Punch Taverns calls for time August 11, 2014 PUNCH Taverns yesterday confirmed its £2.2bn debt restructuring will launch in the next 10 days, a slight delay to its original Monday deadline as the pub operator looks to conclude certain discussions with stakeholders. Punch, which has over 4,000 pubs, was hit hard by country’s economic downturn in 2008 and unveiled new proposals in June. [...]
Punch Taverns’ £2bn debt deal poised to launch August 10, 2014 TROUBLED pub group Punch Taverns will today announce that the long battle between the firm’s management, shareholders and lenders over Punch’s £2.2bn debt pile will come to an end this week as its restructuring is set to launch in coming days. After years of impasse over how Punch could best secure the future of its [...]
Online retailers to reap £740m as superfast fibre broadband rolls out across UK August 10, 2014 Superfast broadband is set to support Britain’s online retailers by boosting sales by as much as £740m a year, according to research carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). British shoppers already on superfast internet spend an average of 3.1 per cent, or £23 per year, more than shoppers on slower [...]
How Blu’s sheriff Jacob Fuller plans to conquer the ecigarette wild west August 10, 2014 Jacob Fuller tells Oliver Smith why eCigs have big tobacco smitten. The electronic cigarette market is booming. In just seven years since they first arrived in the UK, ecigarettes have grown into an industry with sales of £193m last year and £340m sales forecast for 2015. But you would be mistaken in thinking [...]
Amazon halts Disney orders of Maleficent and Captain America after price row August 10, 2014 Amazon halted pre-orders of a number of Disney movies on its US website yesterday in what appears to be another contract dispute, following a pricing spat with publisher Hachette Book Group. Last night physical copies of Disney titles such as Maleficent and Captain America: The Winter Soldier were unavailable for pre-order on Amazon.com. Amazon blocked [...]
Profit downfall tanks Zynga August 8, 2014 INVESTORS in Farmville-developer Zynga cashed out last night, after the firm missed expectations with a 34 per cent drop in revenue to $153.2m (£91m) during the quarter ending 30 June. The company’s stock fell by as much as 14 per cent during after-hours trading in New York. Zynga’s losses widened to $62.5m as the group [...]
NEC profits soar on higher visitor numbers as it prepares for sale August 8, 2014 THE NEC Group, whose venues include the NEC Arena, saw its profits soar during the last year as Birmingham City Council prepares to sell it by the end of the year. “The sale process continues on schedule and the aim is to complete a sale towards the end of 2014,” said chief executive Paul Thandi. [...]
Coca-Cola bottler HBC wobbles as Russian tensions hurt sales August 8, 2014 SHARES of Coca-Cola HBC, the largest bottler of the soft drinks company in Europe, tanked yesterday after it warned that volumes would fall for the rest of the year, citing a “sudden deterioration” in Russia, its biggest market. The world’s second largest bottler of Coca-Cola drinks saw its shares fall 5.3 per cent on the [...]
Gemfields hails a momentous quarter as ruby auctions begin August 8, 2014 Precious stones miner Gemfields, which owns luxury brand Faberge, yesterday described its past quarter as “momentus” with the first auction of rubies from its Montepuez mine. “The auction represented a profound shift in the ruby industry and underscored the prospects of our model and vision for the coloured gemstone sector. We are excited by the [...]
Cobham plots growth in 2015 August 8, 2014 DEFENCE contractor Cobham said it remained confident that it will return to growth in 2015, as cuts to US military spending lowered its profit by 14 per cent during the half year to 30 June. Cobham’s profits fell to £118m during the period, beating analyst forecasts of £111m. “The board continues to anticipate that Cobham [...]
