Asda to concentrate on smaller stores February 18, 2010 ASDA said it would expand into smaller format stores, open more non-food shops and slash costs to drive growth in tough markets after posting its lowest quarterly sales growth in about two years. Chief Executive Andy Bond said the chain, owned by U.S. group Wal-Mart Stores, became too focussed on promotions in 2009, which clouded [...]
Halfords expands into car servicing February 18, 2010 CAR and bike accessories retailer Halfords is expanding into car servicing after buying Nationwide Autocentres for £73.2m. The company said the ‘Halfords Autocentre’ business would be a major source of growth for the firm. In addition to Nationwide’s existing 224 sites, it is expected that Halfords open 200 new centres, creating 1,000 new jobs. Shares [...]
Tax collection costs UK firms £20bn a year February 18, 2010 TAX collection costs the UK an astonishing £20bn a year, according to new research from the Institute of Economic Affairs. It claims the UK is one of only three of the 43 most advanced economies where the cost of tax collection is not falling. The IEA called for radical tax reforms it says could reduce [...]
Public borrowing hits high as tax receipts fall February 18, 2010 THE state of the UK’s public finances got even worse in January after spending rose more than expected while tax revenues declined, according to official figures. Figures from thr Office of National Statistics (ONS) said the government borrowed another £4.3bn last month. Analysts had expected the government to repay about £2.8bn of its debts. January [...]
Ladbrokes profits slump February 18, 2010 LADBROKES was on a losing streak in 2009 with the recession leading punters to place fewer and lower bets. Pre-tax profits slumped 28 per cent to £191.3m after a tough year in which it was forced to tap shareholders for £274.6m in October. The UK’s biggest bookmaker said its 2,000 UK betting shops suffered a [...]
VT rejects improved offer from Babcock February 18, 2010 BABCOCK International has had a renewed offer to buy defence firm VT Group for up to £1.29bn rejected. VT said the latest cash and shares offer worth between 680 and 715 pence a share was only a “small improvement” on the 633.9 pence previously offered and “continued to significantly undervalue VT and its prospects.” The [...]
BAE profits down after truck deal lost February 18, 2010 BAE Systems fell into loss last year after a major write-down linked to its purchase of US military group Armor Holdings. The British arms manufacturer said it suffered a net loss of £67m in 2009 compared with profit after tax totalling £1.7bn in 2008. BAE said it was forced to writedown £973m after Armor lost [...]
Pay freeze Britain February 17, 2010 PRIVATE sector workers have suffered a pay freeze over the past year, official figures out yesterday revealed. But their counterparts in the public sector enjoyed an inflation-busting 3.7 per cent rise, confirming that the government sector has so far been barely affected by the worst recession since the 1930s. Private sector pay (including bonuses) failed [...]
Babcock working on a higher takeover bid for rival VT Group February 17, 2010 MARITIME engineer Babcock is demanding access to the books of VT Group as anticipation builds of a fresh bid for the support services firm priced at around 700p per share, valuing the company at £1.26bn. Babcock is growing increasingly frustrated at the lack of cooperation from VT’s management, which yesterday embarked on a whirlwind round [...]
Spanish bond wins approval February 17, 2010 SPAIN drew a stampede of demand for a government bond issue yesterday that brought relief for the peripheral eurozone countries. Some analysts said a successful Spanish sale could open the door for the crisis-ridden Greek government to launch a 10-year bond after European Union leaders pledged support last week for Athens’ plans to shrink its [...]