Sales rise for UK’s resilient retailers October 10, 2011 BRITISH shops have unexpectedly recorded growing sales in the three months to September, defying the wider economic turmoil. Like-for-like retail sales were 0.3 per cent up last month, compared to the same time in 2010, data revealed this morning. And the three-month weighted average – designed to iron out monthly volatility – showed like-for-like sales [...]
Pets at Home boss to step down after eight years at helm October 10, 2011 PETS at Home boss Matt Davies will step down next year after almost two years after presiding over the sale of the firm for almost £1bn. The outgoing chief executive has been at the helm for eight years and oversaw two private equity takeovers, the most recent a £955m acquisition by KKR. The firm has [...]
Shopping channel QVC unveils first high street shop as turnover shines October 10, 2011 QVC, one of the world’s biggest shopping channels, will launch its first pop-up shop on the British high street today. The temporary Diamonique store – selling QVC’s own range of imitation diamonds – is opening in Hatton Garden today with prices ranging from £21 to £743. The new retail offering comes as the company announced [...]
Debenhams to create 6,500 Christmas jobs October 10, 2011 DEBENHAMS is to hire an extra 6,500 seasonal staff to cope with the Christmas rush, it said yesterday. The temporary workers will be employed in mid-November and cover the period to the end of the January sales. Retail is the biggest private sector employer in the UK, with around 3m people working in the industry. [...]
Kalahari back in talks with Guangdong October 10, 2011 KALAHARI Minerals confirmed yesterday that offer talks had resumed with state-owned China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corp. CGNPC is expected to relaunch its 270p a share offer, valuing the uranium miner at about $1bn (£638m), following a temporary ban imposed by UK regulators. CGNPC was in talks in March to buy Kalahari for 290p a share. [...]
Ladbrokes ends bid discussions October 10, 2011 BRITAIN’S biggest betting firm Ladbrokes and online gaming firm Sportingbet have called off bid talks, scuppered by regulatory worries over Sportingbet’s Turkish business. Ladbrokes had been in talks with Sportingbet since June, but Sportingbet’s online gambling business in the tough regulatory regime of Turkey was seen by analysts as a stumbling block to a successful [...]
Bertlesmann boss to leave October 10, 2011 MEDIA company Bertelsmann, owner of the production company that makes The X Factor, said yesterday its chief executive Hartmut Ostrowski will stand down. Ostrowski, who took the helm in 2008, will take a seat on Bertelsmann’s supervisory board, the German company said, adding that he was making the switch for personal reasons. The move comes as [...]
Astra plans $200m investment in China October 10, 2011 ASTRAZENECA, Britain’s second-largest drugmaker, has cemented its plans to shift investment into emerging markets, saying yesterday it will invest $200m (£128m) in a new factory in China. The pharmaceutical giant’s investment will be its largest ever spend on a single manufacturing facility globally. The unit will produce both intravenous and oral solid medicines for the [...]
Earnings take a hit at Cargill October 10, 2011 US agribusiness and trading firm Cargill posted a steep drop in quarterly earnings yesterday, citing economic uncertainty and volatile commodity markets. Minneapolis-based Cargill, one of the world’s largest privately held corporations, reported $236m (£150.5m) in earnings from continuing operations for the quarter ended on 31 August, down 66 per cent from $693m a year earlier.
Superior Energy buys Complete October 10, 2011 Superior Energy Services is to buy smaller rival Complete Production Services in a cash-and-stock deal for about $2.6bn, its largest ever takeover, as the oilfield services company looks to bulk up its pressure pumping business.
