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 [...]
Food inflation to benefit UK supermarkets September 6, 2010 UPWARD pressures on food prices appear to be here to stay. Global demand is increasing while droughts and fires last month hit harvests in Russia and Ukraine. Market researcher Kantar Worldpanel anticipates that UK grocery inflation will rise to an annualised 4 per cent by the end of 2010 from its current rate of 2 [...]
Tesco eyes Carrefour’s Asian assets September 1, 2010 TESCO is one of at least ten bidders circling for the Asian assets of French retail giant Carrefour. The Thai, Malaysian and Singaporean operations owned by Carrefour are being offloaded – offering Tesco an expansion of its Asian operation. Under its Tesco Lotus banner it is already a major player in Asia with hypermarkets in [...]
RISING STAR OF THE YEAR | THE SHORTLIST DAY 2 August 31, 2010 IF it’s whizz-kids you are looking for, then the City is the place to find them. Our list of the brightest young things is varied, but every one of them has shown real talent and verve so far in their careers. Some are young, others are just new to the City, but all of them [...]
Baking up a name for herself August 26, 2010 SHE’S been called the “Bentley” of cakes by Gordon Ramsay and was in the kitchen of her flat when she received the orders to make wedding cakes for Madonna and Pierce Brosnan. Mich Turner has spent the last decade building the Little Venice Cake Company (LVCC) that is now a by-word for luxury. She partly [...]
Fortis successor Ageas reports strong earnings August 25, 2010 BELGIAN insurer Ageas reported a surge of cash coming into its business in the first half, particularly in Asia, and strong earnings from its life insurance business. The company, formerly known as Fortis, said yesterday that inflows grew by 22 per cent during the first six months of 2010 and by 59 per cent in [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 22, 2010 THE SUNDAYS The Sunday Telegraph TESCO TO OPEN DRIVE-THRU STORE It has moved into banking, pet insurance and telecoms, but Tesco will expand its reach further this week with the launch of the UK’s first ever “drive-thru” supermarket. The service will allow customers to pick up their weekly shop without leaving their car. LIDL SET [...]
PTT plots bid for Carrefour assets August 20, 2010 PTT, Thailand’s biggest energy company, said it plans to bid for French retailer Carrefour’s Thai assets, worth an estimated $600M (£386m), under a plan to diversify its businesses. Carrefour, Europe’s top retailer, wants to sell its Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand units at a potential price of $1BN to focus on core markets where it holds [...]
Asda warns of shopper misery as sales drop August 17, 2010 SUPERMARKET chain Asda said yesterday shoppers were being hit in the pocket by government cuts as like-for-like sales excluding fuel fell 0.4 per cent in the second quarter. The chain said its market share had reduced in the 12 weeks to 11 July as total sales crept up “in the low single digits”. Chief executive [...]
High achievers look beyond red bricks August 17, 2010 TOMORROW is a date that thousands of families across England and Wales will have indelibly committed to memory. Far from being merely another summer’s day, Thursday 19 August 2010 is A-Level “results day”, a make-or-break day for the career and life plans of thousands of 17 and 18-year-olds. For many, results day will simply confirm [...]