Patisserie Valerie exodus continues as deputy chairman steps down January 17, 2019 Patisserie Valerie has been burned further this morning by the walkout of its deputy chairman. Lee Ginsberg – a non-executive director at the beleaguered cafe chain, which is caught in a devastating alleged fraud – would resign with immediate effect, the company said in an update. Ginsberg had been chair of the audit committee at [...]
Game Digital shares boosted by positive Christmas trading in Spain while UK sales fall January 17, 2019 Video game retailer Game Digital’s shares shot up this morning as it announced a two per cent sales boost over the Christmas period, despite a drop in the UK market. The company said despite a “challenging retail climate” causing group sales to dip 0.5 per cent over the festive weeks from Black Friday to 5 [...]
Everyman cinemas on track as punters flock to picture palace January 17, 2019 Cinema chain Everyman Media today reported 2018 trading in line with expectations as it eyes a series of new openings. The boutique cinema group, which currently operates 26 venues across the country, said trading for the 52 weeks to 3 January was on track to hit forecasts. Read more: Chinese cinemas show bumper profits, but growth slows [...]
Premier Inn owner Whitbread warns of stalling profits as it launches share buyback scheme January 17, 2019 Whitbread will kick off the process of giving £500m back to shareholders today after completing the £3.9bn sale of Costa, but warned that uncertainty would stall profits next year. It said Premier Inn has added over 2,000 new rooms since the financial year began in March. The company has grown sales in its accomodation business [...]
Primark sales sweeten the pill as retailer outperforms Christmas gloom January 17, 2019 Primark today reported a rise in revenues over the festive period as store expansion outweighed a fall in like-for-like sales. The fashion retailer saw UK sales rise one per cent on last year in the 16 weeks to 5 January, defying a downturn in the wider retail market. Read more: Retail sector suffers worst Christmas in [...]
Marks & Spencer launches plastic packaging-free fruit and vegetable trial to try and cut plastic waste January 16, 2019 Marks & Spencer launched a trial today of plastic packaging-free fruit and vegetables at its Tolworth store as it moves to cut the amount of plastic it uses. The retailer said it had introduced trained greengrocers to advise customers on the over 90 lines of loose fruit and vegetables it was selling from two aisles. [...]
Patisserie Valerie reveals balance sheet was significantly manipulated in ‘devastating’ fraud January 16, 2019 Patisserie Valerie posted a bombshell update to the market this afternoon, admitting that its balance sheet was “significantly” manipulated and thousands of false entries were made into the high street baker’s books before a shock £40m black hole was discovered last year. The troubled firm has appointed RSM as auditors and KPMG has been hired to [...]
Sears chairman wins auction for troubled department store chain with $5.2bn bid January 16, 2019 The chairman of bankrupt US department store chain Sears has won an auction for the retailer with a bid of $5.2bn (£4bn). Read more: Bidders table competing offers for struggling HMV Eddie Lampert prevailed in the auction today after weeks of back-and-forth negotiations. Lampert’s bid, made through his hedge fund, ESL Investments, will keep up to [...]
Offers on the table for HMV, say administrators January 16, 2019 Rescue offers have been made for beleaguered retailer HMV, its administrators confirmed today. Big Four accountancy firm KPMG, which had set a deadline of Tuesday this week for interested parties, said today that several offers have been put on the table for the 97-year-old chain. However, the identity of the bidders is not yet known. Will [...]
Weak residential market expected to hit profits at flooring distributor Headlam January 16, 2019 Shares in floor covering distributor Headlam sank as much as 10 per cent on Wednesday morning after it predicted that a weaker residential market would hit profits in 2019. Europe's largest distributor of floor coverings said that it now expects underlying profit before tax in 2019 to be between £39m and £41m, lower than in [...]