Travis Perkins accelerates plans to sell Wickes July 14, 2019 Builders merchant Travis Perkins has stepped up its plans for a £500m spin-off of DIY retailer Wickes. Travis Perkins has begun to prepare to demerge Wickes next year by separating the retailer’s IT systems from the rest of the group, the Sunday Times reported. Read more: Travis Perkins investors cheer first quarter sales growth The [...]
Thomas Cook: How did it end up like this? July 12, 2019 Companies in the travel industry have endured a turbulent year – and none more than Thomas Cook. Read more: Thomas Cook shares plunge to record low as investors face being wiped out The embattled firm this morning said it is closing in on a bailout deal which would see Chinese firm Fosun give it £750m [...]
Share price crashes as car dealer Lookers issues profit warning July 12, 2019 Lookers suffered a sharp drop in its share price this morning as a profit warning fuelled investor concerns just a month after the car dealership giant revealed it was being investigated by the UK’s financial watchdog over its sales processes. Shares plummeted 25 per cent in early morning trading to roughly 33p after the firm [...]
City Moves for 12 July – Who’s switching jobs at Healx, Ergomed and Olim? July 12, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes Healx, Ergomed and Olim. Healx Healx, a Cambridge-based biotechnology company working on breakthrough treatments for rare diseases, has appointed Dr Neil Thompson as chief scientific officer (CSO). Neil, who will spearhead the expansion of Healx’s drug discovery and development team, brings more than 30 years of experience in the biotech and [...]
Private equity firm buys stake in Instagram fashion brand Reformation July 11, 2019 European private equity firm Permira has acquired a majority stake in sustainable fashion brand Reformation. The company, which was founded in Los Angeles 10-years ago, is e-commerce driven fast fashion brand with a dedicated following on social media platforms such as Instagram. Read more: UK fashion brand Karen Millen hoists for sale sign The firm plans [...]
DFS share price falls as it warns investors of ‘volatile’ political backdrop July 11, 2019 DFS posted strong sales growth for its latest financial year today but also warned future earnings could suffer from uncertain economic outlook. Read more: DFS doubles profit but warns of ‘challenging’ 2019 The sofa giant revealed that online sales growth hit 17 per cent in the 12 months to the end of June, with underlying [...]
Ocado, Dunelm and Superdry show there’s always winners & losers in retail July 10, 2019 It’s not all doom and gloom in retail. Whilst we have certainly seen a downturn on the high street, there are winners as well as losers. Next shares are among the best performers on the FTSE in 2019, up 30% so far. And they’re not alone in outperforming the market despite the trouble on the [...]
Dunelm set to hit higher end of profit range amid sales rise July 10, 2019 British homewares retailing giant Dunelm has forecasted today that its annual profit will be at the higher end of its range, raising its expectations on the back of improved sales. Management has said that full-year profit before tax will be at the upper end of the £124m – £126 range announced last month. Total like-for-like [...]
DEBATE: Should the next Prime Minister legalise recreational cannabis? July 10, 2019 Should the next Prime Minister legalise recreational cannabis? Morgan Schondelmeier, head of development at the Adam Smith Institute, which this week published a new paper on cannabis legalisation, says YES. The next Prime Minister must give the green light to legalising cannabis. We’ve seen the push in the UK towards relaxing the rules around medicinal [...]
Sterling trades at two-year lows as recession worries mount July 9, 2019 The pound was trading at two-year lows against the dollar today as investors become increasingly gloomy about the UK economy’s second-quarter performance. Read more: Brexit uncertainty plagues business investment Sterling had fallen 0.5 per cent by 4.30pm UK time to buy $1.246, a price not traded at since mid-2017. Against the euro it had dropped [...]