Morrisons buys 49 Blockbuster shops to grow convenience unit February 17, 2013 SUPERMARKET chain Morrisons yesterday snapped up 49 stores from defunct video chain Blockbuster, proving its commitment to the UK high street as it seeks to expand its offering of smaller shops. Blockbuster collapsed into administration last month, and advisers Deloitte are planning to close 332 stores across the UK. Morrisons, which earlier this month bought [...]
City Moves for 18 February 2013 | Who’s switching jobs February 17, 2013 Arle Capital Partners The private equity partnership has appointed Quentin Nason as head of client services, strategy and business development. He was most recently managing director in equity capital and structured equity capital at Deutsche Bank. FTI Consulting The business advisory firm has announced the appointment of two regulatory consultants to lead its governance, risk [...]
Retail gloom as UK stays at home February 17, 2013 SHOPPERS have been deserting the UK’s struggling retailers since the start of the year, adding to gloom in the sec- tor as sales fall for the first time in years and well-established firms col- lapse into administration. Total UK retail footfall sunk 4.6 per cent over the year to January, data from the British Retail [...]
SocGen boss de-neighs French food stereotypes at City lunch February 17, 2013 FRANCE may be known for its equine culinary culture, but the growing horse meat scandal seems to have put some of our next door neigh-bours on the back hoof. SocGen’s chief executive and chairman Frédéric Oudéa was feeling the pressure as he hosted a lunch last Friday, going on the defensive about his native land’s [...]
FSA finds positive horse meat tests as more companies drawn into scandal February 15, 2013 The Food Standards Agency said this afternoon it had found 29 positive tests for horse meat after demanding samples from UK retailers. In a scandal that is spreading across Europe, the agency said this afternoon it had conducted 2,501 tests, 2,472 of which had come back negative for horsemeat levels above one per cent, with [...]
Mixed mining shares weigh on FTSE February 15, 2013 The blue chip index edged down in early deals after a mixed performance from headline mining shares. Anglo American was the biggest riser, adding more than three per cent in early deals, despite it posting a sharp drop in 2012 earnings as it was hit by last month’s $4bn write-down on Brazilian project Minas Rio. [...]
Retail sales fall unexpectedly in January February 15, 2013 UK retail sales slumped unexpectedly in January, as snowfall kept consumers at home. Sales including fuel fell 0.6 per cent month on month from December, according to official figures from the Office for National Statistics. On an annual basis, retail sales slumped 0.6 per cent in January. The ONS said that the food sector suffered [...]
Severn Trent on target for full year February 15, 2013 Utility Severn Trent this morning reiterated its full-year outlook, adding that trading in its regulated business had been largely as expected since October. Total revenue is expected to be in line with market expectations, Severn Trent said, although operating costs are expected to rise year on year. “We continue to forecast a bad debt level [...]
Profit leaps at LCH Clearnet February 15, 2013 Clearing house LCH Clearnet this morning posted an 89 per cent rise in full-year operating profit as revenue jumped 24 per cent. The London and Paris-based clearing house, which the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is due to take a majority stake in by the end of February, said annual operating profit came in at €127.5m [...]
Anglo American swings to loss on Minas Rio write-down February 15, 2013 Miner Anglo American this morning posted a sharp drop in 2012 earnings, hit by tumbling earnings from all core units and by the write-down on the Minas Rio project in Brazil. Underlying annual earnings plunged to $2.84bn (£1.83bn), a 54 per cent drop from the $6.12bn in 2011. The FTSE miner swung to a $1.5bn [...]