Inside Track: Ross’s brutal shake-up could prove painful for taxpayers January 29, 2014 ROSS’S Brutal Shake-up – come next month, that will be the most appropriate use of the initials of Britain’s most troubled lender. After Monday’s kitchen and bathroom sinking all rolled into one, it’s not difficult to see why. McEwan’s predecessor as chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Stephen Hester, was fond of describing [...]
Greencore sales lifted by boom in convenience January 28, 2014 BRITAIN’S fast-growing convenience market helped boost sales at sandwiches to Yorkshire puddings-maker Greencore. The group’s convenience arm, which makes products such as salads for retailers including Marks & Spencer, posted a 9.1 per cent jump in like-for-like sales for the 13 weeks to 27 December. This helped boost overall sales by 7.2 per cent on [...]
McColl’s kicks off retail IPOs with plan for £50m stock market float January 27, 2014 CONVENIENCE store group McColl’s is set to jump the queue of retailers preparing to join the stock market after confirming plans yesterday to float next month. The retailer, which owns 1,276 newsagents and convenience stores, wants to raise £50m in a main market listing that is expected to value the group at around £225m. McColl’s [...]
Here’s why one bank thinks Marks & Spencer is set to outperform January 23, 2014 Exane BNP Paribas has shown some kindness to poor Marks & Spencer this morning after generously upgrading its recommendation to “outperform”, sending shares up more than two per cent. The French bank, which previously had an “underperform” rating on the stock, bravely argues that after three years of difficult trading and a history of underinvestment, [...]
The rise of the London Village January 16, 2014 IT SEEMS these days everyone wants their slice of village life, even if they live and work in the heart of the city. The Big Smoke has always been made up of distinct neighbourhoods with their own character and lifestyle, but the idea of the London Village has really taken hold in the public imagination [...]
A DIY investment price war could be on the way January 15, 2014 Imagine if Sainsbury’s or Tesco made you pay to enter their supermarkets and buy their milk and bread, but promised that the milk and bread would be much cheaper than before. That slightly dystopian vision is what occurred to UK money management industry last year, after regulators decided the relationship between suppliers and distributors was [...]
Tulchan’s profit tumbles during a difficult 2013 January 14, 2014 CITY PR outfit Tulchan’s revenues tumbled more than eight per cent to £7.6m during the year to 31 March, after the firm lost clients G4S and Marks & Spencer in 2013. “This past year has been a challenging one for the firm, best characterised as trying to walk up a down escalator,” chief executive Andrew [...]
A two-speed high street January 9, 2014 A CLEAR split between Britain’s winners and losers in the battle for consumers’ cash this Christmas emerged yesterday, as three of the biggest retail chains revealed worse-than-expected trading. Poor results from Tesco, Morrisons and Marks & Spencer added to dreary updates from Sainsbury’s and Mothercare, with heavy discounting, weak consumer spending and the rising discount [...]
M&S boss Marc Bolland defends Xmas discounts January 9, 2014 MARKS & SPENCER chief executive Marc Bolland yesterday denied that the retailer had sparked this Christmas’s frenzied discounting as the chain’s clothing sales fell for a 10th consecutive quarter. The high street bellwether said like-for-like general merchandise sales, which include homeware and clothing, dropped by 2.1 per cent in the 13 weeks to 28 December. [...]
Bottom Line: CEO’s survival will depend on a revolution January 9, 2014 YESTERDAY marked a very unwelcome milestone for Marks & Spencer’s boss Marc Bolland. Three-and-a-half years into the job, the former Morrisons chief exec has clocked up his 10th successive quarter of declining clothing sales, leaving investors waiting for his promised turnaround yet again. That they’re giving him more time – as evidenced by yesterday’s 3.6 [...]