Co-operative enjoys mutual benefits October 12, 2009 THE CO-OPERATIVE Group, Britain’s biggest mutually owned retailer, yesterday reported a 17 per cent rise in profits, boosted by strong food sales and acquisitions. The Co-op, which bought rival food retailer Somerfield and the Britannia Building Society earlier in the year, said pre-tax profits had jumped to £229m in the six months to 25 July. [...]
J Sainsbury set to ramp up banking arm by luring customers in with points October 11, 2009 J Sainsbury, Britain’s third biggest supermarket, is ramping up its banking arm, by launching a new scheme that will see shoppers rewarded for buying its financial services products. Sainsbury’s Finance will allow customers to earn double Nectar points for taking out home insurance, or opening an account, but it will also give Sainsbury’s account holders [...]
Banks and oil lead the markets lower October 7, 2009 EUROPEAN shares closed lower yesterday with banking and oil stocks leading the fallers, as investors booked profits ahead of the US third-quarter corporate results season. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was down 0.4 per cent at 988.76 points. The benchmark index is up 19 per cent this year and has surged 53 [...]
J Sainsbury sales growth slows down October 7, 2009 J SAINSBURY, hot on the heels of supermarket archrival Tesco, yesterday revealed that its second quarter sales growth had slowed as food inflation eased in the autumn. Sainsbury’s said like-for-like sales growth, excluding fuel, slowed to 4.6 per cent rise for the 16 weeks to 3 October down from seven per cent in the previous [...]
Insurers fail to lift the FTSE as investors await US results October 7, 2009 BRITAIN’S leading shares closed lower yesterday as falls in oil majors and food retailers offset gains in insurers as investors waited for the start of the earnings seasons in the US to give a fresh direction. The FTSE 100 closed down 29.08 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 5,108.90, after ending 2.3 per cent higher [...]
Tesco beats forecasts with 1.4bn profits October 6, 2009 TESCO chief executive Sir Terry Leahy yesterday said that the UK was “past the low point” of the slump as he unveiled bumper profits and sales. Britain’s biggest retailer said that group sales had jumped 8.3 per cent to £30.4bn during the 26 weeks to 29 August – meaning the giant supermarket chain was ringing [...]
ARE YOU ENCOURAGED BY TESCO’S UPBEAT OUTLOOK? October 6, 2009 RICHARD HUNTER HARGREAVES LANSDOWN “By definition Tesco comes with high expectations and these numbers have resulted in something of a hung jury. Whilst the well flagged strategy of expanding overseas is intended to offset an increasingly saturated UK marketplace, this comes at a cost.”TONY SHIRET CREDIT SUISSE “UK trading profit was £1,155m which was slightly [...]
AT-A-GLANCE October 5, 2009 • UnemploymentShadow work and pensions secretary Theresa May fleshed out well-trailed plans for welfare reform, outlining a scheme that will give personalised help to young people who have been unemployed for over six months. Under Labour’s existing New Deal scheme, a young jobless person must have been out-of-work for 12 months before they are given [...]
Tesco succeeds in 514m sale and leaseback deal October 5, 2009 BRITAIN’S biggest retailer, Tesco, said yesterday it had carried out a sale and leaseback deal for property assets valued at £514m. The transaction, structured as a 50-50 joint venture with an unnamed UK pension fund, represents the latest phase in the firm’s ongoing programme to release value from its property portfolio. The deal involves 15 [...]
Tesco set to report slower sales growth October 4, 2009 TESCO, Britain’s biggest retailer, is set to report slower underlying UK sales growth than rival J Sainsbury for the fifth quarter in a row this week, alongside a small rise in first-half profit. But analysts expect Tesco to flag a stronger second-half profit performance, and some see signs it is beginning to close the gap [...]