All Star Lanes scores £3.5m strike after successful turnaround February 12, 2017 All Star Lanes has secured a £3.5m refinancing after a successful 2016 saw its underlying profits jump 39.5 per cent to £1.4m. The American-inspired ten-pin bowling chain has one branch in Manchester and four in London, including its recently reopened Brick Lane flagship location. Although the company was founded in 2006, it was only after [...]
Ocado chairman Stuart Rose bags £1.3m share award February 12, 2017 Online grocer Ocado gave its chairman Stuart Rose a £1.3m share award last year as part of a pay deal he agreed when he joined the company in 2013. When he was made Ocado chairman, former Marks and Spencer boss Rose bought £400,000 worth of Ocado stock. The company gave him 452,000 shares on the [...]
The Body Shop attracts buyout bidders in £850m sale February 12, 2017 Potential buyers are emerging in the $1bn (£850m) sale of ethical beauty brand The Body Shop. Apax Partners, a high-profile backer of companies including Karl Lagerfeld and Orange, has registered its interest, The Sunday Times reported yesterday. Current owner L’Oréal put the iconic British store up for sale last week, saying it wanted to “give it [...]
William Hill investor pushing for sale February 12, 2017 The high street betting chain, William Hill, is being considered as a potential target for acquisition, according to reports in the Sunday Times. Parvus Asset Management has been pushing for a sale of William Hill for four months, according to sources in the City. The Mayfair-based hedge fund is William Hill’s biggest single shareholder, with [...]
Boden appoints Tesco veteran as new CEO February 12, 2017 British clothing brand Boden has appointed Jill Easterbrook as its new CEO. Easterbrook formerly worked at Tesco for 15 years, holding at different times the roles of chief customer officer, group business transformation director and managing director of clothing. She left the company in 2016 and has been a non-executive director at Auto Trader since [...]
Klimt painting set to fetch more than £45m at auction February 12, 2017 A painting by Gustav Klimt is expected to sell for at least £45m at auction next month. The 1907 landscape, entitled ‘Bauerngarten’, will go up for sale at Sotheby’s in London on 1 March. It was previously sold at Christie’s for $5.8m in 1994, and appeared in a Royal Academy exhibition last year. Works by [...]
After BHS: MPs eye stricter transparency rules for private companies February 12, 2017 The UK's biggest private companies and those with large pension schemes should have to abide by the same financial reporting rules as listed firms to ensure the fallout from the collapse of BHS is not repeated, MPs have said. Any private company with more than 5,000 members of a defined benefit pension scheme, or those defined as large [...]
Britain’s public parks risk falling into neglect as budget cuts persist, MPs warn February 11, 2017 Britain's public parks are at a "tipping point" of falling into neglect as budgets are hit by major cuts, a report by MPs today warned. Parks face temporary or permanent closures, the removal of play equipment, and more rats and weeds due to a lack of funds. The UK's more than 27,000 green spaces have seen cuts of [...]
Walt Disney has snapped up a fresh stake in its struggling Euro Disney firm and eyes full control February 10, 2017 Walt Disney has raised its stake in its embattled Euro Disney firm and is now seeking to take full control through a deal with a Saudi billionaire. The American media giant today said it will acquire most of Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal's Kingdom Holding's stake in the company, taking its holdings to 85.7 per cent [...]
Punch Taverns shareholders seal the deal on Heineken’s £403m takeover offer February 10, 2017 Punch Taverns shareholders today voted to approve Heineken's 180p-per-share takeover offer, totaling £403m. The offer was made by Vine Acquisitions, the vehicle Heineken shares with partner Patron Capital. On the news of the decision, Patron said: "We are delighted that an overwhelming majority of shareholders are in support of the acquisition and look forward to progressing towards completion of [...]