Sofa so good: Made.com bags £40m from Partech Ventures and Fidelity Growth Partners July 20, 2015 Online retailer Made.com, which sells plush furniture at cheaper prices than on the high street, has bagged millions of pounds in new investment to fuel growth. The five-year-old company, co-founded by Brent Hoberman of Lastminute.com fame, has picked up a new round of investment totalling £38m led by Partech Growth Fund, along with Fidelity Growth [...]
TK Maxx could be coming to another high street near you following above-expectations growth August 27, 2014 TK Maxx parent company TJX Europe is looking to expand further in the UK and Ireland, after reporting above-expectations second quarter growth. European like-for-likes rose 6 per cent during the three months to 2 August, while adjusted net sales rose 13 per cent year-on-year to $875m (£527m). Globally TJX reported a 7% increase of [...]
Matalan chief Jason Hargreaves makes retailer a family affair May 14, 2015 Jason Hargreaves made a trip to Oxford Street earlier this year with his four-year-old daughter in tow. The managing director of Matalan, the out-of-town value fashion and homeware chain founded by his father, John Hargreaves, 30 years ago, came to view its first ever central London store at the east end of on Oxford [...]
SuperGroup share price falls after surprise exit of chief operating officer Susanne Given February 12, 2015 SuperGroup's share price fell this morning after it revealed chief operating officer Susanne Given has left the company. Her role is being made redundant, with SuperGroup saying her responsibilities would be “absorbed by the executive team”, so the heads of UK retail, IT and logistics will report directly into chief executive Euan Sutherland. [...]
Clipstone IPO to raise £150m July 7, 2014 A LOGISTICS real estate investment trust is seeking to raise an initial £150m in a listing on the London Stock Exchange as it looks to tap into the boom in UK online retailing. Clipstone Logistics Reit confirmed yesterday that £72m of properties would be acquired upon admission, of which the majority were warehouses let to [...]
More mobile payments lift Monitise sales February 11, 2013 MOBILE payments service Monitise yesterday reported half-year revenue up 63 per cent on the same period a year earlier as the number of transactions it processed quadrupled. The fast-growing company, which provides mobile payments for Visa and many UK high street banks, said its revenue was £27.8m for the six months to 31 December. It [...]
Retailer Republic poised to fall into administration February 12, 2013 REPUBLIC, the youth fashion retailer, is poised to become the latest high street name to collapse into administration, putting 1,000 jobs and 121 stores at risk. Ernst & Young has been lined up as administrators and the appointment is expected to be confirmed this morning. The group’s demise marks the latest in a string of [...]
Comet forecast to leave high street by Xmas November 28, 2012 COMET’S administrators yesterday confirmed they are to close a further 125 stores and may shut the entire business by the end of the year unless a buyer can be found, in a devastating blow for the high street. Deloitte said just 70 stores of the original 236 stores will continue to trade until all of [...]
Entrepreneur swoops in to bid for 180 Comet stores November 27, 2012 BUSINESS angel and entrepreneur Clive Coombes has emerged as a surprise bidder for around 180 Comet stores. Comet’s administrator Deloitte confirmed yesterday it is in talks with 43-year-old Coombes over a bid for the crisis-hit electronics retailer but said it was too early to say if it would result in a sale. The little-known entrepreneur [...]
US corporate results round up November 13, 2012 Home Depot raises forecasts for sales HOME Depot yesterday raised its full-year outlook as the retailer benefited from a recent uptick in the US housing market and analysts expect a sales boost from Hurricane Sandy in the current quarter. The world’s biggest home improvement chain posted quarterly net earnings up 1.4 per cent to $947m [...]