Carpetright accepts cut-price £15m rescue deal from Meditor November 15, 2019 Carpetright has accepted a cut-price £15.2m bid from its largest shareholder amid fears it cannot pay off its debt pile. Shares in the company soared more than 14 per cent this morning after its directors unanimously recommended the 5p per share offer from Meditor, a 30 per cent shareholder. Read more: Major shareholder swallows £41m [...]
Exclusive: Questions over Chilango’s future after burrito chain calls in restructuring firm RSM November 14, 2019 Mexican chain Chilango, best known for its “Burrito Bonds”, is in talks to secure its long-term future with restructuring firm RSM and is more than six weeks late posting its accounts. City A.M. understands from a source familiar with the discussions that the firm is considering all options including administration or a company voluntary arrangement [...]
Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick takes stock sale to over $700m November 14, 2019 Just days after disposing more than a fifth of his stake in ride-hailing app Uber, ousted chief executive Travis Kalanick has sold a further 6.1m shares in the company he helped found. According to a company filing submitted yesterday, the entrepreneur sold an additional $164m (£127.6m) of stock, taking the total disposed of this month [...]
Ceramics maker Portmeirion warns on profits November 14, 2019 Ceramics maker Portmeirion warned that profits would be lower than expected this year after export sales plunged due to weakening demand in South Korea. In a trading update this morning the company said “significant historic demand” for its classic Botanic Garden ranges had led to other countries shipping in to South Korea, resulting in overstocking [...]
New store openings drive revenue increase at Card Factory November 14, 2019 Card Factory has reported a jump in revenue this year driven by sales at new stores and a boost in online trading, as sales at existing stores slumped due to falling high street footfall. In the nine months to 31 October revenue increased five per cent as Card Factory grew its store portfolio with 38 [...]
UK retail sales unexpectedly fall as economy slows November 14, 2019 The amount of goods sold in UK shops unexpectedly fell in October, official figures have shown, in the latest sign that the economy is slowing. The weak performance will be a concern to retailers as the sector heads towards Christmas, especially given that the period covered Halloween, a traditionally busy time for shops. Read more: [...]
Burberry boosts revenue despite Hong Kong disruption November 14, 2019 Shares in Burberry jumped more than five per cent this morning after the luxury retailer reported it is on track to meet expectations despite political disruption in Hong Kong, which contributed to a slump in sales in one of the retailer’s core markets. The figures Burberry increased revenue by three per cent to £1.3bn in [...]
Young’s pub chain posts profit drop after poor weather November 14, 2019 Young’s pub chain blamed “poor and unpredictable weather” for a fall in profit in its latest half-year results today, but still raised its interim dividend to book its 23rd consecutive rise. Read more: Marston’s sells off 137 pubs for £45m in an attempt to slash debt The figures Profit before tax dropped 6.4 per cent [...]
Nike pulls clothes and shoes from Amazon amid digital push November 13, 2019 Nike is pulling its clothes and shoes from e-commerce site Amazon as part of a pivot to selling directly to customers. Nike announced late on Tuesday that it was ending a pilot scheme to sell its goods through Amazon which began in 2017. “As part of Nike’s focus on elevating consumer experiences through more direct, [...]
Shop Direct gets £75m injection from Barclay brothers as it looks to plug PPI funding hole November 13, 2019 Shop Direct has been given a £75m equity injection from its parent company as it looks to plug a funding gap from the cost of recent payment protection insurance (PPI) complaints. The online retailer owned by the billionaire Barclay brothers said today that £75m will be invested by way of an equity injection before the [...]