City IPOs: One falls down, four rise to take its place May 22, 2014 Investors keen to be involved in the IPO of clothing chain Fat Face were disappointed last night by news that its float was to be pulled. A regulatory filing submitted this morning shows that "despite a strong level of interaction with and interest from institutional investors, the company and its majority shareholder have decided to [...]
The fluid society: SMEs can grow by tearing down walls May 21, 2014 Flexible working and “flat” firms are thriving thanks to the growth of collaborative technology Developments in communication technologies are transforming modern businesses, leading to more fluid, less hierarchical workplaces. The archetypal office of the 20th century was filled with long, straight rows of desks and meeting rooms. As John McRae of ORMS Architecture Design writes, [...]
Best of the Brokers for 21 May 2014 May 20, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com CAMBIAN Numis has started covering the newly-floated care home company with a “buy” rating and 340p target price. The broker reckons Cambian can deliver an earnings growth rate in the mid-teens, and thinks the current price does not reflect the prospects of this [...]
London Report: Vodafone and Marks weigh down on FTSE May 20, 2014 SELL-OFFS in mobile operator Vodafone and retailer Marks & Spencer dragged down Britain’s blue-chip equity index yesterday, after disappointing forecasts from both companies. The benchmark FTSE 100 index closed down by 0.6 per cent, or 42.55 points, at 6,802.00 points. Vodafone took the most points off the FTSE as it fell by 5.5 per cent [...]
Bottom Line: Internet of things has no room for tradition May 15, 2014 LAST month, my aunt and uncle upgraded their Aga. The new model fits perfectly into their country kitchen – a tasteful pastel exterior and exposed, rustic hob – but there’s one big difference: this is an iAga, which can be controlled remotely by text or from a laptop (it even replies to tell you it’s [...]
Asda returns to sales growth as price cuts kick in May 15, 2014 SUPERMARKET giant Asda said yesterday it had returned to underlying sales growth in its first quarter as price-cuts started to attract thrifty shoppers. Asda, which trails market leader Tesco by annual sales and is vying with Sainsbury’s to be the UK’s no2 grocer, said like-for-like sales rose 0.1 per cent in the 15 weeks to [...]
Currency weighs on Hilton Foods May 14, 2014 Meat packing group Hilton Foods said yesterday the strength of the pound was continuing to dampen its results, though its new contract with Tesco was ramping up as planned. Overall trading had been in line with forecasts since December, the London-listed company said, adding that it continued to explore “opportunities to grow the business” in the [...]
Tesco to launch premium Hudl phone by Xmas May 6, 2014 TESCO yesterday announced that it would sell its own smartphone this year, following in the footsteps of its Hudl tablet last year. Tesco’s chief executive Philip Clarke, speaking on BBC Radio 5 yesterday morning, revealed the grocer’s plan to release a premium Hudl smartphone by Christmas. Clarke said the Hudl smartphone would be a high-end [...]
Tesco unveils plan for smartphone May 6, 2014 Tesco’s got plans to launch its first smartphone by the end of 2014, the BBC reports. The supermarket’s chief executive Philip Clarke, speaking on Radio 5 live’s Wake Up to Money, said the own-brand phone would be pre-installed with Tesco services. It’ll run on Google’s Android software with hardware similar to Samsung’s Galaxy S5. Tesco [...]
Saga puts retail investor at heart of London float April 30, 2014 SAGA, the over-50s holidays-to-insurance provider, yesterday unveiled plans for the biggest flotation in London this year, as a stampede of silver haired savers registered to snap up shares in the listing. The business, which was founded by east end hotelier Sidney De Haan in 1950, said it would raise £550m in an initial public offering [...]