Wellesley Finance to finance loans with £100m mini-bond July 27, 2014 PEER to peer lender Wellesley Finance has today launched a £100m mini-bond to finance new loans. The company, which launched in November, lends against secured real-estate assets and has lent around £50m since it launched last year. The fundraise is twice the size of the largest mini-bond to date, John Lewis’s £50m issued last year. [...]
Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn makes it onto Labour leader ballot in 11th-hour victory: Who are the MPs that endorsed him? June 15, 2015 Jeremy Corbyn has made it onto the ballot for Labour's leadership contest with less than an hour to go before the deadline. It was confirmed that the Islington MP, who is seen as more left-wing than many of his competitors, received the required 35 nominations just moments before the midday closing point. It [...]
Tesco first quarter results and AGM: Three things to expect from Friday’s figures June 21, 2015 Tesco will update the market on its first-quarter figures – the first since reporting its biggest ever loss – while executives will face shareholders at its AGM. Here's what to expect from the supermarket on Friday. 1. The numbers will continue tumbling The supermarket’s first quarter is unlikely to tell a different story from the [...]
John Lewis sales reach £100m a week for the first time this year November 18, 2013 AFTER a warm start to the winter, Christmas shopping began in earnest last week with John Lewis reporting sales in excess of £100m for the first time this year. Sales in the week to 16 November jumped 10.7 per cent from a year ago to £101.4m – the earliest week that sales have ever topped [...]
John Lewis hopes its new campaign has the X Factor November 7, 2013 EVER since its award winning advert two years ago featuring a boy impatiently waiting for Christmas to give a present to his parents – John Lewis has been under pressure to pull out all the stops for its Christmas campaign. And this year it has stopped short at nothing less than booking an entire commercial [...]
Tesco faces US lawsuits over profit scandal March 24, 2015 A GROUP of angry shareholders are launching a lawsuit against Tesco and seeking billions of pounds in compensation over last year’s accounting scandal that led to a huge black hole in profits. Tesco has suffered one of the most turbulent years in its history following revelations at the end of last year it overstated profits [...]
Employers protected from mental health claims after landmark ruling April 16, 2015 Employers could be protected from paying out compensation for "causing" mental health problems among their employees, following a landmark ruling in the UK. The ruling came after John Yapp, a former British high commissioner to Belize, was suspended and subjected to a disciplinary process in 2008 after being accused of making a sexual advance towards [...]
Tesco hopes Allan is the key to resolving its lingering problems February 17, 2015 John Allan turned around Dixons, but can he now reboot Tesco? ONE sat on the board of high street electricals giant Dixons Carphone while the other has already led a successful turnaround of supermarket Asda. Both Archie Norman and John Allan were considered strong contenders for the chairman role at Tesco, but last night the [...]
Patrick Cescau exits Tesco board in clear-out – to be replaced by Richard Cousins March 23, 2015 Patrick Cescau, the senior non-executive Tesco director who led the search for the supermarket's new chairman, is leaving the firm's board, confirming speculation of his departure. Cescau's departure comes after six years with the retailer – it was widely believed he would depart after a new chairman was named to clear the way for a [...]
SuperGroup gets ready for a hot autumn with “broadest and best range of jackets” September 4, 2014 SuperGroup boss Julian Dunkerton declared yesterday that sales were back in shape after the colder weather and the approach of autumn drove customers back into its stores. The owner of the Superdry fashion brand posted a 3.7 per cent decline in like-for-like sales in the first quarter of the year to 27 July after facing [...]