New Tesco boss’s start date delayed until October February 3, 2020 The start date of Tesco’s new boss Ken Murphy has been pushed back as he is forced to see out a non-compete agreement. The supermarket giant announced in October last year that chief executive Dave Lewis will step down this summer, and will be succeeded by Walgreens Boots Alliance veteran Murphy. However, the grocer said [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? May 26, 2021 City A.M.‘s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Johnson & Johnson hires EU consumer health director US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has hired a new London-based area managing director for consumer health in northern Europe. Charmaine England, who [...]
Boots Advantage Card payments blocked after cyber attack March 5, 2020 Boots Advantage Card has suffered a cyber attack, forcing the chemist to suspend payments using loyalty points. The cyber attack has affected around 140,000 customers, which Boots said represented less than one per cent of its online users. Scammers attempted to break into Boots Advantage Card accounts using passwords stolen from other websites, which can [...]
CMA clears $4.3bn Roche-Spark deal as US drags feet December 16, 2019 Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Roche today won UK regulatory approval for its $4.3bn merger with gene therapy firm Spark Therapeutics. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) unconditionally cleared the tie-up in the latest milestone in Roche’s $114.5 per share offer. Read more: Roche faces fresh delay in $4.3bn Spark merger The deal had faced intense scrutiny [...]
Private Equity firm 3i posts 10 per cent return November 14, 2019 Listed private equity firm 3i has reported an increased half-year return of 10 per cent, boosted by good trading performance across its portfolios. The company notched up a total return of £767m for the first six months of the year, a 10 per cent increase on the previous year’s figure. Read more: Cobham buyer Advent [...]
From big hitters to big quitters: Three FTSE resignations surprise the City October 2, 2019 A trio of City big-hitters shocked the Square Mile this morning after revealing plans to resign from their companies. Tesco boss Dave Lewis, Standard Life Aberdeen fund veteran Martin Gilbert and Metro Bank chairman Vernon Hill all said today that they will be leaving their posts. The triple-whammy of surprise announcements was met with mixed [...]
City Moves for 5 November – Who’s switching jobs at AKA Group, Shop Direct and KPMG? November 5, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes AKA Group, Shop Direct and KPMG AKA Group Specialist lifestyle and leisure advertising agency AKA Group has announced the appointment of Nick Hurrell as chairman. Nick currently serves as chairman at London ad agency George and Dragon and was previously chairman of the Europe arm of M&C Saatchi, as well as being [...]
Tesco CEO Dave Lewis quits as supermarket declares turnaround ‘is complete’ October 2, 2019 Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis is stepping down from the Big Four supermarket, it revealed today as it declared its turnaround is complete. The CEO will leave the business next summer after chairman John Allan said he had accepted his resignation letter “with regret”. Read more: Tesco sells mortgage arm for £3.8bn Lewis called the [...]
Are big tobacco’s dreams going up in smoke? October 14, 2019 Vaping was meant to be the saviour of both Big Tobacco firms and those that are addicted to its products, providing a safer alternative for smokers and some much-needed growth for an industry in decline. But, following 12 deaths and over 800 cases of damaged lungs being linked to e-cigarettes in the US, the future [...]
Boots posts drop in UK quarterly sales amid tough trading conditions June 27, 2019 The parent owner of Boots, Britain’s largest chain of chemists, has posted a drop in UK quarterly sales amid challenging high street conditions. Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) posted a 1.6 per cent drop in sales during the three months to the end of May, spurred on by a one per cent decline in its troubled [...]