Tesco in £1bn plan to breathe new life into business April 18, 2012 Tesco said it would spend £1bn this year overhauling its underperforming UK business and will rein in expansion as it seeks to win back market share and calm nervous shareholders. It said that the blueprint to revitalise its most important market, which it conceded was not a radical change of direction, would focus on improving [...]
The Tipster | Bookmaker to pay over the odds October 1, 2012 ATTENTION will be focused on William Hill this week. The UKs largest bookmaker has recently been told that a £350m offer for Sportingbet “significantly undervalues” the online sports betting company. With Sportingbet due to report tomorrow, investors will be closely monitoring whether William Hill is likely to pay over the odds. Spread Co quotes a [...]
Big supermarkets fight to master a changing market October 3, 2012 TESCO’S first fall in profits for almost two decades suggests a watershed moment for the supermarkets. On one side, the race for space against a backdrop of generous margins; on the other, an altogether tougher battle for bargain-conscious, internet-savvy and convenience-oriented customers as margins shrink. Yesterday’s results were a worrying suggestion that Tesco is losing [...]
Tesco sheds its value stripes in UK rebranding April 4, 2012 TESCO has scrapped its blue-and- white striped Tesco Value range of products in favour of a new updated brand, as chief executive Philip Clarke continues to shake up the business in an attempt to revive UK sales. The Everyday Value range, made up of 550 products, will feature more colourful and “softer” packaging compared with [...]
Ageas UK profits hit record high November 7, 2012 AGEAS UK, the British arm of the Belgian insurance giant, yesterday announced its best ever results as pre-tax profits jumped 36.4 per cent to £106.7m for the first nine months of this year. Total income crept up by less than one per cent but a strong underwriting performance allowed profits to surge. Barry Smith, chief [...]
Tesco Thai property float soars March 19, 2012 The property fund of Tesco’s Thai unit jumped nearly 10 per cent in its trading debut yesterday as investors who were shut out of Thailand’s largest IPO in six years scrambled to get a piece of the high-yielding security. The IPO raised about £378.8m, the biggest in Thailand since 2006, but the supply of units [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching jobs November 11, 2012 Old Burlington Investments Lawrence Hannah has been appointed business development manager at the investment firm. He joins from Caerus Wealth Management, where he was responsible for building its alternative tax products business. Hannah has also worked at Merrill Lynch. NYSE Euronext Demetria O’Sullivan has been appointed chief risk officer at the exchange’s new derivatives clearing [...]
Asda sales slow as it forecasts a bleak Christmas November 15, 2012 ASDA, the UK’s second largest supermarket, reported a slowdown in third quarter like-for-like sales growth yesterday and struck a sober note in its outlook on the Christmas quarter. Like-for-like sales rose 0.3 per cent in the three months to 30 September, down from 0.7 per cent in the previous quarter and 2.2 per cent in [...]
Banking and mining shares drive FTSE to highest level since May ‘08 January 9, 2013 BRITAIN’S blue-chip stocks hit their highest level since May 2008 yesterday, with gains led by banking stocks and miners after a reassuring start to the US earnings season boosted demand for riskier assets. The FTSE 100 broke through a near two-year high at 6,105.77 in afternoon trade, following a strong opening on Wall Street, peaking [...]
Sainsbury wins shoppers over with coupons November 14, 2012 J SAINSBURY boss Justin King said the supermarket’s Nectar data and coupon-at-till scheme would give it the edge over rivals ahead of another competitive christmas, as it reported a rise in half-year profit. Britain’s third largest supermarket beat forecasts with a five per cent rise in first-half profit to £373m, driven by convenience store growth [...]