BUSINESS LIVE: John Lewis hires its next chair; CVS suffers cyber incident; Gold continues to soar

Iconic British brand Ted Baker is to close 15 stores in the UK and cut around 245 jobs after entering administration.

The company behind the fashion brand’s British stores, No Ordinary Designer Label Limited (NODL), hired administrators from Teneo last month.

The price of gold rose to a record high on Monday after the Chinese central bank continued to buy the precious metal for its reserves.

An ounce of gold reached $2,355 in Asian trading as the People’s Bank of China boosted its gold reserves to 72.74 million fine troy ounces in March, the 17th consecutive month of purchases, according to official statistics.

According to comparison website Finder, the average pension savings through the auto-enrolment scheme delivers just £22,800 a year after tax for people entering the job market today.

Nationwide is under pressure to give members a say in the £2.9 billion takeover of Virgin Money after a petition met its target yesterday.

The building association, led by Debbie Crosbie, has said there is no need to consult its 16 million members – but Virgin Money shareholders will have a vote.

A petition set up by members of Nationwide has attracted 500 signatures, which could pave the way for a special meeting.

London-listed shares have started the week on a cautious note as investors brace for US and UK economic data, which could prompt investors to reassess interest rate cuts, while a rise in the number of industrial metal mines continues to offset losses in the benchmark index limited.

Industrial metal miners led sector gains, adding 1.9 percent, while copper prices in Shanghai jumped to a record high on supply declines and a positive demand outlook.

Precious metals miners also rose 1.2 percent, following a long record rally in gold prices.

The focus will be on the upcoming US consumer price inflation data, due on Wednesday, and UK GDP figures on Friday.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at its monetary policy meeting on Thursday.

The major US financial companies will kick off earnings season on Wall Street later this week.

CVS Group has experienced “significant operational disruption” over the past week after being hit by a cyber incident, the London-listed company said on Monday.

The veterinary services provider, which operates 500 practices in the British Isles, the Netherlands and Australia, told shareholders the attack involved “unauthorized remote access” to a small number of its IT systems.

In response, Norfolk-based CVS took its computer systems offline, preventing further outside access.

John Lewis Partnership has appointed the former CEO of Tesco UK and Ireland as its new chairman, replacing Sharon White when she steps down later this year.