Mars gobbles up Buffett’s stake in Wrigley chewing gum business October 6, 2016 Mars has bought billionaire investor Warren Buffett's minority stake in its subsidiary Wrigley, giving it full control of the chewing gum company. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway bought into Wrigley in 2008, spending $2.1bn (£1.7bn) to help Mars buy Wrigley for $23bn. Berkshire had a 19.4 percent stake in the business, the Financial Times reported. Terms of the deal were [...]
Och aye: Brexit vote and film and TV locations lure more Brits to take Scottish staycations October 6, 2016 The Brexit vote and film set locations drove more Britons to take staycations in Scotland this summer, according to data from online travel agent Tripsta. Between 1 June and 31 August several of Scotland's airports reported a surge in the number of passengers who booked domestic flights through Tripsta to explore the country's cities and islands. [...]
William Hill faces protests from union Unite at its shops tomorrow over retail restructuring plan October 6, 2016 Unite protesters will target more than half a dozen William Hill shops tomorrow over restructuring plans the union has dubbed an "attack" on workers' pay. Protests will be staged outside branches in nine locations including central London, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Southampton on plans Unite has said will slash shop managers' pay by an average [...]
Walmart reckons profit will be pretty flat next year – but that’s because it’s investing in digital October 6, 2016 It's not only in the UK that supermarkets are struggling: Walmart, which owns Asda, has released updated profit guidance suggesting profits will be largely flat next year. Ahead of an investor day today the supermarket, the world's third-largest employer, said it expects earnings per share to lie between $4.29 and $4.49 in 2017 – then [...]
Amazon’s unstoppable expansion continues with new warehouse in Northamptonshire October 6, 2016 Amazon has announced plans to open a new warehouse in Daventry, Northamptonshire, in 2017, creating 300 new jobs. The tech giant said it is responding to growing demand for its services and wants to use the opening to offer more products to its customers. Read more: ASOS says "it isn't very practical" to run a warehouse like the Victorians [...]
Zut alors: World’s oldest wine club The Wine Society provokes backlash from cancelling “booze cruises” as it closes down French showroom October 6, 2016 The Wine Society has been caught in a storm of backlash after closing its showroom in France without proper consultation with members, who will now not be able to go on cross-Channel "booze cruises". Members of the world's oldest wine club were left fuming after the society announced earlier this year that it would be [...]
Dunelm’s share price slides after it says hot weather hit sales October 6, 2016 Home furnishing retailer Dunelm's share price was down 4.37 per cent this morning after the company said hot weather hit sales. In its first quarter trading update, Dunelm reported total revenue fell by 1.8 per cent to £198.7m. Total like-for-like sales were down by 3.8 per cent. Dunelm said: As expected, unusually warm weather had a [...]
Sofa, so good: DFS’ shares climb as it hikes dividend October 6, 2016 DFS' share price was up 2.5 per cent in morning trading after the company announced it will increase its final dividend this year. The sofa seller said the final dividend for the year will be 7.5p per share, up 6.2p from last year, a jump of 21 per cent. Read more: DFS' share price jumps as the company [...]
Yum Brands blames drop in Chinese sales on South China Sea crisis October 5, 2016 KFC parent company Yum Brands said today that its earnings and revenues missed analysts' expectations in the third quarter. Its adjusted earnings per share of $1.09 on revenues of about $3.3bn. Both measures missed analysts' forecasts for $1.10 per share and $3.5bn respectively. Read more: Hungry suitors circle Pizza Hut as owners put the restaurant chain up [...]
As Tesco shares jump after it reported another rise in sales, is the retailer out of the woods? October 5, 2016 Clive Black, head of research at Shore Capital, says Yes. If you go down to the woods today… well, you won’t find Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis. Two years on from a troubled and tortuous analyst meeting, with the business on its knees, the Tesco boss is reporting that the remedial measures introduced to guide the [...]