Best of the Brokers for 15 July 2015 July 14, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com MARKS & SPENCER Espirito Santo said the autumn/winter range should be the “clearest indication yet” on whether progress has been made, the unknown factor being how much gross margin general merchandise can make. It has upped its full-year profit forecast by one per [...]
Apple Pay launches in the UK: Where to use it, how to use it, which iPhone you need and how it works July 14, 2015 If you're the proud owner of an iPhone 6, 6 Plus or Apple Watch you can now spend your cash with little more than the flick of a wrist. Apple Pay has today launched in the UK, allowing people to use near field communication on their iPhones to tap and pay for items worth [...]
City Moves for 13 July 2015 | Who’s switching jobs July 12, 2015 New Quadrant Partners The private client law firm has appointed Helen McGhee as a senior associate. She joins from Squire Patton Boggs. McGhee was recently named rising star at the LexisNexis Taxation Awards, and advises on all aspects of tax affairs. BMO Global Asset Management The investment management firm has announced the appointment of David [...]
July Budget 2015: Living wage bill hurts retailers and small firms July 8, 2015 Retail and hospitality industry insiders warned yesterday that their sectors face a huge rise in labour costs after a Tory pledge to introduce a minimum wage of £9 for over-25s by 2020. From April next year, businesses will be required to pay £7.20 per hour to workers over the age of 25, rising to [...]
Marks & Spencer AGM: Setback for M&S as clothing sales slide off hanger July 7, 2015 Investors and retail observers allowed themselves a small sigh of relief in April when Marks & Spencer brought 14 consecutive quarters of falling general merchandise sales to a halt. After efforts to improve the quality and style of its clothing and to win back disillusioned customers, it seemed to have broken a spell. [...]
Marks & Spencer slips back into decline after just one quarter of growth July 7, 2015 Marks and Spencer's general merchandise arm has slipped back into decline following just one quarter of growth. The figures: M&S' story is pretty much the same as it has been for many months. Total sales in general merchandise were up 0.2 per cent but like-for-likes were down 0.4 per cent, reversing a solitary [...]
House builders’ reports will be corporate focus – London Report July 5, 2015 THE EMERGENCY Budget on Wednesday will see chancellor George Osborne pressing ahead with major cuts to welfare and government departmental spending. However, economists have said that the Budget is unlikely to bring with it any major change in economic policy. Instead, the main focus of Osborne’s speech on Wednesday will be around the £12bn of [...]
St Modwen hails record profits as New Covent Garden Market scheme boosts net asset value June 30, 2015 St Modwen posted a 21 per cent surge in net asset value (Nav) in the first half of the year thanks to its New Covent Garden Market scheme in Nine Elms, which achieved unconditional status in April. The developer reported an Nav per share of 394p after its planned overhaul of the UK’s biggest fruit [...]
Tesco tops suppliers’ naughty list over groceries code June 22, 2015 Tesco has been on the receiving end of more than half of issues raised by suppliers with the new Groceries Code adjudicator in the last year. The troubled supermarket was at the centre of 54 per cent of complaints made, with 11 per cent of Tesco's suppliers going to the new government ombudsman, according [...]
National Grid boss Steve Holliday preparing to step down in 2016 June 21, 2015 National Grid boss Steve Holliday is to leave the company in early 2016, after 14 years with the company and nine as chief executive. Holliday previously worked at US oil major Exxon and was a non-executive director of Marks & Spencer until July last year. The FTSE 100 company may be considering a number of [...]