Tesco launches supplier network as supermarket rebuilds trading relationships January 22, 2015 Tesco has launched an online network for its 5,000 suppliers, as the supermarket attempts to heal the rift with its trading partners. The supermarket giant has come under fire in recent months for the way it deals with its suppliers as the fall-out from its £263m profit blackhole continues to land. The revelation [...]
Balfour Beatty issues £70m warning on UK construction profits and cancels £200m share buyback January 22, 2015 Balfour Beatty has warned profits at its UK construction arm will take a £70m hit after a review of its business by KPMG found it had made “optimistic assumptions” about the cost and risk of contracts. The widespread review of the construction group’s business was initiated in September after it made its fifth profit warning [...]
Royal Mail share price rises as Christmas packages pick up January 22, 2015 The figures Shares in Royal Mail went up by 4.18 per cent to £4.49 in trading this morning, following the company's positive results for the Christmas period. Group revenue rose one per cent during the nine months to 28 December, indicating the company is performing in line with expectations. The UK postal service [...]
Halfords boss poached by Tesco: Matt Davies says he’s gutted to leave the firm January 21, 2015 Matt Davies, you can tell, is squirming in his seat at being asked about his new role at Tesco during a call for Halfords’ trading update. “I am genuinely gutted to be leaving Halfords,” Davies explains. “It was absolutely not in my script to be leaving. But when I was approached by Tesco and given [...]
Pets at Home on track to meet forecasts with £182m revenue January 21, 2015 Shares in Pets at Home Group gained ground yesterday after the retailer said it remained on track to meet its expectations for the full year on the back of another strong trading update. The FTSE 250-listed retailer said revenue in the 12 weeks to 1 January grew 7.8 per cent to £182.2m, buoyed by merchandise [...]
Poundland hit by slowdown in new stores January 21, 2015 SHARES in Poundland lost some of their shine yesterday after the company blamed the timing of its expansion programme for the slowdown in third quarter sales. The discount chain, which floated in March last year, said its sales rose 10.2 per cent in the 13 weeks to 28 December, a slowdown on the 15 per [...]
Wetherspoon’s sales flat over Christmas January 21, 2015 TIM MARTIN’S pub chain JD Wetherspoon said yesterday that sales had slowed significantly in its second quarter, blaming cheap supermarket prices for keeping bar receipts flat over the festive season. The company’s stock dropped over two per cent in trading following the news.
Workspace finalises purchases of Edinburgh and Peer Houses January 21, 2015 Workspace Group yesterday announced it had completed the purchase of two major London properties. London’s leading provider of space for new and growing companies said it had bought Edinburgh House, in Kennington, south London, for £25.3m, and Peer House, in the West End, for £6.1m. Originally constructed in the 1970s, and fully refurbished in 2004, [...]
Computacenter sees 2014 results in line but hard to predict 2015 January 21, 2015 IT services firm Computacenter said yesterday that its results for 2014 were expected to be in-line with its previous expectations, despite the strength of sterling against the euro. Computacenter said that, while it was encouraged by the continued momentum it had built up in the UK and its positive end of the year in Germany, [...]
Cairn Energy cuts spending forecast as it closes $182m deal with Dyas January 21, 2015 Oil and gas firm Cairn Energy has reduced its capital expenditure budget to $380m (£252m) for the period ended 31 January 2017. The company’s decision follows the completion of a farm out agreement with Dyas UK, part of the Netherlands-based exploration and production group. Cairn will sell Dyas a 10 per cent interest in its [...]