John Lewis said on Friday that it has appointed Martin Gafsen – currently interim corporate finance director at Royal Mail – as its new property and facilities director. He will be charged with the strategy and management of the partnership’s property portfolio. Gafsen will join the John Lewis Partnership (JLP) …
Read More »Ofcom to review Royal Mail’s universal service obligations
UK communications regulator Ofcom announced plans to review the nation’s universal postal service on Tuesday, as a result of the changing needs and habits of postal users. Ofcom said the universal postal service, underpinned by the Postal Services Act of 2011, mandated International Distributions Services subsidiary Royal Mail to deliver …
Read More »Royal Mail parent IDS posts uptick in Q1 revenues, appoints Seidenberg as CEO
Royal Mail parent International Distribution Services said on Thursday that it was still targeting an adjusted operating profit for the year, as it announced the appointment of Martin Seidenberg as its new chief executive officer. In an update for the three months to the end of June, the company said …
Read More »UK govt rejects Royal Mail move to axe Saturday deliveries
The government has blocked Royal Mail’s plans to axe Saturday letter deliveries, it was revealed on Thursday, which could see the price of stamps increase even further. Business minister Kevin Hollinrake confirmed the move in a letter to parliament’s cross-party Business select committee. Royal Mail, owned by International Distributions Services …
Read More »Sunday newspaper round-up: Tesco, National Grid, Morrisons
Tesco‘s pension fund lost £9bn in value and fell into a deficit after multiple safe investments went sour. In particular, the fund is heavily exposed to so-called Liability Driven Investments. Those LDIs came unstuck in 2022 following a sharp rise in interest rates that left pension funds nursing heavy losses. …
Read More »Royal Mail chief steps down after bruising battle with unions
Royal Mail chief executive Simon Thompson has quit after a bitter year-long dispute with the postal workers’ union, the company said on Friday. Thompson, who was in the top job for just over two years, last month finally reached a deal with the Communication Workers Union o pay and conditions …
Read More »US open: Stocks mostly lower as traders look ahead to tech earnings
Wall Street stocks were mostly lower early on Monday as traders braced for another earnings-heavy week. As of 1545 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.01% at 33,812.01, while the S&P 500 lost 0.14% to 4,127.68 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.54% weaker at 12,007.87. …
Read More »Sunday share tips: Billington Holdings, Henry Boot
The Financial Mail on Sunday‘s Midas column touted shares of steel group Billington Holdings. The tipster highlighted the company’s move into multiple high-growth fields, ranging from movie studios to renewable energies, data centres or online warehouses. Among its green projects was the recent construction of energy-from-waste plants, including that at …
Read More »Thursday newspaper round-up: SVB, Royal Mail, listing rules
People in Britain have more confidence in the EU than the UK parliament, reversing a state of affairs that has lasted for more than 30 years, research reveals. Since the UK voted for Brexit, the proportion of people declaring confidence in parliament has slumped by 10 percentage points to 22% …
Read More »Royal Mail threatens to put postal service into administration
Royal Mail issued a threat to put its loss-making postal service into administration, it emerged on Tuesday, amid escalating talks with union chiefs. According to the Telegraph, the postal operator – part of the recently-renamed International Distributions Services – had warned unions that it could place the regulated part of …
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