Local authorities braced for budget hit as Debenhams demands business rates cut May 12, 2019 Cash-strapped local authorities are set to become the latest victim in the demise of Debenhams, as the embattled retailer embarks on a turnaround plan that includes a controversial move to cut business rate bills that it owes. New research shown to City A.M. estimates local authorities will no longer receive £8.5m of the total £17.3m [...]
Goals Soccer Centres chief executive to quit to join British Olympic Association May 12, 2019 The chief executive of Goals Soccer Centres, the five-a-side football venue operator, is stepping down weeks after the company’s shares were suspended following a £12m accounting error. Andy Anson, who has been in the role for a year, is stepping down to take on the chief executive job at the British Olympic Association (BOA), Sky [...]
McIlroy tops list of the UK’s top 20 richest young sports stars May 11, 2019 Golfer Rory McIlroy is the UK’s richest young sports star, it was revealed today as the Northern Irishman topped a list otherwise dominated by footballers. McIlroy’s wealth hit £138m in 2019, the Sunday Times Rich List revealed, putting him ahead of second-placed Gareth Bale on £94m. Read more: Sam Torrance: McIlroy is at ease and [...]
Island hopping, dodging coconuts and chasing giant tortoises in Seychelles May 10, 2019 Biking around the flat sandy paths of Desroches island in the Indian Ocean, with only birds, turtles and tortoises for company, I happen across a warning sign nailed to a palm tree on the edge of the new Four Seasons resort. “Beware of falling coconuts”. Just moments later I encounter a similarly rustic sign bashed [...]
The Fragrance Shop: something stinks May 10, 2019 You may have read about or watched the story of Sanjay Vadera, CEO of The Fragrance Shop, recently. He appeared on Sky News last week to talk about McArthurGlen, his landlords, who want to take away his six outlet stores and hand them to his rival, so he’s taking them to court. The case will [...]
A German Life at Bridge Theatre review: Maggie Smith shines in this examination of Nazi fervour May 10, 2019 “Everything that is beautiful is also tainted, and whatever’s horrible also has its bright side. Nothing is black and white.” These words, at first glance a truism, become morbidly fascinating when spoken by Brunhilde Pomsel, the wizened former stenographer to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and subject of the award-winning documentary A German Life. Maggie [...]
Three Sisters at the Almeida: This most Chekhovian of Chekhov’s plays flatters to deceive May 10, 2019 After last year’s superlative Summer and Smoke, the pairing of director Rebecca Frecknall and young star Patsy Ferran is an irresistible proposition. This time they combine to drag Chekhov’s fin de siècle play Three Sisters into an unspecified time and space somewhere between pre-revolution Russia and present-day King’s Road. But despite another fitful, engaging performance [...]
Chinese retail giant JD.com hits record quarterly profits to beat expectations May 10, 2019 Chinese e-commerce behemoth JD.com exceeded estimates for its first quarter earnings this year, up 20.9 per cent on the same period in 2018 with record-breaking quarterly profits. The tech giant recently cut staff and wages in a bid to increase profitability and saw revenue grow to Rmb121bn (£13.8bn) for the quarter up until 31 March 2019. [...]
Thyssenkrupp warns 6,000 jobs could go after regulator scuppers European steel merger May 10, 2019 Thyssenkrupp today admitted defeat in its proposed Tata Steel merger, but sent shares higher as it revealed plans to spin off its elevator business. Read more: Thyssenkrupp shares soar as it abandons plans to split company Shares surged even further on the admission that the EU looks set to block the deal, after rising in [...]
Ofgem threatens to revoke energy supplier Solarplicity’s licence over missing payments to small-scale generators May 10, 2019 Ofgem has said it could revoke energy supplier Solarplicity’s license for the second time in a month, raising further questions about the future of the company. The regulator today issued a provisional order against Solarplicity, requiring it to pay money to small-scale producers of renewable energy. Read more: Energy supplier Solarplicity faces extended new customer [...]