of the group's growth strategy for diversification and acquisitions. John spent 20 years on the Board of Tesco during its period of rapid expansion. Currently he is the chairman of British Land, a FTSE top 50 property [...]
Ex-Tesco finance chief cleared over accounting scandal August 31, 2016 Tesco's former finance chief Laurie McIlwee has been cleared by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) over the supermarket's accounting scandal two years ago. The FRC was investigating McIlwee after it emerged in 2014 that the company had been overstating its profits in its accounts stretching back to 2012. McIlwee resigned his position as chief financial officer in April 2014, five [...]
Amazon’s Dash button service launches in the UK today: Prime users can press a button to order condoms, dishwasher tablets, cat food and more August 31, 2016 Amazon has today launched its Dash button service in the UK, meaning British shoppers can order essential household items such as loo roll, dishwasher tablets, condoms and cat food using a physical button placed in the home. Launched in the US last year, Dash buttons are dongle-sized devices that connect to your home wi-fi network [...]
Amazon gears up for launch of new music streaming service August 29, 2016 Amazon could be set to launch its music streaming service as soon as next month. Amazon is thought to be locked in talks with the world’s largest record labels since the news of its coming service was first reported earlier this month. The negotiations are now nearing their end, the Financial Times reports. Read more: Amazon's creating [...]
Anchor butter and Cravendale owner grows earnings despite difficult market conditions August 26, 2016 One of the dairy companies at the centre of Britain's milk crisis reported profit growth and reasserted its desire to increase the milk price paid to farmers. Danish-headquartered Arla announced revenues of €4.9bn (£4.0bn) for the first half of 2016. Although this was down from €5.1bn in 2015, gross margins were sustained at €1.2bn and earnings were [...]
City Moves for 26 August 2016 | Who’s switching jobs August 26, 2016 JLT Employee Benefits JLT Employee Benefits, a pension and benefit consultancy, has hired Tony Pike as head of sales for the investment consulting business. Tony joins with a remit to develop JLT’s investment and delegated consulting services to both new and existing JLT clients. Tony joins from Willis Towers Watson where he was head of UK sales [...]
Now Tesco’s doing same-day click and collect in battle with Amazon August 25, 2016 Tesco's adding a new feature to its online shopping and letting customers order and pick up their items on the same day as it takes on AmazonFresh in the battle for grocery delivery market share. The same-day click and collect service will be available at 300 of Tesco's largest stores across the country in the wake of [...]
The weather this weekend could have a surprising effect on beer sales August 24, 2016 With two of the summer's biggest events – the Notting Hill Carnival and the Reading Festival – due to take place this weekend, Britons will be keeping a close eye on the weather forecast as they make plans for the Bank Holiday. The Met Office has issued a heatwave alert – which prompted a health warning [...]
City Moves for 24 August 2016 | Who’s switching jobs August 24, 2016 Smith & Williamson Smith & Williamson, the investment management, accountancy and tax group, has appointed Grant Hotson as group financial director. Grant joins the main board of Smith & Williamson and will sit on the firm’s subsidiary boards relating to the tax and business services and the investment management and banking divisions. He takes over from [...]