London is key to Travelodge’s rapid growth ambitions April 29, 2010 TRAVELODGE’S London hotels helped the firm reap an eight per cent rise in revenue for the first quarter of this year. Hotels in the capital saw a surge in revenue of 16 per cent, compared to just four per cent across the rest of the country. The firm says it is now on track to [...]
Debenhams lingerie sales lifted by Carrie Bradshaw April 29, 2010 Sales of sultry lingerie among older women are booming in Britain thanks to the glamorous 40-somethings of “Sex and the City 2” and “Cougar Town”, retail chain Debenhams reported yesterday. The hit television show, and forthcoming feature film, featuring the bedroom antics of women in their 40s and 50s and their much younger partners, is [...]
HMV disappoints but says its summer will be strong April 29, 2010 HMV, the music, DVD, games and books retailer posted disappointing fourth quarter sales sending its shares down. The group, which runs over 400 stores under its own name as well as 313 Waterstone’s bookstores, said its like-for-like sales slipped 13.2 per cent in the 16 weeks to 24 April. Its stock tumbled 8.6 per cent [...]
Burger King tops Wall St forecasts on good margins April 29, 2010 Burger King reported a quarterly profit that edged past Wall Street’s expectations yesterday, helped by better-than-expected margins. The second-biggest US hamburger chain after McDonald’s had warned in March that bad weather in the central and eastern United States kept diners away during the quarter and it expected lower revenue and restaurant margins for the period. [...]
Sir Nigel Rudd resigns as chair of Pendragon April 29, 2010 SERIAL non-executive Sir Nigel Rudd, the man who co-founded and built up Williams Holdings, is to step down as chairman of motor dealer Pendragon, which was spun out of the conglomerate two decades ago. Rudd said yesterday he had been considering retiring from Pendragon for some time but had been prevented from leaving until now [...]
FTSE boosted by strong results from UK companies and Greek debt rescue April 29, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index rose yesterday, buoyed by consensus beating results from UK corporates and as anxiety over the Eurozone’s debt crisis eased, though BP sank as a major oil spill worsens. The FTSE 100 closed up 31.23 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 5,617.84, but the index remains down 1.9 per cent on the [...]
Wall Street hits high on robust corporate earnings April 29, 2010 US stocks chalked up their best day in nearly two months yesterday as investors welcomed a string of robust earnings reports, while Greece appeared close to a bailout deal, easing fears about a wider sovereign debt crisis. News that Greece was readying severe austerity measures to secure a multibillion euro aid package spurred widespread relief, [...]
Hammerson says property market fragile April 29, 2010 ANGLO-FRENCH property investor Hammerson remains cautious about the outlook for the retail and commercial property markets, due to the weak economic recovery. “The economic recovery in our markets remains fragile, and uncertainties remain, not least regarding the level of unemployment and the prospect of further tax rises,” the company said yesterday . In the UK, [...]
AstraZeneca hikes guidance April 29, 2010 ASTRAZENECA’s first quarter profits soared by 29 per cent, helped by sales of its cholesterol drug Crestor and schizophrenia medicine Seroquel. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker smashed expectations and has upped its profit target for the full-year following the sharp rise in earnings. Emerging market sales were also behind the strong results, the company added. “We saw [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 29, 2010 GLAXOSMITHKLINE Citi Group Global Markets maintains a “buy” recommendation on drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as it says the group’s sustained delivery of top-line growth should allow expansion into a number of treatments. Citi remains bullish on GSK’s opportunity to drive revenue growth through the consumer business. BP Despite the Macondo spill, Bank of America Merrill [...]
