Over 5,000 retailers to fail September 1, 2009 OVER 5,000 retailers are set to go out of business next year in further evidence of the embattled state of the high street. The retail sector has already suffered from a steep decline in consumer confidence and rising unemployment is set to batter the industry further, according to figures out yesterday by accountants and business [...]
More retailers could follow Woolies as hard times continue August 31, 2009 RETAILERS were in August their most positive since November 2007, a recent survey from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) showed. Only 2 per cent of retailers surveyed by the CBI in August are expecting the situation to get worse, despite high street sales falling for the fourth month running. And indeed, with all the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 10, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES BBC ARM WINS COURT RULING ON 2ENTERTAINBBC Worldwide, the BBC’s commercial arm, has won a court case against the administrators of Woolworths over the value of their 2Entertain joint venture. The decision at the High Court in London is likely to face an appeal by Deloitte, the administrators, who are fighting to maximise [...]
E&Y earns 3.2m while many Zavvi creditors miss out July 26, 2009 ERNST & Young (E&Y) has made £3.2m in fees after being appointed as joint administrators to Zavvi after the business collapsed last December, whilst unsecured creditors are set to receive only between 5-10p in the pound. Unsecured creditors, which include employees , trade creditors and voucher holders, are set to receive 5-10p for every pound [...]
BBC bonuses culled amid profit slide July 14, 2009 THE BBC’s commercial arm reported a 27 per cent drop in full-year profit yesterday, as the broadcaster said it had suspended all executive director bonuses until further notice. BBC Worldwide said pre-tax profit slid to £85.7m in the year ending March 2009, despite revenue hitting £1bn for the first time. The company blamed the drop [...]
Freshfields is City’s top legal firm July 2, 2009 FRESHFIELDS Bruckhaus Deringer has overtaken rival Clifford Chance to clinch the top spot among the UK’s highest-grossing law firms. Profit per equity partner – considered the best measure of a law firm’s profitability – remained broadly constant for the 2008/09 financial year at £1.44m, outperforming rivals who saw profits slump. Revenue hit £1.29bn, an increase [...]
HMV profits from demise of rival firms June 30, 2009 ENTERTAINMENT retailer HMV yesterday reported an 11 per cent rise in annual pre-tax profits after stealing market share following the demise of its rivals. The group, which also owns bookstore Waterstones, said pre-tax profits rose to £63m in the 12 months to 25 April compared to £56.6m in the same period last year. Total sales [...]
DO YOU THINK HMV CAN CONTINUE TO STORM THE RETAIL CHARTS? June 30, 2009 TONY SHIRET CREDIT SUISSEHMV has delivered clean full year pre-tax profits of £63m, slightly ahead of consensus. However, we remain concerned about HMV’s increasing exposure to the highly cyclical video games market as well as the more price competitive technology product areas. JOHN STEVENSON KBC PEEL HUNT For the coming year, we believe the group [...]
Woolworths given new life June 24, 2009 Shop Direct Group is today giving Woolworths a new lease of life in an online form. Chief executive, Mark Newton-Jones acquired the brand name twenty weeks ago after the highstreet retailer collapsed and has since launched woolworths.co.uk. Pick’n’Mix and twenty different types of piñata are a few of the products that will be sold on [...]
Bad shops are to blame for our withering High St June 24, 2009 THIS week a rare opportunity to watch television saw me glued to a programme presented by the self-styled “Queen of Shops” Mary Portas. Focusing on the death of that great British institution the High Street, Portas probed the decline of traditional retailers and voiced her fears for the future of our nation of shopkeepers and [...]