Prudential share price dips as it unveils net outflows of £2.7bn at asset management arm M&G November 10, 2015 Prudential's asset management division M&G failed to impress in its third quarter of 2015, today reporting net outflows of £2.7bn for the last three months. M&G's retail business was particularly badly hit, with net outflows for the quarter of £3.9bn, compared to net inflows in its institutional business of £1.2bn. Share price in the company dropped [...]
Black Friday UK 2015 deals: Asda confirms it is “calling time” on the bargain bonanza day November 10, 2015 Looking for Black Friday deals? Don't bother checking out Asda this year. Black Friday might be rather more grey at the supermarket for 2015, with the Walmart-owned supermarket confirming it is scaling back its plans around the bargain bonanza day. The supermarket said it was "calling time" on the day, and instead of stomaching the [...]
Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2015: UK shoppers holding out to snap up bargains in November pushed October sales down November 10, 2015 UK retail sales were disappointing last month, according to a survey by the British Retail Consortium released today, suggesting that some shoppers may be holding out for some deals around Black Friday at the end of November. Retail sales decreased 0.2 per cent on a like-for-like basis from October 2014, when they were unchanged from the preceding [...]
Palamon Capital snaps up majority stake in The Rug Company November 9, 2015 The Rug Company has been rolled up and taken home by private equity firm Palamon Capital Partners, netting its founders millions of pounds. Palamon, which also owns online beauty retailer feelunique.com, said it has bought a majority stake of over 50 per cent from husband and wife team Christopher and Suzanne Sharp and Piper Private Equity, which [...]
Black Friday 2015 UK: Halfords is offering in-store deals for the first time this year – and here are some of the best bargains November 9, 2015 The UK is lurching towards the bargains bonanza that is Black Friday (three weeks and counting: the big day is on 27 November). While some retailers are hoping to sit out some of the bunfest that was in-store sales this year, others are joining in for the first time. Halfords will be offering Black Friday deals in store [...]
Black Friday 2015 UK: Amazon, Argos and Littlewoods already offering deals on TVs, cameras and games ahead of retail bonanza day on 27 November November 9, 2015 There's just three weeks to go before Black Friday, the day analysts are tipping as the biggest shopping day of the year (for the second time running). But for those who can't wait until 27 November (or even 23 November, as Amazon prepares for a week of deals) fear not: there are plenty of huge offers [...]
UK Christmas sales 2015: Consumer spending soars as retailers worry over upcoming figures November 9, 2015 A double-whammy of sales data has suggested we could be in for bumper Christmas sales figures. Card giants Visa and Barclaycard both report that spending bounced back from a summer slow down in October. Visa’s index found spending growth rose to a three-month high last month, up 2.1 per cent, while Barclaycard revealed spending growth [...]
Amazon Black Friday 2015 UK deals: 7,000 bargains to attract one in five shoppers as Amazon Marketplace joins the sales frenzy for the first time November 9, 2015 One in five British shoppers are expected to take part in this year’s Black Friday shopping frenzy on 27 November, data from business analytics firm SAS shows, as the UK’s gears up for its biggest online shopping day of the year. Meanwhile Amazon today revealed that it will feature more than 7,000 deals during the week starting at midnight [...]
UK unemployment figures set to be in the spotlight – London Report November 8, 2015 Following the US jobs report on Friday, UK investors will focus on Wednesday’s release of the September employment report and October’s tally for the claimant count. They will be published alongside a raft of secondtier indicators on retail sales and house prices. Today, funeral operator Dignity is expected to reveal a jump in revenues when [...]
John Lewis and Argos Christmas adverts 2015: Sentimental or rational? The Christmas campaign conundrum November 8, 2015 Brands have long used sentimentality to draw custom at Christmas. John Lewis has been a standard-bearer for emotional Christmas placements, and this year's offering, which encourages donations to Age UK, is no different. Last year's "Monty the Penguin" spot has received 24m YouTube views, and the retailer's like for like sales grew by 4.8 per [...]