Sir Philip Green would “welcome” opportunity to discuss the future of pensions regulations May 22, 2016 Sir Philip Green and Frank Field may finally be seeing eye-to-eye, with a spokesperson for the business tycoon today telling City A.M. that he would "welcome" the opportunity for a serious talk about pensions. BHS' pension scheme, which ran a deficit worth £571m when the retailer was put into administration last month, has proved something [...]
Chappell facing High Court BHS suit May 22, 2016 Administrators for BHS are to launch a High Court suit against the retail chain's former backer. City A.M. understands that Duff & Phelps will file a suit on Monday, targeting Dominic Chappell and arguing that the businessman has not co-operated with its investigation into the retailer's collapse. Chappell owns a 90 per cent stake in Retail [...]
Now it’s the advisers’ turn to be grilled by MPs over BHS collapse May 22, 2016 The topic of the BHS collapse will be heading back into parliament tomorrow, with a string of advisers from top law and accountancy firms due to be grilled by MPs. Ian Greenstreet, partner at Nabarro, Tony Clare, partner at Deloitte, David Clarke, partner at KPMG, Richard Cousins and Steve Denison, both partners at PwC, Emma King, partner at Eversheds and Owen [...]
No turning back from either Bremain or Brexit for insurers May 22, 2016 There was always a danger that the debate surrounding the EU referendum in June would generate more heat than light. When it comes to the impact on some of the most significant elements of the UK economy – such as the insurance sector – it is vital to identify the issues that will arise for [...]
Conviviality share price rises 4.5 per cent as company raises glass to “transformational” year May 20, 2016 Alcohol group Conviviality's share price rose by more than 4.5 per cent during trading today after it toasted a "transformational" year in a trading update. The figures The bargain booze retailer posted a full-increase increase of 137 per cent in group sales to approximately £864m, up from £364m in 2015. The company has said its earnings [...]
Industrial orders: Maybe things aren’t so bad in the manufacturing sector May 20, 2016 Data around the manufacturing sector has been pretty disappointing in recent months, with the likes of the ONS suggesting the sector has actually fallen into recession. But figures out this morning from CBI suggested the industrial sector – of which manufacturing makes up a large part – is actually doing pretty well. The CBI's Industrial [...]
BHS liquidation rumours dismissed: Sale expected “early next week” May 20, 2016 A sale of BHS as a going concern could be revealed as early as next week – but there are still concerns that the iconic retailer may end up being liquidated. A source close to the situation has told City A.M. that bids are still being mulled and it is hoped BHS will be sold [...]
Moss Bros lays best suit ahead of AGM May 20, 2016 Moss Bros is looking smart, shrugging off high street woes that have claimed casualties including rival Austin Reed. The figures Total sales at Moss Bros rose 3.3 per cent in the 15 weeks to 14 May, while like-for-likes were up five per cent. The suit group's retail sales, including ecommerce, climbed 5.1 per cent in the period, while hire [...]
Plain packaging: New UK cigarette rules are “plain crazy” after High Court ruling against big tobacco firms yesterday May 20, 2016 Uniform cigarette packaging slammed as "plain crazy" comes into effect today after the High Court ruled against a legal challenge from big tobacco firms. Opponents fear the "Soviet style" plain packaging will put tobacco brands at risk of being "eradicated" and lead to a rise in cigarette counterfeiting. All cigarette packets manufactured from today will [...]
Gap to close 75 Old Navy and Banana Republic stores globally May 19, 2016 Clothing retailer Gap yesterday said it plans to close all its Old Navy stores in Japan and some Banana Republics mostly outside of North America by the end of its business year due to a continuing sales slump. Gap added that it could not reaffirm its earnings outlook for the year after having projected in February adjusted [...]