M Local selloff: Morrisons’ ill-fated attempt to build a convenience arm has become a lesson for the industry August 26, 2015 It was a cold day in February 2013 when Morrisons’ former chief executive Dalton Philips was faced with a tough decision. Film rental chain Blockbuster had just collapsed and Morrisons was one of several suitors circling a portfolio of 50 stores administrators had put up for sale. Read more: It's a deal – Morrisons [...]
City Moves for 11 June 2015 | Who’s switching jobs June 10, 2015 JLL The property-focused professional services and investment management firm has announced three appointments to its Central London tenant representation team. Robin Pugh becomes national director. He has previously worked for JLL in Dubai and in its City leasing team. Andrew Wood (pictured) joins as associate director. He has previously held roles at CBRE and DTZ [...]
Malcolm Walker’s many lives: How Iceland hopes to fight off profit slump June 10, 2015 Malcolm Walker has more business lives than a cat. He built his frozen food empire Iceland from a humble shop in Shropshire in 1970 into a £2bn turnover business 30 years later, before hitting a financial iceberg. Walker was forced to step down as chairman in 2001 after the Financial Services Authority launched an [...]
Uber teams up with peer-to-peer lender Zopa to help drivers buy their own cars May 6, 2015 Uber is aiming to make it easier for its drivers to buy their own cars by teaming up with peer-to-peer (P2P) lender Zopa. The taxi-hailing app's partnership with the world's first P2P marketplace will give drivers renting a licensed vehicle access to a loan agreement with one of Zopa's institutional lenders, allowing them to swap [...]
Supermarket share: Rise of discounters Aldi and Lidl continues – although Sainsbury’s performs well May 6, 2015 Sales at discounters Aldi and Lidl grew 15 per cent and 10 per cent respectively in the past year, data published this morning shows. On the day Sainsbury's posted its first loss in 10 years, that's significant. More on this story: Sainsbury's reports its first loss in a decade The figures, published by Kantar Worldpanel, [...]
Morrisons the only “big four” supermarket in growth June 2, 2015 Is this a case of too little too late or the beginning of a turnaround? Morrisons was the only one of the “big four” supermarkets to grow over the last 12 weeks, according to latest figures by Kantar Worldpanel. The supermarket, which this week faces demotion from the FSTE 100, managed a sluggish 0.1 [...]
Have a whale of a time beside the Sunshine Coast in the real Australia April 12, 2015 Everyone knows it’s a long way to Australia, but I don’t think people really compute just how claustrophobic a 24 hour flight is until they’ve done it. When I touched down in Brisbane, a small child jubilantly ripped her seatbelt off and cried, “I’m free, Mummy! I’m free!” I was right there with her. If [...]
Simon Fraser is fighting for hearts and minds at the Investor Forum July 2, 2014 Does someone at the new body set up to promote investor long-termism have a bizarre sense of humour? That was one interpretation of yesterday’s confirmation that Simon Fraser, former global chief investment officer of Fidelity, would be its first chairman. After all, Fraser was until recently a board member at the bete [...]
Tottenham’s Danny Rose is latest injury blow for England ahead of qualifier March 25, 2015 TOTTENHAM full-back Danny Rose added to England boss Roy Hodgson’s mounting injury problems ahead of tomorrow’s Euro 2016 qualifier with Lithuania at Wembley by last night withdrawing from the squad. Hip and hamstring injuries have ended the uncapped defender’s chances of an international debut, either against Lithuania or Italy in Tuesday’s friendly in Turin, having [...]
Unexpected Ashes call-ups spark county dash for overseas talent March 31, 2015 SURPRISE Australia call-ups for this summer’s Ashes series have thrown English counties into disarray less than three weeks before the start of the domestic season. Middlesex and Lancashire have been forced into a scramble for replacements after Australia selected batsman Adam Voges and seamer Peter Siddle in their 17-man squad for tours of the West [...]