$50m Valentine’s weekend for Lego movie February 17, 2014 THE Lego Movie, based on the iconic figures from Danish toymaker The Lego Group, had a bumper Valentine’s with Warner Bros reporting US box office takings of $13.03m (£7.8m) on Friday. BoxOffice.com estimates that the movie will take $51m over the weekend, pushing it ahead of both the RoboCop remake ($20.5m) and About Last Night [...]
How toy businesses’ pinkification limits girls and the economy February 6, 2014 The economy is being harmed by toys aimed at boys and girls, according to one minister. "The way we play as children informs the skills we develop", said Jenny Willott, consumer affairs minister. While toys marketed towards boys boost interest in science and maths, and girls shy away from those subjects, UK businesses will "miss [...]
Flotation to value Legoland and Tussauds owner at up to £3.3bn October 30, 2013 ALTON Towers owner Merlin Entertainments announced the price range yesterday for its long-awaited stock market debut, valuing the firm at up to £3.3bn. Merlin, which is co-owned by private equity groups Blackstone and CVC Capital Partners, said it will be offering its shares between 280p to 330p in an initial public offering that will see [...]
Public offered a ride on theme park flotation October 21, 2013 ALTON Towers owner Merlin Entertainments yesterday said members of the public will have the chance to become shareholders in the company when it floats in London next month, with a minimum investment of just £1,000. The business, which also owns Madame Tussauds and Legoland, plans to raise £200m in an initial public offering of shares. [...]
Rolex wins title of consumer superbrand for a second year February 24, 2013 LUXURY watch-maker Rolex has come top of an annual chart of consumer “superbrands” for the second year running, leaving Apple and Microsoft trailing in second and third place, a poll published today shows. The iPad and iPhone-maker jumped 16 places to clinch second place, missing out on the top spot to Rolex. Over 2,900 British [...]
That’s a wrap: Citi’s tardy trader gets extra paperwork December 11, 2012 A TRADER over at Citi clearly hasn’t heeded The Capitalist’s recent warning about office Christmas party hijinks, which result in one in ten festive revellers being disciplined at work the next day. At a desk at Citi, one team decided to take the matter of punishment into their own hands when a colleague was AWOL [...]
Lego builds higher profit thanks to cinema tie-ups March 1, 2012 TOY firm Lego posted a sharp rise in profits yesterday, boosted by bumper sales of its popular Star Wars and Harry Potter tie-ins. Net income at the company increase by 12 per cent to a record 4.16bn Danish krone (£470m) in 2011, while revenues rose 17 per cent to reach 18.7bn krone. The group said [...]
Child’s play: the UK toy market in 2011 January 24, 2012 THE UK was the top European market for toy sales in 2011, despite modest growth of just three per cent over the year. Sales in the Christmas week boosted figures, climbing 15 per cent thanks to the extra shopping day as Christmas Eve fell on a Saturday. In that one week alone sales totalled £131m, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 23, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES HAYWARD ACCUSED OF LYING TO US CONGRESS Lawyers for plaintiffs suing for damages over the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010 have alleged that Tony Hayward, BP’s former chief executive, lied in a court statement and gave untruthful testimony to the US Congress when he testified about the spill. In a filing at the [...]
Lego builds on UK success March 3, 2011 Toy brick maker Lego yesterday announced booming sales figures as its new Harry Potter figures gave the comp-any a boost. The Danish group says 2010 profit before tax rose by 63 per cent to £563m, while sales were up 32 per cent to £1.8bn. It says it is now the fourth?largest toy manufacturer with a [...]