Sold! Irn-Bru owner snaps up Boost Drinks December 5, 2022 Beverage giant A.G. Barr has acquired energy drink maker Boost Drinks for an initial consideration of £20m. The Irn-Bru and Rubicon owner said it was acquiring Boost from its founder Simon Gray and his wife Alison, who will continue to lead the business. The London-listed drink firm said there was “significant potential” for additional growth [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? December 2, 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. Heathrow Express Heathrow Express has appointed a new director and business lead, who rejoins after a three-year hiatus. Daniel Edwards previously led the Heathrow VIP commercial team before becoming head of retail categories. Edwards, who launched its [...]
Hotel Chocolat in the red amid ‘challenging’ current trading landscape December 1, 2022 Chocolate maker Hotel Chocolat has posted a £9.4m loss but said “people are still treating themselves with affordable luxury” despite a cost of living crisis. Its full-year results came in contrast to the previous year’s, where the London-listed firm posted a £3.7m profit after tax. “It goes without saying that the current environment is challenging [...]
Ed Warner: Is Infantino a moonbeam or a clown? Either way, Fifa boss is here to stay December 1, 2022 Gianni Infantino. Moonbeam or clown? Flibbertigibbet? Certainly. Problem-solver, or problem to be solved? All depends on where you are coming from – quite literally. Just don’t expect Fifa’s demon/angel (delete according to taste) president to be going anywhere soon. Most likely not until 2031. Football’s Swiss-Italian head honcho has been front and centre of the [...]
Brexit has contributed to UK inflation crisis, BoE’s Pill claims November 30, 2022 Brexit is partly to blame for UK inflation surging to a 41 year high and engineering a recession, the Bank of England’s top economist claimed today. Speaking at an event hosted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Huw Pill said worker shortages in Britain had been “met by the inflow” of EU migrants while the [...]
Finance boss at Inchcape quits after ‘personal behaviour falls short’ November 28, 2022 Inchcape’s chief financial officer has stepped down with immediate effect after displaying “personal behaviour falling short” of the company’s standards at a recent event. Gijsbert de Zoeten quit over the revelations this morning, in a statement put out by the company, forfeiting his long-term incentive plans (LTIPs) as well as any bonuses. By contract he [...]
Demand for London offices unphased by remote work and downward economic trends November 28, 2022 Demand for office space in central London has held firm despite the ongoing work-from-home trend and economic downturn risking upending the capital’s market. Uptake of central London offices surged 63 per cent in the first nine months of this year, in comparison with 2021, according to data shared exclusively with City A.M. today by BNP [...]
Twitter’s Brussels office exodus raises alarm bells for online safety November 24, 2022 Twitter has reportedly disbanded its entire Brussels office, as Elon Musk continues his rampage of headcount. According to initial reports from the Financial Times, Julia Mozer and Dario La Nasa, who were in charge of Twitter’s digital policy in Europe, left the company last week. The pair were reportedly instrumental to the social media company’s [...]
B&Q owner says DIY sales driven by household energy concerns as profit forecast trimmed November 24, 2022 Kingfisher has seen customers forking out to improve their household energy efficiency, as the B&Q owner shaved its full-year profit outlook. In a trading update for the third quarter, the retail titan posted sales of £3.3bn, a 0.2 per cent boost on the previous year. The Screwfix owner previously reaped the rewards of a pandemic [...]
UK economy arrests decline but recession still coming November 23, 2022 The UK economy has arrested a decline, but it still looks likely to tip into a long recession, a closely watched survey out today has unveiled. S&P Global and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply’s (CIPS) flash purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for November inched up to 48.3 points from 48.2 in October. It is [...]