Kingfisher profits knocked by foreign exchange volatility, but share price is up nonetheless May 28, 2015 Currency volatility did Kingfisher no favours in the first quarter of 2015, but investors have not been put off. The figures Sales for the company, which owns B&Q, rose slightly by 0.8 per cent to £2.6m during the first three months of the year. Retail profit was also up by 1.4 per cent at £150m [...]
Kingfisher sells off loss-making B&Q business in China for £140m December 22, 2014 DIY GROUP Kingfisher said yesterday it had agreed to sell a 70 per cent stake in its loss-making B&Q China business to Wumei Holdings for £140m. The deal came after the retailer announced in March that it was searching for a strategic partner to help grow its B&Q business in China, which is made up [...]
B&Q owner Kingfisher reports falls in revenue and profit November 25, 2014 Kingfisher’s new French chief executive, Veronique Laury, faces a tough task to arrest the tumbling sales in her home country which are taking their toll on the FTSE 100 company. In its third quarter results the B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher recorded a 3.6 per cent drop in sales to £2.8bn, while retail profit [...]
Holiday Homes: Sussing out the property market in Barcelona, the Spanish city proving popular with cash-strapped millennials June 2, 2016 Barcelona is the millennials’ Paris. There are scores of city-wide events aimed at a younger demographic, the art galleries are overwhelmingly modern, and a cursory glance through social media will net you far more pictures of young couples standing atop one of Barcelona’s several hills than the Eiffel Tower. The city’s growing popularity means property [...]
Epiphany co-founder Shane Quigley turns his hand to Matalan with launch of homeware brand July 15, 2015 Serial entrepreneur Shane Quigley, who turned £5,000 into £18m by co-founding digital marketing group Epiphany, is leading the charge for Matalan’s launch of an online-only homeware brand – Matalan Direct. He heads the retailing group’s challenge to established online homeware retailers B&Q, Dunelm and HomeSense. Earlier this year Quigley started Earth Bathrooms, a homeware brand [...]
Veronique Laury: DIY is not dead, says chief exec of Kingfisher March 31, 2015 The chief executive of Kingfisher denied yesterday that the younger generation had fallen out of love with DIY, even as the home improvement chain announced the closure of one in six stores across the UK. Veronique Laury, who took the helm at Kingfisher in January, said: “I am not one of those who thinks DIY [...]
Shop vacancy at 5-year low April 8, 2015 SHOP vacancy rates across Britain’s high streets fell to their lowest level in March since 2010, figures released yesterday show. The Local Data Company’s (LDC) latest report shows retail vacancy rates fell to 13 per cent in March from 13.1 per cent in February while properties for leisure activities stayed the same at 8.3 per [...]
South Carolina, the home of barbecue, is redefining itself with the help of pulled pork November 13, 2015 London has a growing fascination with the foods of the American South. In recent years we’ve seen an explosion of Blues kitchens, artisanal fried chicken joints and barbecue boutiques. It’s like restaurateurs made a collective decision some time around 2010 that any new restaurant, anywhere in the city, must offer piles of sweet, tangy pulled [...]
Kingfisher share price jumps as it gives up on plans to buy French chain Mr Bricolage March 30, 2015 Looks like B&Q's owner has got itself into a (Screw)fix, after it revealed its plans to buy Mr Bricolage are about to fall through. In a statement to the stock market this morning, Kingfisher said its agreement to buy the French DIY chain, made almost exactly a year ago, was "made provision that it would [...]
Poundland eyes extension over 99p Stores deal probe April 14, 2015 Poundland is expected to ask for an extension tomorrow over its decision on whether to walk away from its £55m tie-up with 99p Stores or proceed with a full-scale probe by the competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said last week that it had concerns over 92 areas where it believes there could [...]