Marks & Spencer’s clothing sales through Alibaba soar in China September 21, 2014 Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant which could hold the title of having the world’s biggest ever initial public offering after raising $21.8bn on Friday, has helped to boost Marks & Spencer’s (M&S) online clothing sales in China. The head of M&S’s overseas internet business, Ricky Wilson, said on Saturday that M&S is now the fastest [...]
UK pensions deficits: FTSE 100 firms fear pension pain as workers retire September 6, 2015 Pension schemes represent a “material risk” for many of the largest companies in the FTSE 100, new research shows. Six firms, including BAE Systems, British Airways-owner International Airlines Group, RSA and Royal Bank of Scotland, all have total disclosed pension liabilities almost double their equity market value, so says JLT Employee Benefits’ quarterly report [...]
Margaret Hodge grills PwC staff over Luxembourg deals: “I think what you are doing is selling tax avoidance on an industrial scale” December 8, 2014 Accountants and business advisors PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) came under fire from MPs yesterday during a parliamentary hearing. The hearing followed the leak of hundreds of Luxembourg tax rulings at the beginning of November. “I think what you are doing is selling tax avoidance on an industrial scale,” Labour MP Margaret Hodge said to PwC’s head of tax [...]
Syria airstrike vote 2015: Here’s how your MP voted December 3, 2015 Last night MPs voted in favour of the UK beginning airstrikes against Islamic State (Isis) with an overwhelming majority of 397 votes to 223, following a gruelling 10-hour debate in the House of Commons. The move was controversial, with huge numbers of people protesting against military intervention. Some Labour MPs claimed they were being intimidated to [...]
Marks & Spencer asks for more time as new website hits sales July 8, 2014 Marks and Spencer boss Marc Bolland yesterday called for more time for the effects of the retailer’s website overhaul to take effect after the high street stalwart posted its 12th consecutive quarter of falling non-food sales. The 130-year-old retailer broke away from its technology supplier Amazon and launched its own custom-built £150m website in February, [...]
The fast lane: Spencer Ogden co-founder David Spencer-Percival talks medevacs, detoxes, the youth of today and why banks get a hard time June 7, 2015 It is unlikely that David Spencer-Percival, co-founder of Spencer Ogden, will be reading this any time soon. On Saturday, he and his wife embarked on a caffeine, alcohol and tech detox in an Ibizan forest. “I feel frazzled. Our offices are end-to-end in terms of timezones, so I just never stop. You have to have [...]
Jerky Group and Cruga form beef snacks empire August 4, 2015 THE JERKY Group has merged with biltong and meat snacks-maker Cruga to create the largest beef snack manufacturer in Europe with combined turnover of around £12m. Founded in 2000, The Jerky Group’s brands include Wild West Jerky, Hogbites pork crackling and BullOx Biltong. It also produces Dragon’s Den entrepreneur Joe Walters’ beef jerky brand Texas [...]
Warm weather leaves Next feeling the heat October 29, 2014 HIGH street retailers saw shares hit yesterday after Next warned its profits would slip lower due to the “unseasonably warm” October weather that impacted its winter clothing sales. Next said third quarter sales were up 5.4 per cent, almost half the 10 per cent expected, knocking shares as much as three per cent during early [...]
Next’s share price jumps as it raises profit forecast after better than expected first half July 28, 2015 Next's share price jumped 1.4 per cent this morning, after raising its profit guidance for the full year following better than expected sales in the first half of this year. The high street chain is really showing Marks & Spencer how to do it. While its high street rival is struggling to get its [...]
5 the war on cash July 15, 2015 Transport With apps like Uber, cashless buses and contactless payments on the Tube, public transport is practically a note-free zone already. The London Underground has had NFC technology since the introduction of the Oyster card, which means it’s Apple Pay ready. Retail Many high street retailers have jumped onto the contactless bandwagon in recent years, [...]