Scottish Premiership side Hamilton was "conned out" of almost £1M ($1.3M) by criminals "claiming to be from the anti-fraud department of the team’s own bank." The club "is believed to have been contacted by scammers who warned that their money was at risk" and advised them to move it to another account from where the cash was stolen. A source said, "There's sympathy for what's happened but there's a degree of surprise they've fallen for the scam" (LONDON TIMES, 10/16).
The duo who founded JD Sports "confirmed speculation" that they plan to float their latest retail business, Footasylum, in an IPO that could net them "tens of millions of pounds." John Wardle and David Makin announced an intention to float the fashion, footwear and clothing company that targets 16-to-24-year-olds on London’s junior AIM market next month. Footasylum operates nearly 60 stores across the U.K. and plans to "almost treble this" after an IPO by opening between eight and 10 stores every year. The retailer employs more than 2,000 staff and sells about 300 brands, including adidas, Nike and The North Face (LONDON TIMES, 10/16).