Majestic shares dumped after profit warning March 20, 2014 INVESTORS uncorked their shares in Majestic Wine yesterday after the specialist wine retailer warned that a dry spell in February sales had flattened full-year profits. Chief executive Steve Lewis said that trading conditions since the more buoyant Christmas period have been “challenging” and that with just two weeks to go until its year-end, it now [...]
Ted Baker reaps rewards from growing its overseas footprint March 20, 2014 TED BAKER’S expansion across Europe, the US and Asia has helped boost full-year profits at the quirky British fashion retailer. The group, which has 362 stores and concessions across five continents, said profits before tax and exceptional costs jumped by 26.7 per cent to £40m in the year to 25 January. Revenues were up 26.5 [...]
Portmeirion eyes new factory March 20, 2014 Portmeirion, the china-maker best known for its Botanic Garden pattern, said yesterday it considering opening a second factory in the UK after soaring demand from South Korea helped boost production at its Stoke on Trent factory to near full capacity last year. Pre-tax profits increased by 6.3 per cent to a record £7m in 2013, [...]
Derwent picks PwC as auditor March 20, 2014 Derwent London, the developer behind the Tea Building in Shoreditch and the White Collar Factory at Old Street roundabout, has changed auditor for the first time in more than a decade. The FTSE 250 firm said yesterday that PwC will replace smaller rival BDO as its auditor after it put the contract out to tender. [...]
Barratt to create 3,000 extra jobs March 20, 2014 Barratt Developments, Britain’s largest housebuilder by volume, said it plans to hire 3,000 more workers after George Osborne announced that the government will extend the Help to Buy scheme until 2020. It said it would increase the number of sites it is working on from 380 to 450 to boost building rates and that it [...]
UK residential building enjoys strong February March 20, 2014 HOUSING construction ballooned over the 12 months to February, up by nearly three quarters from the same month last year, and surging back towards pre-crisis levels. According to Barbour ABI, a firm that provides data on the construction sector, house building is the runaway success story of the last year. Though all construction work has [...]
Intu Properties raising £490m to fund swoop on Westfield centres March 20, 2014 REAL Estate fund Intu Properties yesterday launched a £488m rights issue to help fund the purchase of several shopping centres in the West Midlands. The business will use proceeds of rights issue and a new £423.8m loan to buy Derby shopping centre and Sprucefield retail park in Northern Ireland from owner Westfield. It will also [...]
High demand for London homes helps drive record sales at Savills March 20, 2014 PROPERTY agent Savills yesterday said strong demand for London properties had helped drive full year revenues to a record high. The firm, which specialises in property development, planning and valuation, said revenue grew 12 per cent to £904.8m last year, with pre-tax profit up 35 per cent to £70.1m. Its UK estate agent business, which [...]
Truck makers struggling with Europe slump March 20, 2014 COMMERCIAL vehicle production fell for the eighth month in a row in February, though the industry body said there “may be light at the end of the tunnel” following several years of weak demand following the recession. British factories produced 6,235 trucks and other commercial vehicles in the month, down 22.1 per cent on the [...]
Ryanair gets a credit rating as it prepares to tap the bond market March 20, 2014 RYANAIR was given a credit rating of BBB+ yesterday, taking the budget airline a step closer to issuing bonds. Standard & Poor’s said the rating reflected Ryanair’s “industry-leading profitability” along with the risks associated with its “reputation for providing less customer-friendly services than some of its peers”. S&P has deemed Ryanair to be three notches [...]
