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Tom Pegden

Leicester Mercury business editor

Tom is the Business Editor at LeicestershireLive and the Leicester Mercury and now part of the East Midlands team for BusinessLive. He writes about the ups and downs of the Leicestershire business scene and has been at the Mercury for more than 20 years.

Exclusive: New Poundstretcher CEO Tristan Phillips on taking ex-Wilko stores and getting its shops spot-on
Retail & High Street
New boss said owner Aziz Tayub ‘feels it’s the right time for someone to step up and feels I’m the right person”
Topps Tiles takes 20% market share two years ahead of schedule
Retail
Record revenues, helped by higher sales prices, though total area of tiles sold is down 5%
Ex-Wilko chair apologises for lost jobs and says disastrous Liz Truss mini-budget contributed to chain's collapse
Retail & High Street
Lisa Wilkinson, 'I am devastated that we have let each and every one of those people down with the insolvency of Wilko'
Rolls-Royce could sell off electric plane division under plans to cut £4-500m in costs
Aerospace
Business, which already plans up to 2,500 jobs cuts, would like to grow profits from £837m to £2.8bn
Almost 10,000 ex-Wilko staff have been paid £42m by Insolvency Service since retailer went under
Insolvency and Administration
Discount chain with 400 stores and 12,500 workers went into administration in August
£400-to-£500m Newark A46 bypass upgrade would ease hold-ups and cut accidents, says Midlands Connect
Transport
Report suggests busy bypass is not fit for purpose, suffering regular congestion and safety issues
McCain Foods fined £700k after East Mids worker had to have fingers amputated following accident
Food and Drink
Tom Matthews, from Grantham, had part of his left index and middle finger amputated after the accident
East Midlands Movers and Shakers: Lamp, Matthew Montague Architects, Topps Tiles, Label Apeel, MTMS, Shakespeare Martineau, Marketing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire
Appointments
Changes include Megan Powell Vreeswijk becoming CEO of Marketing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire
Boots strikes £4.8bn pension deal with Legal & General
Retail & High Street
Companies say deal affecting 53,000 members is biggest of its kind
Architect and design practice rg+p honours founder Richard Galey with bursary scheme and sculpture
Architecture
Richard Galey, who died at his home in Spain in March 2022, founded rg+p as Galey + Partners in 1979
Severn Trent says rising costs have hit profits
Severn Trent
Company has 4.6m customers across central and south-west England and mid-Wales
Octopus Energy takes 47,000 sq ft Hinckley warehouse
Energy
Site will provide storage and distribution facilities for customer heat pumps and solar panels
Bus company trentbarton rewards engineers with pay rise
Employment
Qualified engineers at trentbarton’s East Midlands depots have received at least a 20 per cent pay rise
Autumn Statement: East Midlands Investment Zone could bring £383m in private investment and create 4,200 jobs
The Budget
Rolls Royce and Laing O’Rourke to anchor employment zone focussing on green tech and advanced manufacturing
In Capri: Boutique beachwear brand prides itself on using recycled materials and never puts surplus stock in the bin
Fashion
Isabelle Alexander owns a stylish swimwear brand with a commitment to end-to-end sustainability
Signed shirt worn by Sir Bobby Charlton in 1966 World Cup semi-final sold at auction
England Football Team
Hugely important piece of football memorabilia was sold by Derbyshire-based Hansons Auctioneers
800 businesses and 2,000 people take part in 2023 Leicester Business Festival
Marketing
Organisers say it is biggest business event in region and one of the biggest business festivals in Britain
Growing PR agency 1284 wins its third public relations industry prize in a year
Marketing
1284 was launched three years ago by ex-Leicester Mercury editor George Oliver
Government urged to fund new Elizabeth line trains in bid to save 100s of Alstom jobs
Employment
Alstom is consulting on potential redundancies at the UK’s largest rail assembly factory in Derby
Riverside office blocks to be demolished in next stage of Derby flood defences
Environment
Scheme will enable area behind the new defences to be regenerated for homes and businesses
Shareholders to hear if Severn Trent plans investment
Company Results
Severn Trent has been told it can also charge customers more because it has improved performance
101 jobs lost after doorstep lender Morses Club calls in administrators
Insolvency and Administration
Prior to the administrators being brought in, all new lending ceased, but outstanding loans will still be collected
New home for property consultants Wells McFarlane
property news
Frim offers lettings and management services, land planning and building diversification advice across the Midlands
British Gas plans 100s of new jobs in Stockport, Leicester, Leeds, Edinburgh and Cardiff
British Gas
The company said is also rolling out extra training to help customers in financial difficulty