Consumer goods group Ultimate Products heads for a £100m-plus IPO in the next few days March 1, 2017 Ultimate Products, the innovative consumer goods group, is set for a £100m-plus IPO in London within days. It will list on the main market under the name of UP Global Sourcing Holdings. The IPO’s pricing could take place as early as today. The placing is understood to be substantially oversubscribed with investors taking part believed [...]
BHP Billiton swings back to profit on strong commodity prices and boosts its interim dividend February 21, 2017 Global mining giant BHP Billiton today revealed a boost to its interim dividend after posting a swing back to profit due to higher iron ore prices. The figures For the six months to 31 December 2016, BHP Billiton said it made an attributable profit of $3.2bn (£2.6bn), up from a loss of $5.7bn the previous year. Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and [...]
Argos fined £1.5m for not paying workers the national minimum wage February 16, 2017 Home Retail Group has been fined £1.5m for not paying 37,000 Argos workers the national minimum wage. The business said it was paying back current and previous workers £64 each, with the total cost coming to £2.4m. If the company pays back HM Revenue and Customs within 14 days, it will only have to pay £800,000. Read [...]
Ford gears up for a major AI investment to boost its self-driving car offerings February 11, 2017 Ford is spending big to up its game in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. The US carmaker said it will invest $1bn (£800m) over the next five years in Argo AI, an AI software and robotics technology startup, to support its autonomous vehicle development. Pittsburgh-based Argo AI, which was founded by former Google and Uber leaders, will work to develop a [...]
Why Tesco could be better off leaving Booker on the shelf February 1, 2017 The stock market’s initial reaction to takeover deals can often be a poor indicator of how those deals work out. Just look at the market’s sceptical response to Sainsbury’s purchase of Argos owner Home Retail Group as a recent example. Now we have another unexpected deal in the supermarket sector with Tesco bidding to take [...]
Sainsbury’s shares surged this morning on news of sales growth over Christmas – here’s how retail experts reacted January 11, 2017 Sainsbury's shares have surged by six per cent this morning after it reported a record Christmas week for trading. The supermarket said like-for-like retail sales went up 0.1 per cent in the third quarter, and while this might not be as impressive as Morrisons' 2.9 per cent growth, reported yesterday, investors were still cheered by the update. [...]
Sainsbury’s reports £1bn group sales over Christmas week as sales edge up January 11, 2017 Sainsbury’s enjoyed a record Christmas week with over £1bn in sales across the group, with quarterly sales managing to edge up after analysts expected further contraction. The figures Like-for-like retail sales excluding fuel grew by 0.1 per cent over the third quarter of its trading year, and total retail sales grew by 0.8 per cent [...]
Solid fare expected from the UK’s listed supermarkets this week, including Tesco and Morrison’s, as a raft of retailers reveal their seasonal sales results January 8, 2017 The UK's three major listed supermarkets are expected to report solid Christmas trading this week, although investor focus will be on the outlook given this year's expected squeeze on consumer spending. On 10 January, Morrison's is expected to report underlying sales growth of 1.1 per cent for the nine weeks to 1 January according to [...]
Big win for Wincanton as it inks four-year warehouse deal with Ikea December 21, 2016 Supply chain solutions group Wincanton has won the contract for Ikea's warehouses in London, the group announced today. Shares in Wincanton rose 2.34 per cent at the open. The agreement, which will run for four years, will see Wincanton lease and fit-out the warehouses on behalf of the Swedish furniture giant. Ikea's London warehouses occupy a combined [...]
Paddy Power has the odds on which group will call a strike next December 15, 2016 After Southern rail strikes left commuters stranded, Post Office workers threatened branch closures before Christmas, cabin crew at British Airways voted for industrial action and even Argos drivers announced a disruptive strike before talking it out with their bosses, Paddy Power has now offered the odds on which group will strike next. "Glorious post-Brexit Britain is doing its best [...]