Royal Mail plans to trial Sunday parcel delivery May 21, 2014 THE NEWLY-PRIVATISED Royal Mail is to start delivering parcels and opening its collection offices on Sundays to try and keep up with the demands of online shoppers and other postal companies. Royal Mail, which will post its first full-year results as a listed company today, plans to deliver parcels within the M25 seven days a [...]
Great Portland seals record rents as demand in West End heats up May 21, 2014 WEST End landlord Great Portland Estates posted a 27.6 per cent rise in net asset value (NAV) last year as the heart of the capital continues to experience hot demand and short supply of new office space. Great Portland, whose schemes include its 200,000 square feet Hanover Square site above Bond Street’s Crossrail station, said [...]
The stiff competition facing Royal Mail May 21, 2014 Ahead of its first set of full-year results as a listed company tomorrow, Royal Mail’s announced it’s going to trial delivering parcels on Sundays. Later this summer, it’ll open about 100 offices on Sunday afternoons for customers to pick up parcels. It’ll also pilot delivering parcels within the M25; and from June, Parcelforce Worldwide, its [...]
New York Report: Retailers lead a broad drop on Wall Street May 20, 2014 US STOCKS fell in a broad sell-off yesterday, with major indexes hitting session lows in afternoon trading, led by losses in the retail sector after disappointing results from Staples and TJX Companies. All 10 primary S&P 500 sector indexes fell, and nearly three-fourths of Nasdaq-listed names were down for the day. The S&P 500’s top [...]
G4S says goodbye to third UK chief in two years May 20, 2014 G4S, the tagging scandal hit security services firm, has lost its third UK chief executive in two years. Eddie Aston, who joined the contract giant from Deutsche Post DHL, has left after just six months in the role, as first reported by the FT’s Gill Plimmer. The company confirmed he left at the end of [...]
Privatisation may have come too late to stop the decline of Royal Mail May 20, 2014 Since privatisation Royal Mail has enjoyed a positive settlement with the Communication Workers Union (CWU), continued to implement its efficiency plan and has reported trading in line with guidance. However, Royal Mail's recent success is under increasing threat as the UK takes off as one of the most liberal and competitive postal markets in the [...]
City Moves for 20 May 2014 | Who’s switching jobs May 19, 2014 IO The multi-let industrial estates management firm has announced the appointment of Oliver Bowditch to handle acquisitions. He joins from JLL, where he focused on providing valuation advice to banks, institutional investors and property companies. BDO The accountancy and business advisory firm has appointed Chris Bellairs as a partner in its financial services practice. He [...]
Three tech start-ups hoping to win over John Lewis May 19, 2014 John Lewis will kick-off its search tomorrow for the next big idea to help its stores stay ahead in the digital age, with 30 technology start-ups battling out for a place in the retailer’s technology incubator JLAB. Each firm will deliver a five minute pitch to a panel of John Lewis directors and mentors [...]
Cisco shares rise in after-hours trading despite drop in revenue May 14, 2014 NETWORK equipment manufacturer Cisco Systems posted a lower-than-expected 5.5 per cent drop in quarterly revenue late last night, prompting the US giant’s shares to climb in after-hours trading. Cisco reported a net profit of $2.2bn in the third quarter, down from $2.5bn in the same period a year earlier. The company revealed revenue of $11.5bn, [...]
British Land warns politics a risk to recovery May 14, 2014 BRITISH Land warned that upcoming political events such as the general election posed “increasing risks” for the property market as the FTSE 100 landlord posted a jump in profits. Chief executive Chris Grigg said yesterday that uncertainty over the outcome of the 2015 elections could put off businesses and investors from investing in the sector. [...]