Asda’s bid for Iceland warms up with Barcap September 25, 2011 ASDA appears to have moved closer to a bid for frozen food chain Iceland by lining up backing from Barclays Capital. It comes after Asda, Britain’s second-largest supermarket, brought on board advisers from Lazard in June to help it put together an offer. Iceland’s current owner, the resolution committee of collapsed bank Landsbanki, needs to [...]
Supermarket’s pricing war could put squeeze on Ocado September 21, 2011 TESCO is tipped to launch a price war next week, which one analyst says could put the squeeze on online deliver service Ocado under its pledge to match prices. The retailer was said by industry sources to be trying to dent Asda’s sales, but Ocado could be hit in the crossfire. Panmure Gordon’s Philip Dorgan [...]
Morrisons share edges up as thrift is order of the day September 13, 2011 MORRISONS has emerged as the current market share winner among the big four grocers as consumers look for savings in the tough economic environment. The grocer’s market share improved to 11.5 per cent in the 12 weeks to 4 September compared to 11.4 per cent in the comparable period last year, figures from Kantar Worldpanel [...]
Government bans injury claim referral fees September 9, 2011 The government has banned the referral fees paid for customer data that have been blamed for a surge in personal injury claims against car insurers, retailers and the NHS. The Ministry of Justice has said the ban on such fees, to apply solely to personal injury cases, is designed to tackle the alarming rise in [...]
Sales surge at Morrisons September 8, 2011 MORRISONS marked its forecast-beating first half results with a renewed effort to finally enter the online delivery market – more than a decade after its rivals launched their services. The supermarket saw an 8.9 per cent rise in first-half profits to £449m, as a focus on fresh foods, low prices and promotions helped it chip [...]
Insurers hit out at no win no fee claims September 5, 2011 AMBULANCE-CHASING lawyers came under fire from major UK retailers and insurers demanding reform of the booming market for personal injury claims yesterday. Businesses led by the Association of British Insurers are fighting back against a surge in “no win no fee” legal actions behind a 72 per cent jump in the number of bodily injury [...]
Retailers and insurers campaign for no-win-no-fee reform September 5, 2011 Insurance companies are to join with some of the UK’s biggest retail brands in a new campaign to crack down on no-win-no-fee legal claims. The Association of British Insurers is working with carmaker Ford, supermarket chain Asda and pub group Whitbread to call for reform of the UK’s injury compensation system that has led to [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 21, 2011 Yorkshire Building Society Chris Pilling, head of branch network at HSBC Bank, has been appointed as chief executive of the UK’s second-largest building society. Pilling will join Yorkshire Building Society on 31 December, taking over from current chief executive Iain Cornish. Prior to joining HSBC as chief executive of its telephone and internet banking arm [...]
… as Asda loses market share to budget chains August 16, 2011 ASDA, which is owned by Walmart, yesterday reported a narrow 0.5 per cent like for like sales rise between 1 April and 30 June. The company said it was pinning its hopes for growth on its acquisition of 147 Netto stores. Asda said sales growth accelerated in the second quarter as its online price guarantee, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 15, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES SINO-FOREST DELAYS PUBLICATION OF FRAUD REVIEW Sino-Forest, the Chinese forestry company fighting allegations of fraud, has delayed publication of its internal review into claims made by research outfit Muddy Waters that triggered a collapse in the company’s share price in June. An independent committee has presented an interim report to Sino-Forest’s board but [...]