Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct makes offer to rescue collapsed Patisserie Valerie February 9, 2019 Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct has made an offer to buy the collapsed café chain, Patisserie Valerie, which fell into administration last month. Sports Direct confirmed in a statement late on Friday that it had made an offer to buy the company but did not divulge any further details. Ashley, 54, is hoping to add to [...]
Ocado robot warehouse fire extinguished February 8, 2019 A major fire which has destroyed one of Ocado’s flagship robotics distribution centres has been extinguished this afternoon, putting an end to a three-day inferno at the firm's Andover site. The delivery giant's share price climbed three per cent today, recovering some losses in the blue-chip firm's stock value after investors feared for the firm's [...]
Topshop billionaire Sir Philip Green drops legal injunction against the Telegraph February 8, 2019 A High Court judge has officially dropped Sir Philip Green's legal injunction against the Daily Telegraph. The Arcadia chairman had previously prevented the newspaper from publishing allegations of misconduct against five employees, including alleged sexual harassment and racial abuse. Mr Justice Warby granted the Topshop billionaire his request to discontinue the injunction on Friday, just [...]
L’Oreal sales bolstered by Chinese demand for luxury skincare creams February 8, 2019 French beauty group L’Oreal trumped sales forecasts towards the end of last year, as Chinese demand for high-end skincare products boosted fourth-quarter results. Shares edged up slightly in morning trading after the firm reported an 8.6 per cent rise in the final quarter of 2018, following strong demand for goods in the firm’s luxury and [...]
West End property giant Shaftesbury posts ‘resilient’ retail demand ahead of investor showdown February 8, 2019 London landlord Shaftesbury said this morning that demand for retail space had been resilient over the crucial Christmas trading period, with consumers continuing to visit bars and restaurants in the firm’s West End portfolio during the festive season. The FTSE 250 group, which is bracing itself for a shareholder showdown at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) [...]
How to capitalise on China’s luxury boom February 8, 2019 As many companies experience a slowdown in China, luxury brands are surely smiling as they look at their sales performance. Last week, LVMH – the world’s largest luxury group, which includes brands like Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Moet & Chandon – surprised everyone by announcing an increase in sales during its fourth quarter earnings, and [...]
Ocado share price burnt by 48-hour blaze at robotics centre February 7, 2019 Ocdo’s share price suffered a 12 per cent dip this afternoon as investors continued to digest the news of a 48-hour blaze that has disrupted operations at one of the delivery giant’s major distribution centres. Late last night firefighters continued to tackle the blaze, which started early on Tuesday morning, at Ocado’s Andover distribution centre, [...]
Superdry points finger at warm weather for cooling winter sales February 7, 2019 Superdry suffered a dip in sales over the crucial Christmas trading period, citing unseasonably warm weather for a fall in demand for the fashion group’s flagship Japanese winter hoodies. The British fashion group, which has seen its shares crash 70 per cent in the last 12 months, said its performance in the three months to [...]
Tui shares plunge on cuts to earnings guidance following hot summer February 7, 2019 Shares in Anglo-German holiday company Tui plummeted this morning after it cut its earnings guidance for its full financial year last night, blaming the hot summer and the weaker pound. Its shares fell 18 per cent in early trading to 966p. Last night Tui said it expected underlying earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation (Ebita) [...]
Thomas Cook considers airline sale as losses hit £60m February 7, 2019 Thomas Cook is set to consider selling its airline business as seasonal losses deepened to £60m for its first quarter, with the airline blaming customer uncertainty. The figures The embattled travel agent saw its operating loss increase by £14m year on year to hit £60m for the three months to the end of December as holiday bookings dropped, [...]