Swannell plans to juggle HMV and Marks & Spencer roles August 23, 2010 FORMER dealmaker Robert Swannell will remain on the board of HMV after taking the chair of Marks & Spencer in January, it is understood. Swannell, whose appointment as Sir Stuart Rose’s replacement was confirmed yesterday, will divide his time between the structurally challenged music chain and the all-purpose retailer. He will step down from the [...]
Swannell set to win M&S chairmanship August 22, 2010 ROBERT SWANNELL, the veteran investment banker and HMV boss, is expected to be confirmed as Sir Stuart Rose’s replacement at the chair of Marks & Spencer this week. Swannell spent the weekend thrashing out an agreement with M&S, friends said, and while his appointment was not sealed last night he is understood to be in [...]
M&S lines up new chairman to replace Rose August 20, 2010 Marks & Spencer is to name Robert Swannell as Sir Stuart Rose’s successor as chairman, according to Sky News. It said Swannell, currently a senior advisor of Citi Europe and chairman of HMV Group, the music and books retailer, would take up the role when Rose steps down next year. A spokeswoman for M&S declined [...]
Reflections on the Philip Green saga August 16, 2010 MY first contact with Sir Philip Green came around two decades ago when he was running a small public company called Amber Day. I had written a two paragraph story for the Independent newspaper which provoked the retailing tycoon to scream down the phone at me the following day. “I cut out your article out [...]
Boots buys up Turkish drug wholesaler July 25, 2010 ALLIANCE Boots will prepare for a major push into Africa and the Middle East with the purchase of one of Turkey’s biggest drug wholesalers. Alliance Boots will take full control of Hedef Alliance in a deal thought to value the Turkish company at more than £600m. Boots already owns a 50 per cent stake in [...]
Heard it through the grapevine: Levis popular July 20, 2010 A new YouGov SixthSense report into high street fashion reveals that Levis is still in demand despite a high ownership rate amongst UK consumers. The report, which investigates public perceptions of 35 prominent high street brands, also brings into question the consumer-appeal of high-end brands such as Vivienne Westwood. Despite the fact that one in [...]
M&S defends £15m pay deal for new boss July 14, 2010 SIR STUART ROSE, the outgoing executive chairman of Marks & Spencer (M&S), along with the British retailer’s board faced investor revolt yesterday over the pay package handed to incoming chief executive Marc Bolland. With some shareholders calling his £15m deal “obscene” at its annual meeting, senior executives were left defending Bolland’s pay. Rose, who faced [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS July 8, 2010 PROVIDENT FINANCIAL Numis has issued a “buy” recommendation for Provident Financial and with the interim results coming up it details what it expects from the two core divisions: consumer credit and Vanquis. Overall, despite the current tough market conditions, Numis said it expects the group interim profits to be broadly flat. TOTAL UBS has raised [...]
M&S sales up for new boss July 7, 2010 MARKS and Spencer’s new chief executive Marc Bolland yesterday warned that he was “very cautious” about the economic environment in the UK. Presenting M&S’s third consecutive quarter of sales rises, he said: “We know that consumers were concerned to see the measure of VAT being taken to 20 per cent but we will not see [...]
FORMULA ONE CHIEF UNLEASHES TAX FURY July 7, 2010 WITH all the hubbub about capital gains tax rates in the run-up to the recent Budget, investors are no stranger to vituperative attacks on their profits, but it does come as a surprise when the abuse comes from someone who’s supposed to be on their own side. The latest high-profile character to get vocal about [...]