Everyone panic: There may be a gin shortage after a deadly disease hit Scotland’s juniper population October 28, 2015 There's no easy way to say this, but there's a chance the UK is about to be gripped by a gin shortage. A new report has shown a deadly disease – as well as threats from human traffic – is sweeping Scotland's population of juniper trees, which grow the berries gin is based on. A [...]
House of Fraser boss John King departs as department store reveals swathe of changes to top team following Chinese buyout February 18, 2015 House of Fraser chief executive John King is stepping down after eight years at the helm of the department store chain. King's departure comes just months after the business was bought out by Chinese consortium Nanjing Xinjiekou, and follows the retirement of former chairman Don McCarthy. King will be replaced by HoF's current [...]
Debenhams Croydon gets to the bottom of it September 25, 2015 Big businesses are full of sass right now. Croydon-dwellers were met with quite a treat yesterday when the self-titled “world’s grumpiest old woman” glued her posterior to the shop window of a Debenhams wearing nothing but a thong and a sash. A Debenhams spokesperson’s response was nothing short of brilliant: “It is great to [...]
Silverfleet Capital sell Office for £256m to South African retailer Truworths, more than tripling its money November 30, 2015 Office, the shoe shop, has been sold by its private equity owner Silverfleet to Truworths International, a South African fashion retailer for £256m. Silverfleet achieved an impressive 3.4x return on its investment five years ago, in December 2010, when it bought the shoe brand from Sir Tom Hunter, the Scottish entrepreneur and philanthropist, who's behind private equity vehicle West [...]
The Mog effect? Sainsbury’s share price climbs as grocer outperforms Tesco, Asda and Morrisons as Kantar supermarket figures December 15, 2015 Could it be the Mog effect? Sainsbury's has beaten Tesco, Asda and Morrisons to become the best performing supermarket among the Big Four. In fact, Kantar Worldpanel figures show that Sainsbury's was the only grocer among the top spots to post a growth in sales for the 12 weeks to 6 December, up 1.2 per cent. Tesco and Asda had [...]
Now Mercedes-Benz has launched its own London luxury apartments October 15, 2015 Now you can experience the feeling of being in the driving seat of a Mercedes-Benz without even stepping foot outside a front door. The carmaker is manoeuvring an unusual left-field turn into the luxury property business with a new concept of Mercedes designed serviced apartments in London. In a collaboration with Singaporean luxury serviced apartments firm Frasers Hospitality, six apartments measuring between 50 [...]
Sainsbury’s beats Tesco, Asda and Morrisons as only top supermarket in growth while Kantar warns of impact Amazon Fresh will have on sector September 22, 2015 Yet more bad data for the Big Four was released today – plus a hint that there could be a fresh problem facing the UK's supermarket sector, in the form of Amazon Fresh. Sainsbury was the only supermarket among the Big Four to keep pace with the sector's growth over the last quarter, with Asda's [...]
SSE pre-tax profits jumps but outlook “challenging” amid UK energy policy and low commodity prices November 11, 2015 The figures: SSE's adjusted profit before tax rose by 48.2 per cent to £548.8m for the six months ending 30 September. The UK's second-biggest energy supplier's total operating profit jumped 32.5 per cent to £701.9m from £529.8m during the same period a year earlier. The increase was driven by its wholesale business segment, where operating profit rose almost six-fold to [...]
Ohuruogu dominates heat to reach 400m semi-final as Yousif eyes title challenge August 25, 2015 DEFENDING champion Christine Ohuruogu breezed into the women’s 400m semi-finals after a dominant performance in her heats at the World Athletics Championships in Beijing yesterday. Ohuruogu clocked a time of 51.01 seconds to post a conclusive victory as she returned to the stadium in which she became Olympic champion in 2008. Fellow Briton Anyika Onuora [...]
London property: Luxury development in Camberwell to open books tomorrow September 15, 2015 It might have been relatively neglected in recent years, but south London village Camberwell is next on property developers' hit lists, with a new luxury development being launched this week. Singaporean firm Frasers Property is opening the books for Camberwell on the Green tomorrow, with the sales launch being held at the Pakistan Room [...]