Asia and North America fuels profits at SSP November 27, 2014 TRAVEL catering giant SSP delivered a strong jump in profits in its maiden full-year results since floating this summer, fuelled by growth across its businesses in North America and Asia Pacific. The group, which runs travel concessions for retailers such as Marks & Spencer, said underlying pre-tax profits, which exclude IPO costs, rose 61.4 per [...]
Shaftesbury bolstered by West End property investment boom November 27, 2014 SHAFTESBURY has seen the value of its West End estate soar over the past year, thanks to booming investor interest in London’s prime property market. The FTSE 250 landlord, which owns hundreds of properties around Carnaby Street, Covent Garden, Chinatown, and Soho, posted a 25.7 per cent jump in net asset value per share to [...]
Poundland sits pretty after new make-up launch November 27, 2014 THE ECONOMY may be improving, but Poundland’s booming popularity is proof shoppers are sticking to recession-born habits of seeking out a bargain, the company said as it posted a jump in first-half profits. The value retailer enjoyed a 34.2 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £12.6m in the six months to 28 September, beating [...]
Thomas Cook’s shares dive as Green takes off November 26, 2014 THOMAS COOK suffered its biggest share price slump in two years yesterday after investors were left reeling from the abrupt departure of chief executive Harriet Green, just two years into her turnaround of the world’s oldest travel company. Shares plunged as much as 20 per cent yesterday in reaction to the news and a warning [...]
Patisserie Holdings’ chairman Luke Johnson takes the biscuit November 26, 2014 Patisserie Holdings’ chairman tells Kasmira Jefford about Britain’s obsession with cake. The Great British Bake-Off inspired an army of cake-lovers to pick up their wooden spoons and whip up sponges and scones. But it has also driven Brits with less time for baking into Patisserie Valerie stores, its owner Luke Johnson said yesterday. [...]
Britvic sweetens UK with launch of French syrup November 26, 2014 BRITVIC is planning to launch its French-based syrup brand Teisseire in the UK next year as it steps up its exposure to the premium drinks market and targets adults with a sweet tooth. The Robinsons and Fruit Shoot maker said it would launch the drink on supermarket shelves as well as in coffee chains, bars [...]
Directors slam BG Group boss’s £25m pay deal for new CEO Helge Lund November 25, 2014 The Institute of Directors (IoD) yesterday slammed BG Group’s plans to hand new chief executive Helge Lund a £25m pay deal, warning that it threatened to damage the reputation of British business if approved by shareholders next month. Simon Walker, the lobby group’s director general, called the controversial pay-package “excessive, inflammatory and contrary to the [...]
French market woes weigh on Kingfisher profit November 25, 2014 NO AMOUNT of DIY could help fix Kingfisher’s sales performance in the third quarter as France’s weak consumer economy continued to weigh on Europe’s largest home improvement retailer. Kingfisher posted a 3.6 per cent drop in sales to £2.8bn, saying the weak French market, where it traded as Castorama and Brico Depot, had offset a [...]
Edreams’ ticketing nightmares come to an end as sales pick up November 25, 2014 SPANISH travel company eDreams Odigeo said revenues rose three per cent in the second quarter of the year, thanks to strong growth in overseas markets outside of Europe. eDreams, one of the world’s biggest online travel firms, made its debut on the Madrid stock market in April, but was forced to suspend trading on 24 [...]
JD Sports sells Bank to Hilco November 25, 2014 SHARES in JD Sports surged 3.7 per cent yesterday after the group said it had sold its loss-making fashion business Bank to focus on its other sportswear brands. The retailer said restructuring specialist Hilco Capital had bought Bank for an undisclosed sum via one of its subsidiaries. The sale should help to recover a substantial [...]
