New Year Honours 2020: England’s cricketers, Olivia Newton-John and Iain Duncan Smith make list December 28, 2019 Singer Olivia Newton-John and four of England’s Cricket World Cup winners are among those to have made the 2020 New New Year Honours’ list. Newton-John, who stared in the 1978 film Grease, has been made a dame for services to music, cancer research and charity. She set up a cancer centre near Melbourne in 2012 [...]
Treasury launches review into potential barriers in business for women September 21, 2018 The Treasury has launched a review into barriers for women in business in an effort to utilise untapped talent in the workforce. Women could be facing unfair obstacles not experienced by their male counterparts according to government research. Only one third of UK entrepreneurs are women, who remain half as likely as men to [...]
Treasury launches review into potential barriers in business for women September 21, 2018 The Treasury has launched a review into barriers for women in business in an effort to utilise untapped talent in the workforce. Women could be facing unfair obstacles not experienced by their male counterparts according to government research. Only one third of UK entrepreneurs are women, who remain half as likely as men to [...]
Up in smoke: Imperial Brands profit shrinks as regulators knock vaping November 5, 2019 Imperial Brands blamed “tough trading” in its vaping division after full-year profits slipped and shareholders saw earnings per share fall by a quarter. Read more: BAT to axe 2,300 jobs as it focuses on vaping The figures Operating profit fell 8.7 per cent to £2.2bn in the 12 months to the end of September. That [...]
Profit sinks at Premier Inn owner Whitbread as Brexit uncertainty hits hotel demand October 22, 2019 Profit slipped at Premier Inn owner Whitbread in its latest half-year as the company grappled with a weak UK travel market after selling coffee chain Costa to Coca-Cola last year. Read more: Whitbread share price tumbles on Barclays downgrade The figures Pre-tax profit fell 7.1 per cent to £220m, down from £237m this time last [...]
More than a quarter of investment bankers say work is damaging their health in ‘disturbing’ review findings April 2, 2019 More than a quarter of investment bankers said their work was damaging their health as the “disturbing” findings of a survey revealed efforts to improve workplace culture have stalled. The Banking Standards Board have raised concerns today over the wellbeing of bank employees in its latest annual review. The survey of more than 72,000 employees from [...]
Sir Martin Sorrell’s mission: To out-fox former WPP allies, proxy voting pressure and fintech in focus June 1, 2018 It was there in black and white. In his farewell memo to 180,000 WPP staff in mid-April, Sir Martin Sorrell couldn’t have been more explicit: “As a founder, I can say that WPP is not just a mattter of life or death, it was, is and will be more important than that. Good fortune and [...]
Premier Inn owner Whitbread warns ‘acute’ political uncertainty will hurt growth after Costa coffee sale April 30, 2019 Whitbread today revealed profits have plummeted 40 per cent since the £3.9bn sale of its Costa coffee chain to Coca-Cola last year. Read more: Caffeine kick: Whitbread announces £2bn share buyback The figures Profit before tax at the Premier Inn owner slumped 39.1 per cent year on year to just £260m in its 2019 financial [...]
Coming off caffeine: Premier Inn opens more rooms as owner Whitbread looks to life after Costa October 23, 2018 Costa owner Whitbread grew revenues 2.6 per cent in the first half, as it looks to move away from the coffee business it sold to Coca-Cola. The results Revenue increased to £1.08bn, largely driven by tourism and growing capacity as it continues to expand its Premier Inn chain of hotels. Read more: Whitbread shareholders vote [...]
Countrywide’s (CWD) share price rises as chief executive Alison Platt resigns after profit warning January 24, 2018 Alison Platt has resigned as chief executive of estate agent Countrywide, and will stand down from the board, after a shares slump last week off the back of a profit warning. The board has asked Peter Long to become executive chairman until a successor is appointed. Paul Creffield, previously managing director of commercial development, becomes [...]