Why Debenhams has had three profit warnings in a year and could Mike Ashley help? June 20, 2018 City grandee Crispin Odey, whose hedge fund holds a short position in Debenhams, said last year that the retailer was in a race with House of Fraser “as to who will go down first”. While House of Fraser’s fate will be sealed at its CVA on Friday, Debenhams’ future looks dark, with the embattled department [...]
London restaurants Albion, Parabola and Lutyens close as Sir Terence Conran and Peter Prescott venture folds June 20, 2018 Another string of restaurants in London have closed after the company Prescott & Conran went into administration. Albion, a British cuisine restaurant in Clerkenwell, closed today, as did Lutyens in Fleet Street and Parabola in Kensington. Another restaurant in the portfolio, Covent Garden's Les Deux Salons, closed in March. Today Duff & Phelps announced that [...]
Dixons Carphone expects profit loss to deepen data breach woes June 17, 2018 Dixons Carphone is bracing itself for plummeting pre-tax profits this week, as it continues to investigate a devastating data breach that compromised customers' personal information. The retailer expects a 23 per cent drop in pre-tax profits to £382m when it announces its preliminary results for 2017-18 on Thursday, citing UK mobile market constraints and tight [...]
M&S fashion brands are under threat as the struggling retailer looks to cut costs June 17, 2018 Marks & Spencer could abandon its once flagship womenswear brand as the retailer’s crisis deepens. Per Una, which generated roughly £750m for the floundering high street giant at its peak, is now one of several brands to be put under review by chief executive Steve Rowe as the company looks to cut costs. The fashion [...]
Iceland Food rules out deal with Amazon as Food Warehouse attracts new customers June 15, 2018 Iceland's boss has ruled out a deal with Amazon, telling City A.M. that "we don't want anything to do with them". The retailer reported steady sales growth this morning, as it eyes expansion into sites left vacant by the recent wave of store closures and grows its online business. But managing director Tarsem Dhaliwal said [...]
Tesco reports 10th consecutive quarter of sales growth as Booker deal boosts prospects June 15, 2018 Tesco today reported rising like-for-like sales for the 13 weeks ended 26 May, marking the 10th consecutive quarter of positive growth. The supermarket stalwart said like-for-like sales in the UK were up 2.1 per cent, while like-for-like sales in Booker soared by 14.3 per cent. Tesco said that was driven by "a strong underlying performance [...]
Shuffleboarding bar London Shuffle Club to open permanent home in Shoreditch June 14, 2018 We thought a new axe-throwing venue was going to be this week's weirdest leisure news, but it seems we were wrong. Something called shuffleboarding is, apparently, taking the party crowd by storm and it has a new location not far from the City. Shuffleboarding is, according to London Shuffle Club, a "hot a nd popular [...]
The Deliveroo vs Just Eat food fight has only just begun June 14, 2018 In the City, you never know when you might be someone else's breakfast. Firms are hungry for market share, and a competitive edge is the dish of choice. Just Eat's shares plunged yesterday after Deliveroo announced an expansion of its platform which saw it square up to the FTSE 100 giant. For the first time, [...]
Just Eat shares plunge as Deliveroo’s new feature bites June 13, 2018 Shares in Just Eat dropped more than seven per cent this morning after Deliveroo announced dramatic expansion plans and a new feature. Deliveroo anticipates that it will add 5,000 new restaurants to its platform with the 'Marketplace+' feature, which puts it in direct competition with Just Eat. Restaurants which handle their own delivery will now [...]
Struggling House of Fraser’s brand perception is in decline June 13, 2018 Last week, retail store House of Fraser announced plans to close 31 of its 59 shops – including its flagship Oxford Street store – as part of a ‘rescue deal’. If the plans go ahead it could lead to the loss of 6,000 jobs across the UK. It is yet more bad news for the [...]