Intu becomes top FTSE 100 riser despite profit drop February 23, 2017 Intu properties was the top FTSE riser this morning, despite the group's profit falling by more than 60 per cent. The figures Intu's profit fell by 67 per cent for the year to the end of December 2016 due to falling capital values on its properties. However, net rental income was up, rising 4.4 per cent from [...]
Retail sales bounce back as consumer spending continues to support the economy February 23, 2017 Retail sales rebounded in February after a dip to start the year, a new survey shows, as consumer spending continues to hold up despite inflation increases. Two in five retailers reported increased volumes in February to give a positive balance of nine per cent, according to the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) survey of distributive [...]
AO World founder John Roberts has stepped down as CEO – here’s who’s replacing him February 22, 2017 John Roberts, the founder of British online electrical retailer AO World, has stepped down as chief executive but will remain on the board. Steve Caunce, the retailer's chief operating officer, will replace Roberts as CEO. Earlier this week, Morgan Stanley downgraded AO World saying its overall growth in the UK will be weak over the next few [...]
Life is sweet for Hotel Chocolat as it unveils a 28 per cent surge in first-half profits February 22, 2017 Life's pretty sweet for Hotel Chocolat at the moment: it has beaten expectations in its interim results and recorded a rise in profits too. The figures The chocolatier and retailer beat expectations with a tasty 28 per cent jump in pre-tax profits to £11.2m in the first half of the financial year. Reported revenue rose 14 per [...]
Meet 26 of the hottest UK startups about to become household names as part of Tech City UK’s Future Fifty February 22, 2017 An innovative flower delivery startup, an online money transfer service and a recipe subscription service are among 26 of the hottest startups in the UK which have been identified as having the potential to become household names and globally recognised companies. Bloom & Wild, Azimo and Gousto are among the up-and-coming names joining the likes of fintech unicorn [...]
Wall Street rally continues as US stocks reach fresh record highs February 21, 2017 US stocks hit new record highs off the back of strong earnings from retail giants Wal-Mart and Home Depot, as well as optimism over the economic plans of President Donald Trump. Wal-Mart's shares increased more than any other in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, rising 3 per cent after it reported higher-than-expected US sales. Home Depot shares gained [...]
Reiss snaps up retail boss tipped for M&S clothing job February 20, 2017 Reiss has appointed Christos Angelides as its new chief executive. Angelides, who has spent 28 years at rival retailer Next, had been tipped to become Marks and Spencer's clothing and homeware boss. But he said today that he has "long admired the strength of the Reiss brand" and looks forward to working with founder and [...]
Meet the man making 10,000 luxury watches a year in Britain February 20, 2017 It takes two years to make a Bremont watch. It takes seven years to train the person who makes it. “We tend to mop up the area when we hire,” says Giles English, one half of the fraternal founders of Bremont, the luxury watch company. “We can’t just rock up and ask for a watchmaker [...]
Alibaba pursues a tie-up with bricks-and-mortar group Bailian February 20, 2017 Alibaba has joined with retail conglomerate Bailian Group in a bid to extend its presence in bricks-and-mortar retail as online growth slows. The Chinese tech giant, which has an active user base of around 500m, formed the strategic partnership just after purchasing of a stake in retailer Suning Commerce Group and planning to take a controlling [...]
Kraft Heinz bid for Unilever adds flavour to London’s end-of-week trading February 17, 2017 Food firm Unilever propped up the FTSE 100 after US competitor Kraft Heinz made a huge $143bn (£115bn) merger offer for the London-listed firm to inject some energy to trading at the end of the week. Unilever’s share price popped by 13.43 per cent as it briefly reached an all-time record high on the news, [...]