Image copyright Reuters Debenhams is understood to be seeking to close 50 of its 166 stores in a radical overhaul as it prepares to reveal a record £500m loss. The struggling department store chain has previously said 10 stores were earmarked for closure over the next five years but has raised that target. The retailer’s …
Image copyright Getty Images Listed companies must be clearer about the potential impact of Brexit on their businesses when reporting their financial results, a watchdog has said. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said firms needed to differentiate between specific and general Brexit threats to protect investors. The FRC said firms in general needed to be …
Image copyright Getty Images The prosperous commuter belt town of Guildford in Surrey has been named as the inheritance tax capital of the UK. As many as 658 families were subject to the tax in 2015/16, more than anywhere else in the country. On average they paid £231,000 each. By contrast, just 31 estates in …
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Apple faces a fine roughly twice as large as Samsung’s Apple and Samsung have been fined millions of euros each by Italian authorities over “planned obsolescence” in smartphones. Apple was hit with a 10 million euro (£8.8m) fine while Samsung received a smaller bill of five million euros. “Apple …
Image copyright Getty Images Further evidence of the slow-down in the property market has emerged, with fewer people taking out new mortgages to buy a home. Britain’s High Street banks approved 38,505 such loans in September, a drop of 10.1% on the same month last year. It is the third month in a row that …
Food delivery service, Deliveroo, is overhauling its menus to display more allergen information starting in December. Ingredients such as sesame seeds, nuts or dairy will be flagged up on every dish that contains them. Tortilla and Chipotle will be among the first chains to adopt the new system. The move follows the deaths of two …
Image copyright Gourmet Burger Kitchen Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) says it has earmarked 17 restaurants for closure after running up millions of pounds of losses. The chain, owned by South Africa’s Famous Brands, has filed for a Company Voluntary Arrangement – an insolvency process that allows struggling firms to close unprofitable stores. It warned 250 …
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Ocean plastic is often eaten by sea animals, with fatal results The European Parliament has voted for a complete ban on a range of single-use plastics across the union in a bid to stop pollution of the oceans. MEPs backed a ban on plastic cutlery and plates, cotton buds, …
Image copyright Jennifer Scott A “leading businessman” has won a legal battle to stop a newspaper printing harassment claims against him. An injunction has been granted by three Court of Appeal judges to stop the Daily Telegraph publishing its article. They say the five staff making the claims had been “compromised by settlement agreements” and …
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Tim Cook made an unusual statement in Brussels, calling on the US to enact stronger privacy laws Apple chief executive Tim Cook has demanded a tough new US data protection law, in an unusual speech in Europe. Referring to the misuse of “deeply personal” data, he said it was …