Tesco can still win back shoppers by slashing prices: Investors may now be harder to convince September 22, 2014 EVEN before the announcement of accounting irregularities yesterday, Tesco was a company beset by problems. Once the darling of the British retail scene and the undisputed leader of the grocery pack, Tesco has faced years of falling sales and profits, combined with some high profile failures, like the disposal of its costly Fresh & Easy [...]
Ratings agency Fitch puts Tesco on negative watch as £2bn is wiped off its value September 22, 2014 It's been a bad day at the office for new Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis. Not only did shares in the supermarket close down 11.6 per cent, wiping £2bn off the supermarket's value, after it admitted it had "overestimated" its profits by £250m – but now ratings agency Fitch has put it on negative watch, [...]
Why Tesco’s share price just fell to an 11 year low September 22, 2014 Another surprise announcement this morning from Tesco has further dampened the supermarket’s outlook when it really must have been hoping to move on from recent rough times. Shares fell more than 11 per cent to an 11-year low after announcing a £250m error in its first-half results. Whether its an accounting error or something worse, investigating the [...]
Gimme 5: Startups crowdfunding this month September 22, 2014 Rollasole Target: £150,000 for 7.5 per cent equity If you’ve seen a pair of bendy pumps someone’s shoved in their handbag, you’ll know how useful Rollasole shoes are. Raised: £130,210 via Crowdcube 42 days left Line-Up Target: £200,000 for 9.09 per cent equity Line-Up’s technology collects and collates “what’s on” information from newspapers, radio [...]
Four Tesco senior executives “step aside” and FCA called in as share price plummets 11pc after “profit overstatement” September 22, 2014 Four senior Tesco executives have been suspended while it investigates a £250m "overstatement" of half-year profits. One of the figures understood to have stepped aside is Chris Bush, the supermarket's UK managing director. Shares in the supermarket opened more than 11 per cent down this morning after it admitted the error. The embattled supermarket said it [...]
Tesco overstated profit estimates by £250m prompting “comprehensive independent investigation” says chief Dave Lewis September 22, 2014 Tesco has warned investors that its profit outlook for the half year to August has been overstated by £250m. In its previous trading update on 29 August in which it issued a profit warning, the troubled supermarket expected half year results to be “in the region of £1.1bn”. However Tesco warned today it had identified [...]
City flocks for a taste of Boris’s Big Breakfast with Dr Fox and Richard Desmond September 18, 2014 Auch, it was nye on impossible to talk of anything other than Scotland yesterday, but Boris Johnson made a good stab at it over breakfast – hosting the London’s Big Breakfast charity campaign at City Hall with Magic FM’s Dr Fox and The Mayor’s Fund for London. Richard Desmond was there chatting to primary school [...]
Britain’s biggest companies call on Westminster for fundamental business rates reform September 16, 2014 Some of Britain's biggest businesses including Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's, Tesco, General Motors and Tata Steel have called on the government to rip up the current business rate regime claiming the current system is “a critical problem for all of British business”. The controversial tax delivers around £25bn to the Treasury every year, but [...]
Darin Brown of WPP agency POSSIBLE on digital-focused advertising and the rise of gamification September 14, 2014 WPP has been rapidly building up its digital presence in recent years, partly by acquiring smaller agencies worldwide and folding them into POSSIBLE. Darin Brown, POSSIBLE’s Europe, Middle East and Africa chief executive, talks to City A.M. about creating digital-focused advertising, and why brands are increasingly looking at interactive campaigns. You’ve worked on both [...]
Scottish independence: Former Sainsbury’s boss warns of higher prices if there’s a Yes vote September 12, 2014 In a fresh blow for the pro-independence campaign, the former CEO of Sainsbury's Justin King has warned Scots they will pay higher prices in the shops if they vote to abandon the union of 18 September. Speaking to the BBC's Robert Peston, King said: It is more expensive to do business in Scotland today. Business [...]