Conviviality Retail in talks to buy Bibby’s Rhythm & Booze stores April 24, 2014 BARGAIN Booze owner Conviviality Retail confirmed yesterday it is in talks with rival off-licensing group Bibby Retail Services to buy a portfolio of stores as it seeks to gain a greater foothold in Yorkshire. The company, which floated on Aim last year, is understood to be interested in buying around 20 of the 50 shops, [...]
Letters to the Editor – 25/04 – Transport capacity, Western decline, Best of Twitter April 24, 2014 Transport capacity [Re: Just three reforms would transform UK recovery into sustainable boom, yesterday] Rolling back the green belt around London by one mile is a sensible suggestion. But how would the inhabitants of the 1m new houses, all within travelling distance of London, travel into the city? Certainly not on the overcrowded trains and [...]
Retail investors drive Saga float towards £3bn April 23, 2014 INSURER Saga is set to put retail investors at the heart of the largest UK stock market float since Royal Mail, as it gears up to publish plans to list the firm in London as early as next week. Saga’s owner Acromas, which also owns the AA, is preparing to offload as much as £1.5bn [...]
Inside Track: Behind the scenes of the Pfizer and Astrazeneca talks April 23, 2014 IT WAS ever thus: investment bankers kick off the year talking up a economic environment ripe for throwing up industry-defining mergers and acquisitions. By Easter, they’re conjuring up myriad reasons why said deluge of deals has failed to materialise. To date, 2014 has done little to disabuse that idea. There are exceptions, of course, one [...]
Old Mutual ups Boohoo stake April 22, 2014 FTSE 100 listed finance group Old Mutual, home of top investor Richard Buxton, has upped its stake in online fashion retailer Boohoo, helping it become one of the firm’s biggest institutional shareholders. The company yesterday revealed it had amassed a 9.4 per cent stake in the Manchester-based company, which floated on the London stock market [...]
The Card Factory set to join host of UK IPOs April 22, 2014 The Card Factory has announced it will proceed with plans for an initial public offering (IPO), joining a host of UK retailers to list on the London Stock Exchange in recent months. The IPO will comprise of an offer of new and existing shares to institutional investors. The company has also announced that former Travis [...]
Charles Stanley profits dented by higher costs April 16, 2014 FUND manager Charles Stanley has warned that a surge in IT, risk and consultancy costs has pushed its annual profits 10 per cent below forecasts, despite assets under management hitting a record high. The London-listed firm said funds under management and administration rose 13.5 per cent since last year to a new high of £20.1bn. [...]
Eagle Eye jumps on float and closes its £4.5m 2ergo takeover April 16, 2014 RETAIL and hospitality voucher firm Eagle Eye Solutions, where former Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy is an investor and director, saw its shares jump almost 10 per cent to 180p during its first day of trading yesterday. Eagle Eye raised £6m from its oversubscribed placing on London’s Alternative Investment Market, hitting a £36m valuation. “Today’s [...]
London Report: China data and bullish retailers drive FTSE rally April 16, 2014 THE UK’S benchmark stock index rose yesterday after Chinese economic data came in a touch above forecasts, with Tesco rising on aggressive strategy plans and Sports Direct surging on a bullish note about the company. The sportswear retailer surged 5.6 per cent to the lead FTSE 100 gainers. Traders cited a note from Bank of [...]
Inflation is a nasty stealth tax. We should celebrate its defeat April 15, 2014 INFLATION, as Milton Friedman used to argue, is a form of taxation without legislation. Wealth is taken from some people – for example, holders of cash – and given to others – such as those with large debts. The process is stealthy, opaque, unpredictable and undemocratic, badly understood by citizens, and one of many reasons [...]