Tesco moves £90m media account to WPP’s Mediacom ending 20 years with IPG’s Initiative April 30, 2015 Tesco boss Dave Lewis has done some more kitchen-sinking, ditching the company that has been in charge of placing its advertising for the last 20 years. The beleaguered supermarket has switched its media planning and buying account – worth £90m a year – to WPP's Mediacom from IPG's Initiative after a review, MediaWeek reports. It's [...]
Tesco paves way for Dunnhumby sale with end to exclusive Kroger deal April 27, 2015 Tesco has taken a major step forward in paving the way for a sale of its lucrative Dunnhumby data business after agreeing a deal with US retailer Kroger to loosen an existing partnership which prevented the firm from expanding stateside. The joint venture with Kroger had been a thorny sticking point in any potential sale [...]
Sorrell says a Brexit is worse than a Grexit April 23, 2015 SIR MARTIN Sorrell said yesterday that the prospect of a Brexit was now of greater concern than a Grexit, as WPP’s first quarter results showed revenues and sales were up. Total revenues at the world’s largest advertising firm rose 8.3 per cent to £2.8bn in the three months ending 31 March on the back of [...]
FTSE boosted by utilities to reach near record high – London Report April 23, 2015 BRITAIN’S top equity index pushed higher yesterday, boosted by a bump-up for utilities stocks just two weeks before the General Election, while mining stocks also outperformed. United Utilities climbed 1.1 per cent, SSE advanced 1.4 per cent and National Grid rose 0.6 per cent after investment bank Citigroup said the sector would be favoured as [...]
WPP sales are up, but chief executive Martin Sorrell is cautious about the year ahead April 23, 2015 The world's biggest advertising firm had a good first quarter, but warns that clients are giving away less business. The figures During the first three months of 2015, like-for-like sales went up by 2.5 per cent for WPP, mainly driven higher by a strong performance in North America. Revenue was also up 8.3 per cent [...]
Five things to expect from Tesco’s results this week: Billion-pound losses, a pension blackhole, property writedown and more April 20, 2015 If Tesco thought the worst was over, Wednesday is likely to take Dave Lewis and co screaming back to last year’s blackhole debacle as the supermarket reports full-year results that are expected to be the worst in its 96-year history. LATEST: Tesco racks up worse than expected £6.38bn loss in worst year in supermarket's history With [...]
General Election 2015: Introducing the business wish list April 12, 2015 As we enter the final days of the election, we have decided to ask a select group of business leaders what would make them vote for one of the parties. We’ve not asked them to name the party they support because for many this would count them out of giving an opinion. [...]
Hollywood’s highest paid star Leonardo DiCaprio earns three times average FTSE 100 boss (but no one can touch Martin Sorrell) March 26, 2015 Hollywood's highest paid stars earn up to three times more than the average FTSE 100 chief executive, proving that pursuing a career in the arts isn't always financially foolhardy if you can claw your way to the top. Research from trade magazine The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Hollywood's biggest stars' salaries are once again reaching [...]
Bid war looms as Silver Lake eyes Clubcard March 23, 2015 SILVER LAKE has entered the race to acquire customer data company Dunnhumby, which made its name through establishing the Tesco Clubcard. The American private equity firm’s announcement follows a statement from WPP’s Martin Sorrell last week saying the PR and advertising company was planning an offer. Dunnhumby, which is currently owned by Tesco, could fetch [...]
FTSE 100 CEOs: These are the men (and a few women) who run Britain’s biggest companies March 20, 2015 FTSE 100 Who runs Britain’s biggest companies What’s in a name? Well, quite a lot if you want to become the head honcho at one of the UK’s biggest companies. City A.M. research shows that the vast majority of the FTSE 100 are run by men with rather Biblical names. David comes out as the [...]