Suitmaker Bagir crashes after M&S slashes orders from firm May 15, 2014 ONE OF the country’s biggest listed menswear suppliers crashed nearly 70 per cent in trading yesterday after its largest customer, Marks & Spencer, signalled a reduction in orders for the firm. Bagir Group, which floated last month, was forced to issue a profit warning due to the reduction in M&S orders, sending shares down 68 [...]
Bottom Line: Internet of things has no room for tradition May 15, 2014 LAST month, my aunt and uncle upgraded their Aga. The new model fits perfectly into their country kitchen – a tasteful pastel exterior and exposed, rustic hob – but there’s one big difference: this is an iAga, which can be controlled remotely by text or from a laptop (it even replies to tell you it’s [...]
Best of the Brokers for 16 May 2014 May 15, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com VODAFONE UBS keeps its “buy” rating on the telecoms group but trims its target from 275p to 255p ahead of the firm’s fourth-quarter results next Tuesday. The broker expects revenues of £43.9bn and adjusted operating profits of £4.9bn, both higher than consensus estimates. [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 02 May 2014 May 1, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Ebay settles DoJ ‘no poach’ probe Ebay is the latest Silicon Valley company to settle with US authorities over allegations it struck illegal agreements with rivals to not hire their employees. The ecommerce company will pay California $3.75m, some of which will go to compensating employees affected by a so-called “no poach” agreement [...]
Fat Face unveils London listing to pay off debt May 1, 2014 FAMILY friendly retailer Fat Face yesterday became the latest private equity-backed retailer to tee up a listing on the London stock market, after announcing plans to raise £110m to cut debt. The business, which has about 200 stores across the UK, will offer shares to City fund managers after private equity backer Bridgepoint moved to [...]
Marks & Spencer recruits Silicon Roundabout entrepreneurs for new website May 1, 2014 MARKS & Spencer has been recruiting Silicon roundabout’s finest to help develop its new website and to help lure the 19m customers a year who shop in its stores but do not use its website. The 130 year-old high street retailer broke away from its technology supplier Amazon and launched its own custom-built £150m [...]
Property firms circle Lend Lease’s £550m Bluewater stake April 28, 2014 Some of the UK property industry’s biggest players are circling Lendlease’s £550m cent stake in Bluewater shopping centre in what could become a heated battle for the prized site. British Land, Land Securities, Hammerson, Westfield, Intu and M&G Real Estate are reported to have all lodged initial expression of interest in the Kent shopping centre, [...]
Primark set to launch its first stores in the US April 23, 2014 ASSOCIATED British Foods (ABF) is taking Primark to the US, the FTSE 100 conglomerate announced yesterday, as it reported a 26 per cent leap in the budget clothing chain’s profits. Primark is set to open a 70,000 square foot store in Boston in 2015 and it is also in talks to open a further eight [...]
SSP wins £35m Athens airport contract April 23, 2014 SSP, the food services group run by former WH Smith chief executive Kate Swann, has won a seven-year contract worth €42m (£34.6m) to run nine outlets at Athens’ international airport Eleftherios Venizelos. The restaurants inside a 500 square metre food court opened last month and include Le Grand Comptoir and bakery brand Panopolis. The group, [...]
Retail successes and failures in the US April 23, 2014 Primark is making its first foray into the US, which has in the past proved to be a tough market to crack and one often described as the graveyard of UK retailers. However alongside a number of failures there have been several success stories. BurberryBurberry has proved to be one of the biggest British retail [...]