Mayfair’s billionaire hedge fund bosses are procrastinators just like the rest of us January 20, 2014 Call it procrastination, call it the post-Christmas pile of paper work, but most hedge funds and private equity groups still haven’t submitted their application to operate under new EU regulations coming into force this year, research shows. With less than six months to go until the new laws come into force, over 80 per cent [...]
Smith all smiles as Exiles ease away day blues February 16, 2014 LONDON Irish director of rugby Brian Smith believes his side’s 23-20 victory at London Wasps was even better than last week’s triumph at Saracens as the Exiles recorded back-to-back away wins in Aviva Premiership Rugby for the first time since 2010. Smith’s side picked up where they left off at Allianz Park, scoring two early [...]
Supermarket retailers Waitrose and Co-op see mixed fortunes January 8, 2014 THE FESTIVE trading period produced mixed fortunes for supermarket retailers Waitrose and the Co-operative, which is fighting to turn itself around after a dire year for its banking arm. The Co-op’s food arm, which has been steadily losing market share, gained some respite after posting a one per cent rise in like-for-like sales in 13 [...]
Moss Bros sales smarten up as eveningwear season kicks-off December 12, 2013 SUIT-seller Moss Bross enjoyed a bounceback in hire sales in the first weeks of the second half as it recovered from a subdued wedding season in the first part of the year. Like-for-like sales rose 5.3 per cent in the first 19 weeks to 7 December, the retailer said yesterday, as hire sales stabilised and [...]
Why Sainsbury’s is SocGen’s favourite supermarket January 22, 2014 When it came to supermarkets’ Christmas performance in the UK, the discounters claimed the victory. Aldi and Lidl saw sales leap, both increasing their market shares. It was good news for high-end store Waitrose, too, which also saw a bumper festive period. It’s the Big Four – or, at least, three of them (Tesco, Asda [...]
Analyst Views: What are your views on Greene King’s interim financial results? December 3, 2013 GEOF COLLYER DEUTSCHE BANK With bookings up 17 per cent at the same stage last year and with the Christmas and New Year holidays falling in mid-week, we expect the festive period to be a good one for the sector. Greene King’s shares have risen modestly in recent trading. We do not see any reason [...]
Bottom Line: No change is no cause for concern – for now January 22, 2014 FOR ALMOST the entire decade that Kate Swann ran WH Smith, Christmas sales at the stationery retailer fell. Yet over the same period, its share price has tripled – climbing from 2004 levels of around £3.50 to a close of £10.43 yesterday. Its most recent update proved that investors – who’ve long cheered its ability [...]
Bottom Line: Supermarket needs to focus on web and sales, not real estate January 12, 2014 THE debate being waged over whether Morrisons should sell some of its freehold estate surely misses the point about the grocery chain’s future. There is nothing wrong with the structure of Morrisons’ estate that a little tinkering can not remedy. And it will remain, as it has insisted, “overwhelmingly freehold” – that is as long [...]
Physical retailers see no boon from seasonal card spending January 7, 2014 CARD spending in brick-and-mortar shops over the last year dropped, despite the onset of an early economy recovery. Data from credit and debit cards released by Visa Europe yesterday suggest that while spending at physical retail stores dropped by 1.9 per cent between December 2012 and last month, despite a 6.8 per cent bump in [...]
It’s a Christmas miracle: UK’s annual GDP growth hits 1.9pc December 20, 2013 Some Christmas cheer from our statisticians. The UK's economy grew by 1.9 per cent in the year to the third quarter, smashing analyst estimates of 1.5 per cent growth. Not one of the 31 economists polled by Reuters expected growth that high. Economic activity as measured by GDP is now just two per cent below [...]