17,604 source-backed business facts - each attributed to a named person and a number, linked to the original source. Page 12 of 177.
“snapped up 25 Zavvi sites, taking the chain to a total 270 stores across UK & Ireland”
“1.9 per cent like‑for‑like sales rise”
“Waterstone’s same store sales dipped by 3.8 per cent”
“the whole book market contracted three per cent during the period”
“gaming side of the business had grown to 24 per cent, from just 14 per cent in April 2007”
“recording 40,000 sales in the three days after his death”
“The accounts, which were filed six months after the statutory deadline, shows the total number of staff at the firm increased from 37 to 46 during the period.”
“Pockit added another 99 staff to its headcount at the end of December 2024 following its acquisition of Monese”
“But a hefty portion of this fall came from the spin-off of XYB, Monese’s former business-to-business arm which was offloaded in May 2024.”
“Pockit founder Virraj Jatania has said the firm focuses on the ‘bottom half’ of UK adults – some 20m to 22m people – who are often poorly served by mainstream financial services.”
“In July 2025, the firm said it had advised the clothing and lingerie brand, co-founded and owned by American billionaire and reality TV personality, Kim Kardashian, on securing a 10-year lease for a flagship store in the City.”
“The SKIMS flagship store will take over the former 12,000-square-foot premises of Ted Baker before it permanently closed its Regent Street shop in August 2024 after the financial collapse of the company’s UK retail operator.”
“This followed the retail giant’s licensing operator, No Ordinary Designer label, falling into administration in March 2024, resulting in 245 jobs being slashed and 15 stores being permanently closed.”
“Bellway saw private house reservations fall by 6.2 per cent year on year to an average of 151 per week in the four months since February.”
“The group said it traded from an average of 233 outlets in this period, down four per cent from 242 year on year, but remains on track to open 40 new sites in the second half of this year.”
“But Bellway said it expects to meet its targets for the year, which are to build between 9,300 and 9,500 homes and produce a pre-tax profit of between £320m and £330m.”
“The firm said it is maintaining its “disciplined and highly selective” approach to land buying, with the value of its new land contracts having fallen 27 per cent year on year to £363m in the year to August.”
“In April, rival housebuilder Berkeley saw its shares plummet after it “pulled up the drawbridge” by halting land buying altogether in the face of an “unprecedented increase in cost and regulation”.”
“Duncan Ferris, an investment writer at Freetrade, said Bellway’s “foundations are looking more fragile” as the Middle East war rages on and the slump in consumer confidence persists.”
“Serco, which pockets more than £1bn annually from UK government contracts, is one of the main operators of asylum hotels and wider accommodation.”
“Asylum contractors have already come under pressure over profits gained from the agreements, with providers promising to pay back gains when they exceed five per cent.”
“In an interview with City PM last year, Serco chief executive Anthony Kirby said the firm was operating around 120 asylum hotels but had since reduced the number by half to align with government policy.”
“Caudwell founded Phones4U in 1987”
“operating more than 600 stores”
“sold its parent company for just under £1.5bn in 2006”
“Scale-ups already play an outsized role in the economy despite accounting for less than one per cent of UK businesses, generating £2.2tn in turnover and employed 3.9 million people in 2023.”
“VENU+ operates in all 50 U.S. states and across 13 countries on four continents, setting the global standard for world-class products and services for more than 42 years.”
“ZCG has approximately 400 professionals across five countries and is headquartered in New York.”
“We previously had lots of purchase orders to load into IRIS Financials each week, which, across the Trust, could take several hours.”
“According to Amazon Business’s 2025 State of Procurement Report, retaining or developing existing talent is a priority for 65 per cent of procurement decision-makers and 66 per cent of senior leaders over the next two years.”
“Illicit Royal Ascot betting could boost the gambling black market industry by £40m as punters get drawn in by unregulated operators.”
“unregulated operators now account for almost half of all gambling advertising spend”
“Nearly 40,000 hospitality covers are expected to be served across the five days of racing in Berkshire”
“the royal meet accounts for around 70 per cent of the venue’s annual revenues”
“Mr. Looney served as CEO of bp from 2020 to 2023”
“Founded in 2019 and venture-backed in 2023”
“Mr. Looney has more than three decades of experience across the global energy sector”
“We can do way more to boost infrastructure projects, and that is what we should be doing.”
“new eight-year kit deal with Adidas that is believed to be the most lucrative in world football.”
“previous contract with Adidas was due to run until 2028 and was reported to be worth around €120m (£104m) a year.”
“new deal is thought to be even more lucrative, eclipsing domestic rivals Barcelona’s relationship with Nike, which is reportedly worth €127m (£110m) a year.”
“Once Real Madrid’s industry-leading percentage take on sales through Adidas outlets is factored in, it is thought to be worth more than €1bn over the length of the contract.”
“Entry and exit rates for UK firms are around a third lower today than at the time of the GFC.”
“COAL miner Xstrata is eying up Anglo American – owner of the world’s biggest platinum producer – for a £41bn marriage, City PM can confirm.”
“It is understood that Xstrata’s 35 per cent shareholder Glencore, a commodities company, has given the tie-up the green light.”
“Nomura analyst Paul Cliff has said that a merger could result in cost synergies of $700m per year, or 2 per cent of combined operating costs.”
“An estimated $10bn is being splurged by some of the world’s most recognisable organisations on adverts and campaigns”
“Heinz products in media rooms had to be censored with black tape because the sauce maker is not an official partner.”
“American broadcasters have used these three-minute pauses to play commercials that are earning hundreds of thousands of dollars for the likes of Fox.”
“Ryan was in the headlines last week after it won a "very competitive" bid to acquire European tax adviser Svalner Atlas Advisors in a deal reportedly worth $400m.”
“We grew organically over 20 per cent last year, and we’ll look to replicate that this year...”
“He claimed the firm is one of the leading recruiters of senior talent in the market right now as it is targeting around 20 strategic hires (partner-level) in the UK by year‑end.”
“The coffee chain formed a joint venture, known as Empire JointStar, with its franchise operator Dallas Holdings in October 2023, in a bid to accelerate its expansion in the US.”
“The agreement had seen Dallas operate around 50 Pret sites – in locations like New York, Philadelphia and Washington DC – with the aim of opening 10 more by this year.”
“The company said its sales jumped by 2.7 per cent, which it put down to the expansion of its store footprint and a boost to sales in the UK.”
“The firm terminated its partnership with Dallas in October 2025, it said, and regained the stores that had been operated by its franchise partner.”
“Pret’s accounts revealed its average headcount at its directly-operated stores fell by eight per cent to 7,531 workers, as of January 2026.”
“The coffee chain cut the price of its Arabica filter coffee to 99p in July 2024, and slashed prices elsewhere on croissants, egg sandwiches and tuna baguettes.”
“Pret said it has seen a “strong” start to this year, with UK sales up eight per cent in the first four months of 2026 as it sees higher customer footfall.”
“Pret a Manger was founded in London in 1983 and was bought by European investment group JAB for £1.5bn in 2018.”
“Today, AB InBev, the world’s leading brewer, launched its global “Cheers to Bars” platform – a celebration of local bars and their impact on communities all over the world.”
“Our diverse portfolio of well over 400 beer brands includes global brands Budweiser®, Corona®, Stella Artois® and Michelob Ultra®; ...”
“Geographically diversified with a balanced exposure to developed and developing markets, we leverage the collective strengths of approximately 137 000 colleagues based in more than 40 countries worldwide.”
“Frasers Group has moved to tighten its grip on German fashion giant Hugo Boss, tabling a takeover offer in a deal that values the brand at nearly €2bn.”
“The retail empire, which spans Sports Direct and Flannels, already sits as Hugo Boss’s largest investor with a stake north of 25 per cent, and has now made its play to push beyond a blocking minority position.”
“Frasers is offering €38 a share for the portion of the business it does not already own.”
“If successful, the deal would be worth around €1.98bn (£1.73bn) and is expected to complete in the second half of the year, subject to regulatory approval.”
“In March City PM revealed Frasers took a stake in athletic giant Puma.”
“Nearly one in three defence firms can’t find graduates to hire despite a youth unemployment crisis, a new report has found”
“nearly three quarters of defence firms already engage with universities”
“A survey of around 460 businesses showed that around one in five said graduates lacked the skills needed”
“Around 31 per cent of defence firms said they were experiencing a skills shortage”
“27 per cent for clean energy industries”
“25 per cent for financial services employers”
“A survey of around 460 businesses”
“Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak insists the club are now worth at least £7.5bn but that owner Sheikh Mansour has no intention of selling.”
“This club, when Sheikh Mansour first invested in it, the value was $100-120m back in 2008.”
“Then over the years we’ve had multiple stop points where the value went from $120m to $1bn, the value of the Group [City Football Group] became $1bn”
“Then it became $2bn, then it became $3bn, then we had investors come in and actually invest in the club [Manchester City] at $3bn.”
“And this went up from $5bn to $6bn, to $7bn, to north of $8bn.”
“If you’re going to sell all this today in the market, you wouldn’t sell it for less than $10bn minimum. That’s value creation.”
“Football club valuations have rocketed since Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Mansour acquired City in 2008, with Manchester United valued at £5bn when Sir Jim Ratcliffe invested in 2024.”
“PwC has chosen One Eden in Canary Wharf to be its new office address, a building formerly known as 33 Canada Square, which is due to be redeveloped for PwC’s arrival.”
“the consultancy and beancounting giant said the decision “follows an extensive review of potential sites” across the capital, as it awaits “an expected major refurbishment” of its current headquarters at Embankment Place until 2030, where …”
“PwC’s City office lease at More London on the South Bank of the Thames expires in 2035, which houses 7,000 employees.”
“JP Morgan has plans to build a new multi-billion pound new tower in Canary Wharf, marking its largest presence outside of the US and the highest tower in the area, having been given the green light in April.”
“Barclays has also splashed out on a £750m deal for a 999 year lease on its tower which is being hailed as a “strong endorsement” of the financial district and the capital.”
“The Bee Network – the locally controlled bus service that was unveiled by Burnham in 2018 and enjoyed private-sector support...”
“BA pilots agreed to a 2.6 per cent pay cut yesterday, as part of a package of measures designed to save the ailing airline £26m.”
“Mark Dixon, the Essex-born entrepreneur who founded the London-listed company as Regus group in 1989, will transition into the role of chairman while chief transformation officer Christian Schmitz is to step into the chief executive role.”
“Since founding IWG nearly 38 years ago with a single centre in Brussels, it has been a privilege to lead the company as it has grown to 6,000 locations open and in the pipeline across the world”
“cemented his status as one of the UK’s richest entrepreneurs with a wealth of more than £1bn.”
“The company has been listed on the London Stock Exchange for more than a quarter of a century.”
“It was forced to put its US arm into bankruptcy protection in 2003 before restructuring the business.”
“The shift towards hybrid and more localised working is propelling our business forward with the fastest growth that we have ever seen in history”
“This comes after the resignation of KPMG Australia’s chief executive, Andrew Yates, and the national managing partner of audit and assurance, Julian McPherson, with immediate effect at the end of May.”
“KPMG Australia has lost one of its largest clients, Australian property developer Lendlease, which said on 15 June it plans to drop KPMG as its auditor, ending a 68-year relationship that reportedly brought in about AUD $10m (£5.2m) in fee…”
“This follows the Australian government and a number of clients ditching the Big Four firm for audit work until September this year, amid fallout from allegations that the firm mishandled client information.”
“The firm agreed a deal with Seattle-based Perkins Coie to become a $2.7bn law firm, following a week of speculation over the merger talks, and will be known as Ashurst Perkins Coie.”
“Pub bookings in the UK are up by 184 per cent year on year for next Wednesday, when England plays its first game against Croatia, according to UK Hospitality.”
