HMV Canada owner Hilco in lead for stores January 20, 2013 VULTURE turnaround fund Hilco UK is poised to add to its stable of Canadian HMV stores after taking the lead in the race to salvage its bankrupt UK sibling. Hilco, which bought out HMV Canada from parent HMV group in 2011 for £2m, is currently heading a pack of around 50 suitors for the iconic [...]
Blockbuster administrators to shut 129 stores and shed staff January 20, 2013 BLOCKBUSTER, the DVD and games rental chain, is to close 129 stores of its 528 stores over the coming weeks and make 760 staff redundant, the firm’s administrators Deloitte said this weekend. These are on top of the 31 store closures that had already been decided before the retailer fell into administration last Wednesday. Deloitte [...]
Music and film industries offer concessions to keep HMV afloat January 20, 2013 THE WORLD’S biggest music and film companies are backing a takeover attempt for HMV, and are considering new supply terms to keep a rejuvenated company afloat. The likes of Universal Music and Warner Bros are understood to be exploring a range of options, such as cutting prices on CDs and DVDs or easing payment terms. [...]
Hotel Chocolat reports record full-year profit January 20, 2013 HOTEL CHOCOLAT, the upmarket chocolatier, offered some hope to Britain’s beleaguered high streets this weekend after reporting record sales and profits. The retailer and cocoa grower posted a 84 per cent leap in pre-tax profits to £5.4m on sales up six per cent to £63.8m in the year to 30 June 2012. Angus Thirlwell, co-founder [...]
White Company founder earns £6m after 14 per cent profit rise January 20, 2013 CHRISSIE RUCKER, founder of the White Company took home close to £6m last year after the home furnishings and fashion retailer reported a jump in profits. According to accounts filed this month on Companies House, the retailer’s highest paid shareholder, assumed to be Rucker, earned £5.65m. The company saw profits rise to £11m in the [...]
Asking prices back on the up as 2013 rolls in January 20, 2013 A BUOYANT London housing market led UK asking prices back into growth in January, data revealed this morning. London’s homeowners added 3.6 per cent onto their asking prices during January, Rightmove said, capping off a healthy 9.6 per cent – or £16,492 – increase over the year. This robust activity in the capital drove the [...]
Household budgets still tightly squeezed despite slight easing January 20, 2013 HOUSEHOLDS’ finances remained in a vice in January, despite a slight easing in budget pressures, according to data out this morning. Markit’s household finance index climbed to 37.7 in January, up from December’s seven-month low of 36.8 – but the index still signalled rapidly deteriorating conditions, as it remained well below the 50 value that [...]
Icy weather could make UK slip back into a triple-dip recession January 20, 2013 THE ECONOMY is likely to have shrunk in the final three months of 2012, economists warned ahead of the official data’s publication this Friday, with industrial production falling and the dominant services sector flat. And the expected rebound in the first quarter – continuing the economy’s zig-zag pattern – could be squashed by the snow, [...]
Construction output to fall this year January 20, 2013 UK CONSTRUCTION output is set to fall this year, the Construction Products Association warned today, dragging down economic growth. Chancellor George Osborne hopes to boost spending on infrastructure projects, but the CPA fears output will fall 2.2 per cent.
HMRC closing down firms left right and centre to claw in tax January 20, 2013 HER MAJESTY’S Revenue and Customs ratcheted up its tough stance on tax in the last tax year, according to data released this morning. HMRC tried to shut down 5,302 firms during the 2011-12 tax year, Wilkins Kennedy revealed, an explosion of 57 per cent compared to 2010-11’s 3,367 applications. “When businesses run into trouble, often [...]
