London Report: UK retailers set to reveal if tills ringing again September 8, 2013 RETAILERS are set to reveal this week how big an impact the UK recovery is making as consumers return the shops. Reports from Dunelm, Home Retail, Morrisons, Next, Ocado and Sports Direct will show how confident buyers are in the improving economy. Ocado, which will update the market on Thursday, was rated a “buy” by [...]
Ocado and Sports Direct: better to arrive late than not at all August 26, 2013 Whenever bankers are asked to explain why London’s market for new issues – the IPO market – nearly collapsed altogether last year, they cite a number of factors that always include the poor performance of a number of high-profile flotations. The lists are long and varied but almost everybody’s bete noirs include Sports Direct, Mike [...]
The former trader hailing in a new way to book your minicab August 18, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks getting about town with Justin Peters, founder of minicab price comparison website Kabbee OUR City’s cabbies have been hit hard by the recession. London residents’ trips by licensed taxis and private hire vehicles (combined) fell by an estimated 23 per cent between the 2007-08 and 2008-09 financial years – and have [...]
Morrisons and Ocado split over online sales tax July 28, 2013 WM MORRISON and Ocado bosses are heading for a clash over controversial plans to launch an online sales tax. The two companies last week formally completed a £216m licensing agreement that will allow Morrisons to launch an online grocery service by January 2014. However the debate surrounding the mooted tax has put Dalton Philips, the [...]
Ocado shorters scrambling to shrink positions July 22, 2013 HEDGE funds who bet against Ocado have continued to shrink their unprofitable positions in the online grocer, shares in which have soared since its £216m tie-up with supermarket WM Morrison in May. Ocado has been a longstanding favourite among shortsellers, who borrow shares in the hope that a company’s share price will fall. However, the [...]
Panmure says goodbye to Dorgan July 22, 2013 PANMURE Gordon has said goodbye to the well-known retail analyst Philip Dorgan, after making him redundant last week. Dorgan is not normally known for biting his tongue – he famously said in advance of the Ocado initial public offering three years ago that the shop: “Begins with an O, ends with an O, and is [...]
Internet firms warn of online sales tax risk July 21, 2013 A GROUP of leading online retailers has hit out against calls from some bricks and mortar retailers for a new online tax to level the playing field, condemning such a move as “nonsense” and a risk to jobs and growth of small businesses. In a letter sent to the chancellor George Osborne, the chief executives [...]
Britain’s business elite is becoming increasingly Eurosceptic April 24, 2013 A PERNICIOUS myth has finally been laid to rest. From today, nobody can claim any longer that British business is united in its support of the European Union and the ever-greater centralisation of powers in Brussels. With over 500 business people – from top FTSE 100 bosses to entrepreneurs – signing up to Business for [...]
M in meltdown as the founders join the exodus February 26, 2013 JUST a few hours after The Capitalist disclosed that five key members of staff had quit the City’s top flight financial PR agency M:Communications came the revelation that suggests things are getting serious. Founders Nick Miles and Hugh Morrison, both City veterans and big revenue earners, announced that they are also leaving the group, which [...]
Best of the Brokers February 26, 2013 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com HOME RETAIL GROUP Espirito Santo rates the retailer “sell” with a fair value of 85p. The broker sees the reported closure of the firm’s Argos joint venture in China as a sensible step, allowing management to focus on improving the key domestic business. [...]