Marks & Spencer chief heads charge against EU regulations October 14, 2013 BUSINESS leaders will this morning set out 30 EU regulations that they believe should be scrapped in order to help the British economy, in a boost for Prime Minister David Cameron’s plan to renegotiate a new relationship with Brussels. The business taskforce, headed by a team including Marks & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland, was commissioned by the [...]
City Index hires chairman as it rejigs managers October 14, 2013 CITY Index, the spread betting group two-thirds owned by Michael Spencer of Icap, is bringing in an executive chairman to try to improve its performance and to focus more on international expansion. The group is hiring Mark Preston, a banking industry specialist, who quit Lloyds Bank before its ill-fated merger with HBoS. Preston will work [...]
UK tangled up in 13m words of EU red tape October 13, 2013 BRITISH businesses have been hit with more than 3,500 new European Union rules since David Cameron came to power, according to figures released today that set out the enormous impact of the Brussels bureaucracy on UK companies. Despite the coalition’s commitment to cutting red tape, since May 2010 there have been 13m extra words of [...]
Land Securities sells RBS offices on the South Bank for £315m October 10, 2013 LAND SECURITIES has sold Royal Bank of Scotland’s flagship offices on the South Bank to M&G Real Estate in a £315m deal. The FTSE 100 landlord said yesterday it has exchanged contracts to sell Bankside 2&3, which are let to the bank until 2027. The 380,000 square feet offices, which sit next to the Tate [...]
Best of the Brokers for 10 October 2013 October 9, 2013 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com CREST NICHOLSON Goldman Sachs has started covering the housebuilder with a “buy” rating and a 530p target, as it lifts its forecasts for the entire industry. While GS thinks Rightmove, Persimmon and Talyor Wimpey are the best plays on the UK housing recovery, [...]
John Lewis retains crown as Britain’s most trusted retailer October 8, 2013 JOHN LEWIS has been voted Britain’s most trusted retailer, according to research out today that showed that overall trust in retailers has hit a four-year low. Of the 10,000 shoppers surveyed by consultancy firm OC&C Strategy, 96 per cent said they trusted the department store group, followed by other heritage brands Marks & Spencer and [...]
London Report: Retail gloom and US gridlock weigh on FTSE October 8, 2013 THE UK’S top share index slipped to three-month lows yesterday as weak data and downbeat analyst comments hit retailers and the fiscal deadlock in the United States kept broader sentiment subdued. In contrast to buoyant recent British data, retail sales growth slowed for a second month in September, according to BRC numbers. Analyst notes on [...]
M&S stock falls on analyst cut October 7, 2013 A STRING of broker downgrades hit shares in retailer Marks & Spencer yesterday, as analysts fretted over the chances of boss Marc Bolland’s autumn-winter clothing collection. Credit Suisse expects M&S to post a steep fall in first-half profits, with a 1.5 per cent drop in general merchandise sales. And Deutsche Bank cut forecasts for the [...]
Cranswick sausage sales sizzle but pig prices weigh on profits October 7, 2013 THRIFTY shoppers in search of cheaper meats such as pork and bacon helped boost Cranswick’s sales in the first half of the year. The Yorkshire-based company, which supplies retailers such as Marks & Spencer with pies and sausages, said total sales rose 15 per cent in the six months to 29 September. However it warned [...]
M&S director of Asia to leave at end of October September 30, 2013 MARKS & Spencer is to see more changes to its senior management after confirming last night that its Asia regional director is to leave after two years with the company. The high street retail giant said Pascal Martin is to step down at the end of October “to pursue new opportunities outside of the business”. [...]