CVC and RBS in Samonsite sale January 14, 2013 PRIVATE equity firm CVC Capital Partners and Royal Bank of Scotland have sold a combined $290m (£180m) stake in Hong Kong-listed luggage maker Samsonite International, according to a term sheet of the deal. The 138.3m shares were sold at HK$16.20 each, a 4.9 per cent discount to Samsonite’s Friday’s close of HK$17.04, the terms showed. [...]
BT app targets mobile calls January 14, 2013 BT has launched a challenge to mobile phone operators, launching a smartphone service that allows phone calls over the internet. SmartTalk, which the telecoms firm announced yesterday, allows BT customers to make calls which are then charged to their landline account, as if the calls were from a home phone. But the launch of the [...]
Auditors: like for like sales distort outlook January 14, 2013 AUDITORS today warned against the retail sector’s “over-reliance” on like-for-like trading figures, saying they are not always consistent nor directly linked to profitability. Like-for-like sales are a key measure used by retailers that strips out of the effects of expansion, shop closures and other distorting events to help investors better understand how the underlying business [...]
Hobbs reports surge in sales at Christmas January 14, 2013 HOBBS, the upmarket womenswear chain, enjoyed a surge in sales over the Christmas trading period, boosted by a record online trading. The chain said total sales rose 16.4 per cent in the 10 weeks to 5 January, driven by a 60 per cent jump in online sales. That compared with a six per cent rise [...]
Big screens and popular designs are helping Samsung take a bite out of Apple’s smartphone lead January 14, 2013 TAKE note. 2013 has already been dubbed the year of the phablet – the hideous nickname given to oversized mobile phones that are closer in form factor to a tablet computer. This year’s Consumer Electronics Show featured new phablets from the likes of Lenovo, Sony and Huawei. Some have gone so far as to call [...]
Retail shares hammered by short sellers January 14, 2013 LEADING hedge funds are making enormous bets against the health of the UK high street, according to figures supplied to City A.M. by data provider Markit. Home Retail Group, the parent company of Argos and Homebase, has more than one in five of its shares out on loan ahead of Thursday’s interim management statement. Short sellers borrow shares [...]
Murdoch takes control of Sky Deutschland January 14, 2013 RUPERT Murdoch’s News Corp tightened its grip on Sky Deutschland yesterday, saying it would raise its stake in the German pay-TV company to 54.5 per cent from just under half, buying up €347m (£288.6m) of new stock in a capital increase. The move comes as media conglomerate News Corp separates its publishing and entertainment assets [...]
Boodles Ball back with smashing set of boxers January 14, 2013 ANY high rollers who have lost a pound or several to the bookies recently, will be interested to hear of the bashing that Balthazar Fabricius, founder of bespoke bookmaker Fitzdares, is lining himself up for at this year’s Boodles Boxing Ball. The biennial ball, held in aid of Starlight children’s foundation, has just announced the [...]
Taylor Wimpey hails pick-up in house buying January 14, 2013 TAYLOR Wimpey said yesterday it expects profits for the year to be at the top end of expectations as consumer sentiment in the housing market shows signs of improvement. The housebuilder said it expected to report that group operating profit rose by over 40 per cent in 2012 when it reports its annual results in [...]
Property firm Hammerson hires Sainsbury’s head as chairman January 14, 2013 DAVID Tyler, the chairman of Sainsbury’s, is to take on another FTSE 100 role, after it was announced yesterday he will replace John Nelson as chairman of property giant Hammerson. Tyler, who has also been a non-executive director at luxury group Burberry for more than a decade, will join the board with immediate effect on [...]
