India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani snaps up iconic toy store Hamleys May 10, 2019 Iconic toy retailer Hamleys has been sold to India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani for an undisclosed sum. Mumbai-headquartered conglomerate Reliance Industries, which is owned by Ambani, said late last night it had signed a deal to buy the chain from Chinese giant C Banner International. Read more: Billionaire Mike Ashley may bid for iconic toy [...]
Millennium & Copthorne profits plunge after major refurbs at luxury hotels May 10, 2019 Upmarket hotel chain Millennium & Copthorne has posted a steep drop in first-quarter profits and revenues due to major refurbishment projects. The company, which is chaired by Singaporean billionaire Kwek Leng Beng, reported pre-tax profit of £11m for the quarter, down almost 60 per cent from £26m the year before. Read more: Millennium & Copthorne [...]
Tapestry shares surge after Coach owner announces $1bn stock buyback May 9, 2019 Shares in luxury fashion group Tapestry surged today after the owner of Coach and Kate Spade announced $1bn ($768m) worth of share buybacks. Read more: Tapestry beats estimates as Coach handbags lure in sales The US holding company beat analysts’ profit expectations when it posted third-quarter results today. Gross profit rose to $916m for the [...]
Creditors approve Debenhams store closure plan May 9, 2019 Creditors have given Debenhams their approval for a controversial new insolvency plan this afternoon, paving the way for store closures and rent reductions. The beleaguered department store chain said that it had acquired “significantly above the required threshold of 75 per cent” on its proposals, setting in motion the group's Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA). Terry Duddy, [...]
Stockwatch: When you should buy Amazon and Microsoft May 9, 2019 | City Talk By Edmond Jackson from interactive investor. We've studied the charts, now our companies analyst runs through the fundamentals and gives his view. At a time of questions over durability of growth in US GDP and corporate profits, results in respect of Q1 2019 from Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN)and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) have beaten expectations. As a result, [...]
Arts and crafts store The Works plummets as profits take a hit in ‘successful’ year May 9, 2019 Investors were unimpressed with what The Works called a “successful” financial year, as shares plummeted by nearly a fifth as political uncertainty hit profits. Like-for-like sales growth has slowed in 2019, the company said, blaming “the widely reported economic and political uncertainty in the UK”. Read more: Growth slows at Morrisons amid political uncertainty Adjusted [...]
Debenhams to remain under control of investors after no appropriate buyer found May 9, 2019 Debenham’s will remain under the control of its investors after no alternative buyer was found for the struggling department store. The retailer entered a pre-pack administration in April and ownership was passed into the hands of its investors, however, administrators FTI consulting launched a marketing process to sell the company. Read more: Debenhams versus Mike [...]
Morrisons records 14th quarter of growth despite hit from political uncertainty May 9, 2019 Morrisons took a hit from British political uncertainty in the first quarter of the financial year, it revealed today, as its sales growth slowed to put it behind major rival Tesco. Excluding fuel, like-for-like sales grew 2.3 per cent in the quarter, Morrisons said, a slowdown from 3.6 per cent in the first three months of [...]
Superdry warns on profit as Dunkerton vows to ‘stabilise’ retailer May 9, 2019 Superdry warned investors today that full-year profit is likely to miss expectations, as founder Julian Dunkerton vowed to “stabilise” the situation at the struggling fashion brand. While global revenue grew 3.6 per cent year-on-year in the retailer’s fourth quarter, it warned that underlying profit before tax is “likely to be below the range of market expectations”. Read [...]
Ocado chips in to £7m round for UK robotics startup Karakuri May 9, 2019 Ocado has led a £7m seed round for UK robotics firm Karakuri, its first investment in a tech startup. Other backers in the round included Hoxton Ventures, Firstminute Capital and Taylor Brothers. The online supermarket chain will use Karakuri's technology to expand its grocery offering after a fire devastated one of its automated warehouses. It [...]