Businesses in financial trouble

[haddsman]

It is a virtual network running on Three. You'd get grandfathered over.

 

Ah brilliant, thanks for the peace of mind

[mavhc]

If Dixons Carphone are dying I hope they don't drag iD Mobile down with them because they've been mint for the half year I've been with them.

 

In USA they have Mint Mobile, which is part owned by Deadpool ('s actor)

[6Foot2]

Link Rent-to-own firm Brighthouse calls administrators [bBC News]

 

Rent-to-own giant BrightHouse is close to collapse, the BBC understands, putting 2,400 jobs at risk.

 

The company is expected to fall into administration on Monday after facing an influx of compensation claims for selling to people who could not repay.

 

Stricter lending rules had put the business under strain long before shops were closed owing to coronavirus.

 

BrightHouse has 200,000 customers and is the largest operator in the rent-to-own sector.

 

Rent-to-own customers make monthly payments for household items, in effect renting goods until they have paid in full. Many are on low incomes and find it difficult to access credit from mainstream lenders to pay for fridges, TVs, washing machines and other electrical items...

[elsiegee40]

Coronavirus: 2,000 jobs at risk as Carluccio's faces collapse https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52070151

 

 

Coronavirus: Virgin Atlantic to seek bailout in coming days https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52066640

[elsiegee40]

Coronavirus: 2,000 jobs at risk as Carluccio's faces collapse https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52070151

And it’s gone

 

 

Coronavirus: Carluccio's collapses putting 2,000 jobs at risk

[Andrew_C]

I think at the moment, it would be easier to list businesses NOT at risk.

 

Hand sanitisers

Hospital beds

Ventilators

... you get the point.

[mikeprice]

I think at the moment, it would be easier to list businesses NOT at risk.

 

Hand sanitisers

Hospital beds

Ventilators

... you get the point.

 

Apparently some companies are doing a roaring trade in specialised fitness equipment to wear when exercising indoors

 

The site I saw was cycling focussed and showed a range of very expensive tops (t-shirts basically) specifically designed for wearing when on a stationary bike - apparently the main problem is a lack of air flow so you need to spend over £100 on a shirt to help

 

or exercise topless and get a fan out of the cupboard (women - YMMV)

 

Some firms are going to come out of all this VERY well off

(just like WW2!!!)

[southhamster]

Apparently some companies are doing a roaring trade in specialised fitness equipment to wear when exercising indoors

 

The site I saw was cycling focussed and showed a range of very expensive tops (t-shirts basically) specifically designed for wearing when on a stationary bike - apparently the main problem is a lack of air flow so you need to spend over £100 on a shirt to help

 

or exercise topless and get a fan out of the cupboard (women - YMMV)

 

Some firms are going to come out of all this VERY well off

(just like WW2!!!)

Come on @mikeprice. You're not that old. (I am similar)

WW2!

[mikeprice]

Come on @mikeprice. You're not that old. (I am similar)

WW2!

 

Me Dad told me!!!

 

we used to go to an airshow in Fairford every year - he was stationed there as RAF ground crew during the war (something something something - knew a girl who live down there - something something something) - he talked about loads of stuff that he would never have said with my Mum around

One of the things he came out with was the number of people who lived near Birkenhead docks who mysteriously ended up owning a lot of rented terraced houses after the war

Strangely a lot of them needed a lot of bomb damage repairing - and a lot of then had relatives who ran a building company - and might possibly have known something about building

 

 

Actually he told a lot of stories about stuf when I was learning to drive - he used to take me on long drives into Liverpool - around the areas he used to live in and cycle around when he was a kid

 

He liked telling stories

 

I miss that - so many thing I want to ask him!!

 

 

 

 

OK back on topic before I get morbid

 

or possibly more morbid!!!!

 

sorry

[Norphy]

I think at the moment, it would be easier to list businesses NOT at risk.

 

Hand sanitisers

Hospital beds

Ventilators

... you get the point.

 

I think companies like Microsoft, Google and others which help facilitate teleworking are coining it in at the moment as well. We’re spending a small fortune on Azure services because of this

[mavhc]

Commercial Real Estate is going to be badly hit once companies realise that having an expensive office is a waste of money

[elsiegee40]

Commercial Real Estate is going to be badly hit once companies realise that having an expensive office is a waste of money

 

I think you are right there. There’s going to be a massive shift away from expensive city offices after this.

 

Last year, my husband was contracted to a company with offices next to St Paul’s Cathedral that moved to hot-desking and shrank its office space by half. There were lots of moans about there would be nowhere to sit. In practice, people worked from home and getting a desk in the city when you needed it wasn’t a problem.

Edited March 31, 2020 by elsiegee40

[jmak]

I think you are right there. There’s going to be a massive shift away from expensive city offices after this.

 

Last year, my husband was contracted to a company with offices next to St Paul’s Cathedral that moved to hot-desking and shrank its office space by half. There were lots of moans about there would be nowhere to sit. In practice, people worked from home and getting a desk in the city when you needed it wasn’t a problem.

I had that experience 15 years ago. Company moved from central London to two outer London sites and cut desk space by a third. Uproar because everyone was used to having their own desk. In the end, the offices were at least half empty as everyone realised if they weren't going to the same location as their boss/team, they could just work from home and save a couple of hours per day commuting. You could never get a meeting room though. Video calling is much better now, so that might be less of a problem. I think you lose two main things going to 100% remote working: 1) support for new/junior staff 2) social interaction - which does have some business benefit in terms of generating ideas. Depends on your job role though.

[FishCustard]

Ultimately good for the environment though - fewer people travelling (admittedly travelling in cities is mostly done on public transport, but that's not carbon-free).

[FN-GM]

For lots of people work is a big part of their social life. It may have a negative impact on mental health.

[elsiegee40]

For lots of people work is a big part of their social life. It may have a negative impact on mental health.

 

And not everyone has a suitable workplace at home. Coping with the laptop on the ironing board and the kids racing round for a few days or weeks is one thing; long term is quite another.

[LeMarchand]

Coping with the laptop on the ironing board...

 

...saves a fortune on those fancy schmanzy adjustable sitting/standing desks?

[mikeprice]

If someone is working from home on a regular basis then Health and Safety comes into play

The work environment must conform to H&S in the same way as it does at work

 

not sure balancing a laptop on an ironing board and sitting on a dining chair would conform!

 

There is also the point that the company should make a contribution to the resources needed - e.g. upgrade to network speed (if necessary), desk, chair

[mavhc]

Passive all day video chat is helpful, echo cancelling works great now so no need to use headphones

[Norphy]

echo cancelling works great now so no need to use headphones

 

Given my recent experiences with multi participant meetings over Teams just recently, I disagree strongly with that point. Every bugger not using a headset got told to mute, otherwise the echoing was just unbearable.

[mavhc]

Given my recent experiences with multi participant meetings over Teams just recently, I disagree strongly with that point. Every bugger not using a headset got told to mute, otherwise the echoing was just unbearable.

 

Strange, been fine on skype and hangouts and discord, I'm sitting here all day with 2 giant 70s speaker via my amp, and a crappy microphone on a 10 year old webcam with no problems.

[john]

Given my recent experiences with multi participant meetings over Teams just recently, I disagree strongly with that point. Every bugger not using a headset got told to mute, otherwise the echoing was just unbearable.

 

Ive been in several deparment / floor calls recently with many just shouting at laptops (as they were nah we don't want to spent the money to get everyone a headset) and its been reasonable and with the next codecs coming to teams in the near future i am hoping it may get better. Its better than Skype for Business was at coping and I think modern laptops have designed themselves better than previous gen ones did.

[DrCheese]

Background noise blanking is coming to teams very soon..

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/19/21186452/microsoft-teams-new-features-noise-supression-user-increase-coronavirus

[Andrew_C]

(as they were nah we don't want to spent the money to get everyone a headset).

 

Tried buying headsets recently? Before we went home (now furloughed) Amazon had zero, at any price. Not looked since...

[Arthur]

Philip Green asks for taxpayer support to prop up Arcadia

 

The billionaire retailer Philip Green is asking for taxpayer help to prop up his crumbling fashion empire, with 14,500 employees set to be paid out of the government’s emergency wage support scheme.

 

Like other fashion retailers, Arcadia, which owns brands including Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge, is facing financial turmoil as the lockdown prevents Britons from shopping. The company has already asked landlords for rent cuts and paused payments into its pension scheme.

 

Arcadia closed its 550 shops a fortnight ago but, with no end to the high street shutdown in sight, said it had been forced to take the drastic step of standing down the majority of its staff. The retailer said 14,500 of its 16,000 employees – a group that includes shop and head office staff – would be furloughed by the weekend, leaving a skeleton team in place. The government’s job retention scheme covers 80% of an employee’s wage, capped at a maximum of £2,500 a month.

 

Arcadia’s chief executive, Ian Grabiner, who will receive no pay or benefits until further notice, said using the scheme was “essential” to get the company through “these unprecedented times”. Other board directors and senior managers have agreed to take a salary reduction of 25%-50%.

 

Nonetheless, Green’s use of government support is likely to rankle. The businessman was lambasted for his stewardship of the now defunct BHS chain after a high-profile parliamentary investigation concluded that it had been systematically plundered by its owners (Green eventually agreed to pay £363m into the BHS pension scheme).

 

Arcadia is owned by the entrepreneur’s wife, Tina Green, who is based in tax-free Monaco. The couple famously banked a £1.2bn dividend in 2005, which still stands as one of the biggest pay cheques in British corporate history. The fashion group, best known for its Topshop brand, only just managed to stave off collapse last year after creditors backed a rescue plan that involved the closure of 50 stores, 1,000 job losses and rent cuts of up to 50%.