Business

Social Chain co-founders Steven Bartlett and Dominic McGregor to step down

They are to step down from their roles at Social Chain after six years.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 17th August 2020
Social Chain AG

Co-founders Steven Bartlett and Dominic McGregor have announced today they are to step down from their roles at Social Chain after six years.

CEO Bartlett and COO McGregor were just 20 and 21 respectively when they became founding members of the Manchester-based social media publishing and marketing company that has since grown to over 750 staff globally and has revenues forecast to hit $200 million this year.

Announcing his stepping down across social media this morning, Steven Bartlett said: “Social Chain was conceived on a small desk in the backroom of the uni I had just dropped out of in Manchester. I was 20, full of wild dreams, and I believed we could take on the world.

“What started as a crazy and sometimes ridiculed idea, in the mind of a few drop-out underdogs, at a time when people didn’t believe in the potential of this new thing called social media.

“As I write this, at 27, we have more than 700 Social Chainers around the world, a world-beating team, we went public last year, we are the best at what we do, and we’ve just posted record numbers. The company is showing unbelievable momentum and I remain Social Chain’s biggest fan, supporter, and believer.

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“I owe an unpayable debt of gratitude to my team, past and present – if it wasn’t for you, my board, our chairman, (and mum and dad), I would be nothing.”

Twitter – Steven Bartlett

In a post to LinkedIn today, Dominic McGregor added: “I’m deeply proud of everything we’ve achieved, the relationships we’ve made and the lessons learned,”

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“Social Chain is a very special company, the growth we’ve seen over the last six years has been quite frankly phenomenal, we recently posted record numbers, and based on some of the exciting things I’ve seen over the last year, the future promises to be even brighter than the past.

“This business has been my rock, even when I faced difficult times in my personal life. The purpose it gave me, and the people I worked with got me through – they gave me something to fight for and without it, and without them, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.”

LinkedIn – Dominic McGregor

The pair has overseen exponential growth throughout the past six years at Social Chain.

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The journey may have started with humble beginnings in Manchester, but Social Chain now has bases in London, Berlin, New York and Munich, and works with global brands such as Amazon, Coca Cola and Apple.

It claims an owned media reach of over 2 billion views a month.

Last year, the company merged with German online retailer Lumaland AG to become The Social Chain AG and list on XETRA and the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange, and it recently announced the largest acquisition in its history by taking a 51% stake in A4D Inc – a Southern Californian digital performance marketing agency.

It has been confirmed that Wanja S. Oberhof – currently Co-CEO of Social Chain AG – will retain his position as CEO upon Bartlett’s standing down.

You can find out more about Social Chain AG via its website here.

Business

Full list of Christmas opening hours at all UK supermarkets 2024

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Aldi, and M&S are among the supermarkets to adjust opening hours at stores across the UK during the festive period.

As Christmas is fast approaching, most of us will have already started to stock up on food and drink for the big day ahead of time, but with so much to prepare for, it’s pretty easy to forget something important – which tends to leave us running to the shops before 25th.

While some have probably opted for home deliveries or Click & Collect services, others still prefer to shop in store.

To help you make sure everything is sorted, we’ve pulled together a list of all the major supermarket opening hours over the festive period, so grab your bags for life and get your shopping list at the ready, because Santa is on his way and he’ll be expecting his annual dose of mince pies.

Here’s a roundup list of supermarket opening hours.

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Tesco

Shoppers are being advised to check the Tesco Store Locator for the festive opening times at their local, as different branches may be operating different hours, however, most stores are operating reduced hours on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day, as well as being closed all day on Christmas Day.

Here’s a rough guideline:

  • Monday 23 December: 6am – 12pm
  • Christmas Eve: 6am – 7pm
  • Christmas Day: CLOSED
  • Boxing Day: 9am – 6pm
  • Friday 27 – Monday 30 December: normal hours
  • New Year’s Eve: 6am – 7pm
  • New Year’s Day: 9am – 6pm

Check the opening times for your local Tesco store here.

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Sainsbury’s

Just like Tesco, Sainsbury’s will be operating reduced hours on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day, as well as being closed on Christmas day, but shoppers are encouraged to head to the retailer’s Store Locator to find out the opening times for their nearest branch.

  • Monday 23 December: 6am – 10pm
  • Christmas Eve: 6am to 7pm
  • Christmas Day: CLOSED
  • Boxing Day: 9am to 6pm
  • Friday 27 – Monday 30 December: normal hours
  • New Year’s Eve: 7am – 7pm
  • New Year’s Day: 8am – 8pm

You can check the opening times for your local Sainsbury’s store here.

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Asda

Following along the same lines as Tesco and Sainsbury’s, Asda shoppers are being advised to check the Asda Store Locator for the festive opening times at their local store, as different branches are operating different hours, however, most stores are operating reduced hours on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day, as well as being closed all day on Christmas Day.

Here’s a rough guideline:

  • Monday 23 December: 5am to 10pm
  • Christmas Eve: 5am – 7pm
  • Christmas Day: CLOSED
  • Boxing Day: 9am – 6pm
  • Friday 27 – Monday 30 December: normal hours
  • New Year’s Eve: 7am – 7pm
  • New Year’s Day: 9am – 6pm

Check the opening times for your local ASDA store here.

Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, and more have adjusted their opening hours for the festive period / Credit: Tesco

Morrisons

Morrisons is open throughout the festive season, just like its other competitions, and will only closing on Christmas Day, but hours will vary so you’ll need to check the opening times for your local.

  • Monday 23 December: 7am – 10pm
  • Christmas Eve: 5am to 7pm
  • Christmas Day: CLOSED
  • Boxing Day: 9am – 6pm
  • Friday 27 – Monday 30 December: normal hours
  • New Year’s Eve: 7am – 7pm
  • New Year’s Day: 9am to 6pm

Check the opening times for your local Morrisons store here.

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Aldi

Aldi stores across the UK are set to close of the three major festive bank holidays this year, meaning doors will be shut on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day, with reduced hours in operation on the days surrounding it.

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Here’s what you need to know:

  • Monday 23 December: 7am – 10pm
  • Christmas Eve: 7am – 6pm
  • Christmas Day & Boxing Day: CLOSED
  • Friday 27 & Saturday 28 December: 8am – 8pm
  • Sunday 29 December: 9.30am – 4pm
  • Monday 30 December: 8am – 8pm
  • New Year’s Eve: 8am – 6pm
  • New Year’s Day: CLOSED

You can find out more about the supermarket’s decision to shut up shop on the three festive bank holidays this year here.

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Lidl

Lidl has released a list of its festive opening hours, and just like Aldi, will also be closing most of its stores on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day, but you’ll want to check Lidl’s website to find out more information.

  • Monday 23 December: normal hours
  • Christmas Eve: normal hours
  • Christmas Day & Boxing Day: CLOSED
  • Friday 27 – Monday 30 December: normal hours
  • New Year’s Eve: normal hours
  • New Year’s Day: CLOSED

Check the opening times for your local Lidl here.

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Co-op

Just like many other retailers on this list, Co-op’s opening times vary from store to store over the festive period, but the retailer has confirmed it will be operating reduced hours on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day – with all branches closed on Christmas Day across the UK as a standard.

Shoppers are being urged to check the Co-op Store Finder for the opening hours for their nearest branch here.

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M&S

Once again, M&S is another retailer where festive opening hours differ from store to store, so it’s best to check your local branch specifically, but what we do know is that all stores across the UK will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day as a standard.

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  • Monday 23 December: 6am – 10pm
  • Christmas Eve: 6am – 7pm
  • Christmas Day & Boxing Day: CLOSED
  • Friday 27 & Saturday 28 December: 8am – 8pm
  • Sunday 29 December: 11am – 5pm
  • Monday 30 December: 8am – 9pm
  • New Year’s Eve: 8am – 7pm
  • New Year’s Day: CLOSED

Check the opening times for your local M&S store here.

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Featured Image – Morrisons

Business

How much money Manchester United spent on Dan Ashworth only for him to leave five months later

Danny Jones Danny Jones How much did Man United spend on getting Dan Ashworth compensation?

Manchester United’s ‘new’ sporting director Dan Ashworth only made the move to Old Trafford back in July and now, just five months later, he has officially left by ‘mutual agreement’.

Announced over the weekend, not only did the news come much to the surprise of United fans but given that his appointment was confirmed long before his start date, Ashworth actually spent almost just as long not quite having joined the club as he did on the job. Sounds messy, we know – because it is.

In short, both Newcastle and now Manchester United’s 53-year-old ex-sporting director was placed on gardening leave back in February after a clear approach by what would be his short-lived new home.

They also paid the North East side a large sum to secure his services – far from a measly number when you consider where else they’ve pinched pennies this year…

Nope, think that about covers it.

To put things into context, while in footballing terms £3 million might not sound like a lot of money (the industry being as overinflated as it is), when you take into account what that money could have gone towards, it doesn’t necessarily make for great reading.

Oh yeah, you also have to tot up how much he was paid as his regular wage during a five-month stint in which even more money was spent on players and those hoping to grab a ticket to one of the remaining games this season (we’re not even in Christmas yet) were asked to fork of £66 for the privilege.

The technical director for the FA’s elite development programme will have likely been on a higher wage in Manchester than he was in Newcastle, where he is said to have taken home around £1.5m a year, and probably notched a good chunk of that amount in less than half a year.

Even operating on the assumption that the INEOS Group matched his rate at St James’ Park, this means that he will have made at the very least an estimated £625k since switching Uniteds.

Add that on top of The Times‘ claims that the actual compensation figure Jim Ratcliffe and co. paid to release him from his previous role were actually upwards of the reported figure, then you’re looking at something closer to over £5m for as many months of work.

Read more:

Just as a reminder, roughly £200m has been spent on new players since Ashworth took up the position and 250 staff members were made redundant from various roles throughout the club, which was also said to have tacked on another £8.6m to the overall expenditure.

Although exact details are still yet to be fully verified, Ashworth and the new United hierarchy have clearly clashed: it is thought he was lumped with the decision to keep Erik ten Hag and extend his contract before his eventual sacking and also made clear suggestions as to his replacement.

It is also thought Ashworth had tipped other frontrunners to replace the Dutchman instead of new head coach Ruben Amorim, who CEO Omar Berrada to tie down before his former employers Manchester City could line up as Pep Guardiola’s eventual successor.

Whatever ultimately comes out in the wash, we think it’s fair to say it all sounds like a bit of a shambles and the atmosphere around the club – especially following the recent protests over increased ticket prices – looks to be less than rosy once again.

One thing is for sure, like most of those who have attempted since Sir Alex Ferguson, the new manager has walked into a much bigger task than he could have ever predicted and given the Ashworth developments, recent sackings and fan frustration on multiple fronts, United could really do with a win.

Featured Images — BT Sport (screenshot via YouTube)

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