Sports Direct profit rises as staff pocket a £40k bonus July 14, 2011 SPORTS Direct yesterday reported a surge in full-year profit figures yesterday, triggering a bonus pot for staff. The retailer posted a 25 per cent rise in underlying profit for the year to 24 April – making £200.4m. The firm, controlled by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, grew like-for-like retail sales by 6.6 per cent while [...]
Sports Direct profit up 25pc July 14, 2011 Sports Direct HAS posted a 25 per cent rise in underlying year profit as it won market share from stricken rival JJB Sports. The firm, controlled by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, said It made underlying earnings before tax, interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of £200.4m in the year to 24 April, after taking a [...]
Sports Direct staff set for bumper bonus July 10, 2011 Sports Direct staff look set for a bumper bonus when the 400-store chain announces its results on Thursday. Around 2,000 full-time staff would collect the second windfall from the bonus scheme if the firm reaches it £205m profit target. Based on an average salary of £20,000, the total bonus for two years would be worth [...]
Triathlon training reaches the half-way marker July 10, 2011 WITH the London leg of this year’s Dextro Energy ITU triathlon just weeks away, the Laureus / City AM team already have some significant training under their belts. Following one of their training sessions with double Olympic gold-winning decathlete Daley Thompson, one member of the team offered us her thoughts on the experience and what [...]
Sports Direct buys stake in high-end fashion firms July 6, 2011 SPORTS Direct has bought an 80 per cent share in the USC and Cruise chains, to give it a foothold in the luxury clothing market. The designer fashion chains are currently controlled by Scottish tycoon Sir Tom Hunter through his West Coast Capital private equity firm. Sports Direct paid £7m under the deal, which was [...]
From zero to bestseller July 6, 2011 SANCTUS was an instant hit when it came out in April. Waterstones shopfronts were full of it, it quickly climbed the bestseller list and the author is tipped as the next (but much more talented) Dan Brown. Yet before he wrote Sanctus – which is the first in a trilogy commissioned by Harper Collins – [...]
Banks in retreat after Portugal downgrade July 6, 2011 The FTSE 100 lost ground on opening today after Moody’s cut Portugal’s credit rating to “junk” sending banking shares down. As the Eurozone crisis deepened investors abandoned risky equities as banks’ exposure to the crisis in the eurozone came under the spotlight. The euro fell sharply after the Moody’s four-notch downgrade to Ba2, with the [...]
Sports Direct in £7m move into premium market July 6, 2011 Sports Direct said it has purchased majority stakes in two companies controlled by Tom Hunter, dipping its toe in the premium and luxury sector of the market. The firm, controlled by Newcastle United soccer club owner Mike Ashley, said Wednesday it has acquired 80 per cent shareholdings in Hunter’s West Coast Capital, a branded fashion [...]
Ashley in upmarket bid July 5, 2011 MIKE Ashley’s Sports Direct is close to buying an 80 per cent stake in two of Scottish billionaire Sir Tom Hunter’s fashion retail chains, in a deal valued at about £7m. Sports Direct is looking to buy the holdings in USC and Cruise, chains that specialise in higher-end consumer fashion, from Sir Tom’s private equity [...]
FIT IN THE CITY July 4, 2011 FITNESS & DIET EXPERT NO need to quiver in fear at the prospect of sporting a pair of Speedos/a bikini (delete as appropriate) this summer – we’ve sourced the very best ways to whittle that tum into shape in double time for your summer hols. GO TECHNO If state-of-the-art equipment in heavenly surroundings is your [...]