UK’s entertainment and media market to reach £64bn by 2018 June 3, 2014 VIDEO games will account for over six per cent of the UK’s overall entertainment and media market by 2018, according to PwC’s Global Entertainment and Media Outlook. Britain’s entertainment and media market will itself will grow 9.2 per cent to £64bn, buoyed by video games, internet advertising and the booming film and television sales in [...]
FTSE reshuffle promotes UK’s new listed firms June 3, 2014 SIX NEWLY-LISTED companies,including Just Eat and AO World, are set to join the ranks of the FTSE 250 index as part of the index’s quarterly reshuffle. The overhaul is a sign of the radical reshaping of the investment landscape sparked by this year’s stock market stampede. The two stocks will join Pets at Home, Poundland, [...]
Bottom Line: It’s crunch time for Clarke and Philips June 3, 2014 THE NUMBERS are dire. Despite splashing out more than £3bn over the past year, the UK’s three biggest listed firms – Tesco, Sainsbury and Morrisons – are all shedding market share, with the former showing its weakest growth in 11 years. Analysts are slashing the sector left, right and centre, and with Tesco expected to reveal another [...]
Shop prices still falling as retail enters second year of deflation June 3, 2014 PRICES have now been falling for over a year in Britain’s shops, according to figures released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Nielsen today, with the continued recovery still putting little pressure on price tags. The BRC/Nielsen index registered a 1.4 per cent decline in prices overall. Food prices rose by 0.7 per cent, [...]
New Look in red after French loss June 3, 2014 NEW LOOK has said it could sell its French business Mim after a write-down dragged the fashion retailer to a full-year loss. The value retail chain, which has over 1,100 stores in 24 countries, posted a 5.8 per cent rise in underlying earnings to £200.2m in the year to 29 March. However, it took an [...]
Foxtons boss Michael Brown to step down for personal reasons June 3, 2014 LONDON estate agents Foxtons said yesterday that chief executive Michael Brown was stepping down after 12 years with the company. Foxtons, which returned to the stock market last year, said Brown was stepping down for “personal reasons”, sending shares tumbling 6.6 per cent yesterday. It comes after he took a period of compassionate leave earlier [...]
Online discounter MandM Direct reveals plans for £170m float June 3, 2014 ONLINE discounter MandM Direct has become the latest retailer to announce plans for an initial public offering (IPO), expected to value the group between £140m to £170m. The company, owned by private equity firm TA Associates, sells excess stock for over 250 brands such as Adidas and Diesel at discounts of up to 75 per [...]
UK’s bad bank pays taxman another £6bn June 3, 2014 THE SO-CALLED bad bank made up of the remains of Northern Rock and Bradford and Bingley paid the government another £6.2bn in the last 15 months, it announced yesterday. UK Asset Resolution (UKAR) paid £5.1bn in debt repayments and £1.1bn in other costs to the Treasury, taking the total given back to more than £10bn. However, it still owes [...]
Challenger bank Shawbrook swings to profit after three years June 3, 2014 SMALL business specialist Shawbrook Bank swung into profit in 2013, its full year results show today. The bank is considering a stock market flotation in 2015, pushed back slightly from the late 2014 date thought to have been considered previously. The lender was formed from three older firms by RBS private equity arm in 2011 and [...]
England World Cup final worth £1bn to retailers June 3, 2014 AS FOOTBALL fans around the world prepare for the start of the biggest event in the sporting calendar next week, it won’t just be supporters who are hoping England make it to the final of the World Cup in Brazil. New research suggests retailers stand to make a Mexican-wave-worthy £1bn during the game if England make [...]