Bullish results for Martin Sorrell’s WPP: World’s largest advertising group reports 12 per cent jump in profits March 9, 2015 2015 has started well for the world’s largest advertising group and its chief Martin Sorrell. The figures WPP has announced a 12 per cent boost in profit before tax during 2014: it rose to £1.5bn, with sales of £11.5bn, five per cent higher than in 2013. The company also started January well, with like-for-like sales rising an [...]
Shoppers likely to be pausing after 2014 spree – London Report March 9, 2015 BRITISH Retail Consortium (BRC) retail sales figures for February are likely to show shoppers took a pause after a spending spree in the fourth quarter of last year. The figures, due out overnight tonight, are forecast to follow similar data from the Confederation of British Industry, which showed softer spending in February. The CBI data [...]
Creativity makes a vast contribution to business: We ignore it at our peril February 25, 2015 The Academy Awards have become a (not especially accurate) measure of the UK’s cultural standing in the world. Thanks to Eddie and co, the Brits officially had a good Oscars, with four wins from nearly 40 nominations, but we need not obsess over the results of this dubious annual assessment. Our film stars are just [...]
Gibraltar and Guernsey hit back at Ed Miliband’s tax haven blacklist threat February 8, 2015 Labour leader Ed Miliband is under fire from Britain’s overseas territories, after he threatened to put them on a tax haven blacklist. The latest row comes after Miliband wrote to the territories, threatening that they will be listed as tax havens, and consequently incur sanctions, if they fail to compile a list of offshore companies [...]
City Moves for 09 February 2015 | Who’s switching jobs February 8, 2015 Cohn & Wolfe The communications agency has appointed Helen Ridgway as chief executive of technology agency AxiCom, which it acquired seven years ago. Cohn & Wolfe, in turn, is part of WPP. Ridgway co-founded AxiCom 20 years ago. Her client base includes Tyco and Microsoft Devices Group. Insight Investment Shankar Athreya has been appointed head [...]
Female representation: FTSE 100 companies edge towards 25 pc target – but some fall behind February 4, 2015 The UK's biggest companies are making progress when it comes to having a greater number of women on their boards. Or at least, some of them are. Old Mutual was today named the FTSE 100 company that made the most progress in having female board representation in the last four years. The investment firm increased [...]
Davos 2015 World Economic Forum: Top execs gather for grand old Duke of York January 22, 2015 It takes a lot to overshadow a quantitative easing programme on the scale of the one announced by the European Central Bank yesterday, but the Duke of York’s private life somehow managed it. Squeezed eight-deep into the Salon Rotary at the Belvedere Hotel, bosses from BP, Citi, Marks & Spencer and Diageo turned up to [...]
Down to Davos for world elite January 21, 2015 ENTREPRENEUR Sir Richard Branson, musician Will.i.am and Prince Andrew all arrived at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos yesterday. While Will.i.am took to Twitter to describe how he was “steady chillin in #davos” with Branson, other delegates arriving included WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell, chancellor George Osborne and Aberdeen Asset Management boss [...]
WPP boss pledges to support pro-EU business campaign January 21, 2015 ADVERTISING guru Sir Martin Sorrell yesterday responded to Peter Mandelson’s call for pro-European UK business leaders to organise and support the effort to keep Britain in Europe. Sorrell told City AM yesterday that: “the pro-European movement should be better organised”, saying he was “personally…prepared to help.” Sorrell clarified that he was making “no criticism” of [...]
Tesco mulls dumping data arm Dunnhumby in asset sell-off January 8, 2015 Britain’s largest supermarket Tesco said yesterday it could sell off its Dunnhumby data business as it announced plans for widespread cost-cuttings and asset sales. The retail titan said it had appointed Goldman Sachs to explore the options for Dunnhumby – the company that helped to create Tesco’s customer clubcard scheme in 1995. Those options could [...]