John Lewis, Pret and the 30 biggest private companies MPs want held more accountable February 12, 2017 Middle class favourite John Lewis and lunch time hotsport Pret a Manger are just two of Britain's most well-known businesses which could be subject to a stricter code of governance traditionally reserved for Britain's top public companies. Under new proposals suggested by a group of MPs, 30 of Britain's biggest privately owned companies would have to set [...]
After BHS: MPs eye stricter transparency rules for private companies February 12, 2017 The UK's biggest private companies and those with large pension schemes should have to abide by the same financial reporting rules as listed firms to ensure the fallout from the collapse of BHS is not repeated, MPs have said. Any private company with more than 5,000 members of a defined benefit pension scheme, or those defined as large [...]
Flopshop: Arcadia Group brand Topshop’s sales drop over Christmas February 5, 2017 Sir Philip Green’s fashion brand Topshop suffered a like-for-like sales drop of nearly 11 per cent over Christmas, the most important shopping period of the year. The Sunday Times has reported that sales across the Arcadia Group as a whole, which includes Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Evans, fell by about 6.5 per cent. The poor [...]
Christmas Day online shopping will peak at this surprisingly late time for the post-millennial “Generation Z” December 25, 2016 Most people will be aiming to put their feet up after Christmas lunch today and zone out in front of the TV – but there's one group of people who will be driving a late-night shopping boom this evening. Not content with their new stash of presents, "Generation Z", the post-millennial cohort who were born in [...]
Black Friday UK 2016: Fashion deals available today November 25, 2016 Black Friday is upon us so it's probably time to completely overhaul your wardrobe – here's a roundup of the best deals among high street and designer brands. Asos has a massive 20 per cent off all clothing if you use the code GOGOGO – the sale is running over the weekend. High street favourite [...]
Whistles recorded a £2.9m loss before its takeover by South Africa’s Foschini Group earlier this year November 13, 2016 Upmarket womenswear retailer Whistles recorded a loss of £2.9m ahead of its takeover by South Africa’s Foschini Group in March. Accounts filed at Companies House show that in the 12 months up to 30 January, Whistles's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) fell from a profit of £1.9m in 2015 to a loss of [...]
Singles Day: What can British retailers learn from China’s version of Black Friday? November 11, 2016 Today marks the world’s largest e-commerce event. No, it’s not Black Friday yet – Singles Day is taking place in China, and it’s bigger than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. At midnight local time it took Alibaba just 52 seconds to take its first 1bn renminbi (£116m) and just under seven minutes to reach 10bn [...]
MPs vote to strip Sir Philip Green of his knighthood October 20, 2016 MPs have voted to strip Sir Philip Green of his knighthood. MPs have been debating the collapse of BHS in the House of Commons. The amendment to take Green's knighthood was supported by over 110 MPs. The vote is not binding, and the ultimate decision over his knighthood will be taken by the honours forfeiture committee. Read more: [...]
Princess Beatrice to launch new career as business consultant with backing from Sandbridge Capital August 1, 2016 Princess Beatrice is reportedly set to launch a startup and begin her new career as a business consultant. Beatrice, 27, is said to have the backing of Sandbridge Capital – where she recently worked as an associate. Investment group Sandbridge focuses on lifestyle and fashion companies, including online retailer Farfetch and iconic British brand Topshop. "(Beatrice) is creating [...]
“Unscrupulous” deals should be scrutinised and potentially blocked in the wake of the BHS debacle according to the former chair of the pension protection fund July 31, 2016 THE pensions regulator should be given new powers to block “unscrupulous” deals, or be bolstered by the creation of a separate agency, in order to avoid a repeat of the BHS pensions debacle according to the former chair of the Pension Protection Fund, Lady Barbara Judge. She believes a new entity along the lines of [...]