McColl’s sales still impacted by Palmer & Harvey collapse September 4, 2018 Sales at convenience retailer McColl's have struggled to pick up for another quarter as the company still grapples with the collapse of wholesaler Palmer & Harvey. The figures Total revenue in the 13 weeks to 26 August was up 0.6 per cent, but like-for-like sales slipped 0.9 per cent due to continued supply chain disruption. [...]
Parliament a no-show for Viagogo as committee chair accuses firm of ‘gross discourtesy’ September 5, 2018 The head of an influential committee of MPs launched a scathing attack on Viagogo today after the controversial ticket resale giant snubbed a parliamentary hearing for the second time in as many years. Damian Collins, who chairs the department for digital, culture, media and sport (DCMS) select committee, slammed the act of non-attendance as a [...]
Sainsbury’s to announce details of talks for £10bn Asda merger April 30, 2018 Details of a proposed £10bn mega-merger between Sainsbury’s and Asda will be revealed today, after it emerged that the two giants are locked in takeover talks. Sainsbury’s will issue a statement to the market this morning after confirming on Saturday that it was in advanced discussions regarding the tie-up with Wal-Mart owned Asda. City observers [...]
Shares drop as Just Group CFO announces departure amid regulatory uncertainty October 1, 2018 Just Group's shares fell sharply on news this morning that chief financial officer Simon Thomas is to step down at the end of the month. Shares initially declined by nine per cent, but had recovered to a drop of five per cent by around midday. Read more: Mercer slams CMA for data errors in pension [...]
Another Sainsbury’s shareholder says Asda deal “makes a lot of sense” May 3, 2018 Another Sainsbury’s shareholder has said that the proposed merger with Asda “makes a lot of sense”. Jason Doctor at Pzena Investment Management, which owns around three per cent of the supermarket’s issued shares, told City A.M. it could benefit the Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Argos brands. “The deal itself really makes a lot of sense, it’s [...]
Trinity Mirror’s Express takeover slowed down as competition regulators lift up the bonnet April 11, 2018 Britain’s competition regulator today launched an investigation into the sale of Richard Desmond’s Express newspaper stable to the owner of the Daily Mirror. Media giants Trinity Mirror and Northern & Shell agreed a £127m deal in February, ending Desmond’s 18-year association with some of Britain’s most popular newspaper and magazine titles. Just £48m will be [...]
Committee chairs Neil Parish and Rachel Reeves to ask competition watchdog to include suppliers in Sainsbury’s Asda probe May 2, 2018 Two select committee chairs have joined forces to ask the competition watchdog to include suppliers in any probe of the Sainsbury’s Asda merger. Neil Parish, the Conservative chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee, told City A.M. that he and Labour MP Rachel Reeves will ask the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) [...]
Moore Stephens partner says it is ready to take on FTSE audits as revenues grow for third year October 5, 2018 The managing partner of Moore Stephens, the UK’s ninth-biggest accountancy firm, has said the company is “well-positioned” to pick up FTSE-listed clients, as it announced revenue growth for the third consecutive year. The professional services firm’s UK operation posted revenue of £137.5m in the year to April, a 13 per cent rise on the year [...]
Five key takeaways from the FRC’s audit sector report October 8, 2018 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the audit sector’s watchdog, released its annual Developments in Audit report yesterday, outlining key challenges faced in the sector and assessing the current state of the profession. Audit is under close scrutiny at the moment, as politicians and regulators look closely at the dominance of the Big Four audit firms Deloitte, [...]
Aldi may drop prices to compete with Tesco’s new budget venture Jack’s October 1, 2018 Low-cost supermarket chain Aldi "will never be beaten on price", and could even drop them in response to Tesco's new low-cost venture Jack's, it said today. UK and Ireland chief executive Giles Hurley said Aldi welcomes competition from new players such as Jack's, adding: "If we need to reduce retail prices we will." Read more: Drastic Dave's no-frills move must [...]