The Ivy goes takeaway – sort of March 24, 2015 CELEBRITY hotspot The Ivy is in the middle of a massive makeover – but for those who can’t bear the thought of never again eating a meal in its hallowed environs, there is a solution. The old fixtures and fittings from the restaurant will go on sale tonight, at an auction run by Sotheby’s. Alongside [...]
House of Fraser sales lifted by demand for own label brands June 25, 2014 DEPARTMENT store chain House of Fraser saw same store sales rise two per cent in the first three months of the year, as customers snapped up its own-label brands. House labels, including Linea and Kenneth Cole, jumped eight per cent in the 13 weeks to 26 April while branded and concessions sales both rose by [...]
The great skills race: How the UK measures up June 24, 2015 IMMIGRATION provides a lifeline for Britain’s fast-growth firms. Over 60 per cent of The Leap 100 rely on non-UK nationals to fill vacancies in their companies. “By making it harder to employ skilled non-EU nationals, the government is putting a brake on the growth of the economy”, says Danvers Baillieu of Privax. This view was [...]
13 February on this day… February 12, 2015 1988: THE Calgary Winter Olympics began on this day and produced the unlikeliest sporting heroes ever to grace the snow and ice: the Jamaican bobsleigh team. The men from the Caribbean, making their Winter Olympic debut, stole the show. After crashing badly during the four-man event with their helmets smashing against the ice wall, they [...]
Premier Technical Services Group IPO: Electrical safety firm raises cash for £45m listing February 9, 2015 A leading electrical safety firm responsible for working on the King’s Cross redevelopment has raised £8m by floating on London’s junior stock market. West Yorkshire-based Premier Technical Services Group (PTSG) is set to start trading on the alternative investment market tomorrow after raising new funds and selling existing shares to outside investors in an offer [...]
Tesco seals deal to sell House of Fraser products June 2, 2014 TESCO has struck a deal with House of Fraser to sell the department store’s products on its website, the supermarket giant said yesterday, as it seeks to stem its declining sales. After trialling the offer earlier this month, Tesco said House of Fraser has agreed to sell 2,000 products from homeware brands including Linea and [...]
Aldi knocks Waitrose off its spot as UK’s sixth biggest supermarket April 8, 2015 Aldi has overtaken Waitrose to become the UK's sixth biggest supermarket. The budget supermarket, which has recorded double-digit sales growth for the past four years, now has 5.3 per cent of the country's spend on groceries, according to Kantar Worldpanel. Waitrose is still in growth – in fact just one of three to see [...]
Tapping into a priceless showcase for sport: MasterCard’s Mark Barnett wants the World Cup to pay off for rugby and his brand May 25, 2015 For those of a certain age, the day that Erica Roe streaked at Twickenham during an England-Australia rugby international is a sporting image to rival anything that the greats of that generation, from Duckham to Underwood, Beaumont to Carling, achieved on the field of play. For Mark Barnett, president in the UK and Ireland for [...]
Venezuela to install 20,000 fingerprint scanners in supermarkets as shortages take their toll March 9, 2015 Venezuela is planning to roll out 20,000 fingerprint scanners across the country in a desperate bid to prevent citizens from hoarding and panic buying. President Nicolas Maduro is an enthusiastic supporter of the programme that was mooted last year and received withering criticism. Venezuela has been running short of basic goods like toilet paper, soap [...]
Cost of sales leads Brammer to profit crash February 17, 2015 INDUSTRIAL products supplier Brammer reported a 46.2 per cent fall in profit as sales, distribution and administration costs jumped. The company’s profit dropped to £17.7m in 2014, from £32.9m in the year before despite an 11 per cent revenue growth. Brammer, which distributes its products in several European countries, boosted its revenue with increased sales [...]