Resolution eyes admin savings November 9, 2011 TAKEOVER specialist Resolution unveiled an outsourcing agreement aimed at boosting planned cost savings by 27 per cent and said financial turmoil in the Eurozone had brought it closer to doing deals there. A 15-year deal to outsource the back-office functions of Resolution’s British life insurance unit to Diligentia, part of Tata Consulting, will deliver yearly [...]
Deals website snaps up rival November 9, 2011 SALES at Moneysupermarket.com rose strongly in the third quarter as the price comparison firm revealed it will pay up to £11m for a 51 per cent share in Local Daily Deals (LDD). It has handed over £1m initially with more cash due to follow over the next three years depending on the performance of LDD. [...]
Supergroup’s sales pick up November 9, 2011 THE OWNER of the Superdry fashion label said it was confident its distribution capability would return to normal levels later this month, as it reported a surge in second quarter sales. Last month SuperGroup, one of last year’s most successful stock market flotations, warned that its full-year profits would be hit after problems with its [...]
Sainsbury’s boss defends growth plan as sales rise November 9, 2011 SAINSBURY’S chief executive Justin King said the supermarket chain shouldn’t be “apologising for investing in the UK economy” as he defended the group’s decision to open more than 1.4m square feet of new store space this year. The UK’s third biggest supermarket has been driving an ambitious expansion strategy and spent £682m in the first [...]
Cotton prices hit Macy’s and Ralph Lauren November 9, 2011 RISING cotton prices and other costs took a toll on quarterly margins at Macy’s and Ralph Lauren, though both companies still beat Wall Street earnings estimates as Ralph Lauren’s revenue exceeded expectations and Macy’s sales gains continued to outpace those of its rivals. Macy’s, whose fleet includes about 810 namesake stores and the upscale Bloomingdale’s [...]
Kesa coughs up £50m to dump Comet November 9, 2011 KESA Electricals was yesterday forced to pay a £50m dowry to offload Comet, its struggling British electricals chain. OpCapita, the restructuring specialist that is buying Comet, paid a headline consideration of just £2 for the loss-making chain. But in reality, Kesa – which is also taking on Comet’s €45.9m pension deficit – is paying a [...]
High street electricals: a mug’s game November 9, 2011 IN the end, they couldn’t even give it away. As well as taking on Comet’s pension scheme, which is in deficit to the tune of €45.9m, Kesa is having to pay a £50m dowry to buyer OpCapita to offload its ailing electricals chain. Buried deep in the terms and conditions of the contract is a [...]
AB InBev flourishes while rival Carlsberg is hit by Russian woes November 9, 2011 Anheuser-Busch InBev and Carlsberg showed sharply contrasting fortunes in the third quarter, the former persuading US and Brazilian beer drinkers to swallow higher prices while the latter suffers a tax-rise hangover in Russia. AB InBev, the world’s biggest brewer and maker of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck’s, persuaded increasingly affluent Brazilians to drink higher priced [...]
Skyscraper put on ice November 9, 2011 LONDON property developer Great Portland Estates said it is unlikely to secure a major letting to begin construction of its planned 100 Bishopsgate skyscraper in the City for at least six months. The group has a joint venture with Canadian property firm Brookfield to build the proposed office tower in London’s financial district, but pre-lets [...]
Hannover Re beats estimates and says it is on track for year November 9, 2011 HANNOVER Re beat expectations with net profit of €163.2m (£138.3m) in the third quarter, after investment income declined by less than expected in the euro debt crisis. The world’s third-biggest reinsurer had been expected to post quarterly net profit of €134m, sharply lower than the €271m of the year-earlier quarter, when earnings were boosted by [...]
