M&S profit falls May 22, 2012 Marks & Spencer posted a 1.2 per cent fall in full-year underlying profit, its first decline in three years, as even its relatively older and more affluent customers were touched by the economic downturn. Britain’s biggest clothing retailer, which also sells homewares and upmarket foods, said on Tuesday it made a profit before tax and [...]
Bridgepoint spells out a £49m deal for dictation firm BigHand May 21, 2012 BRIDGEPOINT, the private equity house behind a series of high street names, has bought a dictation technology firm from Lloyds Development Capital in a £49m deal. Its Bridgepoint Development Capital arm has taken a majority stake in BigHand, which works with more than 150,000 professionals such as lawyers, doctors and accountants. As part of the [...]
Manduca in line for chairman’s role at the Pru May 20, 2012 PAUL MANDUCA, one of the City’s best-known fund managers, is set to become the new chairman of Prudential, putting an end to a five-month search for Harvey McGrath’s successor. Manduca, 60, joined the board of Prudential, the UK’s biggest life assurer, as a senior independent director in October 2010 and has been overseeing the search [...]
Marks & Spencer full-year profit expected to miss City forecasts May 20, 2012 MARKS AND SPENCER is expected to become the latest retailer to scale back on its growth targets when it posts preliminary full-year results tomorrow that are forecast to fall short of expectations. Two years ago, Britain’s biggest clothing retailer set itself an ambitious target to increase its sales by between £1.6bn to £2.5bn a year [...]
London still needs a Plus Markets for small-cap listings May 20, 2012 LAST week was a rollercoaster for the small-cap community, with uncertainty surrounding Plus Markets. It culminated in the announcement that Michael Spencer’s Icap has agreed conditionally, upon approval by the FSA and Plus shareholders, to acquire Plus SX and its Recognised Investment Exchange status. Plus companies and advisers will be relieved at Icap’s commitment to [...]
Troubling times for retailers to the squeezed middle April 29, 2012 SPARE a thought for the squeezed middle. No, not the ordinary family as defined by Ed Miliband, but the places they shop and the things they buy. The mid-market consumer firm is finding the going very tough indeed. There has been much written about Tesco’s troubles in recent months, punctuated by a series of ignominious [...]
Marks & Spencer sales hit by shortage of stock April 17, 2012 MARKS & SPENCER reported worse-than-expected fourth quarter sales yesterday after the retailer was hit by a shortage of stock across some of its best-selling women’s clothing lines. Chief executive Marc Bolland said the company had been caught out by February’s cold snap, when it failed to meet demand for items such as coats and knitwear. [...]
M&S misses sales forecast April 17, 2012 Marks & Spencer missed forecasts for underlying fourth quarter sales, with growth in food sales failing to offset a weaker outcome in general merchandise. The UK’s biggest clothing retailer, which also sells homewares and upmarket foods, said on Tuesday it would, however, meet expectations for 2011/12 profit. M&S said sales at stores open over a [...]
Food will help Marks & Spencer post fourth quarter sales rise April 15, 2012 MARKS & SPENCER is expected to post a modest rise in fourth quarter sales tomorrow, as strong food sales help to offset more subdued growth at its general merchandising division. Analysts predict Britain’s biggest clothing retailer, whose clothes are modelled by the ‘60s supermodel Twiggy, to reveal a 1.6 per cent lift in like-for-like food [...]
BEST of the BROKERS April 10, 2012 PETROFAC Liberum has cut its rating on the engineering group from “buy” to “hold” but leaves its target price on the stock unchanged at 1822p. As the shares are now within five per cent of the target, and ahead of new contract awards, the broker says Petrofac looks fair value. PETROPAVLOVSK Nomura remains positive on [...]