Laterooms collapses after failure to sell business August 1, 2019 Holiday bookings site Laterooms has collapsed into insolvency after its parent company Malvern Group ran out of cash before it could secure a sale. Last month Malvern appointed KPMG to undertake an accelerated sales process after Cox & Kings India, which owned a 49 per cent stake in Malvern, defaulted on loan repayments. The default [...]
Westfield owner suffers income drop as UK retailers shut shops and cut rents August 1, 2019 Retail landlord Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) suffered a drop in UK rental income in the first six months of the year as the property giant’s two London sites were hit by store closures and leasing delays. Like-for-like net rental income was down 3.1 per cent compared to the previous year as tenants – struggling in a challenging [...]
Intu share price fall continues after dividend cancellation August 1, 2019 Shares in retail landlord Intu continued to fall this morning after the Trafford Centre owner yesterday cancelled its dividend as it fell to a £900m loss. Intu’s share price was down as much as 6.7 per cent at 44.6p this morning before recovering slightly to 45.45p. Read more: Intu share price crashes at it cancels [...]
E-cigarette demand boosts sales for British American Tobacco August 1, 2019 Demand for e-cigarettes boosted first half sales for British American Tobacco (BAT), mitigating the decline in demand for traditional smoking products. The figures Revenue in the first half rose 4.6 per cent to £12.17bn. Read more: Dividend star British American Tobacco gets cheaper The Lucky Strike and Pall Mall owner said profit from operations slumped [...]
Lego Movie 2 fails to deliver for Merlin Entertainments August 1, 2019 Theme park operator Merlin Entertainments reported weaker trading at Legoland in the first half of the year due to poor weather and a lack of visitor momentum from the latest Lego film release. Read more: Merlin Entertainments accepts £4.8bn takeover offer The figures Revenue rose in the 26 weeks to 29 June to £763m – [...]
Buoyant Next shows retailers how it is done July 31, 2019 Investors exposed to the troubled sector of retail property were dealt a fresh blow during trading today. Shopping centre landlord Intu led the market fallers after it cancelled its dividend and posted mounting losses, wiping 32 per cent off an already-battered share price. Read more: Shop prices fall as retailers tempt customers with discounts Although Intu’s downward spiral [...]
Body found in search for Indian coffee tycoon VG Siddhartha July 31, 2019 The body of missing Indian coffee tycoon VG Siddhartha has been found near a river on the outskirts of the city of Mangalore. Siddhartha – the founder of Starbucks rival Cafe Coffee Day – disappeared on Monday after reportedly walking away from his car and driver. Read more: Cafe Coffee Day founder goes missing The [...]
McDonald’s trials Fleet Street takeaway store for City workers July 31, 2019 McDonalds has today launched a trial takeaway-only store in Fleet Street targeting City workers on the move. The new “grab-and-go” format marks the fast food giant’s attempt to adapt to the needs of different customers during a difficult time for the restaurant sector. Read more: McDonald’s revenue and income falls The Fleet Street McDonald’s to [...]
Intu share price crashes as it cancels dividend amid mounting losses July 31, 2019 Intu’s shares plummeted this morning as it cancelled its dividend and fell to an almost £900m loss for the first six months of 2019. The retail landlord admitted there were “no quick fixes” as it blamed the wider retail collapse for its property woes. Read more: JP Morgan downgrades shopping centre landlord Intu Instead it [...]
Just Eat profits plunge 98 per cent on delivery investment July 31, 2019 Just Eat saw profits plummet in the first half of this year due to investment in its delivery platform, however revenue was up as more customers signed up to the takeaway app. The figures Profit before tax plunged 98 per cent from £48.1m to £800,000. Revenue was up 30 per per cent from £358.3m to [...]