Kingfisher share price rises on plans to close 60 B&Q stores in UK and Ireland March 31, 2015 Kingfisher's profits fell last year despite an increase in sales, but plans to close 60 B&Q stores have sent shares up. The figures The DIY retailer, which owns B&Q among others, experienced a 2.9 per cent increase in sales last year, but its pre-tax profits fell 7.5 per cent to £675m. The figures, for the [...]
Thomas Cook gets north European boost but takes a knock from currency woes March 31, 2015 The numbers Thomas Cook has reported trading in line with expectations, with the summer of 2015 more than 50 per cent sold. The UK business continues to build on last year with Thomas Cook's Concept Hotels growing 20 per cent from the previous year. Bookings at thomascook.com have climbed 10 per cent. However, the company took [...]
UK consumer confidence at a 13-year high in March March 30, 2015 Consumer confidence soared to a 13-year high in March, with Britons preparing to splash their cash over the long Easter weekend. GfK’s closely watched index rose by three points to a score of plus four in March compared with the previous month, with consumers more upbeat in all five areas used to track confidence. The [...]
Bank of England stress test: British lenders assessed against global economic crunch March 30, 2015 Britain's biggest banks have to prove they could withstand a global economic crunch, under a stress test unveiled by the Bank of England yesterday. The fictional scenario is based on real fears that a slowdown in China and renewed recession in Europe could hit the UK economy and its banks. The six biggest banks [...]
Marshall Motors IPO: Stealth flotation values car dealership at £115m March 30, 2015 Car dealership Marshall Motor Holdings (MMH) revealed a successful flotation on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) yesterday, raising £50m from investors. The deal, which values the group at around £115m, was run as a so-called stealth initial public offering (IPO) by investment bankers at Investec. That means the stock market debut was not pre-announced [...]
Cenkos keen on more big deals after British Car Auctions float March 30, 2015 Brokerage Cenkos yesterday reported record profits for 2014, on the back of its successful AA float. So far this year, it has also successfully got away the British Car Auctions (BCA) float, something which a series of larger rivals failed to achieve last year. Its revenues jumped 72 per cent to £88.5m, and profit before [...]
Reputation of Kingfisher boss Veronique Laury tarnished after collapse of Mr Bricolage deal March 30, 2015 Europe's biggest DIY group Kingfisher said yesterday that its €275m (£201m) bid for smaller French rival Mr Bricolage had collapsed after facing opposition from one the French rival’s major shareholders. Kingfisher first entered exclusive talks in April last year to buy 26.2 per cent of the share capital from the Tabur Family and 41.9 per [...]
Tesco begins land sell-off in cost-cutting drive March 30, 2015 Tesco has hired property advisory firm Savills to sell six development sites as part of plans announced earlier this year to cut costs. Chief executive Dave Lewis said in January that he would halve capital spending and save £250m a year by axing 43 stores, shelving 49 projects and closing its Cheshunt head office. The [...]
Headache for retailers as business rates to reach record level in 2017 March 30, 2015 Businesses will be footing a rates bill based on half of the rental value of their properties – the highest level yet – according to research out today. Business rates, charged on commercial properties including offices and shops, are calculated according to their rental value. The system has been blamed for the demise of the [...]
Ex-director Tim Ingram piles pressure on Alliance Trust chief executive March 30, 2015 Alliance Trust’s board is failing to scrutinise the management, and non-executives who try to ask questions are eased out, ex-director Tim Ingram told City A.M. yesterday. Ingram is backing activist investor Elliott Advisors’ bid to put three new directors on Alliance’s board, in the hope of shaking up the investment firm’s strategy. Ingram believes that [...]