Uniq narrows its losses but wary on future April 26, 2011 UNIQ’S full-year pre-tax loss narrowed, helped by an improvement in its desserts business following a restructuring, but its said raw material prices and increasing competition were taking their toll. The company, which sells desserts, sandwiches and salads to retailers, including Marks & Spencer and Costa, reported a pre-tax loss of £11.2m last year against £18.5m [...]
HENDON, LONDON April 14, 2011 DOWNAGE, NEAR PARSON STREET Price: £1.35m This five-bedroomed detached family home stretches across 3,030 sq ft and three floors. It has a landscaped garden, two separate garages and a long driveway with space for more than one car. Contact: Aston Chase on 020 8455 3538 or go to www.astonchase.com TENTERDEN GROVE Price: £699,950 This mews [...]
Asos profit estimated at top end April 13, 2011 online fashion firm ASOS said full year profit was likely to be towards the top end of expectations after a jump in fourth quarter sales. The fast-growing firm said retail sales increased 70 per cent to £93.4m in the three months to 31 March, its fiscal fourth quarter. That compares with a rise of 59 [...]
M&S poaches top man from Wm Morrison April 7, 2011 MARKS & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland has poached one of his former Wm Morrison colleagues, Christopher Taylor, to take charge of his convenience stores . Taylor, who was leading Morrisons’ expansion into smaller convenience stores, is the first of Bolland’s former executives to be hired by M&S since Bolland was himself poached as chief [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 7, 2011 BRITVIC Goldman Sachs has downgraded the soft drinks firm to “sell” and cut its target price by 77p to 384p. The broker thinks the firm’s sales mix will continue to suffer as UK and Irish customers look for better value. It also expects Britvic’s management to admit rising input costs during interim results next month [...]
Carpetright issues another profit alert April 7, 2011 Carpetright, Britain’s biggest floor covering retailer, warned on profits for the second time in as many months, as shoppers hold back on expensive purchases amid rising bills and government cuts. The group, which trades from around 700 stores in Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium, said profit before tax and one-off items for the year [...]
M&S sales in surprise lift April 6, 2011 MARKS and Spencer yesterday lifted some of the gloom surrounding the retail sector with a slim sales rise – but the company warned that times will get tougher. The chain – which had been expected to report a sales slump – was given a boost from its food section. Overall its UK like-for-like sales rose [...]
FTSE nears seven-year high as M&S boosts retail sector April 6, 2011 BANKS helped drive Britain’s top shares to a near seven-week high yesterday following a Portuguese debt auction, while Marks & Spencer rose on better-than-expected sales, lifting sentiment in retailers. The FTSE 100 ended up 34.07 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 6,041.13, its highest closing level since 18 February. Lex van Dam, hedge fund manager [...]
M&S sales in slim rise thanks to food April 6, 2011 Marks and Spencer sales were up slightly as rising food sales offset falls in other categories, it said in a trading statement. Its like-for-like sales rose 0.1 per cent in the 13 weeks to 2 April. General merchandise fell 3.9 per cent, but that was cancelled out by a 3.4 per cent rise in food [...]
…but retailers are still feeling the heat April 5, 2011 MUSIC and DVD retailer HMV plunged further into trouble yesterday as it issued a third profit warning. The embattled company saw its shares tumble by up to nine per cent, despite assurances that its credit facilities were solid. HMV warned that profit before tax and exceptional items for the full-year would be around £30m. That [...]