Even Primark sales aren’t sweet enough to save Associated British Foods from a 4pc share price slump September 8, 2014 Associated British Foods (ABF) went on the offensive in a trading update this morning, saying it expects strong Primark sales to contribute to an increase in adjusted earnings per share for the year ending September 13 – but that wasn't enough to stop shares falling 4.4 per cent in early trading as investors worried about [...]
Warm weather boosts Primark as it buys Pavilions shopping mall July 10, 2014 Associated British Food (ABF) said yesterday that Primark’s acquisition of Pavilions shopping centre in Birmingham to house a four-floor store was “an exception to the rule” as it posted a fresh set of soaring sales. Finance director John Bason said the deal would pave the way for a 150,000 square feet store in around two [...]
New Look adds to regeneration of east end of Oxford Street March 4, 2015 FASHION retailer New Look is to open a flagship store at the east end of Oxford Street, helping to drive further change at the notoriously dowdy end of London’s largest shopping street. Property firm Great Portland Estates said yesterday that it has pre-let a third of its huge 90,500 square feet development at 73-89 Oxford [...]
Associated British Foods adjusts earnings guidance as Primark profits rise July 10, 2014 Associated British Foods (ABF) has raised its annual earnings guidance after a 22 per cent rise in sales from its budget fashion brand Primark offset the continued weakness of the sugar market. ABF now said it expected its adjusted earnings per share to be above the 98.9 pence paid in 2012-13. Previous guidance had indicated [...]
Fortnum & Mason’s Canadian owner makes £105m windfall February 22, 2015 THE CANADIAN owners of Fortnum & Mason and Associated British Foods have made £105m in dividends – most of which will go to charitable causes – after another buoyant year. Accounts filed recently on Companies House reveal that Wittington Investments, one of the main investment vehicles of the Weston Family, paid out £63m in the [...]
B&M eyes more stores as sales jump by a third May 28, 2015 Bargain retail chain B&M has hiked its store expansion targets after reporting a near 30 per cent jump in revenue in its first year as a public company. The company, which sells everything from toys to electrical goods and furniture, yesterday said sales jumped 29.5 per cent to £1.6bn in the year to 28 March, [...]
Sir Philip Green lets go of loss-making BHS for £1 only March 13, 2015 Struggling retail chain BHS is to be sold for £1 after almost 15 years in the possession of billionaire Arcadia chairman Sir Philip Green. The iconic chain of department stores was founded in 1928 by American entrepreneurs seeking emulate the success of Woolworths. But the company has declined in recent years as it lost market [...]
Developers confirm a start date for £440m Westgate Oxford shopping area February 9, 2015 Developers have confirmed that construction on a £440m Westgate Oxford retail and leisure scheme will start in spring, after four years of planning. The Westgate Oxford Alliance, a joint venture between Land Securities and The Crown Estate, said the new 800,000 square foot development will expand the existing Westgate in Oxford city centre by adding [...]
Tobacco customers are more Primark than Prada May 28, 2014 Companies flogging anything from ice cream to eye shadow tend to invest more in marketing their premium consumer brands, as they make higher returns. But when it comes to tobacco, customers are more attracted by value than brand, according to RBC Capital Markets research. At FTSE 100-listed tobacco giants British American Tobacco and Imperial [...]
Primark in talks to buy £60m Birmingham shopping centre June 9, 2014 DISCOUNT fashion retailer Primark is close to sealing a deal to a buy an entire shopping centre in Birmingham for around £60m. The company is in advanced talks to buy the 250,000 square feet Pavilions shopping centre from UBS’s Triton Property Fund, with a deal expected to be confirmed as soon as this week. It [...]