New trading director hired to steer JJB September 15, 2010 JJB Sports has appointed Ben Sherman international retail director Kate Hayes as its trading director to nurse it back to health. Hayes will work alongside retail director Ron Rome and HR and training director Paul Mitford. She will join the retailer on 1 November and will be based at its Retail Support Centre in Wigan. [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 15, 2010 ARM Execution Noble thinks it’s time for a breather on the technology company, and downgrades the stock to a “sell” with a fair value of 300p. The broker says that ARM remains well placed to outperform the semi-conductor industry, and will continue to expand into new end markets, but the current value of 29 times [...]
Tesco among companies circling for Carrefour’s Asian assets September 15, 2010 France’s Casino and Britain’s Tesco are among the bidders still in the running to buy Carrefour’s stores in Southeast Asia, Reuters sources have said. Carrefour, Europe’s No.1 retailer, has set a 5 November deadline for second round bids, two other sources said. The $1bn (£644m) auction has attracted a number of potential bidders. Carrefour wants [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 14, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES TESCO ADVANCES IN CARREFOUR ASIAN AUCTION Tesco is among the bidders through to the second round of the auction for Carrefour’s south-east Asian assets, which are for sale for up to $1bn (£642m). Tesco, the world’s third-biggest supermarket chain by sales after Walmart and Carrefour, was one of more than 10 first-round bidders [...]
COMPANY OF THE YEAR | The Shortlist September 12, 2010 IT has been another tough year for business. The sovereign debt crisis rocked already shaky market confidence, while uncertainty has kept consumers from splashing out. It is in hard times that reputations are made, though, and over the past year the best have bounced back. Both retailers on our list have, in their different ways, [...]
Making millions from potatoes September 9, 2010 No one has ever written a book about how to make a million from a potato, but Will Chase could. The founder of Tyrrells crisps – the posh ones that brought the vegetable crisp to the tables of the upper middle class – has now turned his hand to vodka, made from the spuds grown [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 8, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES PROPOSAL FOR GRADUATE HIGH-FLIERS TO PAY EDUCATION PREMIUM Government officials are considering a plan to make graduates who become big earners pay a premium for their education as the coalition seeks ways to find extra money for universities. The novel policy proposal reflects a desire by Conservative coalition members to appease Liberal Democrat [...]
Tesco director Lucy Neville Rolfe joins the board of ITV September 6, 2010 TESCO’S corporate and legal affairs director Lucy Neville-Rolfe yesterday became the first woman to join the board of broadcaster ITV following Archie Norman’s arrival as chairman earlier this year. Neville-Rolfe, one of Tesco’s most senior figures, has been at the retailer for the past 13 years. Prior to that, she spent years in Whitehall, including [...]
DAUGHTERS JOIN DADS FOR GALA FUNDRAISER September 6, 2010 IF THE remaining doubters needed proof that the City has opened its arms wide to the talents and potential of the fairer sex, look no further. The Mansion House yesterday evening played host to hundreds of guests for the latest gala fundraiser for Lord Mayor Nick Anstee’s charity Appeal: a dinner specifically for the fathers [...]
DEALMAKER OF THE YEAR | The Shortlist September 6, 2010 THE past 12 months have seen a boom in M&A as we have emerged from the downturn, with the Kraft-Cadbury deal filling endless column inches.?Elsewhere, Santander’s onward march continued. Other deals brokered by our short list were perhaps not so high-profile, but just as impressive in their own sectors. Don’t miss the City event of [...]