Should Dunstone and James read from the good book of mergers? May 15, 2014 MERGERS, as we all know, can go horribly wrong. Just look at the recent mega-merger that never was, between Omnicom and Publicis. With Dixons and Carphone Warehouse’s jubilant nuptials announced yesterday, should Dixons chief exec Sebastian James and Carphone Warehouse founder Sir Charles Dunstone tread carefully? They are off to a good start. James and [...]
Westfield kickstarts new projects in the UK as retail sales increase May 15, 2014 WESTFIELD said shoppers continued to make a beeline for its shopping centres in the first quarter, with the Australian retail giant reporting a solid performance across its two UK sites. Speciality sales at Westfield London and Stratford City rose by 1.6 per cent to £828 per square feet in the three months to 31 March, [...]
TalkTalk reaches one million TV customers faster than Sky or BT May 15, 2014 TALKTALK is signing up customers to its TV service faster than rivals Sky, BT and Virgin Media combined, with over a million customers using the service just 18 months after launch. The announcement came as TalkTalk reported revenue growth of 3.4 per cent to £1.7bn for the year to 31 March, in line with market [...]
Thomas Cook sticks with cost cutting mission May 15, 2014 SHARES in Thomas Cook took a 12.6 per cent dive yesterday, despite the holiday firm narrowing its losses as expected and raising its cost-saving targets. Analysts pointed to a cautious outlook for UK holiday sales, made worse by the ongoing difficulties in Egypt, as well as investors taking profits following a 43 per cent increase [...]
French Connection loses shape May 15, 2014 FRENCH Connection shares fell over 15 per cent yesterday after the retailer warned of a weak clothing market in north America and posted a slowdown in underlying sales growth at home. Like-for-like sales in the UK and Europe rose 5.6 per cent in the 15 weeks to 10 May. That compares with an 11 per [...]
National Grid hikes dividend on strong year May 15, 2014 ENERGY network operator National Grid yesterday unveiled “a strong first year” under new price controls set by the regulator, posting a two per cent rise in full-year profits and hiking its dividend by 2.9 per cent. “National Grid delivered a solid year of financial performance, led by a good start to our eight-year price controls [...]
High-spending tourists boost Britain’s takings from visitors May 15, 2014 THE NUMBER of overseas visitors to the UK increased substantially in the three months to March, official figures showed yesterday – but the amount they spent jumped even more sharply. A total of 6.99m visitors came to Britain in the quarter, up 10 per cent on the same period of 2013. Between them those travellers spent a [...]
Rank’s casinos are coining it May 15, 2014 Gambling company Rank expects to hit its full-year target for operating profit thanks to improving business at its bingo halls and casinos, the company’s new chief executive said yesterday. Lower customer numbers at Rank’s bingo halls had contributed to a 23 per cent fall in first-half profit, but a trading update from chief executive Henry [...]
Shanks splashes out on waste sites May 15, 2014 Waste management company Shanks is investing £200m in construction of two plants in northern England to meet growing demand from local authorities to process landfill waste. Shanks reported full-year revenue, excluding discontinued operations, of £636.4m, up four per cent from a year earlier. Underlying pre-tax profit jumped 14 per cent to £30.2m.
Frankie & Benny’s owner expanding May 15, 2014 Restaurant Group, known for its Chiquito and Frankie & Benny’s chains, said yesterday it was on track for a strong first-half performance after a healthy rise in sales. The group, which last month named managing director Danny Breithaupt as its new chief executive after long-serving boss Andrew Page retired, said sales at outlets open over [...]
