City Views | Do you order takeaways online? September 26, 2012 ALAN AITKEN DST OUTPUT Absolutely – being able to order food online is incredibly convenient. I use it for orders both at home and at work. It is so simple. TONY JONES FRIENDS LIFE INSURANCE Yes – whenever I am at home, I will always order online. I like being able to track my order [...]
Vitamins and beauty site help drive jump in Hut Group profits September 26, 2012 THE HUT Group, the online retailer that counts Sir Terry Leahy and Sir Stuart Rose among its backers, posted soaring sales yesterday boosted by two acquisitions earlier in the year. Sales rose 54 per cent to £66.2m in the six months to 30 June as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose to £4m [...]
Esprit shares slide as profits miss estimates September 26, 2012 STRUGGLING fashion retailer Esprit saw shares tumble seven per cent on the Hong Kong stock exchange yesterday after it reported full-year profits that missed expectations. Esprit is trying to restructure its business, last year launching a four-year HK$18bn (£1.4bn) turnaround plan and hiring supermodel Gisele Bundschen to front its global campaign. The group yesterday said [...]
Strong start to autumn season for house of Fraser September 26, 2012 HOUSE of Fraser yesterday said its customers have put summer behind them and are stocking up their winter wardrobes as the department store group posted a “strong start” to the second half of the year. The group, part-owned by Scottish tycoon Sir Tom Hunter, posted a 4.6 per cent rise in like-for-like sales in the [...]
Shepherd Neame toasts success September 26, 2012 Shepherd Neame, the Kent-based brewer of the Spitfire and Asahi ales, yesterday reported record sales and a 40 per cent leap in profits to £9.1m in the year to July. The company bought seven pubs and hotels over the period, leading to a 10 per cent rise in turnover to £133m. Chief executive Jonathan Neame [...]
Imagination falls on Texas fears September 26, 2012 Shares in British chip designer Imagination Technologies took an 8.6 per cent hit yesterday after key partner Texas Instruments said it would stop making processors for smartphones and tablets. Investec said the move from Texas Instruments – which uses Imagination designs for chips in devices such as Amazon’s Kindle Fire – could hit profits by [...]
Topps Tiles predicts £13m profit September 26, 2012 Pre-tax profit at Topps Tiles will be roughly £13m, it predicted in its pre-close report yesterday, in line with analysts’ consensus. Revenues at the firm grew from £175.5m in 2011, to £177m, the report said. This growth reflected a slowdown in the pace of decline in like-for-like sales – which shrunk two per cent to [...]
Experian’s plan to sell price site to Ybrant fails September 26, 2012 CREDIT-CHECKING firm Experian said yesterday its long-awaited sale of PriceGrabber has fallen through, after purchaser Ybrant failed to close the transaction. Experian, which announced the $175m (£108.4m) sale in May, said it considers Ybrant to be in breach of contract for not sealing the deal by the final deadline. The UK office of India-based digital [...]
TalkTalk tops tables for Ofcom tiffs but overall complaints fall September 26, 2012 TALKTALK has kept its title as the most complained-about communications firm for the sixth consecutive quarter, watchdog Ofcom revealed yesterday, though the number of customer grievances with the industry overall is falling. TalkTalk, whose customer base fell three per cent to 4.05m in the last quarter, yesterday conceded “there is still work to do” after [...]
Liontrust roars to asset success after Walker Crips boosts funds September 26, 2012 FUND manager Liontrust Asset Management yesterday reported an annual tripling of net inflows for the first half of this year as its recent acquisition of Walker Crips Asset Management sent assets under management soaring to £2.36bn. Net inflows for the first half of this year hit £181m compared to £59m for the first six months [...]
