Tesco aims to rebuild trust with independent director duo
Quote of the Week
"I'm joking, I'm joking, I'm joking. Best decision I ever made. That was a joke."
American Vice-President Joe Biden wished he could take back his inappropriate reaction to a question from a fellow Vice President (for the Harvard University student body). Vice-President Biden’s day did not improve as during the same speech he made inaccurate remarks regarding Turkey’s worries on fighters entering the country from Syria.
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Article of the Week
The Scientific Entrepreneur
It's often said that people within the scientific fields create exceptional entrepreneurs, and Edward Gabbai's story could well illustrate that point. While completing his PhD in microbiology and nanoscience at Cambridge University, Edward created The World Boutique Hotel Awards, despite initially having no knowledge of the industry.When you meet Edward, your first impression is that of a bright and well-spoken young man. He has an easy charm about him too and, while not someone afraid of asking questions, he is not too commanding and never imposing. Edward is one of those characters you just know will be successful. So where does his story begin?
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-----GLOBAL NEWS FROM eHOTELIER THIS WEEK |
Let EP enhance your agenda
- October 21st – EP and Zolfo Cooper launch of "The Fastest Growing Independent Foodservice Companies in the UK Report" in a Central London venue from 8am to 10.30am, including the announcements of who the top 10 are and "market overviews" from industry leaders
- October 28th – The emerging leaders combined with some sector stalwarts are being hosted at the Glion Campus in Roehampton from 5.30pm for a private tour of the new venue and also the know more about the course
- October 29th – American Express will host the 2nd in a series of breakfast forums from 8am to 10am, looking at employee engagement & retention through means other than the ubiquitous pay rise or cash bonus. This will involve case studies from industries other than those in the hospitality sector and some expert analysis of trends affecting employment.
The HOSPA Conference and IT Exhibition (HOSPACE 2014) is a one-day annual conference hosted by HOSPA, the Hospitality Professionals Association (formerly BAHA) which is the UK's leading educational organisation for professionals involved in financial management, revenue management and IT within the hospitality industry. This year HOSPACE will be held on Thursday, 20 November 2014, at the Sofitel London Heathrow at Terminal 5
To attend any of these events or for more information on the initiatives outlined, please contact Arlene McCaffrey
Industry News in brief
Tesco aims to rebuild trust with independent director duo- Tesco has announced that it is adding two non-executive directors to its board this month in a move to "rebuild trust" in the supermarket chain.
- The grocer said on Monday that Richard Cousins and Mikael Ohlsson will join the board on November 1 as non-executive directors.
- Richard Cousins is currently chief executive of Compass and a former non-executive director at consumer good group Reckitt Benckiser and banks HBOS and Bank of Scotland from 2007 to 2009.
- Mikae; Ohlsson was chief executive of Swedish homeware giant Ikea until September last year and former non-executive director of Volvo. It is hoped his appointment will "bring valuable retail and international experience to the board."
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Record August marks positive end to Scottish summer
- The monthly LJ Forecaster Scottish Intercity Report, from tourism market research specialists LJ Research, tracking city centre hotel performance in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, shows that all three Scottish cities recorded a year-on-year increase in average room rates.
- The highest room rate increase was recorded in Glasgow as city centre rates soared by 21.2% to £78.99. Meanwhile, buoyed by strong ongoing corporate demand Aberdeen, the Granite City, saw a 6.5% increase to an average level of £94.40 per night during the month. In Edinburgh, where a record number of festival tickets were sold during the month, average room rates rose to £151.33 (which was an increase of 4.9% compared to August 2013).”
- Whilst occupancy during the month fell slightly in Glasgow, the benefits of the 2014 Commonwealth Games and other major business and leisure events during the month were evident as Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR), a measure evaluating the room revenue return on all hotel rooms, not just those that were sold, was well above last year at £72.27 per night (a growth of nearly 20%).
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Financial services firms return to strong growth
- Financial services firms are seeing their strongest growth since before the recession as momentum picks up in the City.
- A quarterly CBI and PwC poll found 60% of firms said business volumes were up while 11% said they were down in the three months to September, giving a balance of plus 49% - which was the best reading since 2007. It said the momentum was expected to continue into the coming quarter.
- Rising volumes helped push up overall profitability, which bounced back after the previous quarter's contraction, the CBI said - despite costs rising at a record pace. Rain Newton-Smith, CBI director for economics, said: "The UK's financial services sector is enjoying its strongest run of growth since 2007, with activity rising across all customer categories and profitability bouncing back.
- "The spike in costs was offset by a steep fall in the value of non-performing loans, suggesting that much of the fallout from the financial crisis is now working its way out of the system." The impacts of competition and regulation such as the prospect of a financial transaction tax were among the top concerns for the coming year, she added.
- "However, with strong broad-based growth, financial services firms are relatively upbeat about future prospects, despite some big geopolitical risks that remain on the horizon."
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