Laura Ashley scraps dividend after profits are slashed August 22, 2018 Laura Ashley blamed “a changing retail landscape” for a dramatic fall in profits this morning that saw them all but eradicated, and which led to its chairman not recommending a dividend for investors. The figures Amid a “challenging” trading environment the high street stalwart saw statutory profits crash by 98 per cent for the 12 [...]
Game Digital’s revenue slides but esports expansion holds promise August 21, 2018 Video game retailer Game Digital has posted a fall in revenue in its end of year results as it is hit by a tough market for pre-owned games. Revenue for the year to 28 July fell slightly from £782.9m to £780m which the company blamed on "continued challenges in the pre-owned business" which it said [...]
Sports Direct saves House of Fraser Oxford Street from closure August 21, 2018 House of Fraser's flagship branch on Oxford Street has been saved from closure after new owners Sports Direct pledged to keep the store open. The site was one of 31 slated for closure under a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) which was passed earlier this year. But the restructuring plans were rendered void when House of [...]
Mulberry shares plummet on cost of House of Fraser collapse August 20, 2018 Shares in Mulberry plummeted as much as 30 per cent this morning as it said that the restructuring of House of Fraser could cost it around £3m. The luxury leather goods brand, which operates 21 concessions in HoF stores, said that sales in the department stores had been particularly hard-hit by challenging retail conditions in [...]
Former Staples chain Office Outlet to close stores in new CVA filing August 19, 2018 Stationery chain Office Outlet, formerly known as Staples, is set to launch a Company Voluntary Arrangement – an insolvency procedure to reduce stores and costs – tomorrow and close a selection of its 96 UK stores. Sources today told Sky News that the retailer, which was bought by restructuring fund Hilco in 2016, will request a [...]
House of Fraser owed millions to major brands before collapse August 18, 2018 House of Fraser racked up debts of almost £500m in the run-up to its collapse, owing major designer brands such as Gucci, Armani and Mulberry. Administrators Ernst & Young (EY) have reported that the chain’s creditors are owed sums totalling hundreds of millions of pounds, with more than 1,000 suppliers set to be out of [...]
House of Fraser could have been sold for £1, EY letter reveals August 17, 2018 Beleaguered department store House of Fraser could have been sold for just £1 ahead of its acquisition by billionaire Mike Ashley's Sports Direct brand, administrators EY revealed today. The retailer saw a £14.6m drop in profits in the 13 weeks to the end of April, four months before it entered administration. Turnover also declined 7.7 per cent [...]
Vitality Blast: Domestic Twenty20 tournament flourishing despite ECB direction August 16, 2018 The group stages of England’s domestic Twenty20 competition comes to a close tomorrow. But with England’s Test series against India taking much of the attention of late, the Vitality Blast has occupied its own space, largely away from television and the back pages. Meanwhile, the England and Wales Cricket Board has been busy blue-sky thinking, [...]
Eleven Sports: Live-streaming service grapple with the future of sports broadcasting August 15, 2018 It’s fair to say Eleven Sports’ first foray into the UK sports broadcasting market did not go to plan at the weekend. The new boys on the scene arrived with hopes high and viewers intrigued, offering two days of the US PGA Championship for free, with a seven-day trial making the entire tournament available on [...]
Mike Ashley is now the high street’s emperor August 12, 2018 Events around House of Fraser moved so fast on Friday morning that people could have left their house to the news that the retailer had collapsed into administration and would have got to work in time to hear it had been rescued. Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct swooped to the department store’s aid, paying £90m for [...]