Tullett’s COO to step down after 17 years December 8, 2011 INTERDEALER broker Tullett Prebon abruptly announced that its long-serving chief operating officer Steph Duckworth was leaving yesterday. Duckworth, who spent 17 years with the company after joining its predecessor entity Liberty in the 1990s, resigned yesterday, Tullett said, without specifying when he would go or who would succeed him. A person familiar with his departure [...]
Korhonen out at flagging Fidelity fund December 8, 2011 THE INVESTMENT chief who took over half of Anthony Bolton’s flagship Fidelity fund has left after a series of losses. Jorma Korhonen will be replaced by Jeremy Podger as manager of the £1.5bn Global Special Situations fund. Sudipto Banerji, a veteran Fidelity manager, will take over until Podger arrives from Threadneedle in March. Meera Patel [...]
GOLDEN ARCHES STILL SHINING December 8, 2011 McDonald’s last night reported a bigger-than-expected rise in November sales at established restaurants across the board. The world’s biggest hamburger chain said sales at restaurants open at least 13 months rose 7.4 per cent globally. In Europe, where the chain derives 40 per cent of revenue, same-restaurant sales rose 6.5 per cent.
Mulberry bags a big profit overseas December 8, 2011 MULBERRY, the “affordable luxury” fashion brand whose bags have adorned the arms of Kate Middleton and Kate Moss, yesterday reported a trebling of pre-tax profits to £15.6m. It also saw its half-year retail sales jump 47 per cent year-on-year, buoyed by soaring international demand for its designer handbags. The company reached total revenues of £72.3m, [...]
COMMENT ZOE STRIMPEL December 8, 2011 PICK the right It Girl and you’re in clover. For Mulberry, it was the Alexa satchel designed in honour of the style icon and TV presenter Alex Chung that hurled the company into the luxury retail stratosphere – profits quadrupled in 2010 thanks to that willowy fashionista. But it’s not just the Alexa Effect (yes, [...]
Premier Farnell cautious as third quarter sales fall short December 8, 2011 BRITISH electronic parts distributor Premier Farnell reported a slight dip in third-quarter sales yesterday, and said it remained cautious on the global economic outlook. “The quarter’s profit was in line with our expectations, compared with last year’s strong performance,” the company said. “Although we remain cautious on the global economic outlook, the business has responded [...]
Shares slump at L&S after GE pulls out December 8, 2011 SHARES in London & Stamford Property plunged by more than 13 per cent yesterday after its largest shareholder sold its stake in the struggling business. London & Stamford stock fell by 13.2 per cent during the day before closing down 7.55 per cent at 106.5p after GE Asset Management offloaded all of its 74m shares, [...]
Beltane Asset Management fills its maiden building at Cloak Lane December 8, 2011 BELTANE Asset Management has filled its 9 Cloak Lane office block, six months after starting its search for tenants. The firm has signed up ERIM Services to take the fifth floor, completing its lettings drive for the building near Cannon Street and taking its average rents to £51 a square foot. Beltane, which was set [...]
OFT to review private health care in the UK December 8, 2011 THE UK’s £5bn private healthcare market is set to come under scrutiny, after The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said yesterday it planned to examine whether larger players were preventing competition in the sector. The OFT said it had provisionally decided to refer the market for privately funded healthcare services to the Competition Commission to [...]
PZ Cussons says trading is tough after first-half miss December 8, 2011 BRITISH soap and shampoo maker PZ Cussons said its first half profit was below expectations and it expected trading conditions to remain tough given pressures on consumer spending. The maker of Imperial Leather soaps and Carex anti-bacterial hand washes said high raw material costs and adverse exchange rate movements impacted margins, while trading conditions remained [...]