ABERDEEN Asset Management chief executive Martin Gilbert swapped his suit and iPad for decorators’ overalls and a paint roller last week as he joined colleagues to take part in Give & Gain Day – the only global day of employee volunteering, organised by the outreach charity Business in the Community. While Mr Gilbert helped Aberdeen’s Tivoli Theatre brush up with a paint job, another 400 colleagues in the Scottish fund manager’s 23 offices were taking part 24 hours of continuous volunteering. In Sydney, employees collected surplus food for food rescue charity OzHarvest, while staff in Singapore prepared and delivered food for a meals-on-wheels charity. In London, employees volunteered for nine different charities including Body & Soul and The Sick Children’s Trust. “I was delighted to take part in Give & Gain Day in Aberdeen today and I’m proud of our staff who participated around the world,” Mr Gilbert said.
ANALYSTS covering yesterday’s disappointing final results from Marks & Spencer had fun with puns in their brokers’ notes. “Management ‘socks’ it to investors with a ‘pants’ update” said Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets. The chain’s shares – which plunged more than 8 per cent in early trading – were left holding the “blue-chip wooden spoon,” he added, after a near 20 per cent decline in profits from booking £200m in charges. Meanwhile David Stoddart, analyst at Edison Investment Research, said the latest addition to the M&S range was the ‘J’ curve. “Having reported better-than-expected underlying pre-tax profits for 2016, M&S is selling the advice that profits will now go down before they go up again,” he said.
GREAT British Bake Off 2015 semi-finalist, Flora Shedden yesterday presented Edinburgh International Film Festival’s artistic director, Mark Adams, with a specially created, three-tier cake in celebration of the Festival’s 70th edition. The cake was created using Graham’s The Family Dairy butter and three tiers of round sponge in different flavours incorporating Dunkeld blossom honey; Scottish raspberries and strawberries and a chocolate sponge with caramel icing inspired by millionaire’s shortbread. “I wanted to create something using locally sourced Scottish produce which would be visually stunning, taste utterly delicious, and look quite unforgettable,” Ms Shedden said. The outside of the cake is decorated with a silhouette of Edinburgh Castle and gold stars and sparklers.
A START-UP that delivers dog food through the post says its sales have doubled in six months. Bags bearing the dog’s name arrive in the post once a month with food created by analysing the canine’s breed, size, age, taste preferences and health conditions. Tails.com says it is the UK’s first tailor-made dog food company and plans to transform the £2 billion valued pet food market. “Dogs are one of the most diverse species on the planet and their needs vary greatly on factors such as their breed, gender, age, weight and health,” says chief executive and co-founder James Davidson. In the past six months the company says its sales are up 120 per cent, with traffic to its site climbing 80 per cent over the same period. The company is backed by the founders of Innocent Drinks, LOVEFiLM and Graze.
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