Barclay brothers buy DHL parcels unit January 6, 2010 SIR David and Sir Frederick Barclay started the year with a major acquisition for their home delivery business. They snapped up DHL’s parcels business for an undisclosed sum to merge with their Home Delivery Network (HDN). The deal will vastly increase the scale of HDN, doubling its turnover from £300m to £600m. Briant Gaunt, chief [...]
Moulton raises £143m for investment vehicle to target distressed companies December 15, 2009 PRIVATE equity industry veteran Jon Moulton has raised £142.4m to invest in struggling businesses through his new investment vehicle. Moulton, perhaps best known for his involvement in an unsuccessful bid to buy collapsed Midlands car maker MG Rover, will advise Better Capital, which will list on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) on tomorrow. The group’s [...]
Battle for the festive pound is under way December 6, 2009 THE high street price war has heated up as shops focus both on luring shoppers away from the internet and beating competition from neighbouring shops. London’s West End shopping district enjoyed its best trade for two years over the weekend as 2m shoppers flocked to a traffic-free Oxford Street, spending over £200m in one day [...]
Asos sales beat UK high street on overseas units November 16, 2009 ASOS, the recession-defying fashion online retailer, yesterday reported its half year pre-tax profit had jumped nine per cent, as strong overseas sales offset a softening UK market. The retailer said pre-tax profits in the six months to 30 September lifted to £4.4m from £4.1m the year before and reported a 47 per cent jump in [...]
Debenhams kicks off retail price war November 16, 2009 Debenhams yesterday announced it will be slashing £250m off prices in a four-day sale this week, in a move which it predicts will spark a price war similar to the frenzied discounting seen last Christmas. Rival Marks & Spencer’s executive chairman Sir Stuart Rose, said earlier this month he did not expect a repeat of [...]
BUSINESS LUMINARIES TOAST THEIR SUCCESS November 10, 2009 IT’S one thing to see the chancellor of the exchequer give up an entire evening to sit through a business awards ceremony, but quite another when he manages to have the audience in stitches during his speech as well. That’s right, folks: it seems that 18 months of surviving on a few hours sleep a [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 29, 2009 GLAXOSMITHKLINECollins Stewart increased its price target for GlaxoSmithKline from 1,360p to 1,383p due to higher long-term forecasts for selected products. It made minor changes to its shorter-term forecasts following a third-quarter performance that was generally in line with forecasts. The broker reiterated its “buy” recommendation. TRINITY MIRRORGoldman Sachs downgraded Trinity Mirror from “buy” to “neutral” [...]
HOW TO BE A BEACH BABE WITH EASE July 9, 2009 Sara HollambyStyle CounselIT’S so easy for all sense of style to get washed away in the waves on holiday, when you’re hot and sticky and covered in a fine layer of salt, sand and pink patches. I always admire those women who go to the beach with matching accessories, sleek hair cleverly “thrown” up in [...]
Asos sales double as the website defies downturn June 29, 2009 ONLINE fashion store Asos yesterday said it had defied the retail recession, announcing that sales doubled last year thanks to the trend towards shopping for clothes online. Chief executive Nick Robertson – who owns 14 per cent of the business – hailed the “phenomenal” results, but warned that the group is anticipating more conservative growth [...]
Investors hope for further optimism June 28, 2009 THERE has been a noticeable air of optimism about the markets lately, and investors will be looking for signs to validate their cheer. Premier Foods, kicking the week off today with its first half trading statement, should not disappoint. Analysts at Royal Bank of Scotland anticipate that Premier will reiterate good sales growth, costs under [...]