Morrisons is among the winners of the ongoing saga February 26, 2013 BRAND INDEX IKEA now joins the long list of brands to get hit by the horsemeat scandal. We won’t have numbers until later today but judging from what happened to Tesco, the Swedish group may well have a problem. The first time I wrote on this subject back in January, I said it might turn [...]
Whitehall amateurs should take lessons in business practice February 4, 2013 NON-executive directors (NED) are not a new phenomenon in the private sector. These men and women have been discussing the performance of directors, participating in committees, and setting the strategic direction of businesses for years. But Whitehall has come late to the party. NEDs have only sat on the boards of government departments since 2010. [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 8, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Telecoms discuss Europe network Europe’s top telecoms executives are discussing the creation of a pan-European infrastructure network to unite the continent’s fragmented national markets, following prompting from Brussels to consider more radical options. The idea of pooling telecoms infrastructure emerged at a private meeting between Joaquín Almunia, the EU’s competition chief, and bosses [...]
Kigu is crowned smartest small business at Smarta 100 Awards November 12, 2012 KIGU, a company that makes animal onesies favoured by everyone from the cast of Made in Chelsea to Lily Allen, has been voted Britain’s brightest small business by business network Smarta. Kigu founder Tom Cohn was awarded a novelty cheque for the very real £10,000 cash prize at the awards, run with O2. BBC Dragon [...]
Strong UK sales at McDonald’s fail to hide disappointment May 8, 2012 McDonald’s yesterday reported a smaller-than-expected rise in April sales, after a strong performance in the UK and Europe failed to offset tough trading elsewhere. Despite national debt woes, widespread austerity measures and high unemployment in the Eurozone, McDonald’s grew same-restaurant sales in the region by 3.5 per cent, above analysts’ forecasts of a three per [...]
Brave Bradford stun Premier League Wigan October 30, 2012 LEAGUE TWO Bradford City last night led the Capital One Cup’s surprise results after securing a 4-2 penalty shoot-out victory away to Premier League Wigan when the match had remained goalless after 120 minutes. Shaun Maloney fired his penalty over the bar, and Matt Duke saved from Jordi Gomez, after the home side – for [...]
Death knell for final salary in pension rejig November 22, 2012 A NEW workplace pension model was proposed yesterday in an effort to limit the financial risk for both employers and employees. Under the controversial proposals, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has suggested an employer can end a final salary pension scheme when an employee leaves the firm, thereby cutting the firms’ risk exposure. [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching Jobs September 24, 2012 Winston & Strawn Michael Madden has been appointed to the role of managing partner in the law firm’s London office. He replaces Thomas Benz. Madden currently leads Winston & Strawn’s commercial litigation presence in London, and he has particular experience in corporate acquisitions and divestitures. Deloitte David Hodgson has been appointed as a healthcare and life [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching Jobs September 24, 2012 Winston & Strawn Michael Madden has been appointed to the role of managing partner in the law firm’s London office. He replaces Thomas Benz. Madden currently leads Winston & Strawn’s commercial litigation presence in London, and he has particular experience in corporate acquisitions and divestitures. Deloitte David Hodgson has been appointed as a healthcare and life [...]
Tech City first as Facebook app developer sold September 27, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT’S Tech City project has seen its first successful exit, with Shoreditch-based Facebook application developer iPlatform sold to Irish marketing firm Betapond. iPlatform was founded by entrepreneurs Joshua March and Dan Lester in 2008, shortly after Facebook allowed outside developers to create software on the website. The firm designs social apps for the likes [...]