Bond to stay with Wiggle after Bridgepoint swoops for £180m December 7, 2011 PRIVATE equity house Bridgepoint has won a bidding war to buy Wiggle, the online cycling and sports retailer, for £180m from Isis. The buyout firm completed the deal after an auction process launched last month by Rothschild. Advent, EQT and 3i had been keen on purchasing the company, which is chaired by former Asda boss [...]
Lloyds private equity bid for UK manufacturer in trouble November 24, 2011 THE PRIVATE equity arm of taxpayer-owned Lloyds bank has run into trouble in its bid for a family-owned British manufacturer in a deal worth about £70m, City A.M. can reveal. The family that owns Benson Group, which produces packaging for well-known brands sold in Asda, Tesco and Boots, has been trying to sell out of [...]
Early xmas deals boost retail sector November 17, 2011 Early pre-Christmas promotions gave a surprise lift to British retail sales in October, driving up volumes at their fastest pace since June, official data showed on Thursday. The Office for National Statistics said sales volumes including automotive fuel rose 0.6 per cent last month after a 0.5 per cent rise in September and confounding forecasts [...]
Sales are strong at Asda but high fuel costs keeping shoppers away November 15, 2011 SUPERMARKET group Asda yesterday reported a pick up in third-quarter sales growth, helped by revamped own-brand food ranges and a pledge to be cheaper than rivals. Sales at stores open more than a year rose 1.3 per cent, excluding fuel and VAT sales tax, in the three months to September, Britain’s second-biggest supermarket group said [...]
Wal-mart’s plan to absorb food prices hits gains November 15, 2011 WAL-MART’S decision to absorb rising food costs for its stressed US shoppers has weighed on profitability, the firm admitted yesterday, even as key US sales rose for the first time in more than two years. Wal-mart, the US grocery giant that owns Asda, said sales at stores open more than a year rose a higher-than-expected [...]
Wal-Mart and Asda see sales rise November 15, 2011 The world’s biggest supermarket, Wal-Mart, has missed expectations for its profits in the third quarter of this year, despite seeing sales increase compared to 2010. Wal-Mart, which owns the UK’s Asda supermarkets, said it had seen continuing slowdown in its dominant US market as consumers saw their incomes squeezed, but still managed to raise sales [...]
UK’s plan to cut sick bills November 13, 2011 WHITEHALL Mandarins are understood to be close to finalising a deal aimed at cutting the UK’s £13bn sickness absence bill. Officials hope to have new rules ready by the end of the month to discourage sick leave, including enrolling workers on a health insurance scheme. The plan could see workers – as well as employers [...]
Morrisons sales at top end of forecasts November 10, 2011 Wm Morrison confirmed its position as the fastest-growing of Britain’s top four supermarket groups on Thursday with a rise in third-quarter sales driven by a focus on fresh foods and low prices. The fourth-biggest grocer behind J Sainsbury, Wal-Mart’s Asda and market leader Tesco said sales at stores open a year rose 2.4 per cent [...]
Sainsbury’s in profits boost from new stores November 9, 2011 New stores and demand for online and convenience shopping helped grocer J Sainsbury to meet forecasts with a rise in first-half profit in a tough trading environment that the group said was set to continue. Britain’s third-biggest supermarket group behind Wal-Mart’s Asda and industry leader Tesco said profits before tax and one-off items rose 6.6 [...]
Prices tumble at UK’s stores November 8, 2011 PRICE wars between supermarkets are driving down the cost of food and other items, as stores fight for the attention of increasingly squeezed shoppers. Food was half a per cent cheaper last month than in September, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) revealed this morning. Tesco has been pushing its “Big Price Drop”, while Asda’s “Price [...]