Entertainment One share price falls on £200m rights issue to fund buying stake in Peppa Pig producer Astley Baker Davies September 30, 2015 Shares in Entertainment One (eOne) fell more than 11 per cent in early trading after revealing a £193.6m rights issue to fund the purchase of a majority stake in Peppa Pig producer Astley Baker Davies (ABD). eOne will take a 70 per cent stake in the company, which makes popular kids' TV show Peppa Pig. [...]
Hammerson and Allianz buy £1.4bn Irish shopping mall loans portfolio September 30, 2015 Hammerson has made a major foray into the Irish property market after buying a portfolio of loans secured against some of the country’s biggest shopping centres for €1.85bn (£1.37bn). The property giant and its joint venture partner Allianz Real Estate said yesterday they have signed an agreement with Ireland’s National Management Agency (Nama) to buy [...]
One year in, Tesco boss has Dave Lewis no room for excuses – The City View September 29, 2015 A year ago this month, Dave Lewis was anointed Tesco’s chief executive after being parachuted in from Unilever and tasked with turning around Britain’s biggest retailer. The supertanker was sinking fast. Lewis’ predecessor Phil Clarke had overseen a disastrous reign littered with profit warnings, a collapse in the share price and falling market share. Tellingly, [...]
UK retail sales beat forecasts in September, reports Confederation of British Industry September 29, 2015 UK retail sales grew at a faster pace than expected in the year to September, with firms expecting business to pick up pace in the run-up to Christmas, research shows. Of the 119 firms polled by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) distributive trades survey, 55 per cent expect sales volumes to increase in the [...]
Flash sale site MySale reports a £5.2m loss September 29, 2015 MySale, the Australian flash sale website, yesterday said sales during the year to 30 June had increased five per cent to AU$235.9m (£109.2m). Carl Jackson, chief executive of MySale Group, said the loss was due to a “number of tactical issues with the product mix, excessive postage-led promotions and too much marketing budget spent on [...]
Morrisons follows Lidl and pledges to pay above National Living Wage September 29, 2015 Morrisons has followed in the steps of German discounter Lidl after announcing a 20 per cent pay hike for its staff in line with the new Living Wage. The supermarket, which is striving to turn itself around after years of declining sales, said more than 90,000 staff across all age brackets would benefit from a [...]
Findel share price soars as Sports Direct takes 19pc chunk of Kitbag parent September 29, 2015 Sports Direct has taken an 18.9 per cent stake in Kitbag parent company Findel, almost a year after Mike Ashley first started eyeing up the football strip retailer. The move comes as Findel confirmed it had received an approach for the sports retail business from an unnamed third party and had “agreed terms, subject [...]
Boohoo’s share price rises as revenue and profits jump September 29, 2015 Boohoo’s share price climbed this morning, as the UK online retailer reported a jump in both revenue and profits. The figures The fashion etailer's revenue soared by 35 per cent in the first half of 2015, to land at £90.8m. Pre-tax profit was up to £6.3m, a rise of 39 per cent. The FTSE 250-listed [...]
CBI distributive trades survey: Retail sales beat expectations in September September 29, 2015 British annual retail sales grew at a faster pace than expected in the year to September, with firms expecting business to pick up pace in the run-up to Christmas, industry research shows. Of the 119 firms surveyed by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) distributive trades survey, 55 per cent expect sales volumes to increase [...]
Best of the Brokers for 29 September 2015 September 29, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com HOME RETAIL GROUP Cantor Fitzgerald believes Home Retail Group has reached rock bottom after a year of underperformance in the stock. It has therefore upgraded its recommendation from “hold” to “buy” and kept its target price steady at 195p. The broker said that [...]