Cadbury-owner Mondelez to buy UK protein bar brand Grenade for £200m March 22, 2021 Mondelez, the US owner of Cadbury, is preparing to announce a £200m deal to buy British protein bar brand Grenade. It has secured a deal with Grenade’s majority shareholder to buy the sports nutrition firm, Sky News reported. The deal – which would be Mondelez’s most significant UK takeover since it acquired Cadbury in 2009 [...]
B&Q owner Kingfisher toasts click & collect success as sales surge March 22, 2021 Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q and Screwfix, this morning announced that sales and profit surged last year, boosted by its click and collect offer, as consumers began DIY projects during lockdown. Sales were up 7.2 per cent to £12.3bn and profit after tax was £592m, up from £8m in the previous year. Adjusted post-tax profit [...]
Kingfisher shares jump on plans to launch B&Q stores in Saudi Arabia March 9, 2021 Shares in Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q, jumped this morning after it announced plans to expand the DIY chain into the Middle East. Kingfisher said this morning that it has signed a franchise agreement with the Al-Futtaim Group, with the first Middle East stores to launch in Saudi Arabia. It marks a progression in the [...]
B&Q owner Kingfisher acquires trade services platform to roll out to UK stores November 25, 2020 B&Q owner Kingfisher has acquired home improvement services firm Needhelp for €10m, with plans to roll the platform out in the UK. The company said today that it has taken an 80 per cent stake in the company as it seeks to ramp up its mobile and digital services. Needhelp founder Guillaume de Kergariou will [...]
B&Q owner Kingfisher expects £175m profit boost due to Covid-19 support and cost savings November 19, 2020 B&Q owner Kingfisher expects to report an extra £175m profit for the year due to temporary cost savings, including government Covid-19 support measures. The London-listed DIY firm said today that sales soared 17.6 per cent to £3.5bn in the third quarter due to a surge in people beginning home improvement projects during the pandemic. Kingfisher [...]
Pfizer vaccine: ‘A good news day’ for markets, say analysts November 9, 2020 Global stock markets catapulted this afternoon on news that Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine saw a 90 per cent success rate in clinical trials, as analysts welcomed the announcement as a “boost for hopes of a return to normality”. The prospect of a vaccine electrified world markets, with S&P 500 futures hitting a record high and tourism [...]
FTSE 100 climbs despite new coronavirus rules but US stocks mixed September 22, 2020 After plunging yesterday, the FTSE 100 rose despite the UK government imposing new coronavirus restrictions, while US stocks were mixed. The UK blue-chip index was up 0.9 per cent to 5,858 points in afternoon trading. That was down significantly from its opening figure of above 6,000 yesterday, however. The FTSE 250 had risen 0.2 per [...]
Kingfisher profit jumps as online sales rise during lockdown September 22, 2020 B&Q-owner Kingfisher increased its pre-tax profit by 62.4 per cent in the first half of the year as a strong second quarter and online sales growth boosted the retail group. The FTSE 100 firm also said it had seen “an encouraging start to the second half of the year”. It said like-for-like sales were up [...]
FTSE 100 reshuffle: ITV set to tumble from the big league September 1, 2020 The FTSE 100 is set for another dramatic reshuffle as the blue-chip index adapts to life during the coronavirus pandemic, with telly stalwart ITV almost certain to drop from the list and bargain retailer B&M likely to rise. FTSE Russell, which runs the index, will decide who’s up and who’s down according to prices at [...]
B&Q owner Kingfisher forecasts higher profits as demand continues July 22, 2020 DIY retailer Kingfisher has forecast higher interim pre-tax profits as strong demand continued as lockdown restrictions started to ease. The figures Kingfisher, which owns B&Q, said like-for-like sales in the second quarter jumped 21.6 per cent, while year to date sales were down 3.7 per cent. The group, which also owns Screwfix, said based on [...]