UK set to face ‘sluggish’ growth in the face of sticky inflation and Bank of England interest rate hikes
How to be a billionaire: Business lessons from Hargreaves Lansdown founder Peter Hargreaves April 15, 2015 Yesterday, Hargreaves Lansdown’s Peter Hargreaves announced plans to step down from the board after 34 years steering the company he co-founded. According to the Sunday Times Rich List, Hargreaves is worth £2.4bn. How did a plain-speaking accountant become the UK's 39th-richest person? Here are six of Hargreaves' rules for life. 1. Billionaires don't borrow [...]
JD Sports share price soars as retailer scores £100m profit for the first time April 15, 2015 The figures JD Sports' share price soared by over five per cent after the retail group netted a slam dunk in 2014, with profits before tax and exceptional items smashing the £100m mark for the first time. The retailer which includes high street fixtures such as JD, Size?, Millets and Blacks in its roster, scored [...]
Burberry’s poncho “innovation and investment” drives sales as design worn by Alexa Chung and Cara Delevingne woos customers April 15, 2015 The figures Revenue at Burberry for the second half was up nine per cent on the same period the previous year to £1.4bn. Retail sales were strong, up 13 per cent to £1bn on an underlying basis with America and Europe hitting double-digit growth compensating for a continued slowdown in Asia. Licensing revenue was up [...]
Barclays U-turn on account fees: Bank will pay customers £4 a month as competition hots up April 14, 2015 Barclays will offer to pay current account customers from next week, intensifying the battle sweeping the high street since the seven-day switching service made it easier to move banks 18 months ago. The bank has been losing customers to rivals through the seven-day service, as other lenders have won clients by offering financial rewards. Barclays’ [...]
Barclays account switch: The customer is king once more – Bottom Line April 14, 2015 An injection of capitalism was all it took. Not long ago, British banks were unpopular and unresponsive, and now they are listening to their customers. How times are changing. Barclays’ decision to radically change its offer to customers by giving them cash marks the latest stage in the development of this market – and shows [...]
HSBC gears up to shake up its board of directors April 14, 2015 British banking giant HSBC is planning to shake up its boardroom, as long-serving directors prepare to leave the institution. Non-executives Rona Fairhead and Simon Robertson are expected to serve on the board for another year, and the bank’s headhunters are looking for candidates to join the top committee. HSBC is understood to retain recruiters MWM Consulting [...]
Billionaire backers Wilbur Ross and Stanhope Investments cut Virgin Money stake April 14, 2015 Billionaire investors Wilbur Ross and Stanhope Investments last night cut their stake in high street bank Virgin Money by selling $354m (£240m) of shares in the Richard Branson-backed venture. The bank, which floated last November by raising £500m, valuing the business at £1.25bn, is co-owned by US investor Ross and Abu Dhabi-based fund Stanhope alongside [...]
Poundland eyes extension over 99p Stores deal probe April 14, 2015 Poundland is expected to ask for an extension tomorrow over its decision on whether to walk away from its £55m tie-up with 99p Stores or proceed with a full-scale probe by the competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said last week that it had concerns over 92 areas where it believes there could [...]
British icon Tesco rebounds but will it ever attain its past glory? – Brand Index April 14, 2015 Are there now real signs of recovery for Tesco? Its battle – not just against its traditional big four rivals but the German discounters too – has a long way to run, but the YouGov BrandIndex points towards areas in which it is succeeding. Tesco’s nadir was reached prior to Christmas, its brand image damaged [...]
Cinven sells off £136m stake in Spire Healthcare April 14, 2015 SPIRE Healthcare shares slumped yesterday after private equity backer Cinven shrunk its stake further by placing £136.4m of shares with investors. The placing, priced at 340p, represented a hefty discount to Spire’s 367p closing price on Monday night. Shares closed down more than 10 per cent yesterday, reflecting the lower placing price. Private equity outfit [...]