Christmas week to kick off with crunch Rangers FC meeting – London week ahead December 21, 2014 WITHOUT any major company results reporting before Christmas, market attention could turn to the annual meeting of the crisis-hit Rangers International Football Club, part-owned by Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley. The team’s manager, legendary goal-scorer Ally McCoist, officially stood down last night. The Aim-listed company will vote on whether to inject £8m in funding to [...]
Sport Comment: Mike Ashley taking the biscuit in rations row December 18, 2014 MIKE Ashley may not – on the face of it – have much in common with Marie Antoinette, but he is similarly distanced from the reality of the eating habits of the common people. The Newcastle United owner and vastly wealthy Sports Direct founder has allowed his spiky relationship with the media at St James’ [...]
People’s Postcode Lottery: A gamble where everybody wins December 18, 2014 Players of People’s Postcode Lottery have raised over £56m for charity and they aim to raise even more next year. Fancy your luck this Christmas? Well, deciding to play People’s Postcode Lottery (PPL) isn’t a gamble at all when you know that the money you pay is being used to support some of the UK’s [...]
MySale share price rallies as founder Carl Jackson eyes £3m share-buy December 17, 2014 MySale shares recovered some lost ground yesterday after one of the founders of the flash sales website pledged to buy £3m shares following a profit warning which wiped £150m off its market value. Chief executive Carl Jackson, who started the company with his brother James, said he was considering acquiring shares equivalent to around three [...]
Christmas 2014: Amazon delivering until December 24, while Marks & Spencer, House of Fraser and Asos face capacity problems December 16, 2014 Worried you've left it too late to order Christmas presents online? You need to get your skates on if you want to avoid paying for special delivery, but some retailers are offering premium services up to the last minute. A new survey of retailers has found a number of businesses that promise to deliver [...]
Best of the Brokers for 16 December 2014 December 15, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com SPORTS DIRECT Numis reiterated its “buy” rating following “robust” first-half results, with sports retail sales’ growth of 1.5 per cent during the second quarter. The broker noted that Sports Direct’s portfolio was set to grow to include between 30 to 40 new stores [...]
Scottish FA summon Ashley over Newcastle and Rangers holdings December 15, 2014 NEWCASTLE United owner Mike Ashley has been accused of breaking Scottish Football Association rules preventing influence over more than one club in relation to his shareholding in Rangers. The Scottish FA has also accused Sports Direct tycoon Ashley, who has an estimated personal fortune of around £4bn, of not acting in the best interests of [...]
Chelsea FC becomes first team to pay the living wage of £9.15 an hour in London December 11, 2014 Chelsea has become the first professional football club to be accredited as a Living Wage employer by the Living Wage Foundation, the club said yesterday. The accreditation means that from January, Chelsea will pay all its directly employed staff a living wage – £9.15 an hour in London and £7.85 outside the capital. The rate [...]
Sports Direct brushes off England’s early World Cup exit but results show even Mike Ashley can’t predict the weather December 11, 2014 Sports Direct has brushed off England's disappointing World Cup performance but it seems owner Mike Ashley is not immune to the unseasonal weather. The figures Group revenue rose 6.5 per cent to £1.4bn in the six months to 26 October. Underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation rose 11pc to £203.1m, excluding charges related to the [...]
Tesco in further turmoil after profits tumble December 9, 2014 Investors fled for cover yesterday as Tesco warned on profits for the fourth time in five months, raising fears in the City that the ailing supermarket could become a takeover target. Analysts at investment bank Espirito Santo compared Tesco’s demise to that of Sears in 2004, when the US retailer – once the [...]