Online grocer Ocado, part-owned by John Lewis and former US vice president Al Gore, has seen sales growth of 25% in their results announced this week. The retailer has expanded its product range and its geographic covergae and is thought now to be preparing for a flotation. A more established retailer, in another tough marketplace, [...]
Nissan is to build its new electric car – the Leaf – at its Sunderland plant, the Japanese company has announced. Hundreds of jobs are expected to be safeguarded once production begins in 2013 – part of a £420m investment in electric cars. The investment is backed by a £20.7m government grant and up to [...]
There are many of us who think that small business will be the engine that drives us into recovery, so whilst I often comment here on the FTSE, and large corporate profits, that is more a factor of the availability of content than an indicator of my bias. It is therefore a great delight to [...]
The ongoing dispute between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers’ Union appears to have been resolved, with the Union accepting a 6.9% pay rise over three years, and revised working practices. This is good news for those individuals and businesses that rely on a reliable universal mail service – especially those in mail order. Elsewhere, [...]
After a weekend with dozens of ambitious owner-managers at the BGP, it is always easy to look on the bright side on a Monday morning. This is helped by the BBC reporting today that both the Confederation of British Industry and the Engineering Employer’s Federation are reporting increased optimisim amongst their members. This is especially good [...]
Oxfordshire business A1 Financials was recently shortlisted for the national ‘Bookkeeping Practice Of The Year’ Lucas 2009 Award sponsored by The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers. A1 Financials was the only Midlands based practice to be shortlisted and the competition was tough, with only 5 nominees shortlisted from a total of 3700 UK practices this year. [...]
It is hard to believe that a year ago the future of the then Honda Formula One team was in such peril, and now they have both the constructor’s and driver’s world championships, and yesterday announced the sale of a 75% stake to Mercedes and an Abu Dhabi investment group. Appropriate reward for Ros Brawn’s [...]
We’d worked or been out for most of the week-end separately so when I got a call from a prospective client cancelling a lunchtime meeting this morning that was it. This morning arrived crisp and clear, crying out to be enjoyed. What did we do? Being self-employed and with no immediate deadlines to meet we [...]
Retail giant Kingfisher – owner of B&Q - has procalimed that DIY is cool, as they reported increased profits of £288 million in the six months to 1 August. Slower house sales mean more people are spending on home improvements, and lifestyle changes mean more people are gardening, boosting their sales, according to today’s reports. I’m [...]
Good news for rail commuters – many fares are due to fall next year. Regulated fares are often pinned at July’s Retail Price Index figure, plus 1%. Unfortunately for the rail companies, the 2009 RPI in June was -1.4 per cent, meaning fares will have to drop by 0.4 per cent next year. More of [...]
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