Thorntons to close 120 shops June 28, 2011 Thorntons said it would close a third of its own stores over three years as tough trading continued to hit sales. The chocolatier said it would close a minimum of 120 stores over three years at a cost of £4.2m to £4.8m. “We will seek to secure a franchisee in the majority of locations where [...]
PhosAgro sets London listing price range June 28, 2011 Russian fertiliser producer PhosAgro it had set an indicative price range of $13 to $16.50 per global depositary receipt (GDR) for a listing it hopes will value the company at as much as $6.1bn (£3.8bn). The price range is equivalent to $390 to $495 per share, the company said, giving it an equity valuation of [...]
StanChart on course for record profit after cuts June 28, 2011 Growth in Hong Kong and other key Asian markets have put Standard Chartered on track for record profits in the first half of this year, up over 10 per cent on a year earlier. The Asia-focussed bank said income and profits were up over 10 per cent in the first five months of the year [...]
Jane Norman plunges into administration June 27, 2011 Fashion retailer Jane Norman has plunged into administration. The company said it had failed to find a buyer for the business after sales had plummeted. Administrators have been appointed to the company from accountancy group Zolfo Cooper. Debenhams and Edinburgh Woollen Mill have been linked with takeover bids for Jane Norman, which employs 1,600 people [...]
FTSE up but investors jittery over Greek crisis June 27, 2011 The FTSE 100 was up this morning but investors remained wary ahead of yet another chapter in the Greek financial crisis. Greek MPs are due to debate a fresh package of austerity measures later. The euro slipped as confidence in the eurozone continued to be sapped by Greece’s debt pile. Meanwhile France’s Christine Lagarde was [...]
Betfair chief heads for exit June 27, 2011 Betfair is on the hunt for a new chief executive today after David Yu announced that he would leave after ten years The company said Yu “does not intend to renew his current contract”. The deal ends in October next year. From a float eight months ago at £13 a share, which valued the company [...]
House prices drop in June June 27, 2011 House prices in England and Wales have edged lower this month to show their biggest annual fall since October 2009, a monthly survey from property data company Hometrack showed. Average house prices dropped by 0.1 per cent in June, continuing a pattern of modest falls so far this year and taking the year-on-year decline to [...]
Pound falls to five-month low against dollar June 27, 2011 Sterling was subdued near five month lows against the dollar, as investors bought safe-haven currencies with risk appetite broadly suffering on mounting worries about the European debt crisis ahead of a key Greek vote on reforms. Sterling was also hurt by brewing speculation over whether the Bank of England could resort to more monetary stimulus. [...]
Ocado sees slim profit as it seals Carrefour deal June 27, 2011 Online grocery delivery company Ocado has announced a deal to sell products supplied by French supermarket giant Carrefour, while reporting a small half-year profit. Its new Carrefour range will be in addition to its Waitrose lines. In the six months to 15 May, Ocado made a pre-tax profit of £200,000, compared with a loss of [...]
Unilever announces shake-up to drive growth June 24, 2011 Consumer goods group Unilever is to focus on product categories rather than geographic regions in a management shakeup the Anglo-Dutch group says is aimed at driving growth especially in emerging markets. The maker of Dove soap and Knorr soups is to scrap its three-region structure and single-product category heads, with new Chief operating officer Harish [...]
