Royal Mail reshuffles the pack after operations chief departs January 13, 2014 ROYAL MAIL yesterday ended a chapter of its transition to a listed company, after the director credited with overhauling its key delivery operations announced his resignation from the company. Mark Higson, managing director for operations and modernisation, will leave the business in July after six years at the postal services firm. His replacement, director of [...]
Sales soar over festive season at Greene King January 13, 2014 BREWER and pub group Greene King yesterday reported a 3.8 per cent jump in its like-for-like sales during the first 36 weeks of its financial year, boosted by bumper food sales on Christmas Day. The results were helped by the two trading weeks covering Christmas and the New Year, during which Greene King reported sales [...]
UBM chief to leave for McGraw-Hill in March January 13, 2014 UBM CHIEF executive David Levin will complete his departure from the events and information group on 1 March when he takes over as chief executive of McGraw-Hill Education in New York. Following his departure, UBM chairman Dame Helen Alexander will become executive chairman until a new chief executive is chosen. “We are making very good [...]
M&S boss Marc Bolland defends Xmas discounts January 9, 2014 MARKS & SPENCER chief executive Marc Bolland yesterday denied that the retailer had sparked this Christmas’s frenzied discounting as the chain’s clothing sales fell for a 10th consecutive quarter. The high street bellwether said like-for-like general merchandise sales, which include homeware and clothing, dropped by 2.1 per cent in the 13 weeks to 28 December. [...]
Festive boost for Ted Baker January 9, 2014 BRITISH designer clothing brand Ted Baker said it will meet annual profit forecasts after posting an 18.3 per cent rise in eight-week festive sales, helped in part by a 10.9 per cent increase in new space. Unlike many under-pressure retailers during the festive period, Ted Baker said it had not undertaken any significant promotional activity [...]
Hays sees signs of broad uptick in British hiring January 9, 2014 HAYS has become the latest recruitment company to declare a thaw in the UK jobs market, with net fees in the last quarter of 2013 up 10 per cent. Hiring has surged in UK construction and there are pockets of jobs growth in financial services, finance boss Paul Venables said. “In the City of London [...]
Rathbone unit trusts help fund base surge 20pc January 9, 2014 RATHBONE Brothers, the upmarket wealth manager, yesterday said the amount of money it manages for people jumped by over 20 per cent last year, boosted by its unit trust business. The company, currently on the hunt for a new chief executive to replace Andy Pomfret who departs next month, saw funds managed by the company [...]
Debenhams remains unloved as hedge funds pile on the pressure January 9, 2014 HEDGE fund bets against Debenhams have increased four- fold since the start of the year led by a short position from Marshall Wace, amid an overall decline in shorting of high street retailers, fresh figures show. About 4.5 per cent of the company’s stock is now out on loan versus 1.5 per cent just a [...]
Serco awarded extension to run Boris Bikes January 9, 2014 SERCO, the beleaguered outsourcing firm under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), yesterday said it has won a £38m two-year contract extension with Transport for London (TfL) to manage and operate the Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme. The original contract to design, build and operate the service – commonly known as Boris Bikes, named after [...]
SIG expects profit to increase on British residential construction January 9, 2014 BUILDING materials supplier SIG has said it expects full-year underlying pre-tax profit to be no less than £85.8m, helped by cost cuts and a recovery in the British residential construction market. SIG, which supplies insulation products, materials for roofs, and interior fittings, said it expected construction activity in the UK residential market to remain buoyant, [...]