Sofa giant DFS buys smaller rival Dwell to lure younger shoppers August 20, 2014 Sofa specialist DFS said yesterday it had bought Dwell, the furniture group that was on the brink of collapse last year. DFS chief executive Ian Filby said Dwell was a “contemporary” brand and would help the retailer attract “younger, more urban consumers” it has not traditionally targeted. The acquisition comes after DFS signed a deal [...]
Shortlist for northern rail franchise picked August 19, 2014 THE SHORTLIST of companies vying to run all rail services in the north of England was announced by the government yesterday. The Department for Transport said FirstGroup, Keolis and Stagecoach were being considered to run the TransPennine Express (TPE) franchise from 2016. TPE is currently run by a joint venture between FirstGroup and Keolis. The [...]
Tesco-backed coffee shop chain Harris + Hoole to close six stores August 19, 2014 Harris + Hoole confirmed yesterday its decision to shut six stores, raising questions over its performance less than two years after Tesco’s investment in the coffee shop chain. The group sparked controversy last year after it emerged that Tesco owned a stake despite its independent guise. Tesco bought a stake with the view of introducing [...]
Persimmon share price up as housing market demand boosts profits August 19, 2014 Persimmon became the latest housebuilder to announce another leap in profits yesterday as rosier housing market conditions helped lift sales rates and prices in the first half of the year. Britains’s largest housebuilder completed 6,408 property sales in the six months to 30 June, up 28 per cent on last year. The average selling price [...]
Analyst Views: What did you think of Persimmon’s performance in the past six months? August 19, 2014 RACHAEL APPLEGATE | PANMURE GORDON Persimmon has delivered a positive set of interim results, with units, average selling prices, margins and profits moving ahead. The group reports a continued improvement in current trade and boasts a healthy level of forward orders. We have nudged up our forecasts following this announcement. RICHARD HUNTER | [...]
Supermarkets spark Bank Holiday petrol price war by slashing costs August 18, 2014 Britain’s leading supermarkets have fired the latest salvo in a fuel price war after slashing prices at their pumps today in a bid to win over customers ahead of the Bank Holiday. Asda was the first to take action, announcing that it would cut the cost of petrol by up to two pence per litre [...]
Bovis Homes share price up as housebuilder delivers record property sales August 18, 2014 Bovis Homes revealed a 166 per cent leap in first half pre-tax profits as Britain’s buoyant property market helped the housebuilder to sell a record number of homes. The FTSE 250 company, which builds most of its homes in the south of England but outside London, completed 1,487 property sales in the six months to [...]
Middle Eastern buyers seize half of £10m-plus homes in Mayfair August 18, 2014 Middle Eastern buyers have been ramping up their presence in the capital and now account for half of all purchases of £10m-plus homes in Mayfair each year, new figures released yesterday show. According to findings from Mayfair and West End property specialist Wetherell, buyers from the Middle East made up 10 per cent of all [...]
Homes at East Village finish August 18, 2014 PROPERTY giant Lend Lease said yesterday it had handed over the last phase of homes at East Village, which once housed athletes during the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, to the Olympic Delivery Authority. The development includes a total of 2,818 homes. Some 1,250 homes are already lived in after the first residents moved in last [...]
Britain on track to spend more than £100bn online this year August 18, 2014 A surge in the number of Britons booking their next holiday abroad helped online retail sales bounce back in July after a disappointing first half of the year. Consumers spent an estimated £8.1bn online in July, a 14 per cent jump on the same month last year, according to figures published yesterday by e-tail industry [...]
