City Moves for 2 March — Who’s switching jobs at Publicis, Onthemarket and CTS? March 2, 2020 Today’s City Moves includes Publicis, Onthemarket and CTS Publicis Groupe UK Publicis Groupe UK has announced that David Hackworthy, Saatchi & Saatchi’s global chief strategy officer, has been promoted to the newly created role of chief strategy officer of Publicis Groupe UK, in addition to his existing remit. He started his career client-side and has [...]
From Russia with kefir: How Biotiful Dairy sold a new drink to the British public March 2, 2020 How do you convince the British public to try a whole new food category, especially when it doesn’t sound very appealing at first glance? That was the challenge facing the Russian-born entrepreneur Natasha Bowes when she decided to try to start selling kefir in the UK. Kefir is a type of fermented milk drink made [...]
Lloyds faces fresh police probe over fraud claims March 1, 2020 Lloyds Bank is reportedly facing a fresh police investigation over allegations of fraud against small business. The Sunday Telegraph first reported that Avon and Somerset Police are investigating allegations made against the bank by property investor Kashif Shabir. Shabir lost his business after Lloyds foreclosed on his loans and appointed a receiver to sell his [...]
Asda: Private equity firms race to buy majority stake March 1, 2020 Private equity firms are vying to buy a majority stake in Asda after its US owner Walmart decided to offload the supermarket following the competition watchdog’s decision to block its merger with Sainsbury’s. US buyout firm Lone Star has reportedly made an offer for a stake in the grocer, with private equity firms Apollo and [...]
CMA considers enforcement action against developers over ‘troubling’ leasehold mis-selling claims February 28, 2020 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is set to launch enforcement action against developers after finding “troubling evidence of potential mis-selling and unfair contract terms”. The watchdog launched a probe into the industry last year and confirmed today that it had found evidence of “serious issues” within the housing sector. The issues revolve around the [...]
One month after Brexit: what’s happened so far? February 28, 2020 It’s been a month since the UK’s exit from the EU, but has anything actually changed? The UK has now moved into a transitional period which will last until December 31st. During this time, we exist under the terms outlined in our ‘divorce agreement’. Negotiations for a final trade deal are underway and the fate [...]
Focus on Isle of Dogs: Dog days are over for once-neglected peninsula as new development abounds February 28, 2020 There are two questions that residents of the Isle of Dogs are often asked. First, why is it called the Isle of Dogs? The boring explanation is that it’s a corruption of a more sensible water-related name like the Isle of Ducks. The grim one is that it was so called because of the sheer [...]
Wealth managers reduce exposure to UK property February 27, 2020 Following the high-profile suspensions of the M&G and Prudential UK property funds last year, UK wealth managers have significantly reduced their exposure to property. Six adviser groups have removed direct property funds from their portfolios for investors across all risk profiles, according to FE fundinfo’s Adviser Fund Index. Ten funds in the sector were removed [...]
Capital & Counties net asset value slides on Covent Garden revaluation February 26, 2020 Capital & Counties has reported a decline in net asset value (NAV) after the property group was hit by a decline in value of its Covent Garden holdings. The figures The real estate investment trust, which is listed in London and Johannesburg, said its EPRA NAV per share declined 10 per cent in 2019 to [...]
House prices return to pre-financial crisis levels February 26, 2020 House prices across English cities have risen above pre-Financial Crisis peaks for the first time since 2007, the latest research has found. Property in Central London recovered to pre-crisis levels in just 2.3 years, the fastest of all UK cities, as overseas buyers entered the market attracted by a weaker pound. Oxford and Cambridge followed [...]