Gaucho’s merger with M Restaurant brings boss Martin Williams ‘full circle’ April 4, 2019 The founder of M Restaurants said today he has come “full circle” by merging his chain with steakhouse Gaucho, which he led for years before founding M. Martin Williams, who is taking over as chief executive of the new parent company, always hoped to merge the two after helping to take Gaucho out of administration with Investec [...]
Moody’s downgrades Debenhams, warning outlook remains ‘negative’ April 4, 2019 Troubled retailer Debenhams suffered a fresh blow this afternoon after being downgraded by credit ratings agency Moody’s. Read more: Sports Direct calls on Debenhams investors to protest against finance deal The department store chain’s rating has been cut from Caa1 to Ca, with Moody’s saying that the group's outlook remained "negative". "We have downgraded Debenhams' [...]
Mothercare suffers another drop in UK like-for-like sales April 4, 2019 Global retailer Mothercare has revealed its UK like-for-like sales declined 8.8 per cent year on year in the three months to the end of March, marking a slight improvement on recent sales falls. Read more: Mothercare sticks to guidance despite falling UK sales In a trading announcement today the retailer also said that it has completed [...]
AO World spends £15m on Brexit stockpiling as founder returns as CEO April 4, 2019 Electrical retailer AO World today warned investors it expects to take a £2.5m hit this year as it shakes up its management team in the wake of John Roberts’ return as chief executive. Read more: AO World’s chief executive departs with founder returning to the role The exceptional costs for the 12 months to the [...]
The AA’s opting for the long road to stability April 4, 2019 Shares in the AA have been swerving all over the place since it returned to the stock market in 2014. After jumping from a float price of 250p to 430p the following year, the ambitions of the team that steered the roadside rescue outfit through an unusual management-buyout-cum-IPO began to stutter. The stock slid and [...]
Intu Properties to appoint finance chief Matthew Roberts as new boss April 3, 2019 Shopping centre owner Intu Properties plans to appoint its finance boss as its new chief executive during a challenging time for the retail sector. Intu, which owns the Trafford Centre in Manchester, is expected to announce that current chief financial officer Matthew Roberts is its new chief executive as early as tomorrow, Sky News reported. [...]
Superdry shares dive after board exodus April 3, 2019 Superdry shares dived in morning trading as investors digested yesterday’s investor vote which saw the return of co-founder Julian Dunkerton and a dramatic board exodus. Shares in the troubled retailer fell 11 per cent to 445p this morning, adding to an eight per cent drop which the company suffered yesterday before markets closed. Read more: [...]
Topps Tiles revenues flat as retailer recovers from 2018 profit fall April 3, 2019 UK retailer Topps Tiles held a steady course in the first half with revenues flat from the period before, it revealed today. The announcement will reassure investors after Topps Tiles revealed a fall in profits in its half year results in November 2018, when it also said it was stockpiling supplies ahead of Brexit. Read more: UK retail [...]
Photo-Me issues profit warning as Brexit uncertainty takes its toll on orders April 3, 2019 Photobooth firm Photo-Me has warned its full-year profit will be lower than expected due to a slowdown in consumer activity amid Brexit uncertainty. The firm said it expects to snap up a pre-tax profit of £42m for the year to the end of April, slightly below its previous guidance of £44m, sending its shares down [...]
Food prices increased at their fastest rate since 2013 in March April 3, 2019 The weekly supermarket shop hit bank accounts a little harder last month as food prices rose at their sharpest rate in five years in March. Food inflation accelerated last month to 2.5 per cent, up from 1.6 per cent in February. This is the highest inflation rate November 2013. The data out today from the [...]