Dixons sales drop but says recovery plan on track June 23, 2011 Electricals retailer Dixons said today its recovery plan was on track despite a full year sales drop. Total Underlying Group sales were down two per cent to £8.154bn compared to £8.32bn in the previous year Total Group sales, including those from businesses to be closed and closed businesses, were £8.341bn (2009/10 £8.532bn). Group like for [...]
ANALYST OF THE YEAR June 22, 2011 IT TAKES strong-minded individuals with deep knowledge of the sectors they cover to make calls that challenge popular thinking, but the five thinkers on CITY A.M.’s shortlist for Analyst of the Year have won respect for going against the grain – whether being sane on the Glencore IPO or criticising the Bank of England’s interest [...]
SIR TERRY LEAHY BUYS BRITISH AGAIN June 19, 2011 FORMER Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy has backed a small British technology start up. Sir Terry, who ploughed £2m of his personal wealth into software start up MetaPack last week, has now led a £1.5m cash raising for mobile coupon firm Eagle Eye Solutions. He and two top-ranked City retail analysts, Bill Currie and Iain [...]
Investors ignore growth abroad to focus on UK woes June 14, 2011 MAYBE Tesco should move its primary listing to Hong Kong. Then investors might pay more attention to Asia, where sales grew by 11.4 per cent at constant exchange rates in the first quarter. The region accounted for around 17 per cent of sales and trading profit last year, a figure that will only grow. Or [...]
PADDY POWER BLOWS £11K DERBY WINNINGS OVER THREE-DAY STAG June 5, 2011 THE QUEEN was not amused by her loss at the Investec Derby, for which City A.M. proudly served as the official newspaper. But Paddy Power, the public face of the bookmaker of the same name, was still celebrating on Sunday afternoon after winning £11,000 the previous day. Power told his wife Jane he would make [...]
Dixons to get £59m as part of lease deal June 1, 2011 ELECTRICALS retailer Dixons has agreed the sale and leaseback of its Nordic distribution centre in Sweden in a bid to reduce its debts. Dixons, which owns the Currys and PC World brands, has exchanged contracts with a syndicate of investors with a deal due for completion on 23 June. The total cash payable is SEK600m [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 24, 2011 May Gurney Margaret Ford, Baroness Ford of Cunninghame, will become non-executive chairman at the company’s AGM on 7 July 2011. In the interim she will be appointed to the board as a non-executive director, with immediate effect. Gurney, 53, recently retired from Serco as senior independent director and has extensive public company experience, including Grainger [...]
Dixons vows cost cuts as sales fall off May 12, 2011 DIXONS Retail, owner of Currys and PC World, yesterday said the group’s annual sales had fallen but predicted that its £50m cuts programme would help to turn the business around. Sales for the year to 30 April fell two per cent as the tough consumer environment took its toll. Like-for-like sales for the group’s UK [...]
Commodities crash was predictable May 5, 2011 SO Goldman Sachs was right after all. The bank everybody loves to hate called the top of the commodities market three weeks ago; yesterday, its prediction came true, with the declines in key commodities seen in recent days suddenly turning into an almighty crash. The price of oil plunged especially dramatically, with Brent crude losing [...]
A jazz sensation comes to town April 20, 2011 THE glittering opening of Boisdale in Canary Wharf last week was one of the most exciting in the Docklands in a long while. One of the main attractions of the new Boisdale is its superlative jazz offering, in conjunction with Jazz FM and Aberdeen Asset Management. Jazz FM’s Discovery Show, supported by City firm Aberdeen [...]