Analyst Views: Did outgoing chief Justin King’s last set of results at Sainsbury’s deliver? May 7, 2014 KEITH BOWMAN | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN In all, the departing chief executive is again defying the doubters. The retailer has made clear progress under his leadership, with an ongoing strategy being left for the company to pursue. Nonetheless, with the sector remaining highly competitive… analyst opinion continues to point to a “hold”. JAMES GRZINIC | JEFFERIES [...]
Kent Reliance is back in £600m OneSavings IPO May 7, 2014 ONESAVINGS Bank is floating on the main London market, the private equity-backed lender said yesterday, with an expected value of £500m to £600m. Investor JC Flowers took a major stake in the Kent Reliance Building Society in a recapitalisation deal in 2010, restructuring and renaming the firm. It hopes OneSavings’ range of specialist lending brands, [...]
Buyers flock to buy a slice of Battersea May 7, 2014 NEARLY all 254 homes planned for the second phase of the Battersea Power Station development have been snapped up by buyers eager to get a slice of the landmark building, with 75 per cent of them British residents, its owners said yesterday. The Battersea Power Station Development Company said it has taken reservations for 95 [...]
King stock gets crushed as app spending slows May 7, 2014 CANDY Crush Saga developer King Digital saw its share price tumble far below its IPO pricing yesterday after disappointing investors with its first quarter results. Revenue beat expectations at $607m (£357.8m) and profit rose nearly 150 per cent at $127.2m, but the number of players paying for in-app purchases declined from 12.2m last quarter to [...]
Old Labour is back with new black and white ad May 7, 2014 NEW Labour RIP – Ed Miliband is so intent on turning the party back to old Labour values that even its election broadcasts are now in black and white. The party’s latest broadcast, released ahead of the looming local and European elections, is set around the government’s cabinet table. But class war seems to be [...]
The conscious uncoupling of King and Coupe May 7, 2014 WHEN Justin King finally steps down as head honcho at Sainsbury’s in July, he might well experience some separation anxiety from commercial director (and soon to be CEO) Mike Coupe. The pair were delivering the supermarket’s preliminary results at their HQ in Holborn yesterday, when they both heard the call of nature at the same [...]
ITV makes $360m push into original reality TV May 7, 2014 BROADCASTER ITV continued its push into original content yesterday with the $360m (£212.2m) acquisition of a stake in Leftfield Entertainment – the producer of hit US reality TV shows including Pawn Stars, Real Housewives of New Jersey and American Restoration. The acquisition comes as ITV chief executive Adam Crozier finds himself in increasing hot water [...]
FinnCap and Numis cheer profit boost as equity activity rises May 7, 2014 CITY brokers Numis and FinnCap yesterday said London’s buoyant equity markets helped drive stellar profit increases at both companies, underscoring a turnaround in fortunes for the capital’s broking community. Numis, which worked on floats including AO World, McColl’s and Arrow Global this year, said revenues rose 59 per cent to £51.5m and statutory pre-tax profits [...]
Carl Icahn laments modest results May 7, 2014 ICAHN Enterprises, the listed holding company controlled by billionaire investor Carl Icahn, yesterday reported a loss for the first quarter of this year. The business, listed on the Nasdaq, said it recorded a net loss of $29m for the three months ending March, versus net income of $277m a year ago. The business invests across [...]
Wetherspoons warns on April pub slowdown May 7, 2014 JD WETHERSPOON yesterday warned that slowing sales in April had left it cautious concerning its final quarter, despite reporting higher third-quarter sales. The pub chain said that sales for the 13 weeks to 27 April at pubs open over a year rose 6.2 per cent, although April had missed its own expectations. “As a result [...]
