Ted Baker: Fashion retailer receives ‘a number’ of bids from suitors as sale hots up April 27, 2022 Ted Baker confirmed it has been the recipient of a number of bids from suitors hoping to snap up the high street fashion retailer. The clothes seller entered into a formal sales process earlier this month, after being wooed several times by US private equity firm Sycamore. It had previously revealed it had been approached [...]
Landmark year: GSK beats quarterly expectations as it plans consumer healthcare spin off April 27, 2022 Healthcare giant GlaxoSmithKline has reiterated its growth outlook after posting first quarter sales of £9.8bn, surpassing analysts’ expectations. The pharmaceutical firm said it anticipated it would deliver sales growth in 2022 of between five to seven per cent at CER and growth of adjusted operating profit of between 12 to 14 per cent at CER. [...]
WH Smith returns to profit and hopes to capitalise on travel comeback April 27, 2022 Stationery giant WH Smith has returned to profit and said it was set to reap the benefits of opening a number of new stores in airports as international travel rebounded. In interim results for the six months ended 28 February 2022, the high street named revealed headline profit before tax and non-underlying items hit £14m. [...]
PepsiCo swallows nearly $500m in charges after Russia invades Ukraine April 26, 2022 Beverage maker PepsiCo has taken a hit of nearly $500m in charges relating to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The soft drinks giant told investors on Tuesday that it had been forced to swallow $241m “brand portfolio impairment charges” and a separate $241m in “Russia-Ukraine conflict charges”. While the group suspended sales of soft drinks brands [...]
Department for health makes £134m claim over Novacyt Covid testing contract April 26, 2022 Biotech firm Novacyt’s share price has plunged after the health department has issued a claim for £134.6m for one of its contracts. The Anglo-French company issued an update on a dispute with the department for health and social care (DHSC) on Tuesday. Shares fell around 15 per cent on Tuesday morning after Novacyt said it [...]
Boots sets mid-May deadline as owner seeks multi-billion sale April 26, 2022 Boots’ owner has set a deadline of 16 May for final offers for the chemist chain. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s (WBA) has issued the deadline to suitors as it seeks to sell the chain, Sky News has reported. Suitors expected to make final proposals include Asda and Apollo Global Management. However, India’s Reliance Industries was thought [...]
Loungers eyes profit ahead of market expectations after post-Omicron rebound in sales April 26, 2022 Bar operator Loungers now anticipates its yearly profit to be “slightly ahead” of market expectations, after a strong performance after Christmas. In a trading update for the year to 17 April, the firm said it “recovered strongly” after a period of “subdued” trading in December, due to the Omicron variant and related Covid measures. The [...]
Jupiter’s assets under management drops as client demand held back by high inflation and war April 26, 2022 British fund manager Jupiter Fund Management has seen its assets under management drop as geopolitical and inflationary pressures dampened client demand. In a trading update for the three months to 31 March, the firm said its assets under management closed the period at £55.3bn. This marked a £5.2bn drop from 31 December, fuelled by negative [...]
Households face extra £271 on annual food bill as grocery inflation highest since 2011 April 26, 2022 Households are facing an additional £271 to their grocery bill, with price inflation now standing at the highest level in over a decade. According to fresh data from Kantar, grocery price inflation has reached 5.9 per cent, the highest level since December 2011. Brits are facing a slew of price increases this spring, as businesses [...]
Primark to introduce ‘selective’ price increases to offset pressures April 26, 2022 The owner of Primark has said it will be forced to raise prices on “selective” products in its autumn/winter ranges and issued a margin outlook warning. Associated British Foods (ABF) said its half-year sales and operating profit for the group returned to pre-Covid levels, in interim results for the 24 weeks ended 5 March 2022. [...]
