Ocado strikes factory deal with Australian grocer Coles a month after £1.5bn Marks & Spencer tie-up March 26, 2019 Ocado has agreed a deal to provide two robot-operated fulfillment centres for Australian grocer Coles Online, as it doubles down on its growing role as a retail technology supplier. Read more: Ocado shares burn after 48-hour blaze at robotics centre The online supermarket will build and operate the customer fulfillment centres in Sydney and Melbourne, [...]
John Lewis tumbles down UK top employer rankings March 26, 2019 John Lewis and Partners has lost its crown as Britain’s top employer following a tough 2018 that saw its profits drop by 45 per cent, according to a yearly survey released today. Read more: John Lewis profits plummet 45 per cent in ‘challenging’ market Wren Kitchens now tops the list of UK employers as ranked [...]
Dogs of the Footsie 2019: 10 shares yielding 6 per cent plus March 23, 2019 By David Budworth from interactive investor. Here are the 10 high yielders that make it into this year's Dogs of the Footsie investment strategy. It's time to reset our Dogs of the Footsie portfolio, selecting the 10 highest-yielding shares of the FTSE 100 index. Around half of 2018's portfolio is carried over on to this [...]
Profit dips at Shore Capital ahead of its purchase of Stockdale Securities March 21, 2019 Profit dipped at corporate finance firm Shore Capital in 2018, in a year of rocky capital markets. Read more: Shore Capital snaps up Stockdale Securities to create broking powerhouse The figures The Aim-listed business said profit fell 11.1 per cent to £4.1m, which it blamed on increased investments. Revenue increased 3.4 per cent to £43.3m and its [...]
Capita takes on Brexit work as outsourcer kicks on with ‘radical’ turnaround plan March 14, 2019 Outsourcing giant Capita has admitted it is helping pick up some of the government’s slack in preparing for Brexit, as Whitehall continues scrambling to put contingency plans in place for a possible no-deal scenario. The outsourcer, which specialises in digital and IT-related services, has taken on several contracts, as the 29 March leaving date looms ever [...]
Capita slashes net debt and profit as outsourcer kicks on with ‘radical’ turnaround plan March 14, 2019 Outsourcer Capita’s revenues were down more than £300m last year, as turnaround specialist CEO Jonathan Lewis worked to nullify the “existential threat” facing the firm when he took over in late 2017. Lewis told City A.M. he has taken “radical, decisive action” to simplify the firm, which saw profits fall more than one-quarter but still [...]
Marks & Spencer investors suffer dividend blow as retailer nets food delivery service in £750m Ocado venture February 27, 2019 Shareholders hammered Marks & Spencer’s shares this morning as it became clear the retailer plans to hit up investors to fund a £750m food delivery venture with Ocado. M&S’s stock dropped 9.2 per cent to 303p as it confirmed plans to raise £600m through a rights issue as well as knocking down shareholders’ dividend. The [...]
Marks & Spencer and Ocado confirm talks over joint retail venture February 26, 2019 Marks & Spencer and Ocado have confirmed they are “in discussions” around a £1.8bn joint venture. Read more: Ocado to develop 20 new warehouses in first stage of US deal with Kroger The tie-up would see M&S pay Ocado between £800m and £900m for a 50 per cent stake in the food delivery service, according [...]
Ocado boss Tim Steiner refuses to comment on M&S tie-up reports February 5, 2019 Ocado chief executive Tim Steiner today refused to be drawn on reports of a potential tie-up with Marks & Spencer after reporting a revenue boost in the firm’s full-year results. “We’re in the business of talking to retailers; we’re constantly talking to different retailers all around the world about opportunities we may have with them,” Steiner [...]
Ocado’s revenue nears £1.6bn but losses widen February 5, 2019 Online food retailer Ocado announced 13 per cent revenue growth to nearly £1.6bn today, but losses after tax increased more than fourfold to nearly £45m. The company has seen its share price more than double over the last year, with news late last month that it was in talks for a partnership with Marks & [...]