As Tesco reports a drop in UK sales, has the retailer been pursuing the wrong strategy? June 11, 2012 YES Richard Perks “Retail is detail” and Tesco has been getting too many of the details wrong – poor quality, bad service, tired stores and an inept marketing function that couldn’t cope with Asda’s price guarantee. Very basically, Tesco has been using the UK as a cash cow to provide funds for development elsewhere. But, [...]
Unite Group launches retail bond November 21, 2012 Unite Group, the UK’s biggest student accommodation provider, yesterday become the latest firm to launch a retail bond. With £2,000 as the minimum investment, the bond pays a coupon rate of 6.125 per cent and matures on 12 June 2020. The group aims to raise £50 to £75m from the bond to fund expansion. Investec [...]
Unite Group launches retail bond November 21, 2012 Unite Group, the UK’s biggest student accommodation provider, yesterday become the latest firm to launch a retail bond. With £2,000 as the minimum investment, the bond pays a coupon rate of 6.125 per cent and matures on 12 June 2020. The group aims to raise £50 to £75m from the bond to fund expansion. Investec [...]
Festive trading is slow for UK supermarkets as sales weaken December 19, 2012 SUPERMARKET grocery sales have slowed in the past four weeks, held back by weak general merchandise sales and the continued squeeze on consumer budgets. According to the latest data from Nielsen, grocery sales in the four weeks to 8 December rose 1.3 per cent year-on-year. That compared with a two per cent growth in the [...]
Henderson sells £184m portfolio November 20, 2012 Henderson Global Investor has sold 24 remaining assets in its debt-laden CMBS Caspar regional property fund for £184m to buy-out firms Mountgrange and Patron Capital, the property asset manager announced yesterday. Mountgrange and Patron have in turn sold on seven of the warehouses and sites based in London and the south east, to CBRE Global [...]
Sir Terry Leahy to chair bargain store December 3, 2012 SIR TERRY LEAHY is making a comeback to the retail sector as chairman of B&M Bargains after US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier and Rice yesterday revealed it has bought a stake in the chain for around £965m. The former Tesco boss is an adviser to CD&R, which has fought off rivals such as Advent, [...]
Buffett Dines on Heinz for $28bn February 14, 2013 US BILLIONAIRE investor Warren Buffet and 3G Capital have swooped in to buy Heinz in a $28bn (£18bn) deal that marks one of the food industry’s largest ever acquisitions. Buffett’s investment firm Berkshire Hathaway and the Brazilian-backed private equity firm will pay $72.50 per share for the baked beans and ketchup maker, a 20 per [...]
Sun European takes a shine to packaging January 2, 2013 SUN EUROPEAN Partners has snapped up two packaging companies including Lincolnshire-based Paragon Print & Packaging in a £400m spending spree. Sun European, an arm of US private equity firm Sun Capital, yesterday said it had bought a 49 per cent stake in Paragon from Equistone and LDC for an undisclosed sum. Sun European also completed [...]
The future looks cloudy for this Sauvignon Blanc February 12, 2013 bottle.opener@cityam.com Once the wine of choice, Cloudy Bay now has some real competition Whatever HAPPENED to Cloudy Bay? A few years ago the release of the new Cloudy Bay Sauvignon vintage was greeted with excitement amongst wine lovers. After all, this was a wine to celebrate – a taut yet ripe Sauvignon Blanc with real [...]
The big bad business of exploiting eager interns for free labour January 27, 2013 THE disillusioned young worker struggles out of bed at dawn and heads off to a menial and mindless job, offering only pitiful pay, poor treatment, and long hours. Happens in Asia, right? Africa? Well it happens here too. I met two people recently with worrying stories. Betti was excited about the world. She had just [...]