Osborne offers MPs veto on new head of the OBR July 15, 2010 THE government started the search for the new head of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) yesterday – but it remains to be seen how many applicants will put their name forward to head up the controversial department. Chancellor Osborne is desperate to draw a line under the independence debacle surrounding the OBR, which was [...]
SuperGroup profit triples on expansion July 15, 2010 FASHION retailer SuperGroup’s full-year pre-tax profit soared to £22.46m from £7.59m last year. Group revenue for the 52 weeks ended 2 May, was up 83.1 per cent to £139.4m from £76.14m in the comparable period. The surge has been fuelled by the company’s Superdry label which has been sported by a host of celebrities including [...]
Mothercare sees UK trade slide July 15, 2010 MOTHERCARE posted a bigger-than-expected drop in quarterly sales in its main British market and said profit margins would suffer as it battles a tough consumer outlook. Sales at UK stores open at least a year fell 4.1 per cent in the 15 weeks to 10 July. The fall offset a 20.3 per cent rise in [...]
King of Pop dolls launched July 15, 2010 COLLECTIBLE Michael Jackson figures have been unveiled by Playmates Toys. The firm has a deal with music merchandising company Bravado, to create figures based on the King of Pop. The figures, which are to be distributed by Character Options in the UK, will be launched in the autumn. The firm said it was expecting huge [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT IS SUPERGROUP’S RECIPE FOR SUCCESS? July 15, 2010 KEITH BOWMAN | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN “In the wake of recent comments from both Burberry and ASOS, Supergroup is again proving that the consumer is still ‘alive and kicking’ and prepared to spend money on the right offering.” FREDDIE GEORGE | SEYMOUR PIERCE “The company is gaining traction in womenswear, the international opportunity has been significantly [...]
THOUSANDS TURN OUT FOR GREAT CITY RACE July 15, 2010 THAT time of year seems to have crept up on us again, when thousands of City runners take to the streets for the most popular race of the year – the Standard Chartered Great City Race. After a chilly, blustery day, the sun finally came out to shine on the gathered throng, who signed up [...]
ADVISER TO FRIENDFINDER July 15, 2010 IMPERIAL CAPITAL IMPERIAL Capital, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Houston and Minneapolis, is a US investment banking group led by co-founders Jason Reese and Randall Wooster, now chief executive and president respectively. The pair, who previously worked at brokerage Dabney/Resnick/ Imperial, set up the firm in 1997. Imperial Capital specialises [...]
Ryanair boss O’Leary forced into apology July 15, 2010 EASYJET’S Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou yesterday achieved the nigh-on unthinkable as the High Court forced Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary into a grovelling apology over a mischievous advertising campaign. Stelios launched a suit against his arch-rival at the start of the year over the ads, which featured a caricature of the easyJet founder as Pinocchio and claimed [...]
Evolve Capital set to relinquish its hold over Astaire July 15, 2010 TROUBLED stockbroker Astaire is set to revamp its ownership structure after announcing plans to distance itself from current majority shareholder Evolve Capital. Evolve, run by stockbroking veteran Edward Vandyk, acquired Astaire – formerly Blue Oar Securities – after a bitter takeover battle at the turn of last year. The deal preceded a number of acquisitions [...]
Piraeus Bank moves to buy Greek state stakes July 15, 2010 GREECE’S fourth-largest lender Piraeus Bank offered to buy the government’s controlling stakes in two banks yesterday, in the first set of mergers seen as key for the sector’s survival. The country’s socialist government has been urging banks to consolidate and form stronger companies better able to deal with the backwash of the debt crisis and [...]