Price is right for Asda as it scores fifth quarter of growth August 16, 2018 Asda continued its streak of growth yesterday with a fifth consecutive rise in same-store sales ahead of its proposed merger with Sainsbury’s. The supermarket posted a 2.4 per cent improvement in net sales in its second quarter results, fuelled by its online business and a 25 per cent jump in sales of its George clothing [...]
We are veering towards a Brexit brain drain – it’s time for brands to shake things up September 26, 2018 There is a lack of innovation among British businesses; this was a problem highlighted in our latest research. It’s also a problem which threatens the future of UK businesses outside of the EU bloc, potentially hindering our ability to attract and retain talent. Fast-growing economies such as China, Indonesia, India, the US, and Germany [...]
Disaster-struck TSB set to lose three of its executives August 24, 2018 Three top TSB executives are set to retire from the bank, which is still recovering from an IT meltdown that has cost it more than £176m to date. Treasurer Ian Firth and chief marketing officer Nigel Gilbert are both retiring at the end of next month, TSB confirmed today. Current marketing director Pete Markey will [...]
Fontelunga Hotel & Villas review: A beautifully renovated Tuscan guest house, nestled in the quiet hillsides surrounding Cortona August 13, 2018 Tuscany is wonderful. There are maybe only three or four places in the world that are more beautiful than Tuscany, but none of them are so damningly near to our own bleak, grey island. In Tuscany, tall cypress trees stand in long lines like great leafy quills, jabbed into the rolling green countryside by some [...]
A luddite levy on online shopping won’t help the high street October 23, 2018 Time and time again over the past few months, we’ve heard prominent figures in the retail world call for a special sales tax on online companies to help prop up their struggling sector, from the Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis, to the New West End Company that represents Selfridges and Marks & Spencer. Chancellor Philip [...]
Committee chairs Neil Parish and Rachel Reeves to ask competition watchdog to include suppliers in Sainsbury’s Asda probe May 2, 2018 Two select committee chairs have joined forces to ask the competition watchdog to include suppliers in any probe of the Sainsbury’s Asda merger. Neil Parish, the Conservative chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee, told City A.M. that he and Labour MP Rachel Reeves will ask the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) [...]
UK’s largest apprenticeship provider Learndirect snapped up by training firm DTS June 23, 2018 Training firm Learndirect has today been sold to education company Dimensions Training Solutions (DTS) in a deal which could save 1,000 jobs, according to reports today. It ends months of uncertainty over Learndirect's future after the company's training services were given a poor rating by Ofsted. Learndirect has also suffered from government cuts to adult [...]
Death of the High Street? Why we’re still backing UK retail April 9, 2019 Following some dire headlines you might rightly wonder why the share prices of UK retailers have recorded double-digit gains this year (see graphic, below). Surely the relentlessly downbeat mood music from the mainstream media (and pessimism among analysts) is confirmation that the UK consumer is in full retreat, and consumer-exposed sectors are in deep trouble? [...]
In the new age of cyber warfare, finance firms are on the front line October 15, 2018 Throughout history, the job of the nation state has been to protect citizens from a range of threats, be that disease, famine, or foreign invasion. In an analogue world, these threats were physical in nature and, as a result, mostly localised. The threat landscape is radically different in a connected, digital world. Critical infrastructures, from smart [...]
Pressure grows on Premier Foods boss as activist investor builds stake July 10, 2018 The pressure on under-fire Premier Foods chief executive officer (CEO) Gavin Darby has increased today after activist investor Oasis Investment upped its stake in the company. Hong Hong-based Oasis has been vocal in its opposition to Darby who it accuses of “shareholder value destruction”. Read more: Paulson triples stake in Premier Foods as AGM showdown [...]