M&S director of Asia to leave at end of October September 30, 2013 MARKS & Spencer is to see more changes to its senior management after confirming last night that its Asia regional director is to leave after two years with the company. The high street retail giant said Pascal Martin is to step down at the end of October “to pursue new opportunities outside of the business”. [...]
Best of the Brokers for 10 October 2013 October 9, 2013 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com CREST NICHOLSON Goldman Sachs has started covering the housebuilder with a “buy” rating and a 530p target, as it lifts its forecasts for the entire industry. While GS thinks Rightmove, Persimmon and Talyor Wimpey are the best plays on the UK housing recovery, [...]
Equistone fancies French pudding maker October 21, 2013 EQUISTONE, the private equity house founded by ex-Barclays buyout executives, has taken a bite out of a French luxury pudding maker that supplies tasty treats to M&S and McDonalds. The outfit, led by managing partner Guillaume Jacqueau, has bought a majority stake in French dessert conglomerate Europeenne des Desserts (EDD) for an undisclosed sum. The [...]
Inside Track: Carney must act to stop new EU rules hitting UK banks November 6, 2013 Well that didn’t last long. Optimism about a rapprochement between the Bank of England and major international banks has had the City bewitched since Mark Carney’s intervention last month to relax liquidity rules, marking a distinct break with the approach of his predecessor, Lord King. It may not be quite that straightforward: two subsequent developments [...]
Management shakeup for M&S as Asia exec leaves September 30, 2013 British retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) is to see more change to its senior management. Sky News' City editor Mark Kleinman reported that Pascal Martin, the executive responsible for the 120 M&S stores in Asia, is to leave next month, having been with the company only since 2011. His replacement, says Sky, is Bruce Findlay, [...]
John Lewis retains crown as Britain’s most trusted retailer October 8, 2013 JOHN LEWIS has been voted Britain’s most trusted retailer, according to research out today that showed that overall trust in retailers has hit a four-year low. Of the 10,000 shoppers surveyed by consultancy firm OC&C Strategy, 96 per cent said they trusted the department store group, followed by other heritage brands Marks & Spencer and [...]
Bottom Line: Hot competition in retail revolution November 5, 2013 PRIMARK doesn’t sell food, but if it did, it’s unlikely the range would compete with Marks & Spencer. Unfortunately for the 129-year-old high-street stalwart, its younger rival does sell clothes – a lot of them. Yesterday’s contrasting results from the two retailers were a stark reminder of just how much the British high street has [...]
Land Securities sells RBS offices on the South Bank for £315m October 10, 2013 LAND SECURITIES has sold Royal Bank of Scotland’s flagship offices on the South Bank to M&G Real Estate in a £315m deal. The FTSE 100 landlord said yesterday it has exchanged contracts to sell Bankside 2&3, which are let to the bank until 2027. The 380,000 square feet offices, which sit next to the Tate [...]
Nokia boss Elop takes £15.8m golden handshake to move back to Microsoft September 19, 2013 A Nokia announcement to shareholders has shown boss Stephen Elop received a €18.8m (£15.8m) sum to move to Microsoft (release). Tech giant Microsoft snapped up Nokia's mobile devices deal in a €5.33bn (£4.5bn) deal at the start of September. Elop's new role is as Microsoft's vice president of devices and services. That's a little more [...]
Sir Stuart Rose joins HSBC as an advisor September 4, 2013 FORMER Marks & Spencer boss Sir Stuart Rose has taken on an advisory role at banking giant HSBC. The retail veteran has recently accepted a part-time role on the European advisory council in HSBC’s investment banking division. The council has around six members from different sectors that HSBC can draw on for advice, including BAE [...]