French Connection chief seeks to sell off controlling stake October 6, 2018 French Connection founder Stephen Marks is sounding out potential buyers for his controlling stake in the retailer, it emerged today, in a deal which could trigger a takeover of the whole business. Advisers from Numis Securities, acting on Marks' behalf, have been speaking to prospective bidders this week about the 42 per cent shareholding, sources [...]
Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley tees off in bidding war for American Golf October 5, 2018 Sports Direct owner and retail tycoon Mike Ashley is set to expand his business empire further, as it suggested he has tabled a bid for Britain's largest golf retailer American Golf. Ashley is among a number of interested parties in the American Golf takeover, including JD Sports Fashion, sources told Sky News. Deloitte, who is advising [...]
Manchester United v Newcastle: Old foes Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez have chance to twist the knife October 4, 2018 Perhaps, after the final whistle has blown at Old Trafford on Saturday evening, Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez will gather in the Manchester United manager’s office and share a bottle of vintage claret, as Sir Alex Ferguson was fond of doing, and reminisce about the good old days. Or perhaps not, given their long-running and [...]
Sports Direct and JD Sports join the race for Evans Cycles October 3, 2018 JD Sports Fashion and Sports Direct have taken up seats at the bidding table alongside Halfords for beleaguered firm Evans Cycles. Both sporting retail powerhouses have tabled indicative offers for Evans in the last week, Sky News first reported late last night. The bids come in addition to an offer from Britain's biggest bike firm [...]
Former House of Fraser directors dismissed amid calls for an investigation October 1, 2018 The former directors and senior management of House of Fraser have been dismissed following the department store's collapse. Sports Direct, which bought the beleaguered high street chain for £90m in August, announced that it has sacked the former top team amid calls for an investigation into the company's spiral into administration. Read more: Mike Ashley blames landlords [...]
Former Manchester United and Chelsea chief exec Peter Kenyon in talks to buy Newcastle United September 29, 2018 The former chief exec of football clubs Manchester United and Chelsea is planning a sensational swoop to buy Newcastle United from retail tycoon Mike Ashley. Peter Kenyon, who now heads up a consultancy called Opto Advisers, has approached potential financial backers in recent weeks to raise cash for the deal. Sky News reported he was [...]
Chelsea named bottom of the league for prompt payments as big clubs let the side down September 27, 2018 Elite Premier League clubs are less likely to pay their suppliers promptly than smaller teams, according to industry data provided to City A.M. Chelsea are the slowest team to settle invoices, says business information company Dun & Bradstreet, while Tottenham and Manchester City are also in the bottom four. Brighton and Bournemouth are the [...]
Online-only retailers outpace their bricks and mortar rivals as fresh evidence of high street troubles emerge September 26, 2018 Online-only retailers’ sales have grown 24 times faster than those of bricks and mortar firms in the last five years, according to new data which underlines the current woes facing high street shops. A report out today from data specialist GBG Loqate shows that pure-play online retailers have grown their sales by 281 per [...]
Mike Ashley hits out at landlords as three House of Fraser stores set to close September 23, 2018 House of Fraser boss Mike Ashley has hit out at "greedy" landlords as he announced the closure of three department stores. At least 15 stores that were previously earmarked for closure have been saved, House of Fraser announced, however branches in Edinburgh, Hull and Swindon face being shut down. Sports Direct owner Ashley, who [...]
Sports Direct denies reports Mike Ashley may block sale of Debenhams’ Danish arm Magasin du Nord September 16, 2018 Sports Direct have this evening denied reports its boss Mike Ashley is attempting to block a sale of Debenhams' Danish business Magasin du Nord. Reports suggested Ashley had threatened to halt the £200m of the business by Debenhams, in which he already has a 30 per cent stake, in the hopes of forcing the business into [...]