West End popularity sees developer Shaftesbury close to fully let February 7, 2014 London’s whirring West End continues to benefit property business Shaftesbury. The FTSE 250 firm, which invests in the area exclusively, has said this morning that its portfolio is “substantially fully let” with domestic and international visitors continuing to flock to the area. Despite adverse weather over Christmas, people have kept up spending in Shaftesbury’s restaurants’ [...]
Darty enjoys a merry Christmas February 6, 2014 Electricals retailer Darty scored robust Christmas sales growth in its core French market and plans to make further cost savings amid tough economic conditions and fierce price competition. Sales at Darty France, which makes up 70 per cent of the group’s revenue, rose 4.9 per cent in the quarter to 31 January. Total group sales [...]
Sentence passed on Swatch Group vs Tiffany & Co February 6, 2014 SHORTLY before Christmas, the Dutch Arbitration Institute passed judgement on a lawsuit between Swatch Group vs Tiffany & Co, sentencing the Fifth Avenue jeweller to pay the titan of Swiss watchmaking damages totalling CHF402m (£273.8m). This brings a lengthy dispute to an end, waged since September 2011 when Swatch terminated its collaboration for breach of [...]
Coca Cola shows thirst for coffee as snaps up 10pc stake in firm February 5, 2014 COCA Cola is set to snap up a tenth of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) sending the firm’s shares soaring in after hours trading. The coffee company’s results for the three months to the end of December showed profits of $138.2m (£84.72m), an increase of 28 per cent from the same period last year. Net [...]
EU retail sales drop 1.6pc in December February 5, 2014 Eurozone retail sales in the run up to Christmas weren’t strong as analysts had forecast, or thought, denting hopes that GDP will have improved in the fourth quarter. In December, sales fell one per cent year-on-year after expectations of a 1.5 per cent rise. And November’s 1.6 per cent increase has been revised down to [...]
Trinity boosted by better than expected Christmas advertising February 4, 2014 TRINITY Mirror saw its share price jump 4.4 per cent yesterday after announcing its 2013 profit would beat market forecasts after better than expected trading in November and December. Shares in Trinity closed at 183.25p yesterday, despite the firm also stating it would expect two additional impairment charges of a combined £925m for assets and [...]
Shop prices still dropping with fastest fall on record reported February 4, 2014 JANUARY was the ninth straight month of shop price deflation in the UK, with prices falling at the fastest rate ever recorded by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Nielsen. Shop prices dipped by one per cent in the year to January, driven by a 2.7 per cent fall in non-food prices. The drop in [...]
Against the Grain: Myths and reality of Valentine’s Day: It’s more than just a marketing ploy February 4, 2014 VALENTINE’S Day is almost upon us. Many readers may recall a time when its main purpose was for love-struck teenagers to communicate, anonymously or otherwise, with the objects of their desire. Now it is big business. It is hardly possible to enter a pub or restaurant without being exhorted to publicly display fidelity and love [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 4 February 2014 February 3, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Scottish finance fears regulation bill Fund managers based in Scotland face a multimillion-pound bill to pay for a new financial regulator if Scots vote for independence in the September referendum, the trade body for Scotland’s financial services industry has warned. The public intervention by Scottish Financial Enterprise underlines growing concern in a crucial [...]
Gemfields’ revenues increase despite decline in production February 3, 2014 AIM-LISTED precious stones miner Gemfields, which owns luxury brand Faberge, yesterday said that first-half revenues had already beaten the prior full-year figure, with three more auctions to be held before the end of June. Revenue hit $59.9m (£36.7m), despite production falling in the second quarter from 21m tonnes of ore to 17m tonnes. “Gemfields is [...]