Carphone Warehouse meets forecasts with 59pc earnings boost June 26, 2014 Carphone Warehouse has announced that it met forecasts with a 59 per cent rise in annual earnings for the year ended 29 March. Europe's biggest independent mobile phone retailer enjoyed full year like-for-like revenue growth of 5.3 per cent, with connected world services progressing strongly. Andrew Harrison, CEO, said: Strategically and operationally, we have moved [...]
Dixons profits surge ahead of Carphone Warehouse merger June 26, 2014 Dixons Retail, the owner of Currys and PC World, has reported a jump in profit before tax of 76 per cent to £166.2m for the financial year ended 30 April. Online sales were a particularly bright spot, rising by 16 per cent to £1bn, while customer service metrics reached their highest recorded levels in all [...]
Cycle shop Wiggle candidate for IPO after appointing advisers June 25, 2014 Cycle shop Wiggle’s private equity owner Bridgepoint is mulling plans to float the company on the London stock market. The private equity group, which owns Pret a Manger, has been working with Rothschild to explore options for the business, one of which may include a share sale. Nomura and Numis are also said [...]
Speed bump in UK recovery as retail sales dip June 25, 2014 UK RETAIL sales growth slowed unexpectedly this month, according to a survey released yesterday, with fewer firms reporting expansion than in any other month so far this year. The data from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) show that only four percentage points more firms reported growth than contraction in sales so far in June. [...]
New York Report: Dow Jones ignores US economic woes June 25, 2014 Stocks on Wall Street rose yesterday despite disappointing US economic data and after a Supreme Court decision boosted the shares of major broadcasters and as drugmakers’ stocks rallied. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 27.67 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 16,845.8, the S&P 500 gained 4.98 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 1,954.96. The [...]
Orange juice set to become cheaper June 25, 2014 Bets by traders on orange juice indicate that the soft commodity is likely to become cheaper. According to Bloomberg data, futures contracts for orange juice traded on the US ICE market dropped 4.5 per cent overnight and settled at $1.541 a pound. Trade body Florida Department of Citrus has also released data showing that retail [...]
Google I/O 2014: Expect Google TV, Google Glass, Android Lollipop and wearables June 25, 2014 Google’s I/O conference brings together developers from across the world to see the latest breakthroughs, products and software created by the internet giant. The event kicks off later today, but speculation is rife about the announcements due to come out of San Francisco. Here’s what’s expected (in addition to guests pulling up in Google's driverless [...]
Key retail growth indicator plummets on clothing sales slump June 25, 2014 A key indicator of retail strength has seen unexpected weakness in June. The headline figure of sales growth, released by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), has fallen to just four per cent, from 16 per cent in May. Just 29 per cent of the 133 firms surveyed saw sales volumes higher than in June [...]
Bluewater shopping centre sold for £696m June 25, 2014 Land Lease, an Australian Developer with interests across the UK, has sold its 30 per cent stake in Bluewater shopping centre for £696m to Land Securities Group. The deal is expected to net the company A$480m (around £265m). The proceeds from the sale will go to pay down debts and fund investments in development projects [...]
Lord Harris puts off Carpetright retirement plan June 24, 2014 CARPETRIGHT founder Lord Harris announced yesterday that he planned to stay on as non-executive chairman, just weeks after announcing his retirement, as the retailer reported widening losses. Lord Harris will hand over the day-to-day running of the business to a new chief executive, Wilf Walsh, next month. He had intended to step down from the [...]