Wake up and smell the instant coffee March 24, 2011 CHRISTMAS?2010 will be remembered as Britain’s last big spending splurge. What better way to end almost two decades of unsustainable, debt-fuelled largesse than with a massive turkey dinner and tonnes of presents? Supermarkets could barely believe it as families spent more than ever before on rich food and booze; John Lewis notched up record sales. [...]
Lloyds TSB unveils 5.5 per cent bond for retail investors March 8, 2011 LLOYDS TSB launched a five-year corporate bond for retail investors yesterday, following its first offering to private bond investors last June. The bonds will pay 5.5 per cent interest at a fixed rate until the notes mature in September 2016. Lloyds and Royal Bank of Canada are underwriting the scheme. Lloyds expects to raise at [...]
Lloyds TSB unveils 5.5 per cent bond for retail investors March 8, 2011 LLOYDS TSB launched a five-year corporate bond for retail investors yesterday, following its first offering to private bond investors last June. The bonds will pay 5.5 per cent interest at a fixed rate until the notes mature in September 2016. Lloyds and Royal Bank of Canada are underwriting the scheme. Lloyds expects to raise at [...]
Ocado lifted by upgrade March 1, 2011 OCADO shares were boosted yesterday after broker Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating on the shares. The stock has fallen by almost a quarter since 11 February, when Goldman – Ocado’s house broker – placed ten per cent of the company’s shares at 265p each. Goldman raised its rating on the online delivery company from “hold” [...]
Consumer confidence worrying for everyone March 22, 2011 WHAT do politicians, retailers, the media and market researchers have in common? They are all talking and worrying, about “consumer confidence”. ECONOMY IS BIGGEST ISSUE Over three quarters of the UK population think the economy is the most important issue facing the country and the Bloomberg/YouGov Household Economic Activity Tracker shows 55 per cent expecting [...]
Ocado sales up 25pc March 4, 2011 Online grocer Ocado posted a 25 per cent rise in first-quarter sales and said it remained profitable, despite a challenging economic backdrop which has hit many retailers hard. The group, which mostly sells the products of grocer Waitrose, said it made gross sales of £146.2m in the 12 weeks to 20 February, in line with [...]
Ocado sales up 25pc March 4, 2011 Online grocer Ocado posted a 25 per cent rise in first-quarter sales and said it remained profitable, despite a challenging economic backdrop which has hit many retailers hard. The group, which mostly sells the products of grocer Waitrose, said it made gross sales of £146.2m in the 12 weeks to 20 February, in line with [...]
Waitrose opens overseas February 13, 2011 WAITROSE is set to open one of five shops in the Channel Islands this week, in its first owner-operated venture outside the UK. The Thursday opening of its 21,000 square foot shop in St Saviour, Jersey, comes just a week after the retailer opened its first shop in Bahrain. However, unlike Bahrain, which is operated [...]
Waitrose opens overseas February 13, 2011 WAITROSE is set to open one of five shops in the Channel Islands this week, in its first owner-operated venture outside the UK. The Thursday opening of its 21,000 square foot shop in St Saviour, Jersey, comes just a week after the retailer opened its first shop in Bahrain. However, unlike Bahrain, which is operated [...]
Analyst views: What is the outlook for retailers’ figures this week? January 9, 2011 NICK BUBB | ARDEN “The resilience of trading at the premium end of the High Street, as evidenced by John Lewis, is still striking. Investors can’t buy shares in John Lewis, but they can buy shares in M&S, which is the best proxy for the strength of middle-class spending on food and clothing.” KEITH BOWMAN [...]