Big Oil’s exit from Russia is finally a true confluence between profit and purpose March 3, 2022 In November last year, any company with enough money to stamp their name on the top of a letterhead was clamouring to prove they weren’t just in it to make money; they were good people too. The Cop26 climate change summit offered an opportunity for businesses of all stripes to issue press releases and host [...]
Discount retailers benefit from cost of living crunch as shoppers head to Aldi and Lidl March 1, 2022 Grocery price inflation hit a new high of 4.3 per cent last month, with budget supermarkets luring shoppers in as the cost of living intensifies. Fresh data from Kantar reveals the fastest rate of inflation since September 2013, with the exception of the start of the pandemic when households panic bought essentials. Aldi and Lidl [...]
Pension fund calls on Unilever to overhaul health performance February 28, 2022 One of the UK’s largest pension funds has joined a campaign to push consumer goods giant Unilever to focus more on health targets, after it came under fire from investors last month for lacklustre health performance.
WPP swings from £2.2bn loss with ‘fastest organic growth for over 20 years’ February 24, 2022 WPP has swung from the eyewatering £2.2bn loss it swallowed in 2020, pulling in £1.2bn in profit last year. In what CEO Mark Read has hailed as WPP’s “fastest organic growth for over 20 years”, the technology, media and communications heavyweight has returned more than £1bn to shareholders, it said in its preliminary results today. [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? February 24, 2022 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every morning. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Howard Kennedy London law firm Howard Kennedy has bolstered its contentious trusts and estates team with a new partner. Strengthening the firm’s private wealth offering, Monika Byrska joins from Thomson Snell & Passmore where she was a [...]
GSK reveals name of new consumer goods spin-off will be ‘Haleon’ February 22, 2022 Pharmaceuticals giant Glaxosmithkline (GSK) has revealed that its consumer healthcare business will be called Haleon once it is spun off.
January retail sales boosted as cost of living crisis looms February 18, 2022 January retail sales volumes lifted 1.9 per cent last month while retailers prepare for consumers to limit spending as bills soar. According to the latest retail data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), sales volumes marked the largest monthly increase since April 2021 when non-essential retailing reopened. An increase came after a four per [...]
Best of this week in our opinion pages: from community-based solutions for fighting terrorism to the Bank of England’s dilemmas February 12, 2022 As talks of a definitive lifting of Covid-19 restrictions intensify, workers are coming back to their offices in flocks, bringing liveliness back into the Square Mile. Richard Kauntze wrote about an often overlooked aspect of the City’s inner workings: the unofficial economy of gossip. The City has long thrived on whispered tittle-tattle, which plays a [...]
British American Tobacco shareholders see light at the end of the tunnel as demand picks up February 11, 2022 British American Tobacco (BAT) has started to reap the rewards of its transition into new products such as vaping, as the global tobacco industry looks to shrink 2.5 per cent this year. While total revenue slipped 0.4 per cent to £25.6bn in comparison with 2020, the tobacco giant’s revenue from new categories swelled more than [...]
As chief execs traverse the world of sustainability, they must keep investors onside February 11, 2022 Mayonnaise. The humble condiment is now at the centre of a broader debate about the purpose of business. Last month, Fundsmith’s Terry Smith argued Unilever “had lost the plot” for attempting to define the purpose of Hellman’s. While Smith’s comments on sandwich fillers grabbed headlines, the more revealing point made by Smith was that Unilever [...]