Buyout houses circle Iceland February 1, 2012 Two buyout houses have placed bids for frozen food retailer Iceland Foods, people familiar with the matter said yesterday, in an auction that the vendors hope will value the business at around £1.5bn. The bids from BC Partners and Bain Capital are “aggressive” the people said, although they did not indicate whether supermarket chain Wm [...]
ROUND-UP | LATE MOVES January 31, 2012 Roma’s Pizarro joins Man City MANCHESTER CITY struck an uncharacteristically frugal late deal for Roma midfielder David Pizarro. The Chilean 32-year-old, who played for City manager Roberto Mancini at Inter Milan, has joined the top-flight leaders on loan until the end of the season. Bridge loaned SUNDERLAND have taken Manchester City outcast Wayne Bridge (right) [...]
Tesco sales growth slows January 31, 2012 Sales growth at Tesco has slowed to just half that of the broader grocery market as rivals like Wal-Mart’s Asda and J Sainsbury gain share, data showed. Market research by Kantar WorldPanel showed grocery sales in Britian climbed 4.2 per cent year-on-year in the 12 weeks to January 22 compared with 4.8 per cent in [...]
Technological change drives better trading January 30, 2012 THE latest foray in the ongoing battle of technology that has griped retail trading since the invention of the internet comes from IG Index. As part of its shiny new Insight portal, it is releasing details of its clients’ net positions (see right for an example of the information now available). More information and collaboration [...]
Subway to create 6,000 new UK jobs January 26, 2012 SUBWAY, the sandwich franchise chain, has announced ambitious plans to open over 2,000 stores in the UK and Ireland over the next three year, creating more than 6,000 jobs. The company, which is famous for its US-style foot-long rolls, said its expansion plans were fuelled by a growing consumer demand for “convenient, affordable” food on [...]
FTSE takes a breather as clouds gather over Greece January 24, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index retreated from six-month peaks yesterday as Eurozone debt woes prompted investors to take profits in banking stocks and rebalance portfolios in favour of high dividend payers. The fall on the London bourse chimed with weaker equity performance in Europe and the United States, on worries that Greece could be heading for [...]
Uncertainty holds sway over the FTSE January 23, 2012 GFT DAVID MORRISON The FTSE 100 fell 6 per cent last year, which was bad news for buy and hold investors. Its performance compared poorly with the major US indices: the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed a 5 per cent gain, while the broader-based S&P 500 index ended flat. Nevertheless, the UK index easily outperformed [...]
Bank stocks lead the way as the FTSE continues its climb January 19, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index closed higher yesterday, led by banks after bullish earnings from their US peers and with hopes building that the recent coordinated action by central banks and the IMF would be enough to avoid an economic crisis. The FTSE 100 index rose 38.78 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 5,741.15, after breaking [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 16, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES MORRISON COOLS INTEREST IN IRELAND Wm Morrison’s interest in Iceland Foods is cooling, raising doubts about whether Britain’s fourth biggest supermarket chain by market share will mount a £1.5bn bid for the frozen food specialist. Morrison was one of the companies expected to make an offer for Iceland Foods, for which second round [...]
Founder Walker moving ahead in race for Iceland January 15, 2012 RISING concerns over competition laws could clear the way for Iceland Foods founder Malcolm Walker to take control of the supermarket once again. Walker, the chief executive, has moved ahead in the race because Iceland is believed to be worried that a deal with another retailer would not be approved by the Competition Commission. Last [...]