Black Friday UK 2015: Civilised Saturday is the perfect remedy to bargain bonanza November 27, 2015 US import of Black Friday is upon us again, and it is almost unimaginable to think that Asda (Walmart) have, as a brand, decided it's far too toxic for them to take part. Within consumer consciousness, Black Friday has come to represent a day to grab a bargain, to get the best deal that you can [...]
Announcing our Christmas appeal to raise £1m for new Maggie’s centre at St Barts November 2, 2015 With the festive season nearly upon us, City A.M. is delighted to announce that we will be supporting cancer charity Maggie’s during our 2015 Christmas Appeal. The Square Mile has proven to be exceptionally generous during recent campaigns; City Giving Day, an initiative of the Lord Mayor, was a huge success and contributed to the [...]
CoalFace Capital’s Declan McEvoy on clichés, robo-advisers, and pink hair February 29, 2016 Plenty of people must have sat in their banking job thinking about what could be done better and wondering if they should just pack it all in and start their own business. Declan McEvoy, founder of innovative trading platform CoalFace Capital, first realised he wanted to be this person back in 1999, while doing his [...]
Would you make an evening meal of it at Starbucks or Pret? No? Then how about Greggs or Subway? December 1, 2015 Starbucks and Pret a Manger have started trialling late-night opening hours, offering their customers evening menus and even serving wine and beer. YouGov assessed the attitudes and opinions of more than 60,000 consumers to evaluate whether high street coffee outlets are really an attractive venue for dinner and drinks. The blunt answer is “not yet”. Almost [...]
There’s nothing new in the Uber vs Taxi debate December 23, 2015 As the year draws to an end, so too might a raging battle on the capital’s streets inch towards a conclusion with the culmination of a Transport for London consultation on the future of the city’s private hire industry. Elements of the traditional black cab industry have been at war with Uber since the American [...]
HMRC national task force considering clampdown on eBay and Amazon over VAT fraud by overseas retailers December 22, 2015 The government is considering forcing online retailers such as Amazon and eBay to pay for millions of pounds of unpaid VAT owed by small overseas traders that sell through their sites. Lord Ashton of Hyde, a Treasury spokesperson, told the House of Lords on Monday evening that HM Revenue & Customs had established a national [...]
US retail sales increase expectations for an interest rate rise from the US Federal Reserve December 11, 2015 US retail sales rose strongly in November as the Christmas shopping season got under way, heightening expectations that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates for the first time in nearly 10 years next year. The Commerce Department said on Friday retail sales excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services rose 0.6 per [...]
Black Friday 2015 UK predictions: This year’s event is gearing up to be the UK’s first ever £1bn shopping day October 14, 2015 With the mania of Black Friday less than two months away, UK shoppers are getting ready to spend more money than they ever have before in one day. Retailers are braced for the biggest shopping day of the year, after last year’s frenzy shocked many unprepared sellers – and this year sales are set to [...]
Ski holidays 2015/16: With the pound getting stronger, Bulgaria is a better bet than the Alps for a cheap skiing break November 23, 2015 There is one thing to look forward to in winter. It’s not Christmas dinner, spending time with loved ones or going on chilly wintry walks; it’s ski season. According to London’s go-to luxury travel experts, more City slickers than ever will head to colder climes after a winning cocktail of a stronger pound and early [...]
Black Friday 2015 UK: Why here at very.co.uk we can’t wait for Cyber Week’s big shopping day November 20, 2015 Black Friday was our biggest trading day last year, and we can't wait for it again this year. We're planning bigger and better deals over a longer period to make this Black Friday our best ever. Over Cyber Week last year we got nearly 50,000 new customers and we were delighted almost half of them [...]