Poundland’s share sale to fund purchase of 99p Stores hurts price September 25, 2015 Poundland yesterday placed £50m worth of new shares to fund its purchase of 99p Stores. The shares, which represent approximately 7.1 per cent of the company’s existing share capital prior to placing, were placed with institutional investors at 280p, which will be worth 275p to the company after expenses. JP Morgan Cazenove acted as sole [...]
The Big Short movie trailer is here: Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling and Steve Carell star in adaption of Michael Lewis’ bestseller September 23, 2015 Get ready to be transported back to 2008 and the height of the financial crisis. No, it's not because of China. One of the biggest books written about the turmoil of the recession has had the movie makeover treatment, and the trailer is finally here. Michael Lewis' The Big Short – the bestseller which delved into [...]
How much are David and Victoria Beckham worth? The entire clan has been valued at nearly half a billion pounds September 22, 2015 As the Beckham family make waves across the global fashion and sports industries, experts estimate that the value of brand Beckham is now at almost half a billion. According to research by the London School of Marketing (LSM), the six members of the Beckham clan; David, Victoria, Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper generate £30m to [...]
French Connection share price falls seven per cent after company reports “tough trading period” September 21, 2015 French Connection has reported a “tough trading period” for the first six months of the year, with pre-tax losses widening on the back of a poor performance of the spring 15 collection. Shares in the company fell by seven per cent in early morning trading on the news. The figures The retailer reported loss before [...]
Debenhams coup: Shareholders and City stockbroker Cenkos plot shake-up at retail chain September 20, 2015 Debenhams could be forced to undergo a shake-up of its senior management after coming under pressure from a group of disgruntled investors unhappy with the department store group’s performance. City stockbroker Cenkos is understood to have been asked by Debenhams shareholders that collectively own a stake of around 20 per cent in the company to [...]
From Corbyn’s win and Scottish independence revisited to Apple’s iOS 9 release and Rugby World Cup: Here’s what got us talking this week September 18, 2015 Prince Harry gave up his seat to a pensioner. Left-wingers were outed as being potty-mouthed. And all around London, buildings are opening their doors to complete strangers. This is what got us talking this week 1) Cor, blimey Corbyn Although it was widely expected, we were still left reeling when Jeremy Corbyn became the [...]
Rugby World Cup 2015 will showcase sport’s booming licensing opportunities for brands September 18, 2015 The culmination of months of sporting excitement aside, there are plenty of business reasons we should be happy about the arrival of the Rugby World Cup in our back garden. One of them is the opportunity within the licensing industry. The licensing industry is booming –the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association’s recent Annual Global [...]
One third of Brits have already started Christmas shopping September 17, 2015 If you haven’t already done your Christmas shopping, then you might want to get stuck in because a third of UK shoppers are already one step ahead of you this season. A survey conducted by New York-listed technology company Rubicon Project found that 30 per cent of us have already started Christmas shopping. Among parents [...]
Best of the Brokers for 16 September 2015 September 16, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com HOME RETAIL GROUP Haitong Investment Bank has reduced its “fair value” target by 18 per cent to 115p to reflect greater uncertainty over longer term success of Home Retail Group’s modernisation plans for Argos. The broker said that promotional spend in the run-up [...]
Fewer shoppers in stores raises alarm for Xmas September 13, 2015 HIGH street footfall fell by more than two per cent for the third month in a row in August, raising concerns for the UK retail sector ahead of the key Christmas period. Total visitor numbers across UK high streets, retail parks and shopping centres fell by 1.6 per cent last month, according to figures released [...]