Sainsbury’s: Buyers bet that shares have seen the low April 26, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. Trading within a whisker of a record low, a lot of bad news is already written into the share price. Yesterday’s humiliation of Sainsbury (J) (LSE:SBRY) and its boss Mike Coupe has not stopped investors from piling into the supermarket giant’s shares in the belief the chain can bounce [...]
Laura Ashley shares hit all-time low as fashion retailer sounds alarm April 25, 2019 Shares in fashion retailer Laura Ashley hit an all-time low today after it issued a warning over its full-year results amid difficult trading conditions. Read more: Laura Ashley issues profit warning as sales slide The struggling brand saw its share price fall over 20 per cent this morning to 2.21p. It has since rebounded somewhat [...]
Competition watchdog kills Sainsbury’s £7.3bn Asda merger: What went wrong? April 25, 2019 Almost a year to the day since Sainsbury’s first revealed that it was in merger talks with Asda, it has all come crashing down. In late April 2018 the two retail giants were losing market share to German discounters Aldi and Lidl, and the threat of Amazon moving into the grocery sector was very real. [...]
Unilever: Why there’s lots to like about this FTSE 100 star April 25, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. These first quarter numbers have been well received, and this market favourite still has lots to go for. Unilever (LSE:ULVR) shares surged to within a few pence of a record high last week as first-quarter trading figures heightened focus on whether this defensive and reliable dividend payer can offer [...]
Pure Gym eyes further expansion as growing membership boosts revenues April 25, 2019 Pure Gym has posted double-digit revenue growth for the full year as it eyes further expansion in 2019. The figures Revenue rose 15 per cent to £228.4m in the year to the end of December. Group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation jumped 14 per cent to £73.1m. Member numbers were up 16 per [...]
Carpetright shares soar as restructuring plan starts to pay off April 25, 2019 Shares in Carpetright soared almost 25 per cent this morning after it reported a “significant” improvement in sales as its restructuring plan begins to pay off. The London-listed carpet specialist said like-for-like sales were up in the fourth quarter in a sign of renewed customer confidence. Read more: Carpetright sales drop but pace of decline [...]
Competition regulator blocks Sainsbury’s-Asda merger April 25, 2019 A planned tie-up between supermarket giants Sainsbury’s and Asda suffered a final blow from the UK’s competition watchdog, which said this morning that "it has decided to prohibit the merger in its entirety". Read more: Watchdog may block Sainsbury's-Asda merger Sainsbury’s, Walmart and Asda revealed today that they have mutually agreed to terminate the merger plans [...]
A quarter of millennial festival-goers have fallen for ticket scams April 25, 2019 Tickets for some of the world’s most popular music festivals are so sought-after they sell out in minutes. Read more: MPs, stop trying to tout the demise of the secondary ticket market But new research has revealed ticket re-sales are a hotbed for opportunistic scammers, who are fleecing desperate music fans for hundreds of pounds. [...]
Cafe bar operator raises £83m ahead of float as valuation comes in below City expectations April 24, 2019 Cafe bar operator Loungers has raised more than £80m today ahead of its listing next week. Read more: Restaurant sector defies confidence slump as UK leisure spending grows However, the group is set to valued at £185m when it floats, falling below City expectations of a £250m market capitalisation. The owner of 146 neighbourhood, café bars [...]
WH Smith: High-flyer divides City April 24, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. Latest results are fuel for another assault on a record high. Here’s why Smith splits the Square Mile. With £1 billion worth of dividends or buybacks since 2007, WH Smith (LSE:SMWH) shareholders can have few complaints about the retailer’s tried and tested strategy when it comes to selling stationery, [...]