Londoners: Stop whinging about astronomical rents. It’s so much worse in these other cities April 22, 2016 Renters in London probably think they have good reason to feel hard done by. House prices seem to be going one-way, while wages just aren't keeping up. Map: How much you need to earn to live in every London postcode But a new report, out today, from the Global Cities Business Alliance, shows that Londoners [...]
Judge P2P firms on whether they’re profitable – not just on how much money they’ve lent October 19, 2015 Three years ago this week, the veteran venture capitalist Robin Klein made the case in these pages for greater support for UK high growth technology companies in their push into mainstream London capital markets. Over time, confidence grew and several good firms were helped onto the public markets through the London Stock Exchange’s High Growth [...]
Hugo Boss share price plummets following ugly results as the US and China look set to drag on future profits February 23, 2016 Hugo Boss shares have tumbled by almost 20 per cent, their biggest fall since October 2008, after it warned that sales in China and the US so far this year have been weaker than it expected. The German-based fashion label said in a statement earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation and excluding special items will decline by a “low double-digit” percentage [...]
There’s no such thing as “fat-shaming” – it’s just advertising February 27, 2017 I take issue with the Vicariously Offended; the virtuous who take up the mantle of oppression, regardless of whether they are personally affected, at every given opportunity. I bit my tongue last week when they took offence at Protein World’s Tube campaign questioning commuters’ ability to “keep up with a [very slim] Kardashian.” It was, [...]
We’ve hit peak stuff: Why we now spend on “doing” rather than “things” May 17, 2016 Earlier this year Ikea’s head of sustainability suggested the West was approaching “peak stuff” – the idea that consumer appetite to own ever more goods was probably waning. Indeed it seems that we’re seeing a fundamental shift in consumer behaviour from buying products to spending money on experiences. We’ve been keeping an eye on this trend at Visa [...]
Just Eat profits sizzle in maiden results as mobile orders soar August 12, 2014 SHARES in the world’s largest online takeaway service, Just Eat, rocketed yesterday after it reported an almost 200 per cent jump in half-year profit as the business expanded in Britain and Denmark, its two biggest markets. Just Eat, which joined the London stock market in April, added more restaurants to its network and benefited from [...]
Retailers rocked by sales shocker May 6, 2016 The high street has suffered its sharpest drop in sales since the credit crunch as retailers battle erratic weather, increasing competition from online rivals and jittery consumer confidence. Like-for-like sales fell by 6.1 per cent in April compared with the same month last year, according to BDO’s latest monthly tracker, published this morning. The accountancy [...]
Lessons from New York: Bigger is no longer better in the new world of ambitious scaleups May 17, 2016 Every business is a hypothesis based on a bet. And if you want to bet big, grow small. That’s the lesson I learned on a recent visit to New York to meet the scaleup businesses aiming to become tomorrow’s titans. Of course, think New York and you think big. The Big Apple, big business and [...]
History suggests robots won’t cause mass unemployment: But is this time different? May 19, 2016 Martin Ford’s book, The Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of Mass Unemployment, makes for scary reading. Ford argues that any job that is in some way routine will eventually be automated. In Ford’s new world, intelligent algorithms will eat their way through white collar employment, making legions of occupations obsolete. And this [...]
From BHS to Brexit and the banks we love to hate: Here’s what got us talking April 29, 2016 We learned what makes Sadiq Khan and Zac Goldsmith crumble. Halifax was in the dog house over Top Cat. And the pot called the kettle black when Cameron took Farage to task over his “poncey” surname. Here’s what got us talking… The billionaire has faced calls for his knighthood to be taken away (Source: Getty) [...]