Week in Sportbiz: England Netball weighing up approaches from private investors; plus Manchester City’s humble new partner club and ‘super spikes’ February 18, 2021 Netball’s prodigious growth has not gone unnoticed by the private investors who have embarked on a trolley dash of sporting properties. England Netball successfully launched its Covid-adapted 2021 Superleague season last weekend – another feather in the cap of an organisation that has doubled participation in a decade. The governing has renewed its broadcast deal [...]
WAGs to riches: Rebekah Vardy wins first round of High Court battle against Coleen Rooney November 20, 2020 Rebekah Vardy has won the first round in her ‘Wagatha Christie’ High Court battle against fellow footballer’s wife Coleen Rooney, and will receive an initial £23,000 in costs from Rooney. London’s High Court ruled that Rooney’s social media post accusing fellow ‘wife and girlfriend’ (WAG) Vardy of leaking false stories about her to the media [...]
British companies planned 300,000 redundancies in June and July September 8, 2020 UK employers planned more than 300,000 redundancies this summer as the coronavirus pandemic continued to take its toll on the economy. Figures obtained by a BBC Freedom of Information request show 1,784 firms made plans to cut nearly 150,000 jobs in July, a near sevenfold increase on the year before. While in June, 1,888 employers [...]
Nike may have already won the Tokyo Olympics… and that’s OK February 11, 2020 Eliud Kipchoge captured the imagination and admiration of millions when he broke the mythical two-hour barrier for the marathon in Vienna last October. For 26 miles and 385 yards, the Kenyan ran faster than most can sprint, crossing the line in 1 hour 59 minutes 40.2 seconds. Broadcast live on mainstream TV, it was a [...]
Challenger audit firms prep for forced audit separation January 29, 2021 Challenger audit firms are readying themselves for audit separation, a requirement not yet expected of them, but one they see as inevitable in the future. Last summer audit regulator the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) ordered the Big Four firms – Deloitte, KPMG, PwC and EY – to separate their audit units from the rest of their [...]
Difficult headlines shouldn’t scare firms off admitting they’ve got work to do on equality January 27, 2021 When it comes to equality in business, it’s fair to say that very few companies are truly where they want to be yet – being honest about this is uncomfortable but important. In November 2014 we first published our gender pay gap, and four years ago we published our ethnicity pay gap. While I was [...]
Green List: Get Viking fit the Icelandic way on the troll peninsula May 17, 2021 I slip away from breakfast early. Outside, the Icelandic sky is still dark, tiny clustered constellations gleaming like antique diamond brooches. I head downstairs, through the womb-like cavern of the spa and slide open the floor-to-ceiling glass door. The breeze needles my cheeks as I ease down into the warmth of the geothermal pool. Steam [...]
Gym chain DW Sports collapses into administration, putting 1,700 jobs at risk August 3, 2020 Gym chain and sportswear retailer DW Sports has collapsed into administration, putting 1,700 jobs at risk. DW Sports, which will appoint administrators today, has closed 25 of its 75 stores and has ceased trading through its website immediately. The remaining 50 retail sites will continue to trade, but will move into closing down sales from [...]
Ollie Phillips’ Six Nations predictions: England to bully poor Italy; impressive Ireland won’t be pushovers for France; Scotland too good for Wales February 12, 2021 It’s not as if we didn’t see the problems coming with England before their defeat to Scotland in last week’s Six Nations opener. Physicality is the minimum requirement at international rugby but you need more than that. England had lacked ingenuity. And, sure enough, Scotland totally outfoxed the holders at in every area of the [...]
Chadwick Boseman’s captivating farewell in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a career best December 21, 2020 It’s hard to write about Netflix’s new musical drama without reflecting on the passing of its star. The death of Chadwick Boseman was felt around the world, such was his impact in the seven short years since his breakthrough in sporting biopic 42. While the quality of a movie seems trivial when compared to the [...]