What heatwave? M&S is already filming its Christmas advert August 7, 2016 It may be a sweltering weekend of sunshine and clear blue skies, but one street in London has already seen snowfall – albeit the fake kind – after one high street favourite started shooting its Christmas advert. Yep, you heard that right. It may be the height of summer, but the Marks & Spencer is getting [...]
Petition to block M&S’ pay cut plans draws over 20,000 signatures in three days July 29, 2016 Pressure is mounting on M&S' chief executive Steve Rowe to cancel a pay cut for his staff as an online petition to block the plan has received nearly 20,000 signatures in three days. The company is consulting its staff over cutting premium pay on Sundays, and cuts to pay for bank holidays and employees working at anti-social hours, which could [...]
Charity Day lures celebs including Lindsay Lohan, Davina McCall, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Joanna Lumley to BGC Partners’ trading floor September 12, 2016 BGC Partners’ trading floor was overrun by comedians, Olympians, film stars and London’s mayor yesterday at the brokerage’s annual charity fundraising day. The gaggle of celebs roaming BGC’s labyrinth of computer screens and phone speakers to clinch the cash for this year’s charities included actor Tom Hardy, garden-bridge pusher Joanna Lumley, supermodel Jodie Kidd, TV [...]
British Gas customer login data leaked in third personal data incident in a week after TalkTalk cyber attack and Marks & Spencer technical glitch October 29, 2015 The account details of as many as 2,000 customers of British Gas have been leaked online, in the third high-profile personal data leak in less than a week. Email addresses and passwords to login to British Gas accounts were posted on the text upload website Pastebin, but the company believes the information leak was not as a result of [...]
A tale of two retail sectors: Shares in fashion retailers fall as supermarkets jump September 15, 2016 It was the best of times, it was the worst of times in the retail sector today, as shares in retailers led both the risers and the fallers in the FTSE 100. Firmly in the spring of hope was the supermarket sector, where Morrisons led the risers, with shares jumping 7.13 per cent to 207.4p in [...]
Travel caterer SSP wins £500m deal to open 29 outlets at Oslo airport November 16, 2015 Travel catering giant SSP has won a £500m contract to run 29 shops, cafes and restaurants at Oslo Airport Gardermoen in Norway. The FTSE 250 franchise operator, which made its £1bn stock market debut last year, said it has secured a contract spanning five years for retail and seven years for the food and beverage, with [...]
Asos sales jump as customer numbers grow 24 per cent July 12, 2016 Online retailer Asos grew sales by 26 per cent in the four months to 30 June, pushing revenue up to £514.6m for the period. The company's share price was up 4.7 per cent in early trading. Sales in the UK were up 28 per cent, while US sales surged by 45 per cent. Sales in the [...]
Former Marks & Spencer boss Lord Stuart Rose backs Select Property Group August 24, 2015 There is a new new retail club in town and it’s called Select Property Group. Former Marks & Spencer chairman Lord Stuart Rose has emerged as a surprise backer in the privately-owned developer, which operates a swathe of student housing and is about to launch its first block of serviced flats in Manchester. He has [...]
Oil prices shoot up as Opec agrees its first production cut since 2008 November 30, 2016 Investors piled into oil futures and related stocks yesterday evening after Opec defied expectations and revealed a deal to cut production by 1.2m barrels a day. Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude prices soared as the Saudi Arabia-led cartel announced its first agreement since 2008. The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will reduce [...]
Horse racing betting: Sea Of Heaven set to leave rivals toiling in his wake July 21, 2016 Trainer Sir Mark Prescott has been among the winners of late and I’m confident he can grab another with SEA OF HEAVEN in Friday's John Guest Brown Jack Stakes (2.55pm) at Ascot. The four-year-old ran a cracker at Newbury last week, finishing second behind the highly progressive Sweet Selection who was rattling off a hat-trick. [...]