Why Mike Ashley’s retail gambles are a mistake | City A.M. July 20, 2018 When the fishes swim one way, I swim the other,” said Sports Direct supremo Mike Ashley last year describing his investment strategy. Despite this billionaire bombast, some of his investments are sinking and weighing down Sports Direct at the same time. The sportswear chain reported a sharp drop in annual profits yesterday, partly because of [...]
Last Week in the City: England has an 8.5% chance of winning the World Cup May 18, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (14 to 18 May 2018). UBS has used its City analysts’ predictive firepower to try and work out the winner of the upcoming World Cup in Russia – and England came surprisingly high in its league [...]
FTSE firms including Persimmon, BP and JD Wetherspoon warned of investor revolts over gender diversity April 17, 2018 A number of FTSE 350 companies could face investor revolts over low female representation within leadership roles, the investment managers’ trade body said today. It warned that investors were “becoming restless” over the lack of progress being made. The Investment Association, which represents investment managers collectively owning one third of the FTSE, and the government-backed [...]
Beware the real Beast from the East: Chinese tech giants March 5, 2018 The last week has seen the UK battered by the worst snow we’ve seen in years, thanks to freezing temperatures coming from the east. But cold weather and heavy snow is not the only thing that is making the move from east to west. Chinese tech giants Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu and JD.com have started to [...]
The AIMperor’s new clothes: Sosandar and Footasylum notch up share price rises after IPOs November 2, 2017 Two clothing retailers entered London’s junior market today, with shares in both jumping during their first day of trading. Footasylum, the sportswear retailer which is the branchild of JD Sports co-founders John Wardle and David Makin, debuted on the market with a price of 164p per share. They hit a high of 207p and closed [...]
Oxford Street transformation to get underway by December 2018 as TfL and Westminster City Council launch consultation April 24, 2017 The transformation of Oxford Street is planned to start by the end of next year, as Westminster City Council and Transport for London (TfL) today launch a consultation on the development. The consultation considers moves such as removing access for taxis, saying it would “increase the extent” to which Oxford Street could be transformed. Currently, [...]
When it comes to public perception it pays not to short-change staff February 1, 2017 Towards the end of December, there was a row involving luxury department store Harrods. Waiting and kitchen staff took industrial action because they alleged that the business’s owners retained up to 75 per cent of service charge, which reduced pay by up to £5,000 a year. Harrods has subsequently vowed to let staff keep 100 [...]
Retail M&A slowdown as private equity backs away from high street January 30, 2017 The value of UK retail mergers sunk to a three-year low in 2016, with just 36 mergers agreed – down from 47 in 2015 according to law firm RPC. The new figures released today suggest that total deal values have also slumped from £20.7bn down to just £4.7bn, a decline which outpaced a post-Brexit slowdown [...]
These are the key trends in retail in 2017 – and who will benefit from them January 16, 2017 The Christmas reporting season isn't over yet – the market is awaiting updates from Dixons Carphone and WH Smith – but the figures that have been reported so far have indicated some of the key retail trends investors should watch out for this year. Read more: Brexit vote boosts Hugo Boss The outlook for the UK consumer [...]
Winners and losers from retail’s “Super Thursday” January 12, 2017 So many retailers decided to update the market on trading today that Shore Capital analysts published a note to complain about it. But as the morning has progressed, clear winners and losers have emerged from the data deluge. Here are our picks: Winners JD Sports put its gymwear rival Sports Direct to shame today as it scored [...]