FTSE 100 closes 0.3 per cent up (but fell 2.7 per cent in 2014) December 31, 2014 The FTSE 100 ended the year at 6,566.09 points, 0.3 per cent higher than yesterday's close, as trading ended early on New Year's Eve. However, the index was 2.7 per cent down on the beginning of the year, as equities were rocked by headwinds from global markets. Alastair McCraig, a market analyst at IG, pointed [...]
Poundland wishes you a Merryy Cristmas and a Merry Christmay December 16, 2014 Discount superstar Poundland was snowed under with complaints about its festive products on Twitter yesterday. One unhappy shopper tweeted about a set of Christmas lights which spelt its message wrongly – “‘MerryyCristmas’ it might be a only quid but you could at least spell it right!” Naturally, the hashtag #MerryyCristmas started doing the rounds. [...]
Retail reunion at Shore Cap’s Christmas lunch December 11, 2014 The who's who of the retail world trotted over to the Montague on the Gardens Hotel yesterday to share a Christmas toast (and another, and another) with Shore Capital’s retail guru Clive Black. Any airs and graces were brushed aside as each guest arrived at their table to find some sort of festive [...]
Poundland sits pretty after new make-up launch November 27, 2014 THE ECONOMY may be improving, but Poundland’s booming popularity is proof shoppers are sticking to recession-born habits of seeking out a bargain, the company said as it posted a jump in first-half profits. The value retailer enjoyed a 34.2 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £12.6m in the six months to 28 September, beating [...]
Poundland’s quids in with 11.7 per cent rise in profits November 27, 2014 Shares in discount retailer Poundland edged 3.7 per cent higher to just under 314p after it posted a 11.7 per cent rise in pre-tax profits, which hit £9.3m in the six months to the end of September. Sales rose 15 per cent to £528.2m, while net debt fell 83 per cent to £4.4m, as it [...]
Reports on bank lending to take the centre stage – London Week Ahead November 23, 2014 THIS week will see a flurry of announcements regarding bank lending. The Bank of England on Thursday will publish the figures for its Funding for Lending scheme, followed by the latest data on the Help-to-Buy scheme the following day. The British Bankers’ Association will publish its figures for mortgage approvals today. That will be backed [...]
PwC, Uber and Zoopla win big at the 2014 City A.M. Awards November 13, 2014 From Legal & General boss Nigel Wilson to WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell, you could barely move at the fifth annual City A.M. Awards – held last night at the Grange St Paul's Hotel – without bashing elbows with a few City grandees. The ceremony celebrated the brightest and best of the nation's money-makers – [...]
Poundland boosts board with new execs October 15, 2014 POUNDLAND has bolstered its board after hiring the chief executive of packaging group DS Smith and the finance director of pub group Mitchells & Butlers as non-executive directors. The bargain retailer, which made its market debut in March, said Miles Roberts and Tim Jones would join the company on 30 October. “Both Miles and Tim [...]
Correction: Poundworld October 9, 2014 VALUE chain Poundworld was censured by the Advertising Standards Authority this week for failing to provide accurate pricing information – not Poundland, as initially reported by City A.M. on Thursday 9 October. Poundland has had no rulings made against it by the Advertising Standards Authority. We would like to apologise to Poundland for this mistake.
Ordinary investors are losing out in the rush for cut-price flotations October 9, 2014 THE MASS market British Gas and BT privatisations of the 1980s created a whole new generation of investors and, 30 years on, the next generation is waiting in the wings. With many companies – including high profile public brands – keen to save flotation costs, however, retail investors are being ignored and denied the opportunity [...]