6:39 am, April 27, 2023
M&S boss says ‘London on life support’ amid investment plan
The boss of Marks & Spencer has warned London is ‘on life support’ as the high street retailer committed to £12.5m of investment and to create more than 200 new jobs in the city.
Stuart Machin, chief executive of the historic retailer, criticised the government’s decision to scrap tax-free shopping and the ‘proliferation of tacky candy stores’ on Oxford Street, as he said London had fallen behind other major cities.
In a letter to the Evening Standard, he said: ‘The high street which is meant to be the jewel in London’s crown today is a national embarrassment. It pains me to see our great city like this. For too long now it has been on life support.’
Funeral company Dignity was making ‘egregious’ margins, says bidder
Funeral company Dignity pushed the gains from its rapidly increasing prices to its shareholders and didn’t invest in improving its products, the man trying to take over the business has said.
Ex-Dignity CEO Gary Channon, whose consortium made an offer for Dignity in January, said well-meaning staff at the company’s branches started to refer customers to its competitors.
The 45 per cent margins that the company was making were ‘egregious, and unnecessary and unsustainable’, Channon told the PA news agency.
Schools face disruption as teachers across England stage fresh strikes over pay
Teachers in England are striking today in a long-running dispute over pay.
Tens of thousands of teacher members of the National Education Union are estimated to be walking out of schools and sixth-form colleges across England, with another day of action scheduled for Tuesday.
Many secondary schools in England are expected to prioritise Year 11 and Year 13 students during the strikes as GCSE and A-level exams are weeks away.
Amazon axes Halo fitness devices in cost-cutting move
Amazon is winding down its health-focused Halo devices and membership as the tech giant continues to cut costs.
The company told customers yesterday it will issue refunds to anyone who bought Amazon Halo devices in the past year. Refunds will also be given to customers who have unused prepaid Halo subscriptions fees.
Amazon said the Halo devices and app will no longer work after August 1. Users can download or delete their Halo heath data, it said.
Surge in property searches near location for Jeremy Clarkson’s TV show
Searches for homes for sale near where Jeremy Clarkson’s TV show Clarkson’s Farm is based have jumped, according to a property website.
Rightmove said searches for homes for sale in the village of Chadlington in Oxfordshire surged by 373 per cent in February and March 2023, compared with the same period in 2022.
The second series of the Amazon Prime TV show launched in February and a similar uplift was seen after the launch of the first series in 2021. The average asking price for a home in the postcode area is £518,702, having risen by seven per cent between June 2021 and March 2023, said Rightmove.
Government taking RCN to court over bank holiday strike
The government will today take legal action against the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) over a planned strike in the long-running dispute over pay.
Health secretary Steve Barclay said he was ‘regretfully’ applying to the High Court to declare the walkout planned for May 2 unlawful.
RCN members working in the NHS in England at workplaces with a strike mandate are preparing to take 48-hour industrial action from 8pm on April 30 but it is believed the mandate expires on May 1.
Disney sues Ron DeSantis over theme park district takeover
Disney is suing Florida governor Ron DeSantis over the Republican’s takeover of its theme park district.
The entertainment giant alleges he has waged a ‘targeted campaign of government retaliation’ after the company opposed a state law critics call ‘Don’t Say Gay’ that bans classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades.
The suit was filed in Tallahassee minutes after a Disney World oversight board appointed by DeSantis voted to void a deal that placed theme park design and construction decisions in the company’s hands.
New McLaren 750S brings added performance
McLaren has unveiled a replacement for the hugely successful 720S supercar – the 750S.
Arriving as the most powerful series-production McLaren, the 750S brings more power from the same 4.0-litre turbocharged V8 than its predecessor – increased by 22bhp to 740bhp, while total torque rises by 30Nm to 800Nm.
The coupe and Spider versions go from 0-60mph in just 2.7 seconds, while both models can manage a top speed of 206mph. Inside is a new driver display with controls for the powertrain and handling modes on either side among the features.
Yesterday’s headlines on Car Dealer you might have missed
- Exclusive: EVs dominate top 10 list of biggest depreciating used cars in April
- More than 1.5m Ford Fiestas on the road as top 10 most popular cars revealed
- Group 1 Automotive UK profits reach £88.5m in first quarter of 2023
- Scrap metal thief caused £3,000 of damage to vehicles while trying to flee Ellesmere Port Mercedes dealership
- Tesla triumphs in $3m Autopilot crash case that could have bearing on future trials
- Lookers wants to rebuild Nissan dealership it says is in ‘poor condition’
- Macklin Motors steps in to save singer-songwriter’s UK tour after bus is pulled at last minute
- Car salesman smashes targets as he runs London Marathon for young niece with rare liver disease
Market movements
The FTSE 100 closed down 38.49 points yesterday to end on 7,852.64. The Cac 40 was down 64.95 points at 7,466.66, the Dax was down 76.40 points at 15,795.73 and the Dow Jones was down 228.96 points at 33,301.87.
Weather outlook
Today will be generally cloudy with north and west Scotland experiencing rain and hill snow, says BBC Weather. Rain will also spread in from the south-west during the day in the south, and will be heavy at times with a risk of thunder.
Friday will be mainly cloudy with a few lingering patches of rain in the far north and east in the morning. It’ll turn brighter from the west for many in the afternoon but it’ll be breezy in south-eastern areas.
