A major French Connection investor has sold its entire stake February 1, 2017 French Connection's second-largest shareholder has reportedly sold its entire stake in the company. Shroders, which owned 9.27 per cent of the French clothing retailer, sold its shares at to an unknown buyer at 33p each, the Telegraph reported. The stake sale revived speculations of a takeover of the struggling firm, which has had almost nine [...]
Waterstones has finally turned a profit again after years of losses February 1, 2017 Waterstones has turned an annual profit for the first time since 2009 as book sales picked up in 2016. The figures The bookseller reported a pre-tax profit before exceptional items of £11.9m, which was up from a loss of £3.4m in the previous year. Sales rose 4.3 per cent to £409.1m for the year ended 30 April, up [...]
“You’ve got a lot more bullshit than me, and I have 1,000 bullocks”: Sir Ken Morrison’s best quotes February 1, 2017 Sir Ken Morrison, the legendary chairman of the eponymous supermarket, has died aged 85, the company confirmed today. Known for his outspoken (and sometimes downright abrasive) management style, it wasn't just rank-and-file workers who fell foul of his temper – on one memorable occasion, then-chief executive Dalton Phillips took a very public tongue-lashing, too. From [...]
Boardroom merry-go-round: Dunstone takes on exec role at TalkTalk and hands over Dixons Carphone reins to Livingston February 1, 2017 Lord Livingston will take over as chairman of Dixons Carphone from Sir Charles Dunstone, who today unveiled plans to concentrate his attentions on a new exec chairman role at telecoms firm TalkTalk. The move means a return to Dixons Carphone for the former minister for trade and investment, who was previously the finance chief at Dixons for six years. Read more: [...]
Sports Direct’s pay policy and Mike Ashley’s dominance slammed by key investor February 1, 2017 Beleaguered retailer Sports Direct has been slammed by a top investor over its remuneration policy and founder Mike Ashley's dominance. Standard Life Investments has called for big changes at the retailer in its annual governance report. The asset manager is the fourth largest shareholder in Sports Direct with a 3.5 per cent stake. As at December [...]
Heineken set to clinch Punch Taverns as rival suitor pulls out February 1, 2017 Heineken is set to win the hand of Punch Taverns after a rival suitor decided today not to pursue its bid. The deadline for offers is this Friday but it is understood that Emerald, backed by entrepreneur Alan McIntosh, has stood down giving Heineken a clear path to a takeover of Punch, subject to any [...]
Legendary Morrisons chairman Sir Ken Morrison has died February 1, 2017 Sir Ken Morrison, who made his father's Morrisons grocery chain into a supermarket giant, has died, the Press Association reported this morning. He passed away aged 85 after a short illness, his family said. Morrison took over his father's Bradford egg and butter stall, turning it into one of the UK's big four supermarkets within [...]
Spending on essentials soars as inflation starts to bite consumers February 1, 2017 Consumer spending on essentials has increased at its highest rate since September 2013 as inflation started to bite in December. Essential spending grew 1.8 per cent in December, rising for the fourth month in a row, according to Lloyds Bank. Grocery spending jumped 2.9 per cent year-on-year, the highest growth rate since July 2013. Read [...]
When it comes to public perception it pays not to short-change staff February 1, 2017 Towards the end of December, there was a row involving luxury department store Harrods. Waiting and kitchen staff took industrial action because they alleged that the business’s owners retained up to 75 per cent of service charge, which reduced pay by up to £5,000 a year. Harrods has subsequently vowed to let staff keep 100 [...]
Why Tesco could be better off leaving Booker on the shelf February 1, 2017 The stock market’s initial reaction to takeover deals can often be a poor indicator of how those deals work out. Just look at the market’s sceptical response to Sainsbury’s purchase of Argos owner Home Retail Group as a recent example. Now we have another unexpected deal in the supermarket sector with Tesco bidding to take [...]