Boots cuts 220 photo labs putting 400 jobs at risk March 1, 2017 Boots has announced it is closing 220 of its photo labs across the UK, including five in London, as weak demand for photo film services finally takes its toll. The closure of the in-store labs will put 400 jobs at risk, although a Boots spokesperson said the company would try to offer retraining and opportunities [...]
Tesco completes sale of its Kipa business in Turkey March 1, 2017 Tesco has completed the sale of its stake in Turkish supermarket chain Kipa, which it bought in 2003. The sale was first announced in June last year, part of Tesco's efforts to offload its underperforming assets and focus on its core supermarket business. Tesco has also sold restaurant chain Giraffe and its garden centre business [...]
PepsiCo says 380 jobs are at risk as it prepares to shut its Walkers Peterlee factory March 1, 2017 PepsiCo, the US owner of brands including Pepsi and Tropicana, has said it is proposing to close its Walkers Snacks factory in Peterlee, County Durham, putting 380 jobs at risk. Under the plan, production at the plant would be moved to other UK sites, PepsiCo said, as it looks to find "crucial savings" and bolster [...]
Ultimate Products’ London IPO has been priced at £105m ahead of it joining the main market next week March 1, 2017 Ultimate Products' offer price has been set at 128p, which will equate to a market capitalisation of approximately £105.2m. The offer comprises 41,084,800 shares, representing 50 per cent of the company’s issued share capital on admission. Shore Capital is acting as sponsor, global co-ordinator and bookrunner to the Company, and Cenkos is acting as joint bookrunner. [...]
How did Sir Philip Green end up paying £363m towards the BHS pension scheme? Key episodes in the BHS box set March 1, 2017 Sir Philip Green finally stumped up some (well, quite a lot of) cash for the BHS pensions black hole yesterday, after a year of publicly fighting with MPs, Goldman Sachs bankers, journalists, and former race car driver and bankrupt Dominic Chappell. The sorry saga started two years ago, when Green was seeking advice from Goldman Sachs about [...]
A former City headhunter is transforming a sleepy French jam-making operation into a multi million pound business March 1, 2017 A former City headhunter is transforming a sleepy French jam-making operation into a multi million pound business supplying jams and condiments to Luxury hotels around the world. Eli Gifford, 34, once placed workers in London's distressed debt hedge fund industry for Morgan Hunt. Now he has doubled the size of a small Jam-making operation in [...]
Consumer goods group Ultimate Products heads for a £100m-plus IPO in the next few days March 1, 2017 Ultimate Products, the innovative consumer goods group, is set for a £100m-plus IPO in London within days. It will list on the main market under the name of UP Global Sourcing Holdings. The IPO’s pricing could take place as early as today. The placing is understood to be substantially oversubscribed with investors taking part believed [...]
Food prices are increasing at the fastest rate for two and a half years March 1, 2017 Food prices are increasing at the fastest rate for two and a half years as the fall in the value of sterling has forced supermarkets to pass on some of their costs to shoppers. Prices for food rose 0.4 per cent year-on-year in February, according to figures from Nielsen and the British Retail Consortium (BRC). [...]
Burberry shares jump after Belgium’s richest man snaps up three per cent stake February 28, 2017 Fashion darling Burberry's shares jumped today after reports that Belgium's richest man has snapped up a three per cent stake in the company. Shares rose nearly six per cent, the highest point since May 2015, after Albert Frere disclosed a stake in the trenchcoat maker. Known to be worth $4.9bn (£3.9bn), Frere also recently bought an undisclosed [...]
Sir Philip Green agrees to contribute £363m to BHS pension scheme February 28, 2017 Controversial retail tycoon Sir Philip Green has sought to put a torrid period of parliamentary and media scrutiny behind him, agreeing to put £363m in cash towards BHS’ substantial pension scheme deficit. MPs investigated the sale of BHS last year and labelled Green the "unacceptable face of capitalism" for selling the high street store to [...]