Permira prepares to appoint bankers to oversee sale or US IPO of British footwear brand Dr Martens April 10, 2019 Private equity firm Permira is planning a sale or US flotation of iconic British footwear brand Dr Martens. Permira, which bought Dr Martens for £300m in 2014, is preparing to hire bankers to review potential options for the company, Sky News reported. Read more: Rathbones and Tilney owner Permira sniff around Speirs & Jeffery Bankers [...]
Tesco doubles dividend as profits surge 30 per cent after turnaround success April 10, 2019 Tesco boosted profits by almost 30 per cent in 2018 as it beat expectations, leading the supermarket to almost double its dividend as its chief executive revealed the supermarket has met the “vast majority” of its turnaround goals since its 2014 accounting scandal. The figures Pre-tax profits rose 28.8 per cent year on year to [...]
Dunelm set to beat full-year expectations after sales boost April 10, 2019 Homeware retailer Dunelm expects to beat analyst’s full-year profit expectations after the firm reported a higher-than-expected sales boost. Dunelm reported that total like-for-like revenue was up 12.5 per cent to £264.6m in the first three months of 2019. Read more: Profits jump at Dunelm but outlook remains cautious ahead of Brexit Sales in bricks-and-mortar stores [...]
Watchdog warns general insurers over value for money and high commissions April 10, 2019 The City watchdog has warned general insurers it is prepared to crackdown on distribution chains failing to give customers value for money. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that poor manufacturing, sales and distribution approaches were rife in the sector. Read more: Dixons Carphone hit with £30m FCA penalty The regulator’s investigation found customers were [...]
Fashion retailer Asos sees profits tumble in first half of 2019 April 10, 2019 British online fashion retailer Asos saw its profits slump in the six months to 28 February in its first interim results since it issued a warning over tough trading conditions in December. Read more: Asos bosses snap up cheap shares after day of horror The figures Asos’s profit before tax collapsed to just £4m for [...]
Mike Ashley could use a lesson in subtlety after Debenhams April 10, 2019 Britain's leading retail maverick Mike Ashley is known for using intemperate language – but in his reaction to the collapse of long-term target Debenhams yesterday, he excelled himself. Ashley issued a statement in which he savaged politicians and regulators for being “as effective as a chocolate teapot”, and called for advisers on the deal to [...]
Death of the High Street? Why we’re still backing UK retail April 9, 2019 Following some dire headlines you might rightly wonder why the share prices of UK retailers have recorded double-digit gains this year (see graphic, below). Surely the relentlessly downbeat mood music from the mainstream media (and pessimism among analysts) is confirmation that the UK consumer is in full retreat, and consumer-exposed sectors are in deep trouble? [...]
Cake walk: Cake Box revenues soar 30 per cent after summer IPO April 9, 2019 Cake Box today predicted a sweet end to its first year as a public company, telling investors that revenue will rise 30 per cent year on year to a record £17.1m for the 12 months to the end of March. Like-for-like sales growth of 6.5 per cent was the icing on the cake after the [...]
Confidence hits new low but spending climbs amid sunny weather April 9, 2019 Confidence in the UK economy tanked to its lowest level in five years last month, as shopping sentiment wavered in the wake of Britain’s imminent departure from the EU. Uncertainty over Brexit has pushed confidence to its lowest level since Barclaycard began recording data in 2014, with almost seven in ten respondents saying they are [...]
Chilango, burrito bonds, and London – the boss of the Mexican food chain talks about the virtues of crowdfunding April 8, 2019 After interviewing Eric Partaker, the co-founder of burrito chain Chilango, he says I should try the food at his elaborately decorated restaurant on Cannon Street. I ask what he recommends, and instead of picking from the regular menu, he suggests I sample the “Noah’s Ark” – a lunch box containing all the meat options. A [...]