Fintech unicorn Klarna posts first ever annual loss February 26, 2020 Klarna, the joint largest fintech startup in Europe, has suffered its first ever annual loss, with the “buy now pay later” specialist hit by heavy credit losses. The company, which lets people pay for online purchases in installments, reported a loss of 1.1bn Swedish krona (£87.5m) on revenues of 7.2bn krona last year, its first [...]
France warns of tech tax chaos if global deal not reached this year February 23, 2020 Failure to reach a global agreement on how to tax tech giants such as Google and Facebook would lead to a chaotic mix of different tax regimes, France’s finance minister has warned. Bruno Le Maire today called on international leaders to reach a consensus over tax reform by the end of the year or risk [...]
Kantar appoints former ITV boss Adam Crozier as chairman February 11, 2020 Kantar today announced it has appointed former ITV chief executive Adam Crozier to chair the market research firm after it was spun out of WPP last year. Crozier, who currently chairs Asos, Whitbread and cinema chain Vue, has previously held the top jobs at Saatchi & Saatchi, the Football association and Royal Mail. The appointment [...]
Retail bosses call for £6bn corporation tax hike to fund business rates cut February 5, 2020 Retail bosses are preparing to urge the Treasury to increase corporation tax in order to cut business rates by £6bn in a bid to save the UK’s struggling high streets. The recommendation to the government will be made in a report by a sub-committee of the Retail Sector Council, due to be shared in the [...]
City Moves for 4 February – Who’s switching jobs at Saatchi & Saatchi, Barkby and Superunion? February 4, 2020 Today’s City Moves includes Saatchi & Saatchi, Barkby and Superunion Saatchi & Saatchi Saatchi & Saatchi London has announced the appointment of Andrew Kay as managing partner on its prominent BT account. Andrew takes on the new role after three years as managing director at BETC. He began his career with account management roles at [...]
Asos chases away blues with record Black Friday performance January 23, 2020 Online retailer Asos beat the January blues with this morning’s trading statement as revenue grew 20 per cent across the group for the final four months of 2019. The fashion firm said that the growth, which was consistent across all of its divisions, was due to record Black Friday sales. Total sales hit £1.1bn, driven [...]
Former ITV boss Adam Crozier in talks to chair Kantar January 19, 2020 The former chief executive of ITV is in discussions to take over as chairman of market research giant Kantar. Adam Crozier, who led the broadcaster for seven years to 2017, has been approached about the role by Bain, which bought a majority stake in Kantar from WPP for $4bn (£3.2bn) last year. A source close [...]
Next raises forecast after Christmas sales beat expectations January 3, 2020 Clothing retailer Next continued its strong progress as the company beat its internal forecast for its Christmas performance by 1.1 per cent. In a trading statement, the company said that total full price sales for the fourth quarter were up 5.2 per cent, with sales for the full year up 3.9 per cent. Read more: [...]
High street retailers urged to offer opt-out option for ‘buy now, pay later’ plans December 3, 2019 High street retailers have been urged to allow shoppers to opt-out of being shown “buy now, pay later” options, over concerns that the easily accessible credit could push vulnerable people into unaffordable debt. The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, an initiative set up by personal finance guru Martin Lewis, said retailers should “help people [...]
City Moves for 27 November – Who’s switching jobs at Revo, Ted Baker and Hertz? November 27, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes Revo, Ted Baker and Hertz Revo Revo, the organisation that represents the UK’s £360bn retail property and place making sector, has announced that it has appointed Vivienne King as its new chief executive officer (CEO). Vivienne brings more than 30 years of business, advisory and real estate industry experience and joins [...]