THE DAILY BRIEFING
TRAINER WOES A delay in shoppers getting their income tax refunded hit sales at trainer retailer Foot Locker.
The firm issued a surprise profit warning yesterday saying sales in its first quarter had been hit.
Richard Johnson, chief executive, said: ‘We believe the delay in the issuance of the vast majority of income tax until after the NBA AllStar Game significantly affected our comparable store sales, which were down double digits.’
VOOM LAUNCH TV giant Virgin Media is launching a new broadband service for small businesses, saying it is four times faster than anything offered by its rivals.
Voom Fibre, available from May 2, promises ultrafast download speeds of up to 350Mbps as standard.
Businesses will have a choice of three price plans and upload speeds at £30, £40 or £55 a month. AIR PARTNERS Private jet rental firm Air Partner has joined forces with a luxury yacht company Camper & Nicholsons, to leverage the firm’s client base.
KEEN TRAINEES Steelmaker British Steel has had 5,400 applications for 140 trainee positions at its Scunthorpe and Teesside plants.
Bosses said it was a vote of confidence in the company, which returned to profit last year after being rescued from Tata Steel by investment firm Greybull Capital.
ROLLS ENGINES Engineering giant Rolls-Royce is making the engines for Japanese machinery maker Kato’s new 30-ton hydraulic excavator.
FALKLAND FOCUS A company controlling key industries in the Falklands wants to focus on the UK due to challenges in the territories.
Falkland Islands Holdings, which runs supermarkets and owns land in the islands, said it plans to use its £11.3m cash reserves to invest in the UK, where it already owns a ferry service in Portsmouth and a fine art logistics business in London.
Bosses said the outlook in the Falklands was challenging due to increasing local competition and uncertainty over oil development.
JAPAN PLEA Workers are asking Japan’s ambassador to the UK to intervene in their dispute with IT giant Fujitsu. Unite members intend to strike for 15 days over the company’s plans to cut more than 1,800 UK jobs, and will deliver a letter to the Japanese embassy in London this morning.