Pinot Noir Madam? Aldi challenges retail rivals by launching online wine shop January 19, 2016 Discounter Aldi has stepped up competition with its retailing rivals after launching its first online shopping service today selling over 90 different wines and champagnes by the case. The German retailer's new online wine cellar includes best sellers from its in-store ranges as well as a new range of "fine boutique wines", called the Lot Series, available only [...]
Private equity firms dine out on restaurant chains January 19, 2016 The restaurants and bar sector was a veritable feeding frenzy of deals last year, with more choice of companies to buy than an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. Robust trading conditions thanks to improved consumer spending provided an opportune time for private equity companies to sell long-term investments to rival buyout firms with cash to spend. CBPE’s sale of [...]
UK footfall slumps in December as Britons spend Christmas online January 18, 2016 Britain's high streets suffered their biggest drop in footfall in over a year in December, as Britons shunned stores in favour of buying Christmas presents online. Traffic fell by four per cent year-on-year, which is far greater than the drop of 1.8 per cent in December 2014 and marked the biggest drop since November that same [...]
Lack of finance keeps smaller housebuilders trailing behind their bigger rivals January 18, 2016 Profits at the top UK housebuilders may have hit a pre-crisis high but their smaller rivals are still struggling to recover as funding for larger projects remains scarce, new research suggests. A construction boom has helped profit margins at larger housebuilders reach an average of 11.7 per cent for 2015 compared to their 2007 peak of 11.2 [...]
Equistone takes £100m prime cut of Argentinian steak house Gaucho January 17, 2016 The Gaucho chain of Argentinian steak restaurants has been snapped up by a hungry buyout firm in a deal thought to be worth around £100m. Equistone, the private equity firm previously owned by Barclays, is said to have beaten other interested suitors to buy a majority stake in the chain. Gaucho’s founder, the Dutch entrepreneur Zeev [...]
House prices: UK outpaced London as prime central property prices dropped last year January 14, 2016 House prices in central London fell by 8.7 per cent last year as higher stamp duty bills hit demand for £1.5m-plus homes, new research shows. Estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains said prices dropped sharply in the capital’s five most expensive boroughs, dragging the annual rate of growth in London to 5.6 per cent, [...]
Australia’s Wesfarmers in advanced talks to buy Home Retail Group’s Homebase for £340m January 13, 2016 Home Retail Group last night signalled the break-up of its retail empire after revealing that it is in advanced talks to sell Homebase to one of Australia’s biggest listed companies for £340m. The Perth-based Wesfarmers, which operates department stores and supermarkets as well as coal production facilities, began talks with Home Retail in September before [...]
Fitch Ratings upbeat on UK housing market for 2016 despite slowdown in growth January 13, 2016 Credit ratings agency Fitch predicts house prices will continue to rise in 17 of the word’s 22 leading markets including the UK this year, buoyed by low mortgage rates, GDP growth and improving employment. However the rate of growth is expected to stay the same or drop in most countries as housing affordability becomes even [...]
Dunelm share price drops as the homeware chain blames the weather for disappointing Christmas sales January 13, 2016 Dunelm's share price has tumbled nearly five per cent after the homeware chain blamed the warm winter weather for disappointing second quarter sales, placing it among the retail losers this Christmas. The family-owned listed company, which has 151 stores selling everything from curtains to sofas, said like-for-like sales slid by 0.8 per cent in the 13 weeks to 2 January after stripping out the impact of [...]
Retailers sound alarm bells after one of toughest Christmas periods on record January 13, 2016 UK retailers have suffered one of their worst Christmas trading periods on record, according to new research showing a surge in the number of companies struggling to make ends meet. Turnaround specialist Begbies Traynor said 26,013 UK retailers entered the year in significant financial distress – nearly double the amount recorded in the fourth quarter [...]
