Ocado targets international deals after beating profit expectation June 30, 2015 The figures Ocado delivered better-than-expected pre-tax profit of £7.2m in the first half of the year, amid reports the grocery delivery giant is closing in on a deal with an international retailer. Read more: Ocado's making robots that will help in the workplace Despite intense price competition in the UK's supermarket sector, Ocado enjoyed a 15.7 [...]
Convenience retailers spend £177m on shops June 29, 2015 Convenience retailers spent £177m refurbishing their stores in the three months to May amid increased competition from their peers, coffee shops and food chains all vying for a bigger share of the food-to-go market. Britain’s booming convenience market is now worth over £37bn and consists of 50,000 stores – of which less than 2,500 are [...]
Best of the Brokers for 30 June 2015 June 29, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com IG GROUP The stock keeps its “hold” rating and target price of 758p from Numis, which believes good strategic progress is being made with the stockbroking offering in the Netherlands and work towards a regulatory licence in Dubai. WENTWORTH RESOURCES Panmure Gordon dropped [...]
Mining strength offsets worries over Greek deal – London Report June 24, 2015 BRITAIN’S top share index turned lower after touching a three-week high yesterday although it still outperformed Eurozone shares with strength in the mining sector insulating the index from the Greek debt standoff. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index hit 6,873.43 in morning trade, its highest level since June 4. It turned lower to trade up just [...]
Tesco tops suppliers’ naughty list over groceries code June 22, 2015 Tesco has been on the receiving end of more than half of issues raised by suppliers with the new Groceries Code adjudicator in the last year. The troubled supermarket was at the centre of 54 per cent of complaints made, with 11 per cent of Tesco's suppliers going to the new government ombudsman, according [...]
Tesco first quarter results and AGM: Three things to expect from Friday’s figures June 21, 2015 Tesco will update the market on its first-quarter figures – the first since reporting its biggest ever loss – while executives will face shareholders at its AGM. Here's what to expect from the supermarket on Friday. 1. The numbers will continue tumbling The supermarket’s first quarter is unlikely to tell a different story from the [...]
Sinking supermarkets: Tesco has had a disastrous year. Can it recover? June 18, 2015 The UK’s supermarkets were once investment darlings. The likes of Tesco and Sainsbury’s emerged on the stock markets, radically changed our shopping habits and then rose to dominance on the FTSE 100. But times have changed, and the supermarkets have been down on their luck. Are they still worthwhile investments? “Part of the [...]
FTSE pushed down by Greek debt fears and grocery losses – London Report June 17, 2015 BRITAIN’S top share index turned lower by mid-session yesterday as losses in grocers and caution before a Federal Reserve announcement later in the day weighed on the market. The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed 0.4 per cent lower at 6,680.55 points. The FTSE, which fell to its lowest since late January on Tuesday, has lost around [...]
Waitrose PYOO (“pick your own offers”) ups game in supermarket price wars with Aldi, Lidl and big four June 17, 2015 Middle England favourite Waitrose has upped the stakes in the supermarket price wars with what it's calling "game-changing" discounts. The latest salvo in the battle with Aldi, Lidl and the big four – and adding a new acronym to our lingo almost as good as BOGOF – is "Pick Your Own Offers", or PYOO, which is [...]
Tesco must find £5bn to rebuild its balance sheet, says Moody’s June 15, 2015 Troubled Tesco will need to find £5bn in order to relieve the pressure on its overstretched balance sheet, according to credit ratings agency Moody's. Read more: Here's what assets has Tesco sold off and what's heading to the checkout "It has a relatively high level of debt – also adjusted debt, such as the pension deficit and [...]