Four Tesco senior executives “step aside” and FCA called in as share price plummets 11pc after “profit overstatement” September 22, 2014 Four senior Tesco executives have been suspended while it investigates a £250m "overstatement" of half-year profits. One of the figures understood to have stepped aside is Chris Bush, the supermarket's UK managing director. Shares in the supermarket opened more than 11 per cent down this morning after it admitted the error. The embattled supermarket said it [...]
Tesco overstated profit estimates by £250m prompting “comprehensive independent investigation” says chief Dave Lewis September 22, 2014 Tesco has warned investors that its profit outlook for the half year to August has been overstated by £250m. In its previous trading update on 29 August in which it issued a profit warning, the troubled supermarket expected half year results to be “in the region of £1.1bn”. However Tesco warned today it had identified [...]
City flocks for a taste of Boris’s Big Breakfast with Dr Fox and Richard Desmond September 18, 2014 Auch, it was nye on impossible to talk of anything other than Scotland yesterday, but Boris Johnson made a good stab at it over breakfast – hosting the London’s Big Breakfast charity campaign at City Hall with Magic FM’s Dr Fox and The Mayor’s Fund for London. Richard Desmond was there chatting to primary school [...]
Britain’s biggest companies call on Westminster for fundamental business rates reform September 16, 2014 Some of Britain's biggest businesses including Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's, Tesco, General Motors and Tata Steel have called on the government to rip up the current business rate regime claiming the current system is “a critical problem for all of British business”. The controversial tax delivers around £25bn to the Treasury every year, but [...]
Darin Brown of WPP agency POSSIBLE on digital-focused advertising and the rise of gamification September 14, 2014 WPP has been rapidly building up its digital presence in recent years, partly by acquiring smaller agencies worldwide and folding them into POSSIBLE. Darin Brown, POSSIBLE’s Europe, Middle East and Africa chief executive, talks to City A.M. about creating digital-focused advertising, and why brands are increasingly looking at interactive campaigns. You’ve worked on both [...]
Scottish independence: Former Sainsbury’s boss warns of higher prices if there’s a Yes vote September 12, 2014 In a fresh blow for the pro-independence campaign, the former CEO of Sainsbury's Justin King has warned Scots they will pay higher prices in the shops if they vote to abandon the union of 18 September. Speaking to the BBC's Robert Peston, King said: It is more expensive to do business in Scotland today. Business [...]
Scottish independence: Boost for No as Alex Salmond’s economic plan torn apart September 11, 2014 An influential thinktank yesterday tore apart Alex Salmond’s economic plan for an independent Scotland, warning that a Yes vote will make it harder to protect public spending from cuts. The blow to Salmond’s case for independence came as a number of high-profile UK retailers and banks added their names to a growing list citing concerns [...]
Philips needs solid numbers if he’s to see through his three-year plan – Bottom Line September 11, 2014 So you’ve had a row with your other half, and the next day, with the ensuing awkwardness still lingering, your eyes drift towards the posh chocolates in Waitrose. Combine ’em with some flowers, you reckon – chuck in a faux-sentimental card and maybe even a two-day break in Bruges – and hey presto, problem solved. [...]
Tesco beware: Aldi to double UK store count September 11, 2014 Tesco beware – Aldi has set its sights on the UK as a market ripe for growth, and it's backing its expansion plans with £70m. The budget supermarket today announced plans to almost double the number of stores in the UK from 531 to 1,000, and expand its UK headquarters in Atherstone, Warwickshire. The [...]
Scottish independence: Now Tesco Bank says it will move to England September 11, 2014 Tesco Bank has confirmed it will redomicile in England in the event of Scotland gaining independence, following commitments from four other major banks this morning. The supermarket's personal finance arm issued a statement this afternoon saying that it had been “developing contingency plans…. regardless of the outcome of the referendum” throughout the campaign. [...]