Intu’s property empire loses £300m of value as retailers shut up shop October 23, 2018 Intu took a £300m hit to its property valuation in its latest quarter, also cutting its rental growth forecast amid the UK’s high street decline, it revealed today. The shopping centre chain is currently mulling a £2.9bn takeover offer from a consortium including British billionaire John Whittaker, Saudi investment group Olayan, and Brookfield Property Group. [...]
Coming off caffeine: Premier Inn opens more rooms as owner Whitbread looks to life after Costa October 23, 2018 Costa owner Whitbread grew revenues 2.6 per cent in the first half, as it looks to move away from the coffee business it sold to Coca-Cola. The results Revenue increased to £1.08bn, largely driven by tourism and growing capacity as it continues to expand its Premier Inn chain of hotels. Read more: Whitbread shareholders vote [...]
Bloomsbury revenues rise as books buck the UK’s retail downturn October 23, 2018 Revenues at Bloomsbury Publishing have posted strong growth in the first six months of the year, as the group's seven-point turnaround plan starts to pay off. Bloomsbury's share price rose 2.24 per cent as markets opened this morning. The figures Adjusted profit before tax for the six months to August, which excludes costs associated with [...]
A luddite levy on online shopping won’t help the high street October 23, 2018 Time and time again over the past few months, we’ve heard prominent figures in the retail world call for a special sales tax on online companies to help prop up their struggling sector, from the Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis, to the New West End Company that represents Selfridges and Marks & Spencer. Chancellor Philip [...]
M’s man Martin squashes the beef at Gaucho October 23, 2018 The boss of Gaucho has declared the days of London suits going out and “eating a kilo of steak” are over, as the restaurant chain prepares to rebound out of administration with a fresh, millennial-friendly look. Martin Williams, founder and chief executive of M Restaurants, is back in the saddle at Gaucho after leaving in [...]
Shares in shoemaker soar on death of matriarch Wanda Ferragamo October 22, 2018 The death of Salvatore Ferragamo’s widow has sent shares soaring in his eponymous company amid speculation her successors may sell their stake in the business. Shares closed up over seven per cent in the late afternoon today. The company’s value peaked in 2015, and has been on a downwards trajectory since May last year. Wanda [...]
Unilever hikes dividend by eight per cent with €6bn share buyback programme kicking off in May October 22, 2018 Unilever said this morning it will be hiking its dividend by eight per cent with a share buyback of up to €6bn starting next month, as it looks to keep investors on side. The consumer goods giant, which owns brands from Dove to Marmite, reported underlying sales growth – excluding its spreads business – of [...]
Netflix issues $2bn in bonds to fund original content October 22, 2018 Netflix plans to issue $2bn (£1.5bn) in bonds in a bid to fund its drive towards producing more original content, the company announced today. The streaming service will use the proceeds of the dollar and euro dominated junk bonds for general corporate purposes including content acquisitions and production and development. Read more: Subscribers have surged, but are we nearing ‘peak Netflix’? Netflix [...]
Morrisons loses ruling on data breach challenge as compensation looms October 22, 2018 Supermarket giant Morrisons faces a mass payout to staff after losing a major court case over a data leak this afternoon, in a ruling which could have implications for all UK businesses. The Bradford-based chain lost its appeal against a High Court ruling that it is legally liable for a former employee leaking personal information [...]
Philips chief executive warns no-deal Brexit will hit British manufacturing October 22, 2018 Brexit could wreck Britain’s future as a manufacturing hub, forcing firms like Philips to rethink their UK operations, the company’s chief executive warned today. Frans van Houten expressed concern at the lack of progress on a Brexit deal in comments reported by Reuters. Read more: Financial stability should not be used as a bargaining tool for [...]