Provident Financial grows full year profits on credit card sales February 26, 2013 SUB-PRIME lender Provident Financial posted a 12 per cent rise in full-year profit yesterday, boosted by strong growth at Vanquis Bank which provides credit cards to punters turned down by mainstream banks. The company also said it was increasing its medium-term customer growth target for Vanquis in the UK. Provident Financial hopes to have between [...]
Insurer LV= hit by British rain February 26, 2013 THE BUSINESS formerly known as Liverpool Victoria yesterday shrugged off the wet weather to unveil strong year-end growth at its general insurance arm. Profits at LV=’s core underwriting business fell from £30m to £5m following heavy weather-related claims. But total year-end operating profit rose 53 per cent to £117m thanks to strong investment returns. LV=, the UK’s third [...]
Fleeing banker loses appeal February 26, 2013 THE SUPREME court yesterday rejected Kazakh fugitive Mukhtar Ablyazov’s final appeal, allowing creditors to start enforcement proceedings to recover $2bn (£1.2bn) he fraudulently took from BTA Bank. They will begin with £40m worth of UK properties the former bank chairman owns in the UK. Ablyazov fled to the UK after investigations were launched in 2009, [...]
Whitbread says rivals will step up their game February 26, 2013 WHITBREAD warned yesterday that it expected a more competitive environment this year as two of its biggest rivals “get their houses in order” and recover from recent setbacks. The FTSE 100 group has performed well over the past year as customers trade down to its more affordable Premier Inn hotel rooms and Costa Coffee expands [...]
Overseas visits bring £4.5bn to high street February 26, 2013 OVERSEAS tourists spent a record £18.5bn during their visits to the UK in 2011, with more than a quarter going into the tills of high street shops and department stores. Research released today by the UK’s main tourist body VisitBritain revealed that 18m foreign visitors spent £4.5bn in UK shops in 2011, up seven per [...]
Slowdown for retail growth February 26, 2013 THE PACE of growth in retail sales continued to decline in February, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said yesterday. A majority of eight per cent of retailers said sales were up in the second month of 2013, according to CBI numbers, down from the 17 per cent majority seen in January, and under the 13 per cent [...]
Analyst Views | Did the trading update change your outlook on whitbread? February 26, 2013 JAMES HOLLINS INVESTEC Whitbread’s fourth quarter like-for-like revenue was 2.7 per cent, below our 4.7 per cent forecast… Full year results are on track to be in line with expectations, according to the statement. However, given the unattractive valuation multiples, we retain our “sell” stance. RICHARD HUNTER HARGREAVES LANSDOWN This has been a company which [...]
Horsemeat fear sends burger sales plunging February 26, 2013 SUPERMARKET sales of frozen burgers and ready meals have plummeted since the horsemeat scandal reared its ugly head last month, industry data shows. Market researcher Kantar Worldpanel yesterday said frozen burger sales fell by 43 per cent and frozen ready meals declined by 13 per cent in the four weeks to 17 February, as retailers [...]
Morrisons is among the winners of the ongoing saga February 26, 2013 BRAND INDEX IKEA now joins the long list of brands to get hit by the horsemeat scandal. We won’t have numbers until later today but judging from what happened to Tesco, the Swedish group may well have a problem. The first time I wrote on this subject back in January, I said it might turn [...]
Ashley offloads a £100m stake in Sports Direct February 26, 2013 SHARES in Sports Direct fell six per cent yesterday after founder Mike Ashley sold £100m of his majority stake in the sports retailer, taking the market by surprise. Ashley sold 25m shares at 400p, a seven per cent discount to Monday’s closing price, in an accelerated bookbuilding run by Goldman Sachs. The book was two [...]
