On the front line: Adopting unified communications June 4, 2014 Richard Smith, owner and managing director of Aspen Concepts, talks to Liam Ward-Proud about how unified communications have helped link the different parts of his business, and increased employee productivity Handling several lines of communication is a challenge for most SMEs. But it’s especially tricky for businesses operating across multiple sites. Aspen Concepts, a retail [...]
Bottom Line: It’s crunch time for Clarke and Philips June 3, 2014 THE NUMBERS are dire. Despite splashing out more than £3bn over the past year, the UK’s three biggest listed firms – Tesco, Sainsbury and Morrisons – are all shedding market share, with the former showing its weakest growth in 11 years. Analysts are slashing the sector left, right and centre, and with Tesco expected to reveal another [...]
Online discounter MandM Direct reveals plans for £170m float June 3, 2014 ONLINE discounter MandM Direct has become the latest retailer to announce plans for an initial public offering (IPO), expected to value the group between £140m to £170m. The company, owned by private equity firm TA Associates, sells excess stock for over 250 brands such as Adidas and Diesel at discounts of up to 75 per [...]
LondonMetric returns to profit June 3, 2014 LondonMetric reported a leap in full-year profits yesterday thanks to a surge in the value of its portfolio and a revival in the property market beyond south east England. The group, which buys and develops distribution warehouses for retailers such as Waitrose, said profits rose to £125.3m in the year to 31 March from a [...]
The GPS luggage tags that could change how you travel June 3, 2014 Flights are notorious when it comes to keeping luggage safe, particularly for those who travel by plane regularly. With passengers understandably going to great lengths to distinguish their belongings – from gaudy stickers, oversized labels and, in some cases, spray paint – a technological step forward seems sensible. That’s the thinking of several leading airlines, [...]
Card Factory secures £200m in refinancing June 2, 2014 CARD factory, the budget greetings cards chain which floated on the London Stock Exchange last month, said yesterday it has completed a £200m refinancing. The group said the refinancing deal, which it set out last month at the time of the float, includes a £180m term loan facility and a £20m revolving facility, both with [...]
Regent Street offers futuristic retail adverts June 2, 2014 SHOPPERS strolling down Regent Street will be targeted with adverts from shops pinged directly to their smartphones as part of futuristic new plans unveiled yesterday. The Crown Estate, which is regenerating the mile-long stretch of shops, said retailers will be able to install beacons that connect via bluetooth technology to customers strolling past – helping [...]
Dotcom guru Brent Hoberman back in the market with Made June 2, 2014 BRENT Hoberman, the dotcom poster boy who listed Lastminute.com on the day that the market peaked and managed to ride out the crash before selling the firm for $2bn (£1.2bn) in 2006, is set to return to the stock market after nine years with a new internet flotation. Hoberman, who sits as chairman of Made.com, [...]
Transport for London looks for £3.5bn of commercial revenues June 2, 2014 TRANSPORT for London (TfL) has begun searching for a new sponsor of the city’s bicycle hire scheme, hoping to bring in more money and a long-term partner following Barclays’ departure. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has written to 200 of TfL’s biggest advertisers to gauge interest in sponsoring the bicycles, which were launched on [...]
Sir Philip makes market return with Mysale IPO May 29, 2014 RETAIL tycoon Sir Philip Green is set to make a return to the stock market for the first time in 22 years after Australian flash sales site Mysale confirmed its intention to float yesterday, with a value of more than £300m. The Topshop owner has bought a 25 per cent stake in Mysale for £47m [...]