Supermarkets enjoy a rare lift during summer September 3, 2012 THE RETURN of the warmer summer weather together with the Olympics and the use of vouchers helped grocers enjoy their best trading performance of the year last month, in a rare bright spot amid the gloom across the rest of the retail industry. According to the latest figures from Nielsen, grocery sales in the four [...]
Cupid targets investors’ hearts with substantial revenue boost September 3, 2012 ONLINE dating firm Cupid yesterday announced a 51 per cent rise in first-half revenues to £38.6m, boosted by substantial growth in new markets. The Edinburgh-based company attributed the performance to effective use of the advertising budget for its sites, which include Be Naughty and Mature Dating UK. “Over the past six months we have taken the [...]
Holidaymakers facing steeper hotel bills in popular hotspots September 3, 2012 THE AVERAGE price of a hotel room worldwide increased by nearly two-thirds in the first half of 2012, though the Eurozone’s economic troubles have kept a lid on hotel bills on the continent. The Hotels Price Index (HPI), a survey by online accommodation provider Hotels.com, revealed Monte Carlo as the most expensive city for UK [...]
Campari snaps up Appleton rum producer September 3, 2012 CAMPARI, the Italian drinks company, said yesterday it has agreed to buy Jamaica’s Lascelles deMercado & Co for $414.7 m (£261m), marking its first foray into the rum market. The family-controlled group, best known for its eponymous bitter orange-flavoured aperitif, said it will buy an 81.4 per cent stake in Lascelles from Caribbean conglomerate CL [...]
Analyst Views | Should investors continue their love affair with Cupid? September 3, 2012 IVOR JONES NUMIS When Cupid’s revenues are a multiple of the current level we expect Cupid to be bought out, hopefully at a premium valuation. But in the meantime there is long road of organic growth opportunity ahead. PAUL MORLAND PEEL HUNT Cupid continues to deliver excellent revenue growth. Adjusted earnings of £5.9m was ahead [...]
Factories across world are hit by weak demand September 3, 2012 MANUFACTURING sectors are in decline throughout Europe, while factories in emerging markets are also being hit by the weaker demand from the global economy. A range of purchasing managers’ indices (PMI) released by Markit yesterday showed that manufacturing is still contracting in the vast majority of surveyed nations. Across the Eurozone, manufacturing sank to a [...]
Conde Nast bucks publishing trend to deliver profit boost September 3, 2012 VANITY FAIR magazine publisher Conde Nast soared to a 14 per cent increase in pre-tax profits last year – boosted by a surge in UK turnover, according to accounts obtained yesterday. The firm, which publishes Tatler, GQ, Vogue and Glamour magazines, took pre-tax profits to £17.3m versus £15.1m a year previously. The strong performance from [...]
Head of Pirate Bay arrested September 3, 2012 CAMBODIAN authorities have arrested a co-founder of Pirate Bay, one of the world’s biggest free file-sharing websites, and are considering a request from Sweden to send him there, where he faces jail for breaching copyright laws. Gottfrid Svartholm Warg has been living in Cambodia for some time. An appeals court in Sweden sentenced three others [...]
Westminster think-tank calls for end to national pay bargaining September 3, 2012 PAYING government workers the same as local private sector employees could save £6.3bn and create more than a quarter of a million new jobs, a Westminster think-tank claims this morning. Public sector workers are often paid considerably more than in equivalent private sector jobs in their area, Policy Exchange says. The report argues that wages [...]
Endorphins high after Shard drop September 3, 2012 FEEL-GOOD fear hormones were flying round the City yesterday after a team of daredevil volunteers – including the Duke of York Prince Andrew – abseiled down the outside of Europe’s tallest building, the Shard. Joining the Prince at the top of the 1,016ft tower in the early hours of yesterday morning were a host of [...]
