Godiva shortlists bidders ahead of $1.5bn Asia-Pacific sell off January 18, 2019 Premium chocolatier Godiva has selected Baring Private Equity Asia and CVC Capital Partners as two of the suitors to make final bids for the company's Asia-Pacific assets. Other firms that have been shortlisted include buyout company North Asian MBK Partners and Marunouchi Capital, an investment arm of Mitsubishi. The companies are set to go head [...]
Shopping centre put up for auction for £1 as retail sector looks to a challenging 2019 January 18, 2019 Worries on the high street were compounded this morning as a Scottish shopping centre was put up for sale for a solitary pound. The Postings Shopping Centre in Fife boasts a pharmacy, a bakery and a cafe over 80,618 sq ft. Read more: Retail sales fall as 'suffocating' Brexit uncertainty envelopes UK high streets However it [...]
Toy retailer The Entertainer posts bumper sales growth in Christmas trading January 18, 2019 The Entertainer toy group has reported strong sales growth over the Christmas period despite retailers facing the most challenging festive trading season in a decade. The family-owned retailer, which sells online and through its stores, said sales for the five weeks to 29 December were up 22.4 per cent on the same period in the [...]
Retail sales fall as ‘suffocating’ Brexit uncertainty envelopes UK high streets January 18, 2019 Retailers suffered a weak end to 2018 as Brexit uncertainty saw shoppers spending less in the face of Brexit uncertainty, the latest data shows today. Sales fell 0.9 per cent month on month in December as shoppers kept their purses closed, the Office for National Statistics data revealed. Read more: All the high street giants [...]
Slippers and sleep: Mattress founder saves Mahabis from administration January 18, 2019 Mahabis, the self-styled “Nike of downtime”, has been saved by a similarly cCHILL retailer – the owner of mattress maker Simba Sleep. Founder James Cox’s investment boutique YYX Capital has snapped up Mahabis’ assets, after the luxury slipper retailer fell into administration over Christmas. Read more: Mahabis drops into administration after mounting debts Founded by trained [...]
Peppa Pig goes big at Christmas, boosting Character Group figures January 18, 2019 Peppa Pig is having a good day in the City as toymaker the Character Group reported positive momentum from the second half of last year has carried into 2019. The AIM-listed group – which owns rights to several popular brands, including Pokemon, Little Live Pets and Laser X – weathered a storm on the high [...]
New Look slapped with fresh downgrade as Moody’s casts doubt over restructuring plan January 17, 2019 Moody’s, the influential ratings agency, has downgraded New Look’s senior secured notes rating, just days after the retailer unveiled a restructuring deal aimed at cutting its debts by £1bn. On Monday, New Look agreed a debt-for-equity swap proposal to reduce debt from £1.35bn to £350m, and also announced a £150m capital raise through the issuing [...]
Travel food operator SSP sees sales rise despite yellow vest protests January 17, 2019 Travel food operator SSP posted a rise in sales for the first quarter, despite seeing its European sales pulled down by protests in France. SSP, which runs food concessions in airports and railway stations, said total revenues rose 7.7 per cent in the three months to the end of December, with like-for-like sales up 2.5 [...]
Bowling alley group Ten Entertainment targets expansion as it reports sales growth January 17, 2019 Ten Entertainment group has reported sales growth today as the bowling alley chain outlined plans to open up to four new sites a year. The group posted total sales growth of 7.5 per cent in its full-year trading update, with like-for-like sales growth of 2.7 per cent. The four new centres which were opened in [...]
N Brown sales slide in wake of ‘challenging’ Christmas January 17, 2019 Shares in plus-sized fashion group N Brown slumped more than eight per cent this afternoon after the e-commerce giant became the latest retailer to report a fall in sales over the Christmas period. Growth in online trading was offset by a slump in its traditional catalogue-focused arm, with revenue in N Brown’s mail-order catalogue brands, [...]