Poundland appoints Kevin O’Byrne as chief executive as Jim McCarthy retires March 2, 2016 Poundland has appointed former B&Q boss Kevin O'Byrne as chief executive, replacing Jim McCarthy who will retire after 10 years in the role. O'Byrne will initially join as chief executive designate from 4 April, taking on the full reins on 1 July. McCarthy will remain available to the board until he retires at Poundland's AGM in September. [...]
Poundland launches gardening range with celebrity TV presenter Charlie Dimmock February 3, 2016 Green-fingered shoppers and fans of a bargain rejoice. Poundland has joined forces with celebrity gardener and TV presenter Charlie Dimmock to create a new range of gardening tools, the retailer announced today. The Charlie Dimmock range, which launches on 29 February, will feature 130 lines of gardening essentials ranging from hand tools and heavy duty gloves to hanging bird feeders and [...]
UK footfall slumps in December as Britons spend Christmas online January 18, 2016 Britain's high streets suffered their biggest drop in footfall in over a year in December, as Britons shunned stores in favour of buying Christmas presents online. Traffic fell by four per cent year-on-year, which is far greater than the drop of 1.8 per cent in December 2014 and marked the biggest drop since November that same [...]
The count is in: These are the retail winners and losers for Christmas 2015 (according to Hargreaves Lansdown) January 15, 2016 After a busy few days chock-full of Christmas retail results, we're finally beginning to get a sense of who the winners and losers of 2015's festive period might be. Yesterday, Tesco surprised investors with better-than-expected results, rounding off a solid performance among the UK's traditional supermarket sector – although Asda is still yet to report. Marks & [...]
All I want for Christmas is Great Portland Estates and Aldermore shares: These FTSE 250 chief executives have delivered the best returns for their investors December 16, 2015 It's the time of year when Santa makes his list and checks it twice – and it looks like the likes of Great Portland Estates boss Toby Courtauld and Aldermore's Philip Monks will be near the top of the "nice section", after new research suggested they're among the most successful chief executives on the FTSE 250. [...]
FTSE 100 boosted by Fed and ECB policy minutes – London Report November 20, 2015 The London market soared yesterday, pushed higher by stronger than forecast results at Royal Mail and more signals of an interest rate rise from the US. The blue-chip index closed up 0.8 per cent at 6,329.93, its fourth consecutive day of gains. The minutes of the policy-setting Fed committee, released after the close on Wednesday, [...]
Poundland’s share price plummets as profits slump against “exceptional period last year” while 99p Stores conversion begins November 19, 2015 Poundland's share price plummeted more than 20 per cent this morning as it revealed a slump in first year profits. The figures Poundland's total sales rose 5.6 per cent on a constant currency basis, but like-for-likes were down 2.8 per cent. However it was the EBITDA and pre-tax profits that really took a hit, with [...]
Stocks hope to rebound after last week’s dip – London Report November 15, 2015 MARKETS across Europe will be looking to recover lost ground this week, following UK and European stocks recording their worst performance since late August last week, due to falling mining shares chipping away at blue chip FTSE 100. Tomorrow EasyJet will report its full year results, coming off the back of a share price surge [...]
Poundworld secures £50m loan from Santander to fund its expansion November 10, 2015 Poundworld has secured a £50m loan from its banks to help fund its expansion, just months after private equity firm TPG snapped up a majority stake in the bargain chain. The value retailer said the five-year loan provided by Santander Corporate Bank will help the group meet its target of opening 60 new stores a year across the UK on top of [...]