David Cameron to tap new business advisers: Will Harriet Green and Tidjane Thiam remain in Business Advisory Group? June 16, 2015 Prime Minster David Cameron is expected to bring on a new slate of business advisers in the coming months. Downing Street is preparing for a shake-up of the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group (BAG), with at least a handful of BAG members from the last government not expected be asked back, Sky News first reported yesterday. [...]
Could independent Scots be charged more in shops? John Lewis’ boss thinks so September 11, 2014 Could an independent Scotland pay more than the rest of the UK for its groceries, clothing and white goods? John Lewis Partnership chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield certainly seems to think so. The retail boss, who this morning revealed half year gross sales had risen a steady six per cent to £5.01bn, told the BBC's [...]
John Lewis Christmas advert 2014: Monty the Penguin is likely to sell out and Tom Odell’s cover of John Lennon’s Real Love is a contender to top the festive charts November 6, 2014 Monty the penguin has been released into the wild… but it looks like he won’t be there for long. The cute character and star of John Lewis’ highly anticipated Christmas ad, which will either bring a tear to your eye or make you feel nauseous depending on your disposition, is proving popular already. Merchandise featuring [...]
Supermarket wars: Growth at Co-op Food for first time in a year, as Tesco and Asda decline yet again July 28, 2015 The Co-Operative supermarket is back in growth for the first time in a year, as Sainsbury's reclaims its second place position in the sector. The sector experienced slight growth for the 12 weeks to 19 July, with sales up 0.8 per cent year on year – though this was generally experienced by the smaller [...]
Supermarket price wars prove a potent aid to popularity July 14, 2015 German discount supermarkets Aldi and Lidl hold on to their positions as the highest performing brands in YouGov BrandIndex’s mid-year Buzz Score Rankings, while we have positive news for the Co-Op group in the most improved brand list. The rankings are based on YouGov’s BrandIndex Buzz scores, which measures whether consumers have heard anything [...]
Bank of England to launch new blog “Bank Underground” June 18, 2015 The old lady of Threadneedle street will lift up her skirt tomorrow with the launch of a new staff blog entitled "Bank Underground". The blog, named after the nearby tube station, will let Bank of England staff write editorials which support, as well as challenge, existing orthodoxies. Previously, Bank of England staff were limited to communicating with [...]
Dixons Carphone boss Sebastian James steals Retail Week Power List crown from Next’s Simon Wolfson June 26, 2015 Dixons Carphone chief executive Sebastian James has been crowned the most powerful person in British retailing, knocking Next's Simon Wolfson off the top spot. James has stolen the number one position in Retail Week's annual Power List, published today, for his work successfully merging the two retailers, creating a £10bn business that swooped into [...]
Retail app Octer quickly raising major second round of crowdfunding May 17, 2015 Mobile shopping app Octer has returned to the equity-based crowdfunding platform Seedrs, to raise a second round of funding. It is aiming to bring in a total of £700,000, in exchange for 7.48 per cent equity, giving a total valuation of £8.6m. The valuation has been agreed by key investors, and Octer’s principal investors have [...]
First homes inside former BBC Television Centre go on sale next month – starting at £500,000 July 27, 2015 Homebuyers will be soon able to own a slice of television history, with the first 450 homes inside the former BBC Television centre set to go up for sale next month. The scenery block at the former BBC Television centre in London’s White City is eerily quiet. For over 50 years the cavernous space used [...]
Return of London’s mansions: The former homes of aristocrats are being converted June 25, 2015 It isn’t often that a prestigious street in London falls out of favour. You won’t see a regeneration of Eaton Square or the King’s Road any time soon. But Connaught Place, a handsome street lined with Georgian mansion blocks overlooking Hyde Park, was the Belgravia of pre-war London and it’s experiencing a resurgence in popularity. [...]