Ageas UK sees profits fall on higher claims November 10, 2010 AGEAS UK reported a 50 per cent fall in pre-tax profit for the first nine months of the year following increased claims from the severe wintry weather at the start of the year and poor private car sales. The insurer, formerly known as Fortis, reported profits of £16.6m for the first nine months of the [...]
For some, it’s a borrower’s market February 2, 2011 FANCY a new car, luxury holiday or that longed-for loft conversion but don’t have the cash? This could be the moment for you to bag a bargain. As businesses struggle amid the economic downturn, they are offering some very good deals, at least to certain clients. With care, you may be able to net an [...]
Retailers hit back over BBC claims December 22, 2010 THE British Retail Consortium (BRC) has branded a withering attack on supermarket expansion broadcast on the BBC’s Panorama last night as “misleading”. Programme makers indicate that the UK’s major grocers are growing more quickly than ever, suggesting that one of Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons effectively gets planning permission for a new store “every working [...]
Leahy checks out of the top job at Tesco June 8, 2010 TESCO shocked the City yesterday by announcing that boss Sir Terry Leahy would retire in March. Sir Terry has led the chain for 14 years, overseeing its rise to become the UK’s leading supermarket group and will be replaced by international and IT director Philip Clarke. The chief executive, who will be 55 when he [...]
Amazon plans LoveFilm buy for £200m January 3, 2011 AMAZON is planning a buy-out of the online DVD rental company LoveFilm, which would value the firm at £200m. The online retail giant already owns 42 per cent of LoveFilm after a deal in 2008 when it sold its DVD rental arm to the company. The cost of a buyout would therefore be around £116m. [...]
Buffett ups his stake in Tesco to more than 3pc June 24, 2010 US investor Warren Buffett has raised his stake in British supermarket group Tesco to over three per cent, according to a regulatory statement published yesterday. Buffett’s investment firm, Berkshire Hathaway, has bought around two million shares in the world’s third biggest retailer to take its stake to 242m, or 3.02 per cent of the total. [...]
Buffett ups his stake in Tesco to more than 3pc June 24, 2010 US investor Warren Buffett has raised his stake in British supermarket group Tesco to over three per cent, according to a regulatory statement published yesterday. Buffett’s investment firm, Berkshire Hathaway, has bought around two million shares in the world’s third biggest retailer to take its stake to 242m, or 3.02 per cent of the total. [...]
ASDA appoints new top exec November 1, 2010 Asda yesterday announced that experienced retailer Simon King will join the WalMart-owned supermarket business as its new chief operating officer in January 2011. He is currently the chief executive of supermarket and hypermarket operator Panda Retail, a subsidiary of The Savola Group, based in Saudi Arabia. Until 2009 he was chief of Tesco Kipa in [...]
Online sales boost for House of Fraser January 9, 2011 UK department store House of Fraser saw same store sales jump 8.5 per cent in the five weeks to 8 January, reinforcing the success of multi-brand retailers over the Christmas period. It follows similar results last week from the John Lewis Partnership, which saw sales up 8.9 per cent compared to last year. But House [...]
FTSE struggles as Egypt turmoil unsettles markets January 31, 2011 The FTSE struggled to reclaim a morning of losses as political turmoil in Egypt unsettled investors. The FTSE 100 closed down 0.31 per cent or 18.43 points at 5,862.94, with travel firms suffering most from selloffs. Tour operator TUI Travel shed 2.62 per cent to close at 253p, while mid cap peer Thomas Cook lost [...]