House of Fraser sales lifted by demand for own label brands June 25, 2014 DEPARTMENT store chain House of Fraser saw same store sales rise two per cent in the first three months of the year, as customers snapped up its own-label brands. House labels, including Linea and Kenneth Cole, jumped eight per cent in the 13 weeks to 26 April while branded and concessions sales both rose by [...]
London Report: FTSE drops on worrying data on the economy June 24, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index slipped slightly yesterday, led lower by mining stocks, as signs of economic weakness in Europe and growing tension in Iraq made investors cautious. The FTSE 100 closed down 0.2 per cent, or 13.49 points, at 6,787.06 points following gains in early trade. The UK mining index, down 0.8 per cent, was [...]
Fidelity joins rush for shares in MySale after rocky market debut June 19, 2014 US fund group Fidelity has snapped up more than six per cent of MySale, the online fashion site backed by Sir Philip Green and Newcastle United chairman Mike Ashley. The group, one of the largest mutual fund managers in the world, said it had bought 9.2m shares in MySale after it floated on Tuesday, worth [...]
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct looking for a retail hookup with Mysale June 18, 2014 Retail giants Mike Ashley and Sir Philip Green are set to team up after Ashley’s Sports Direct swooped for a 4.8 per cent stake in Australian fashion website MySale, in which Green holds a 25 per cent stake. Sports Direct said the move could help it boost its presence in Australasia and Asia, where MySale [...]
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct swoops on MySale stock June 18, 2014 Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct yesterday snapped up a 4.8 per cent stake in online fashion site MySale just a day after a pricing error caused shares to tank on its stock market debut. MySale plunged 27 per cent on Tuesday after the share price was listed as 2.26p instead of 226p, leading trading programmes to [...]
M&M Direct sold for £140m after listing snubbed June 16, 2014 BUDGET online sports retailer M&M Direct is set to be sold for up to £140m – reversing plans for a stock market listing in London. The company, founded as a catalogue retailer in 1997, has clinched a deal to be acquired by Danish clothing outfit Bestseller. The firm’s current backer, private equity firm TA Associates, [...]
Sports Direct eyes Cotswold June 12, 2014 SPORTS Direct has joined the bidding for Cotswold Outdoor, as Mike Ashley’s high street retailer looks to the great outdoors again following its unsuccessful bid Blacks Leisure two years ago. The firm is understood to have lodged a bid for Cotswold’s parent company AS Adventure, which owner Lion Capital has put up for sale with [...]
How B&M Retail IPO nearly beat Prada June 12, 2014 A budget department store founded by a shopkeeper in Blackpool during the late 1970’s has today become the biggest retailer to come to the stock market since fashion house Prada three years ago. According to fresh figures released this afternoon B&M Retail, which started life in the seaside resort in 1978, raised £1.1bn ($1.8bn) in [...]
How this UK discount retailer nearly beat Prada June 12, 2014 A budget department store founded by a shopkeeper in Blackpool during the late 1970’s has today become the biggest retailer to come to the stock market since fashion house Prada three years ago. According to fresh figures released this afternoon B&M Retail, which started life in the seaside resort in 1978, raised £1.1bn ($1.8bn) in [...]
Best of the Brokers for 11 June 2014 June 10, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com BABCOCK Panmure Gordon keeps its “buy” rating for Babcock and a target price of 1,525p. The broker thinks Babcock’s withdrawal from a Ministry of Defence property management contest presents some headwinds to growth, but the firm’s pipeline is strong enough to offset the [...]