Westfield Group raises £450m July 5, 2012 Westfield Group, which owns London’s Shepherd’s Bush and Stratford shopping centres, yesterday raised £450m with the issuance of a 10-year sterling bond. The Australian firm is expected to use part of the money raised to pay down some of its UK debts, as well as fund new investments.
Dixons plans to shut 40 shops as profits sink June 21, 2012 THE CHIEF executive of Dixons Retail said the group is planning to axe a further 40 stores on UK high streets as it reported a 17 per cent fall in pre-tax profits to £70.8m. Sebastian James, who replaced John Browett in February, said he intends to trim down its estate of 557 shops to about [...]
Your guide to a four day fiesta of royally good fun May 31, 2012 London is culturally overwhelming any weekend of the year. For the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, however, the city has truly pulled out the stops. It’s a four day bonanza that combines state pomp with cultural entertainment and lots of partying – in the way that only the British can pull off. Whether you fancy joining in [...]
Vue looks good as cinema firm set to expand April 1, 2012 VUE, the private equity-backed cinema chain, is set to ramp up its expansion plans as Britons spend more on affordable luxuries in the economic downturn. The chain, bought by Doughty Hanson in a £450m deal nearly 18 months ago, will open two sites this year and two next year as part of a development pipeline [...]
John Lewis is upbeat on 2012 March 7, 2012 THE CHAIRMAN of John Lewis has predicted a modest recovery for retailers this year despite unveiling a sharp fall in annual profits. Charlie Mayfield told City A.M. the sector would shift from “decline to growth” this year following a “bloody difficult” 2011. He added: “I’m not in any way underplaying how serious the challenges are. [...]
Stratford shines as Westfield sells small malls February 14, 2012 AUSTRALIAN developer Westfield hailed the “exceptional” performance of its Stratford shopping centre last night as it outlined plans to invest in new malls this year and in 2013. The east London site, next door to the Olympic park, received more than 13.6m shopping visits in its first 14 weeks from opening to 31 December, at [...]
One sponsor is helping everybody else onto the Olympic springboard February 14, 2012 COUNTDOWN TO THE LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES 163 DAYS TO GO CBS Outdoor’s UK head explains why it is the official outdoor advertising services provider for 2012 Q. WHAT WAS YOUR BRAND’S PRIMARY REASON FOR BEING INVOLVED WITH THE GAMES? A. CBS Outdoor felt very heavily involved in the pitch for London 2012. We worked [...]
La Senza and Blacks saved from brink January 9, 2012 IT WAS all change on the high street yesterday after two of the UK’s stricken retailers, lingerie chain La Senza and outdoor sportswear company Blacks Leisure, were rescued from administration. Retailer JD Sports confirmed yesterday that it had bought all of Blacks’ 290 stores and the bulk of its business from its administrator KPMG in [...]
La Senza and Blacks saved from brink January 9, 2012 IT WAS all change on the high street yesterday after two of the UK’s stricken retailers, lingerie chain La Senza and outdoor sportswear company Blacks Leisure, were rescued from administration. Retailer JD Sports confirmed yesterday that it had bought all of Blacks’ 290 stores and the bulk of its business from its administrator KPMG in [...]
Foyles’ new shops help to offset Crossrail problems January 9, 2012 FOYLES’ bookshops said the sale of hardback classics and limited editions of Haruki Murakami’s bestseller 1Q84 helped boost group sales by 20 per cent for the period from 1 to 24 December compared to same period last year. Strong sales at its newly opened store in the Westfield Stratford shopping centre helped offset a six [...]