A poor economic backdrop will see UK stocks trail their overseas peers October 20, 2009 IT’S hard to be optimistic about Britain’s economy. It lags behind both France and Germany in exiting recession and a sharp contraction in industrial output in September cast doubt over how positive third quarter GDP data – released this Friday – will be. A slow and protracted recovery lies ahead, according to the Bank of [...]
West End delivers boost for London sales growth October 18, 2009 LONDON retail sales in September had their strongest growth since August last year due to a wave of renewed consumer confidence, according to figures out today from the London Retail Consortium. Retail sales in central London were 7.5 per cent higher on a like-for-like basis in September than a year ago, when sales nosedived to [...]
Why next year will be critical for London’s army of M&A dealmakers October 18, 2009 WHEN Tim Jones, the London managing partner of global law giant Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, walks into a room, one is immediately struck by the fact that he still looks every inch the Wales B rugby prop forward he used be. However, as he settles down in one of his firm’s sixth-floor, oak-panelled meeting room, he [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 14, 2009 Ambrian PartnersThe stockbroking firm has appointed Philip Dorgan, one of the most respected retail analysts in the market, to its research team. Dorgan has been a retail analyst at rival broker Panmure Gordon for the past 13 years, latterly as head of research. He was also head of European retail at Goldman Sachs between 1988 [...]
MILLIONAIRE LEAVES THE LAP OF LUXURY TO GET BY ON 64 A WEEK October 14, 2009 CHANNEL 4-gazers might have been surprised last night by the sight of a familiar face popping up on the box: Pimlico Plumbers boss Charlie Mullins. Mullins, himself the subject of a classic rags-to-riches tale as a self-made business tycoon, was taking part in the channel’s popular “Secret Millionaire” show, for which he travelled to a [...]
Demand for luxury goods aids Burberry October 14, 2009 Luxury fashion retailer Burberry yesterday smashed City forecasts as shoppers rushed to get this season’s latest handbags and accessories. Burberry reported revenue of £343m in the three months ended 30 September, down five per cent at constant currencies, but ahead of analyst forecasts of £320m to £335m. Chief financial officer Stacey Cartwright said the group [...]
There’s no need to be scared of US stocks October 12, 2009 GIVEN the global influence of American business, it would seem perhaps a little odd that we Brits feel we don’t know enough about the largest market in the world to invest in it. This was, essentially, the upshot of research published yesterday by the largest US discount broker Charles Schwab. Based on a survey of [...]
British Land executives to set up firm October 8, 2009 PROPERTY group British Land is set for a boardroom shake-up after it emerged that its star director Andrew Jones was quitting the group, taking two committee members with him to set up a rival firm. Jones, 40, had already confirmed he was considering leaving but his decision to bring on board colleagues Valentine Beresford and [...]
Carluccio’s dines out as new openings lift profits October 8, 2009 ITALIAN restaurant and retail group, Carluccio’s, yesterday said it expected to deliver full-year underlying pre-tax profits slightly ahead of its expectations as it experienced good trading in the period. For the 52 weeks ended 27 September, the company – headed by chief executive Simon Kossoff – said its revenue grew eight per cent. Carluccio’s, which [...]
Retail investors boost private client stockbrokers October 7, 2009 THE surge of retail investors rushing back to equities in recent months has become a flood since London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index broke through the psychologically important 5,000 mark on 9 September. This represents a massive opportunity for private client stockbrokers, many of which have seen a boost to both client numbers and to the [...]