Business

John Lewis chief executive to step down to clear way for chair Jason Tarry

Published

4 hours ago

October 7, 2024

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The chief executive of John Lewis is stepping down after two years in the job, leaving new chair Jason Tarry as the sole leader of the group.

Nish Kankiwala will become a non-executive director advising the board by March next year, the company said on Monday. He joined the John Lewis Partnership as a non-executive director in 2021 but was subsequently asked to become its first ever chief executive in March last year, in a role created by previous chair Dame Sharon White.

He helped to run the department store business John Lewis and supermarket chain Waitrose during a challenging period when both struggled with increasing competition in the high street and online, high inflation and the fallout from shop closures during the pandemic.

The partnership has sought to diversify, saying it wanted to make almost half of its profits from non-retail activities such as property rentals but, more recently under Kankiwala it has prioritised retail as part of a longer-term revival plan.

This year, it posted its first full-year profit after three consecutive years of losses, and no staff bonuses. At its most recent half-year results in September, the group reported a narrowing of losses and a slight increase in half-year sales, and said that it expected “a significant uplift in profits for this full year”.

Jason Tarry is shown smiling, wearing a dark sweater over a blue checkered shirt — Chair Jason Tarry will be in charge of the executive team © John Lewis Partnership

Tesco veteran Tarry started as chair in September, replacing White. The standalone role of chief executive will not be replaced.

Tarry will be in charge of the executive team, which includes John Lewis boss Peter Ruis and Waitrose head James Bailey, as well as the partnership board.

Kankiwala said he was delighted to have led the partnership “during this time of pivotal change”. He cited improvements in cash flow — which has allowed the business to make investments such as opening more branches of Waitrose — as one of his achievements.

Tarry said Kankiwala “has been instrumental in accelerating the transformation of the partnership”.

The chair role, which is enshrined in the partnership’s constitution, has widened over the years from activities such as representing the interests of employees and promoting the business, to a more hands-on position running the business.

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Money

Rolls-Royce NYC Private Office showroom caters to top-tier clients

Published

5 mins ago

October 7, 2024

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Rolls-Royce NYC Private Office showroom caters to top-tier clients

Inside the Rolls-Royce Private Office in New York City

Rolls-Royce has opened its first U.S. “Private Office,” a secret VIP design studio for ultra-wealthy clients who want highly personalized cars.

The Private Office, in Manhattan’s trendy Meatpacking District, is central to the fabled British automaker’s new strategy of growing sales and profits from selling more customized, higher-priced vehicles rather than boosting production. Rolls-Royce produced 6,032 cars last year, less than half the production of Ferrari, yet continues to generate strong profit growth for its parent company BMW.

While Rolls-Royce customers have been customizing their rides for decades, the Private Office brings the concept of a personalized Rolls to a whole new level. Once select customers order a car from a dealer, they can go to the Private Office to work with a designer to create an entirely personalized car — from special paint colors to their favorite fabrics, woods, lighting schemes and other materials.

“They may want the exterior of their Rolls-Royce to match the color of their dog’s eyes,” said Rolls-Royce CEO Chris Brownridge. “They may want to have interior panels in the car with the mother-of-pearl from their private collection. We can bring those sorts of requests to life through having direct access to the team. And the possibilities really are endless.”

Rolls-Royce CEO Chris Brownridge.

CNBC

Rolls-Royce calls its top level of personalization the “Bespoke” program. Creating a Bespoke Rolls can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the sticker price, which for a Rolls-Royce Phantom is just under $500,000, bringing the total sale price of some cars to more than $1 million.

The Private Office is reserved for the most complicated — and expensive — Bespoke projects. It’s not a dealership and there are no actual cars displayed. To get into the Private Office, customers press a black security screen outside an unmarked building and take a secure elevator to the top floor.

With its sleek black kitchen, low sofas, a dining table, outdoor terrace, and turntable with stacks of classic rock and jazz vinyl records, the Private Office looks more like a billionaire’s pied-a-terre than a car showroom. The only hint that it’s a Rolls-Royce facility is a row of shelves along the back wall displaying samples of paint colors, threads, leathers, metals and a row of the famous “Spirit of Ecstasy” hood ornaments in different finishes.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom Syntopia.

Courtesy: Rolls-Royce

The New York Private Office is the company’s third worldwide, following Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which opened in 2022, and Shanghai in 2023. The company is about to open its fourth, in Seoul, Korea.

The idea, Brownridge says, is to bring the expertise and design capability of its Goodwood, U.K., factory to clients around the world. That’s especially important as client requests become more unusual and complex.

One Rolls-Royce client wanted a car inspired by flowers. The Rolls team created an extended-wheelbase Phantom with a headliner covered with more than 1 million embroidered roses. Another client who loves Hawaii and has a favorite rocking chair made of rare Koa wood wanted a Koa-themed Rolls. Since Koa wood is protected in Hawaii, only dead or naturally fallen Koa trees can be harvested. Rolls spent three years waiting and hunting for the right tree, then built a Koa Phantom, with the wood used on the dashboard, center console and doors. The company even made a matching picnic hamper and table. The whole package took more than 500 hours to create.

Interior of the custom Rolls-Royce Koa Phantom.

Courtesy: Rolls-Royce

“A lot of these clients would never, ever sell their cars,” Brownridge said. “It’s so personal and it means to much to them.”

To keep up with the surging demand for custom cars, Rolls-Royce is also expanding its Bespoke workshops in Goodwood. Brownridge said the goal isn’t to produce more cars, but to produce higher-value, more customized cars.

“As our commissions have become more sophisticated, our business has become more successful,” Brownridge said. “Our mission is really to create value for our shareholder, to create value for our retail partners, but most importantly, to create value for our clients. Because when you produce a masterpiece for them, it means so much more than just a motorcar. I often say that the fact that they have four wheels is almost a nice-to-have, because they really are a work of art.”

Brownridge said when customers are building their special Rolls-Royces, they not only visit the factory in Goodwood, but they also get to know the paint shop specialists, the woodworkers, the embroidery experts and other members of the team.

“Every single client that I’ve met, they all say, what makes Rolls Royce Special is that they feel that they are part of a family,” he said. “They’re not customers to us, they’re part of Rolls Royce. Many of our clients will come to Goodwood, and they will know the people that are making their cars. It’s not just the personal connection to the motorcar. It’s the personal connection to the whole team who are producing these magnificent things.”

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Business

Mel Stride to back James Cleverly in Conservative leadership race

Published

16 mins ago

October 7, 2024

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Former Conservative leadership candidate Mel Stride is set to throw his backing behind James Cleverly on Monday evening, in a boost to the ex-home secretary’s bid to replace Rishi Sunak, according to party figures.

The expected endorsement will come hours before Tory MPs vote on Tuesday to eliminate one of the four remaining contenders from the race. They will vote out another candidate on Wednesday, with Conservative members being balloted in a run-off between the final two names later this month.

Cleverly came joint third with ex-security minister Tom Tugendhat in the second round of voting last month. That ballot saw former immigration minister Robert Jenrick in pole position with ex-business secretary Kemi Badenoch in second place.

However, Cleverly picked up momentum during the party’s annual conference in Birmingham last week, after swerving any gaffes and giving a strong performance in his keynote speech. Jenrick and Badenoch saw their conference appearances overshadowed by controversial comments, which may have dented their appeal with colleagues and party members.

Stride, who was knocked out in the second-round ballot, was a staunch supporter of Sunak and is seen as a senior centrist Tory. The backing will be another welcome boost for Cleverly, but may cement in the minds of MPs and members the sense that he is a moderate Tory in a party that is feeling threatened by Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

Former home secretary Priti Patel, the leadership candidate who was knocked out of the race first, has so far declined to offer her public support to any of the remaining candidates.

These have sought to project upward momentum for their campaigns with a series of high-profile endorsements in recent days.

Badenoch won the backing of Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida at the weekend. The ex-US presidential hopeful said she would be an inspiration for conservatives “across the world”.

Earlier on Monday Andy Street, the former Tory mayor of the West Midlands, said Tugendhat best embodied “a moderate, inclusive brand of Conservatism” that “focuses on real societal issues, not ideology”.

Jenrick’s campaign is so confident of reaching the final two that it is saving significant endorsements until the back end of this week, according to one person familiar with his thinking, after MPs have knocked out two of the current contenders. Jenrick is planning a big speech in central London on Thursday in expectation of making the run-off.

At the weekend a survey of members by the ConservativeHome grassroots website suggested that Cleverly had leapfrogged Jenrick among the party faithful. However, it found that Kemi Badenoch remained in first position.

On Monday, the candidates used a debate in the House of Commons on the government’s decision to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius to flaunt their patriotic credentials.

Jenrick accused foreign secretary David Lammy of having “handed sovereign British territory to a small island nation which is an ally of China” in order to “feel good about himself at his next north London dinner party”.

Tugendhat accused the government of “undermining the rights of the Chagossian people” with the deal. He has previously criticised Cleverly, who began negotiations with Mauritius when he was foreign secretary under Liz Truss in 2022.

On Monday, Lammy insisted the deal was “strongly supported by partners” and secured the future of a UK-US military base situated on Diego Garcia, a strategically important asset.

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Money

SEGRO appoints former government official Corbridge as CIO

Published

26 mins ago

October 7, 2024

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Corbridge will oversee the group’s digital and technology strategy, reporting to chief financial officer Soumen Das.

The post SEGRO appoints former government official Corbridge as CIO appeared first on Property Week.

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Business

Partial win for Man City in challenge to Premier League sponsorship rules

Published

37 mins ago

October 7, 2024

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The Premier League’s rules on commercial agreements between football club owners and related companies are unlawful, a tribunal has found, following a legal challenge from Manchester City that will force some of the regulations to be rewritten.

City, which is owned by a member of the Abu Dhabi ruling family, challenged the league’s so-called Associated Party Transaction rules earlier this year, claiming that they had unfairly blocked sponsorship deals, including one with Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad.

The Premier League’s APT rules were brought in after Newcastle United was acquired by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in late 2021, and updated again earlier this year.

The regulations were designed to prevent companies related to club owners from using inflated sponsorship deals to boost revenue and so give teams greater leeway to spend on players.

Although an independent panel rejected several of City’s claims, and recognised the Premier League’s need for an assessment mechanism for related party deals, it deemed the current rules “unlawful” under UK competition law.

This was principally because the rules excluded shareholder loans from their assessment. Several Premier League clubs rely on interest-free loans from their owners but — unlike sponsorship deals — loans are not required to meet “fair market value” criteria.

The tribunal also found that the way APTs are assessed was unlawful on a procedural basis, with clubs denied important information before decisions were made.

The ruling means the Premier League’s original assessment of two City sponsorship deals, including the Etihad deal in question, no longer stand. Etihad is already the club’s front of shirt sponsor and has naming rights over its stadium.

The Premier League said that a “small number of discrete elements” in its rule book would now need updating, but that the changes could be done “quickly and effectively”.

City’s partial victory on the APT rules comes as a separate independent committee hears the case brought by the Premier League against the club related to 115 alleged financial rule breaches stretching over many years. A verdict in that case is expected in the new year.

After being acquired by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan in 2008, City has become the dominant force in English football. The club has won the Premier League six times in the past seven years, and last year won the Uefa Champions League for the first time.

Monday’s ruling is the latest in a string of legal challenges against football’s rulemakers.

On Friday, the European Court of Justice said the current rules set by global governing body Fifa regarding football transfers were unlawful, while the same court ruled late last year that Fifa and its European counterpart Uefa had breached competition law during their response to the aborted European Super League.

City’s battle against the league is another example of how football clubs are increasingly taking the legal route to determine the rules that underpin the competition. It is a recognition of how the rules off the pitch — not just star players — can influence winners and losers on the pitch.

The Premier League said the verdict “endorsed the overall objectives, framework and decision-making of the APT system”. The league said it would now add shareholder loans to its assessments and remove some of the amendments brought in earlier this year.

“The tribunal upheld the need for the APT system as a whole and rejected the majority of Manchester City’s challenges. Moreover, the tribunal found that the rules are necessary in order for the League’s financial controls to be effective,” it added.

City said it welcomed the findings of the tribunal. “The club has succeeded with its claim: the Associated Party Transaction rules have been found to be unlawful and the Premier League’s decisions on two specific MCFC sponsorship transactions have been set aside,” it said.

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Money

Transact teams up with Moneyinfo to enhance client document delivery

Published

47 mins ago

October 7, 2024

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Transact teams up with Moneyinfo to enhance client document delivery

Adviser investment platform Transact has announced a new integration with fintech provider Moneyinfo to help streamline adviser-client communication.

The collaboration is part of Transact’s plan to integrate with technology providers to enhance efficiency and client engagement for the 2,000 adviser firms using the platform.

The integration with Moneyinfo simplifies document delivery, which is often a time-consuming process.

Through the integrated Moneyinfo portal and app, advisers can automatically deliver key client communication, including valuation reports and statements.

Removing this previously manual process will improve the operational efficiency of advisers, providing more time to focus on providing advice.

Plannr and Transact team up to ‘supercharge’ efficiency of advisers

Transact chief development officer Tom Dunbar said the platform’s overall strategy is to “make financial planning easier”.

“A key priority in doing this is to improve the technology ecosystem available to our adviser firms,” he added.

“By integrating with client portals like Moneyinfo we help advisers operate more efficiently and improve the client experience.”

Moneyinfo managing director Tessa Lee said the firm is “passionate about pushing the boundaries of technology” to benefit the wealth-management industry.

“Our collaboration with Transact is a direct response to what advisers have been asking for – greater efficiency and peace of mind,” she added.

“Through simplifying document delivery, this integration allows advisers to focus on their core business, knowing the technology is working behind the scenes to support them.”

In a statement, the companies said that, for adviser firms, the benefits of this integration go beyond time savings as the automation of documentation also provides a “seamless client experience”.

Advisers now have a choice in how they manage document distribution, with an option for Moneyinfo’s platform to handle everything from encrypted delivery to audit trails.

Chris Riley, MD at Seventy Financial Planning – a firm participating in the pilot – said: “It has transformed our processes and vastly improved the client experience. We no longer worry about chasing documents – it’s taken care of.”

Dunbar added: “We’re committed to empowering our clients with the tools they need to succeed in a competitive, fast-changing industry and working with like-minded firms like Moneyinfo helps us stay ahead of the curve, ensuring our adviser firms benefit from the latest innovations.”

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Travel

New £84billion city being built in winter sun holiday hotspot with beaches and resorts – so big it has its own airport

Published

49 mins ago

October 7, 2024

NewsAdmin

A new mega-development is being built in Egypt

A HUGE new waterfront development is set to transform a Brit-loved winter sun hotspot.

Ras El Hekma is a new waterfront megaproject being built in Egypt, which will be twice the size of Barcelona.

Ras El Hekma is a new waterfront cityCredit: YouTube/ Elbayt real estate

It will have 11 different districtsCredit: DSC/Elbayt real estate

Ras El Hekma will be on the North Coast of Egypt between Alexandria and Marsa Matrouh.

It will also be just a few hours from Cairo, with plans to have both flights and cruise ships from Europe.

This means a new international airport will be built, along with a cruise terminal and high speed rail links.

Brits can currently fly to Cairo in just under five hours, with flights to the the development expected to be slightly shorter.

Resorts expected to be built there include Accor – who own Ibis and Novotel – and Ennismore.

The luxury golf courses will be created by Valderrama, one of the most famous golf resorts in the world.

The main waterfront area will be the tourist resort with a main downtown that has beach resorts, public beaches and “coastal communities”.

Another district will promote “local culture”.

Images also show a cable car network as well as restaurants right on the beach.

Some of the first stages will be complete by next year, such as some of the beach apartments, amusement facilities and the seafront with construction starting next month.

El Gouna is a resort town in Egypt that’s known for its beaches, lagoons, and water sports

The project is being developed by Abu Dhabi based Modon Holding as well as other UAE and Egyptian developers including ADQ subsidiary Ras El Hekma Urban Development Project Company.

As much as $110billion (£84billion) investment is expected by 2045.

His Excellency Jassem Mohamed Bu Ataba Al Zaabi, Chairman of Modon Holding, said, “Ras El Hekma is destined to become a regional crown jewel in a country already famed for its rich and diverse attractions.

“Modon Holding is proud to bring this 170-million-square-metre
visionary megaproject to life, leveraging our expertise and innovative approach.

Both tourists and locals will visit, according to developersCredit: DSC/Elbayt real estate

The project will attract billions of investmentCredit: DSC/Elbayt real estate

“With our partners, we are poised to transform Ras El Hekma into a dynamic economic powerhouse and a global model for urban development.”

Another £16.3billion beachfront attraction is set to open in Egypt as well.

The new SouthMED project is to become a “global destination on the southern Mediterranean”.

As well as 2,000 hotel rooms, there will also be an international marina and 8km beach.

Five new water attractions opening in the UK

Therme Manchester will have 25 swimming pools, 25 water slides and an indoor beach.
Modern Surf Manchester will be a surfing lagoon offering lessons to both beginners and experts.
Chessington World of Adventures Waterpark is set to have wave, infinity and spa pools as well as waterslides and cabanas.
The Cove Resort, Southport is likely to have a water lagoon and a thermal spa with steam rooms and saunas.
The Seahive, Deal plans to be the “surfing wellness resort” in the UK.

In Greece, a £6.8billion Dubai-like attraction is set to open with the seaside resort home to five-star hotels and marina.

And a £4.3billion beachfront attraction in Qatar is to “rival Disney” in size.