Paperchase sent greetings from potential buyers October 12, 2014 HIGH street stationery chain Paperchase has brought in advisers to help with a potential £150m sale of the business after receiving approaches from several suitors. Paperchase is owned by private equity firm Primary Capital, which acquired the business four years ago in a management buyout from the now defunct US book chain Borders. The retailer [...]
Chain Reaction cycles itself to earnings surge October 12, 2014 CHAIN Reaction Cycles, the family owned online bicycle seller, pedalled to a huge increase in profitability last year after cutting costs and boosting margins. The northern Irish business, which celebrated its 30th anniversary this year, said profits rose to £4.8m despite a fall in sales to £144.9m from £155.6m last year. The company’s directors said [...]
Consumers win as UK inflation continues to fall – London Report October 12, 2014 Consumers are winning out as low petrol prices and the continuing supermarket price war drive inflation down. Data out tomorrow is expected to show consumer price inflation for September fell to a five-year low of 1.4 per cent – well below the Bank of England’s target rate of two per cent. However, weak earnings growth [...]
Monthly UK card transactions pass 1bn mark for the first time October 9, 2014 Spending on the plastic hit a record high this summer as Britons increasingly shopped with cards, not cash, figures released yesterday by the UK Cards Association revealed. Debit card transaction levels shot up 9.5 per cent on the year to 774m in August. And credit card sales increased 8.4 per cent to 232m in the [...]
Ordinary investors are losing out in the rush for cut-price flotations October 9, 2014 THE MASS market British Gas and BT privatisations of the 1980s created a whole new generation of investors and, 30 years on, the next generation is waiting in the wings. With many companies – including high profile public brands – keen to save flotation costs, however, retail investors are being ignored and denied the opportunity [...]
As German exports plunge, could the economic giant drag the whole Eurozone into recession? October 9, 2014 Ruth Lea, economic adviser to the Arbuthnot Banking Group, says Yes. Germany’s economy accounts for over a quarter of the Eurozone’s GDP and, until recently, seemed in good health. In contrast, France and Italy are struggling with stagnation and recession respectively. Germany’s GDP fell by 0.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2014, but [...]
Carl Icahn tells Tim Cook: Apple share price dramatically undervalued October 9, 2014 Infamous activist investor Carl Icahn has published in full a letter to Apple urging Chief Tim Cook and board executives to buyback shares. Icahn tweeted yesterday about the letter to Cook hinting "Believe it will be interesting." In the letter, Icahn said Apple was "dramatically undervalued in today's market" and that "the more shares repurchased [...]
N Brown share price falls on lower sales and revenue October 9, 2014 Shares in N Brown Group went down by 5.2 per cent to £3.30 in trading this morning, after the fashion retailer reported a fall in sales and revenue for the half year ending 30 August. In its interim statement for the second quarter, it said total revenue for the group went down by 0.6 [...]
City Moves for 9 October 2014 | Who’s switching jobs October 8, 2014 Fidelity Worldwide Investment Peter Horrell has been appointed managing director of the investment firm’s UK business. He has spent the past 24 years at Barclays, where he was most recently chief executive of wealth and investment management. Sovereign Land The retail and leisure developer and asset management firm has appointed Luke Winstanley as senior analyst. [...]
A big cheers for Marston’s as share price rises on higher sales October 8, 2014 Shares in Marston's went up by 0.5 per cent to £14.15 this morning, after it reported a strong performance for the year ended 4 October. In a trading update released in advance of its preliminary results on 27 November, the pub-restaurant retailing business said like-for-like sales were up across all its estates. It added [...]