JJB pledges support for Jones in spat July 7, 2009 AILING sportswear retailer JJB Sports yesterday backed its executive chairman Sir David Jones amid a growing storm over a £1.5m loan he received from Mike Ashley, chief executive of arch-rival Sports Direct. JJB Sports said that the board had given its “unanimous support” to Jones and said it believes “that he is the right person [...]
JJB Sports shares dive on cash call July 6, 2009 JJB SPORTS yesterday suffered a 25 per cent plunge in its share price to 23p after investors were rattled by a confirmation of a £50m rights issue and a controversial row involving executive chairman Sir David Jones. The ailing sportswear chain yesterday said it is looking to raise working capital in a placing and open [...]
WILL JJB SPORTS BE ABLE TO RECOVER FROM THIS SET BACK? July 6, 2009 NICK BUBB PALI INTERNATIONALNews of the deeply discounted rights issue has obviously hit the group. I’m not too surprised by that. JJB’s rival Sports Direct reports trading figures next week and this ‘loan leak’ is designed to hurt Sir David Jones’ reputation and therefore hurt JJB’s abilitiy to raise money and fight back – it’s [...]
Failure to take tourism seriously is a big mistake July 2, 2009 WHICH industry is worth £114bn, is responsible for 2.65m British jobs and represents 8.2 per cent of UK GDP? Perhaps surprisingly the answer is the tourism industry. So, given the clear importance of this key economic activity, it is surely worrying to consider that tourism bosses believe their business interests are not taken as seriously [...]
Automatic for the people? June 30, 2009 THE best high-performance cars come with a manual gearbox, right? Well, not according to Mercedes-Benz. On the evidence of this car, their stance appears to be that machines can change gear more efficiently than humans. But where’s the fun in that? Having driven this car in automatic form, I was yearning to feel how it [...]
ALL HAIL THE CITY’S HUNKIEST GENTS June 22, 2009 1. JOSHUA RAYMOND CITY INDEXIt was a tough job, picking just one of the City’s most strapping gentlemen to grace the top spot, but someone had to do it – and City A.M.’s discerning judging panel were unanimous in their vote for the lovely Joshua Raymond, market strategist at spreadbetter City Index. Joshua started breaking [...]
Stoute mare is Heaven Sent in Windsor Forest June 16, 2009 When Ryan Moore booted HEAVEN SENT two lengths clear at the distance in this contest 12 months ago, the race looked all over bar the shouting. However, the daughter of Pivotal became a sitting target as she idled in front and was claimed late on by Sabana Perdida. It was an understandable manoeuvre for a [...]
Ashley’s new bargain basement June 14, 2009 Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has set up a £1 shop in the former Burberry headquarters in London’s West End, despite budget retailer TK Maxx being blocked from opening nearby. The former up-market building is now plastered with “sports clearance” signs. It is believed Ashley’s Sports Direct chain is using the store to clear old [...]
Capello: Early goal will open floodgates June 9, 2009 ENGLAND head coach Fabio Capello has urged his side to keep the notoriously expectant Wembley crowd off their backs by scoring an early goal against Andorra tonight. That has proved beyond England in their last two meetings with the minnows; a goalless first half famously provoked a barracking from frustrated supporters in Barcelona in 2007. [...]
Qatar eyes a Porsche stake June 8, 2009 PORSCHE is in advanced talks with the Gulf state of Qatar about selling a substantial stake which could ease the debt-laden carmaker’s problems and give it the upper hand in its ongoing negotiations with Volkswagen (VW). Wendelin Wiedeking, Porsche’s chief executive, is in negotiations which could see the Quatar Investment Authority (QIA) take a stake [...]