Black Friday UK 2015: John Lewis prepares for biggest deals day yet as Andy Street bids to “win” Christmas for seventh year in a row November 11, 2015 John Lewis is pulling all the stops out for Black Friday 2015, which it expects to be bigger than last year, as the department store aims to "win" Christmas again. Last year, Black Friday pulled in the biggest sales in John Lewis' 150-year history. But managing director Andy Street said this year's Black Friday – which [...]
Brexit scare stories are haunting the City October 30, 2016 The cobwebs falling from the windows of pubs and shops in the City are much more likely to be Halloween decorations than an indication that businesses have abandoned the Square Mile in the wake of Brexit. Nevertheless, post-referendum scare stories hang thick in the air. Project Fear takes on a new meaning at this time [...]
Tiger Woods may not have won but he couldn’t have wished for much more on his long-awaited comeback December 5, 2016 I saw nothing but positives in Tiger Woods’s comeback performance at the Hero World Challenge, which finished on Sunday – his first competitive outing for 15 injury-riddled months. The 14-time Major winner led the field in birdies, making 24 across the 72 holes in the Bahamas. That is hugely encouraging and at this stage you [...]
Cocoa floats well: Hotel Chocolat reports rising revenue and profits after IPO October 19, 2016 Hotel Chocolat has reported growing revenue and profits in its preliminary results after listing on the London Stock Exchange this year. The figures Revenue for the period to 26 June came in at £91.1m, up 12 per cent from £81.1m in 2015. Pre-tax profit, meanwhile, was up from £2.9m to £8.2m, and earnings before interest, [...]
Thousands of London Underground staff vote to go on strike, says RMT November 15, 2016 The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has announced that workers on the London Underground have voted to go on strike in two separate disputes. The RMT carried out two separate ballots: one of 400 Piccadilly Line drivers and the other of over 3,000 station workers. The union said the former was over a "wholesale breakdown" [...]
Don’t be late: Self-assessment tax return deadline date is Sunday 31 January, so here’s a list of things you might want to know about avoiding that £100 late filing penalty January 28, 2016 We hope you've marked this Sunday 31 January in your diary – it's filing deadline day for self-assessment tax returns. But, if you need a break from your yearly paperwork, why not distract yourself with these seven facts about self-assessment? 1. It seems endless battles with train delays have left capital dwellers with a warped sense [...]
Brighton & Hove Albion chief Paul Barber explains off-field strategy of a Premier League club in waiting March 4, 2017 In less than a decade Brighton & Hove Albion have evolved from a mid table League One side playing at a converted athletics stadium to fewer than 10,000 fans, to a Premier League club in waiting who call the state of the art 30,000 capacity Amex Stadium home. Brighton have been amongst the Championship promotion contenders in three of the [...]
Christmas gifts 2015: Almost half of UK adults have at least one relative living abroad and 16 December is expected to be the day we are most likely to send money overseas December 16, 2015 Business has become more global but it turns out the same is true for family matters. A study out today from the Post Office International Payments has found that 41 per cent of UK adults now have at least one relative living overseas. So, if you've found yourself grappling with last postage dates for overseas for [...]
Small companies Aim high: Junior market set for buoyant December, with five new floats in the pipeline December 1, 2016 The London Stock Exchange’s junior market is set for a buoyant month after a slow year for floats across the board. While initial public offerings (IPOs) on the main market appear to have almost ground to a halt, at least five new listings are due on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) in the coming weeks as [...]
Panic Saturday is here: 12.6m Britons hit the shops for busiest day of Christmas shopping as sales start early at M&S, Sports Direct, H&M, Argos and Sainsbury’s December 19, 2015 Brace yourselves, Panic Saturday is here. If you still haven’t bought your Christmas presents, be prepared for crowds. A stampede of last minute Christmas shoppers are bearing down on UK retailers today, making it the busiest day of this year’s Christmas shopping. 12.6 million Britons are forecast to hit the shops, spending over £1.1bn on [...]