City Moves for 30 September – Who’s switching jobs at MJ Hudson, Maven and Impact? September 30, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes MJ Hudson, Maven and Impact MJ Hudson Asset management consultancy MJ Hudson has announced the appointment of Declan Canavan as its new commercial director and a managing director with responsibility for business development. Declan joins the London-headquartered firm from JP Morgan Asset Management where he was managing director and head of [...]
Philip Green’s Miss Selfridge posts £17.5m loss as sales slump September 29, 2019 Sir Philip Green’s Miss Selfridge chain fell to a loss of £17.5m last year as the retailer suffered a decline in sales and a writedown in the value of loss-making stores. The womenswear chain booked sales of £102m in the year to 1 September 2018, down more than 15 per cent on the previous 12 [...]
Sushi stalwart Itsu posts loss as it eyes expansion in the US September 29, 2019 Sushi chain Itsu fell to a pre-tax loss of £6m last year as stronger sales were offset by expansion in the US. The British food chain, which was founded by Pret a Manger tycoon Julian Metcalfe, pulled in revenue of £116m, up nine per cent on the previous year. Read more: Restaurant insolvencies jump by [...]
UK firms most pessimistic in eight years amid political crisis September 29, 2019 British businesses were at their most pessimistic in eight years in the three months to September, a survey showed today, as the country’s political crisis dragged down expectations of growth. Read more: Pound staggers as Bank of England hints at interest rate cut The CBI’s latest monthly report showed the gauge of future expectations of [...]
Funding Circle investors face four month wait to withdraw cash September 28, 2019 Funding Circle is conducting an internal review after it was revealed investors are having to wait more than 16 weeks to withdraw cash. The peer-to-peer platform told The Times it was “exploring a range of options” to tackle the problem delaying investors from selling their loans in its secondary market. Funding Circle has around 80,000 [...]
Suning buys majority stake in Carrefour China for £545m September 27, 2019 French retail giant Carrefour has sold a majority stake in its Chinese business to Suning for €620m (£545m). The Chinese retailer has bought 80 per cent of the firm’s share capital as it attempts to secure growth in online food sales and expand its number of physical stores. Read more: Kingfisher appoints Carrefour exec as [...]
Will Tesco’s earnings drive further share price gains? September 27, 2019 Tesco PLC reports earnings its first-half results on 2 October. The UK’s largest supermarket group is expected to report earnings of 7.5 pence per share, up 17.2 per cent on the year, while revenues are set to remain flat at £31.7 billion. Pretax profit is forecast to be £944 million. Tesco’s outlook is clouded by the [...]
Pound staggers as Bank of England hints at interest rate cut September 27, 2019 Sterling fell today as a top official at the Bank of England flagged a possible interest rate cut to offset continued Brexit uncertainty. The pound fell to its lowest value against the dollar in almost three weeks as BoE official Michael Saunders said the Bank may lower interest rates. “Quite why this is moving the [...]
Shares in Upper Crust owner SSP slump on economic uncertainty warning September 26, 2019 Shares in travel retail operator SSP Group, which owns Upper Crust and Ritazza, slipped five per cent this morning as it warned on the impact of airline capacity cuts and ongoing economic uncertainty. The firm said it expects group revenue to rise despite facing challenges including the grounding of Boeing Max 737 planes and protests [...]
Sofa retailer DFS warns fewer house sales will impact trading September 26, 2019 Furniture retailer DFS this morning warned that weakening consumer confidence and a slump in housing transactions has impacted sofa sales. The figures The company has changed its accounting reference date to 30 June, meaning this morning’s results cover a shortened 48 week period. Read more: DFS warns investors of volatile political threat to sales Profit [...]