Why Britain’s changing economy needs a fresh monetary strategy April 9, 2014 THE PICK-UP in UK economic growth, which started last year, has continued into 2014 and appears to have gathered further momentum. Earlier this week, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Economic Survey painted a picture of strong demand at home and abroad in both manufacturing and services industries. The survey also showed that companies are [...]
Eyes down in battle to acquire UK bingo halls April 8, 2014 THE FORMER owner of high street stalwarts Comet and MFI is weighing a bid for up to 137 UK bingo halls from Gala Coral, underscoring a sudden turnaround in fortunes for the unloved bingo sector. Henry Jackson, the US investor who heads London-based firm OpCapita, has registered his interest in snapping up Gala Bingo from [...]
Eat makes loss after splashing out on new look April 8, 2014 THE BOSS of Eat has said it is on the road to recovery and that efforts to spruce up its estate are paying off despite falling to a loss last year. The sandwich, soup and salad chain, founded 15 years ago by former hedge fund manager Niall MacArthur, fell to a £521,567 loss in the [...]
McColl’s sales rise following IPO April 8, 2014 McColl’s posted strong sales yesterday and said it is pushing ahead with new store openings as it published its first update since listing on the London Stock Exchange last month. The retailer, which owns 1,279 newsagents and convenience stores, said total sales rose three per cent in the 19 weeks to 6 April while stores [...]
Best of the Brokers for 09 April 2014 April 8, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com MOTHERCARE Cantor Fitzgerald tells investors to “sell” the retailer ahead of a trading update tomorrow. Dropping its target price from 200p to 151p, the broker said the children’s retailer is “running out of options” with sales dropping at home and overseas. HIKMA PHARMACEUTICALS [...]
London Report: FTSE slumps to a two-week low as Sports Direct falls April 8, 2014 THE UK’S blue chip share index hit a two-week low yesterday, with Sports Direct leading losses after a share sale by founder Mike Ashley and technicals pointing to a bearish market outlook in the near term. Sports Direct, Britain’s biggest sporting goods retailer, slumped 9.2 per cent after Ashley sold 25m shares, while financial stocks [...]
Billionaire Mike Ashley offloads a £218m stake in Sports Direct April 7, 2014 SPORTS Direct founder Mike Ashley is to sell £218m of his majority stake in the retailer in the latest twist in a series of events that saw him snap up a stake in House of Fraser just days ago. Ashley is selling up to 25m shares in Sports Direct through an accelerated bookbuilding run by [...]
Barclays sells off its Emirates retail banking arm for £107m April 7, 2014 BARCLAYS yesterday confirmed the sale of its United Arab Emirates retail arm for £107m. The bank sold the business to Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) as part of its plans to focus on international markets where it believes Barclays has a comparative advantage. Barclays boss Antony Jenkins announced the result of its strategic review back in [...]
Are troubles in China a significant risk to the global economy? April 7, 2014 YES George Magnus AMID the market fragility of recent years, China has been an island of security. But growth is falling and a nascent credit bubble, which the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is trying to quell with tough new measures, are starting to play on the nerves of investors. The fall in the renminbi, [...]
Robust results for Cranswick as pig rearing grows April 7, 2014 Cooked meats producer Cranswick has reported another solid set of results, despite tougher market conditions. Against a backdrop of a weaker UK grocery market and record pig price levels, total sales increased 13 per cent last year, with underlying sales (which excludes bolt-on acquisition activity) up 12 per cent, according to a trading update. The [...]