Jaeger is officially up for sale, confirms private equity guru Jon Moulton March 5, 2017 Struggling retail chain Jaeger is up for sale, private equity veteran and Better Capital boss Jon Moulton has confirmed. Moulton told City A.M. that a sale "process is under way" with "a considerable number" of buyers having approached him already. Better Capital has hired AlixPartners to advise over the sale of the 133-year-old fashion brand. The [...]
Jack Wills to open first German store in fight against currency pressures March 5, 2017 Varsity-style clothing retailer Jack Wills will open its first mainland Europe store in Germany, as part of a strategy to increase sales in overseas currencies. The company hopes to offset the effect of the weaker sterling by developing a “natural hedge” through new openings abroad. Founder and CEO Peter Williams said: “what we are trying [...]
Focus On Queen’s Park: Good schools, shops and value lure families to north west London March 3, 2017 Garden towns and villages have made a surprising comeback of late, largely as a by-product of our desperate search for a solution to the housing crisis. The government announced at the start of the year that it intended to build three new towns of 10,000 houses each, in a bid to reach a target of [...]
British private sector growth picks up as the UK consumer’s strong form continues March 3, 2017 Private sector growth picked up in February as services geared towards consumers continued to impress, according to a survey of British companies. The balance of firms from across the UK economy reporting growth increased from 10 per cent to 15 per cent positive in the three months to February, according to the Confederation of British [...]
Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley lands Agent Provocateur deal March 2, 2017 Agent Provocateur has been snapped up by a company part-owned by retail tycoon Mike Ashley, owner of Sports Direct. Alix Partners were appointed as administrators of the company today and immediately sold it to Four Holdings, which is 25 per cent owned by Sports Direct. Ashley fought off private equity firm Lion Capital to secure the deal, and [...]
Ultimate Products’ London IPO has been priced at £105m ahead of it joining the main market next week March 1, 2017 Ultimate Products' offer price has been set at 128p, which will equate to a market capitalisation of approximately £105.2m. The offer comprises 41,084,800 shares, representing 50 per cent of the company’s issued share capital on admission. Shore Capital is acting as sponsor, global co-ordinator and bookrunner to the Company, and Cenkos is acting as joint bookrunner. [...]
Consumer goods group Ultimate Products heads for a £100m-plus IPO in the next few days March 1, 2017 Ultimate Products, the innovative consumer goods group, is set for a £100m-plus IPO in London within days. It will list on the main market under the name of UP Global Sourcing Holdings. The IPO’s pricing could take place as early as today. The placing is understood to be substantially oversubscribed with investors taking part believed [...]
Who exactly is Charlotte Hogg? February 28, 2017 Chancellor Philip Hammond last month announced Charlotte Hogg’s appointment as deputy governor for markets and banking at the Bank of England, effective as of today. She will also become a member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), Financial Policy Committee (FPC) and Prudential Regulation Committee (PRC) Hogg started her career at the Bank of England [...]
Burberry shares jump after Belgium’s richest man snaps up three per cent stake February 28, 2017 Fashion darling Burberry's shares jumped today after reports that Belgium's richest man has snapped up a three per cent stake in the company. Shares rose nearly six per cent, the highest point since May 2015, after Albert Frere disclosed a stake in the trenchcoat maker. Known to be worth $4.9bn (£3.9bn), Frere also recently bought an undisclosed [...]
Sir Philip Green agrees to contribute £363m to BHS pension scheme February 28, 2017 Controversial retail tycoon Sir Philip Green has sought to put a torrid period of parliamentary and media scrutiny behind him, agreeing to put £363m in cash towards BHS’ substantial pension scheme deficit. MPs investigated the sale of BHS last year and labelled Green the "unacceptable face of capitalism" for selling the high street store to [...]