Asos in sales jump July 14, 2011 Online fashion firm ASOS posted a leap in first quarter sales and said it was confident about the outlook, showing there are still winners in the retail sector, even in straitened times. ASOS, which targets internet-savvy 16 to 34-year-old women looking to emulate the designer looks of celebrities such as Kate Moss, Sienna Miller and [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD in association with GFT July 10, 2011 COMPANIES ● Today, Michael Page International delivers its second quarter trading update. The company was formed in 1976 by Michael Page and Bill McGregor. ● On Wednesday, Sainsbury holds its AGM. On the same day Marks & Spencer will report. It will be hoping for not just ordinary results, but… ● Also on Wednesday, J [...]
RISING STAR OF THE YEAR | THE SHORTLIST DAY 2 June 20, 2011 LUCKILY for all of us the City is full of rising stars, people we all think will make it to the top. This year’s selection includes Sam Smith, who has been making waves as head of the small cap broker finnCap. We’ve chosen two high-flying lawyers, one investment analyst and a fast rising star from [...]
ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR June 20, 2011 ENTREPRENEURSHIP has hogged the political limelight over the last year. David Cameron called on the nation’s “doers and grafters” to “roll up their sleeves” and fix our broken economy. The companies on our list have been pushing ahead, creating the jobs and wealth we desperately need. We are all the winners from their enterprise. We’ve [...]
Rewarding deductions at Baker Street June 15, 2011 FROM their offices in Baker Street, Richard Hallett and his colleagues at Hargreave Hale are successfully detecting the right companies to bring in considerable returns. Alongside Giles Hargreave, Hallett manages the Marlborough Leading Companies fund. Although he is concerned about the macroeconomic outlook – particularly in Europe – he sees plenty of companies that offer [...]
Hugh Osmond snaps up power firm APR in deal worth £527m June 13, 2011 HUGH Osmond, the entrepreneur behind Pizza Express and Punch Taverns, is to buy US temporary power provider APR energy in an $855m (£527m) deal. Horizon Acquisition, a cash shell that Osmond floated on the alternative investment market in February 2010, announced yesterday that it will pay $395m cash and $495m in shares for a 59 [...]
City honoured in the Queen’s birthday list June 12, 2011 BANK of England governor Mervyn King has topped a list of City figures recognised for their services to British business, banking and finance in the Queen’s birthday honours list. This year’s honours list is weighted heavily towards recognising the contribution of the City. This is partly due to it being seen as politically unpalatable for [...]
THE TIPSTER June 5, 2011 SHARES in online clothes retailer Asos tumbled nearly £2 on Friday, despite pre-tax profits rising 41 per cent to £28.6m. Asos is an AIM-listed company with a market cap of £1.6bn, so the question remains how sustainable the price is at almost five times sales. You can’t knock the ambition though. It has big plans [...]
Asos sales in overseas rise June 2, 2011 ONLINE clothes retailer Asos yesterday announced plans to launch three new international websites as it reported a 41 per cent profit rise for the full year. The company said it had been boosted by international expansion and said it was on track to deliver on a plan for £1bn of sales by 2015. Chief executive [...]
Beware weight of expectation June 2, 2011 BEWARE the weight of great expectations. It is hard to quibble with the performance of Asos, which grew annual profits by 41 per cent in the year to 31 March; few other consumer-facing businesses can match that in these tough times. Strategically, the firm is making great strides. It has grown the number of its [...]