Ocado targets international deals after beating profit expectation June 30, 2015 The figures Ocado delivered better-than-expected pre-tax profit of £7.2m in the first half of the year, amid reports the grocery delivery giant is closing in on a deal with an international retailer. Read more: Ocado's making robots that will help in the workplace Despite intense price competition in the UK's supermarket sector, Ocado enjoyed a 15.7 [...]
Ronson merges petrol forecourt retailers and signs £1bn BP deal June 29, 2015 GERALD Ronson has merged his two petrol retailing businesses Snax 24 and Rontec to create one of the UK’s largest roadside retail businesses with £1.5bn of sales. The merger sees Snax 24’s 44 sites added to Rontec’s 166 forecourts to create a business with 210 petrol service stations, including two motorway sites. The enlarged Rontec [...]
Richard Caring toasts a rise in sales at his restaurant empire June 28, 2015 Richard Caring’s collection of restaurants and nightclubs recorded a rise in sales in 2013. His company, Caprice Holdings, which includes some of London’s most celebrated eateries in the Ivy, Le Caprice, Scott’s and J Sheekey, saw sales rise three per cent to £53.3m in 2013. Its sister company Mark Birley Holdings, which owns Harry’s Bar, [...]
Moonpig owner sent greetings by buyout firms June 28, 2015 THE OWNER of online card retailer Moonpig.com may change its plans for a flotation on the London stock market after reports emerged yesterday that several private equity firms are interested in buying the company. Photobox, which operates a group of online businesses, including PaperShaker, Sticky9 and its core Photobox brand, has hired advisers at Goldman [...]
Best of the Brokers for 29 June 2015 June 28, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com IG GROUP Numis reiterated its “hold” rating on the trading group, and said it believes “good strategic progress is being made with the stockbroking offering in the Netherlands and work towards a regulatory licence in Dubai”. The broker added that it has increased [...]
Natoora’s Franco Fubini on why he prefers Italy’s food to its labour laws June 28, 2015 It is a promising time for Britain’s premium food sector. Last year, sales of organic food rose by 4 per cent to £1.86bn and specialised suppliers have been looking to capitalise on a disenchantment with supermarkets. Franco Fubini is one of them. “I was in the fresh produce section of a chain of delicatessens [...]
Strong dollar cuts h&m sales and profit short June 25, 2015 SWEDISH retail giant H&M posted weaker than expected sales and profit for the second quarter of the year yesterday after the strong US dollar resulted in higher sourcing costs. Sales rose by 21 per cent to 46bn Swedish krona (£3.5bn) while profits stood at 8.4bn krona, up 10 per cent.
Amazon’s UK sales jump by 14pc June 25, 2015 UK sales at online retailer Amazon rose 14 per cent to £5.3bn last year, as British consumers engaged in an online shopping bonanza. A filing with Companies House showed Amazon’s UK division recorded a profit of £34.4m during the period, paying out £11.9m in tax. UK sales accounted for 9.4 per cent of Amazon’s global [...]
New beginnings in north London: Woodberry Down joins regeneration move June 25, 2015 Most of London’s council estates have been used in a film as an “edgy, urban” backdrop at some point. But Woodberry Down, one of the largest housing redevelopments in Britain, had the dubious honour of being used as a stand-in for the Warsaw ghetto in Schindler’s List. You may not have heard of it, [...]
Focus on Wimbledon property: A game of two halves in SW19 June 25, 2015 The world’s eyes will make their annual pilgrimage to Wimbledon on Monday, where they’ll spend several hours swivelling backwards and forwards watching the greatest tennis tournament on earth. While this leafy corner of south west London is primarily known for racquet sports, the rest of the year it’s one of the fastest-growing local property markets [...]