Bring me sunshine: FTSE 100 starts the day on a springlike note as miners bounce back March 30, 2016 Markets were clearly taking note of the weather this morning, with the FTSE 100 jumping almost 1.3 per cent to 6,183.8 points in the first minutes of trading. The market was pushed higher miners, who swung back from yesterday's losses to lead the FTSE. Anglo American rose 7.9 per cent to 516.4p, while BHP Billiton [...]
Don’t worry, be happy: FTSE 100 shakes off its ECB woes to open higher, pushed up by Aviva March 11, 2016 The FTSE 100 stormed back into positive territory this morning, after a miserable finish to yesterday's trading. The market was up 1.5 per cent at 6,131.6 points, after it edged perilously close to the 6,000 mark yesterday, when comments by European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi hinted rates are unlikely to be cut any further. [...]
Without proper e-commerce investment, Steve Rowe risks making Marks & Spencer fade into obscurity January 8, 2016 Ahead of Christmas, UBS analysts predicted that the retail winners would be those with the strongest online offering. As sales results from the holiday period get reported, the analysts are being proven right, with the most e-commerce and mobile-friendly retailers coming top of the pile in the festive fight. This trend claimed it’s first victim this week, with the [...]
Steve Rowe: Everything you need to know about the man replacing Marc Bolland at Marks & Spencer January 7, 2016 Marc Bolland is out. After months (if not years) of shareholders and analysts calling for him to leave Marks & Spencer, the former Morrisons man is hanging up his hat on 2 April. Bolland is handing over to Steve Rowe, an M&S lifer. But Rowe is relatively unknown to the wider world. Here's what you [...]
City Moves for 7 December 2016 | Who’s switching jobs December 7, 2016 Lee Baron Lee Baron, a specialist in property management, has promoted Mark Fitzgerald to head of property management. Having joined the firm in 2015 as a director in the property management department, Mark takes the reins from Ian Jones, who after 10 years in the role, will now be concentrating on his position as chief [...]
New Builds: New homes on sale this weekend in Barking, The City, Hampstead, Canning Town and Blackheath February 10, 2017 360 Barking, Barking From £295,000 This collection of one and two bedroom flats on Cambridge Road is in the heart of a soon-to-be “reinvigorated” town centre in east London. Plans are underfoot to turn its riverside into “Barcelona-on-Thames” and these new homes come with underfloor heating, in-built appliances and access to a garden roof terrace. [...]
British-made craft gin and English sparkling wine are now top sellers in M&S December 22, 2016 British-made craft spirits and wine are finally having their moment this year. Marks & Spencer declared British gin the spirit of Christmas 2016 after reporting more than a quarter of a million bottles of its eight new gins made in the UK have been sold following their release this autumn. Gin sales increased 150 per cent [...]
British Fizz: A group is calling for protected status of English sparkling wine (and not everyone is popping a bottle open) January 20, 2017 Yesterday, the UK Vineyard Association said it was applying for protected status from the EU for English sparkling wine under the name "British Fizz", but a branding expert said the name could be an "unmitigated disaster" for the wine industry. Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status would boost the industry's fast-growing product by giving it recognisable, marketable terms [...]
LFW Autumn-Winter ’16: Who are the London Fashion Week brands to bank on? How share prices for Marks & Spencer, Burberry and Mulberry are shaping up ahead of the the shows February 14, 2016 In a little over four days time, London will be buzzing with trendsetters as Fashion Week arrives in the capital. But, apart from rerouting your commute so it doesn't head through Soho, what does this mean for the average City A.M. reader? Here's a run down of the business news you need to know for some [...]
Marks & Spencer looks to solve legal wrangle with former landlord BNP Paribas December 1, 2015 It’s not just individuals that quibble with their landlords. Marks & Spencer (M&S) is tomorrow hoping to settle a long-running dispute with former landlord BNP Paribas over rent it claims to have overpaid on its old Paddington offices. In July 2011, the high street retailer exercised a break in its leases and served notice on four floors of [...]