City grandee Michael Spencer tables bid for Naked wine dealer Lay & Wheeler August 14, 2019 City bigwig Michael Spencer is said to have tabled a bid for Lay & Wheeler (L&W), a fine wine merchant set to be sold by Naked Wines. BI Wine & Spirits, which is chaired and part-owned by Spencer, is among interested buyers circling the luxury merchant, Sky News reported. Read more: Naked Wines hopes US [...]
Sports Direct left looking like giant mugs as auditor Grant Thornton quits August 14, 2019 Sports Direct shares have tumbled to their lowest level since 2011 after it emerged that Mike Ashley’s retail empire could be left without an auditor, breaching stock market rules. The company is understood to have sought government advice over what would happen if it is unable to find an auditor after its current auditor Grant [...]
Canada Goose shares drop as lightweight clothes hurt margins August 14, 2019 Canada Goose has reported a slip in its gross margin for the first quarter as it increased sales of its less profitable lightweight clothes. Read more: July 2019 worst on record for retail sales growth The Toronto based firm, best known for its luxury parka jackets, increased its revenue by 59 per cent to CA$71.1m [...]
Grant Thornton quits as Sports Direct auditor August 14, 2019 Sports Direct faces being left without an auditor after Grant Thornton told the retailer it would not apply for reappointment. The decision threatens to leave Sports Direct high and dry as all of the Big Four firms have indicated they are reluctant to take on the role. The Financial Times reported that Sports Direct has [...]
Steinhoff to sell off assets in bid to cut debt pile August 13, 2019 Embattled global retailer Steinhoff said today that it will sell off assets in the wake of a $7bn (£5.8bn) accountancy scandal. In a bid to slash its debt pile, the troubled South African giant revealed plans to slim down into a retail-focused investment holding company. Read more: Restaurants eat into retailers’ high street share Chief [...]
Back of the net: Watches of Switzerland hails demand for sport products as sales tick up August 13, 2019 The return of the Premier League season has put a smile on many faces, but none more so than Watches of Switzerland, the UK’s biggest seller of Rolex watches. The newly-listed luxury retailer, which reported a double-digit rise in revenue this morning, has hailed an increased appetite for sport watches for its recent sales growth. [...]
Card Factory delivers sales rise despite challenging consumer market August 13, 2019 Greetings card retailer Card Factory said sales grew 5.5 per cent in the six months to 31 July, despite a “challenging consumer environment”. The company said like-for-like sales were up 1.5 per cent and total group sales up 5.5 per cent. It opened 26 net new UK stores in the period and said it is [...]
Crunch time: Kettle Foods poised for takeover by Irish group Valeo August 12, 2019 The owner of high-end crisp brand Kettle Chips is set to be swallowed up by Irish food group Valeo as the two companies near an agreement in takeover talks. Valeo Foods, which owns brands including Rowse Honey and Barratt confectionery, is in advanced talks to buy Kettle Foods’s operations in the UK and Ireland, Sky [...]
Choc Horror: Hotel Chocolat’s ‘Chocmobile’ found burnt out August 12, 2019 Hotel Chocolat has been left with a bitter taste in its mouth after police found its stolen ‘Chocmobile’ burnt out in Bedfordshire. Officers found the distinctive black van at roughly 9am today in Kempston Hardwick on the outskirts of Bedford. Read more: Hotel Chocolat goes into meltdown over missing Chocmobile The Chocmobile, which was used [...]
Struggling mattress start-ups Eve Sleep and Simba confirm merger talks August 12, 2019 Mattress start-ups Eve Sleep and Simba confirmed today they are in talks to merge. The two businesses have struggled recently with Woodford-backed Eve suffering a share crash after investors were offered shares at a steep discount during a £15m funding round in December. Read more: Eve Sleep shares plummet after investors buy in for a [...]