The grocer who says this year will test retailers as well as shoppers May 31, 2010 Much like the rest of the country, the chief executive of the country’s third largest supermarket group is trying to make up his mind about the coalition government. At the start of the election campaign Sainsbury’s boss Justin King was one of many who backed Tory plans to scrap national insurance hikes for employers, a [...]
It’s so great to beat the Aussies, admits Cameron May 24, 2010 PRIME MINISTER David Cameron gave England’s cricket heroes a big thumbs-up for their World Twenty20 success, admitting: It’s great to get one over the Aussies. Cameron invited the victorious squad, led by captain Paul Collingwood, to show off their trophy in the sun-drenched garden of Number 10 yesterday. The PM told the players how they [...]
Mulberry opens new flagship May 24, 2010 MULBERRY has secured a deal to move into a new flagship store in Mayfair in another sign that the luxury goods market is seeing a bounce back after the recession. The company has signed a 25-year lease for 50 New Bond Street on a rent of £1.4m a year. The company’s handbags, sported by the [...]
Aurum back in profit after restructuring May 23, 2010 LUXURY jeweller Aurum Holdings announced earnings of £10.5m yesterday, a jump of 27 per cent, after refinancing last November. The parent company of Goldsmiths, Watches of Switzerland and Mappin & Webb made a post-tax profit of £0.1m in the year to January 2010, against a loss of £19.4m the previous year. While overall sales were [...]
A champion of British grub May 20, 2010 FOUNDING a restaurant would test the nerves of even the most hardened entrepreneur. Ensuring the food and décor are both delicious and attractive is one thing, but in London a new restaurant can sink or swim based on a review. Iqbal Wahhab, founder of Borough Market’s Roast, which opened in October 2005, swam, but not [...]
Majestic Wine ready to toast healthy figures May 17, 2010 MAJESTIC wine said yesterday its profits for the year which ended in March would come in “at the upper end of analysts’ expectations”. The range for underlying profits forecast up until today had been as low as £15.9m to as much as £18m. That is a sharp recovery from the previous year’s £12.7m. After Christmas [...]
Peacocks ready to sell after bumper Christmas May 16, 2010 FASHION retailer Peacocks may cash in on its storming run of form with a sale that could value the business at £600m. The budget store has seen sales rocket as customers flocked to it during the recession. Now shareholders are understood to be keen on a quick sale, with the private equity arm of Goldman [...]
Sainsbury’s sales up but VAT alarm raised May 13, 2010 SAINSBURY’S yesterday reported a 17.5 per cent rise in pre-tax profits but warned that a sudden VAT hike from the new government could strangle the high street recovery. The company saw profits of £610m for the year to 20 March – £10m ahead of what was expected by the City. But chief executive Justin King [...]
A fraught journey through exile, family and religion May 12, 2010 NOMAD BY AYAAN HIRSI ALI Simon & Schuster, £12.99 **** AYAAN Hirsi Ali is one of the political world’s most direct speakers – if not its most direct. Even the most controversial commentators balk at using her kind of polarising terminology and crystalline rhetoric. In part this is because 40-year old Ali, who works at [...]
TRAPPINGS OF SUCCESS COME IN ALL GUISES May 7, 2010 WELL, well; what a difference 24 hours can make. This time yesterday, we had a perma-grinning David Cameron hopping about the country like a kangaroo on speed, the impeccably-dressed Samantha at his side, while the blue camp awaited their chance at a Tory majority, hearts in mouths. We had Nick Clegg bouncing around like an [...]