Kingfisher looks on bright side as sales return to growth July 24, 2013 KINGFISHER, the owner of B&Q and Screwfix, said sales bounced back in the second quarter of the year as the hotter weather sparked demand for barbecues, flowers and garden furniture. Like-for-like sales in the UK and Ireland rose 2.5 per cent in the 10 weeks to 13 July, with total sales up 5.2 per cent, [...]
The week in brief April 14, 2014 OMD awarded £21m UK Disney media account OMD has won Disney’s £21m UK media planning and buying account (part of a wider review into Disney’s business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa). Havas Media will be responsible for local markets in Benelux, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Disney’s EMEA incumbent agency Carat is contracted [...]
Police robot deployed at Bank of England over suspect car May 15, 2014 The roads around the Royal Exchange and Bank of England have been closed down and a police robot has been deployed, as a result of a suspect vehicle. It's rare to see the City so empty – and as the pictures below reveal, the closure has caused chaos for commuters. City Police have tweeted that [...]
Analyst Views | What did you make of Kingfisher’s statement? July 24, 2013 SIMON IRWINCREDIT SUISSEWhile this beat is encouraging … it shows more the volatility driven by weather, soft comparatives and calendar effects rather than a clear evidence of an improvement in underlying demand. JAMES GRZINICJEFFERIESSales performance was better than expected…The update confirmed a seasonally-driven rebound in the UK, normalisation in French pressures and much stronger performance [...]
Kingfisher puts B&Q’s Ireland unit into bankruptcy protection January 31, 2013 B&Q IRELAND was placed into a form of bankruptcy protection yesterday in a last-ditch attempt to save the loss-making chain. The company, which is owned by FTSE 100 group Kingfisher, operates nine stores in the Republic of Ireland but has been hit by the downturn in household spending. It has also failed to renegotiate rents [...]
Best of the Brokers for 23 July 2013 July 22, 2013 RANDGOLD Morgan Stanley has stuck to its “overweight” rating on the gold miner and raised its target price from £46 to £49. Despite the waning gold price, the broker thinks Randgold’s high-quality mines enable it to keep generating substantial cash flows. SPIRIT PUB COMPANY Panmure Gordon keeps its “buy” rating and price target of 93p [...]
Profits fall at B&Q owner November 29, 2012 Profits at DIY group Kingfisher fell by six per cent in the third quarter to £257m, due to a tough sales environment in the UK and France. The owner of the B&Q chain saw UK and Ireland sales fall by 3.8 per cent on a like-for-like basis. The firm is badly affected by the stagnating [...]
Down the Tubes: Boris mucks in amid transport meltdown February 5, 2014 (Laura Lean/City A.M.) Boris Johnson has had an interesting commute in on the Northern Line this morning as the Tube strike over ticket office closures causes huge disruption across the network. The Mayor spoke to commuters and Tube staff working at London Bridge – as well as some of the TfL staff volunteering at stations in [...]
City Boy at Large: Can a booze-free spa break convert our cynical urbanite? March 2, 2014 He may be more at home in the Emirates Stadium but the Bedford Lodge gives our reporter a well needed break WHEN someone says “spa”, my initial word association-style reaction is to think of the Belgian Grand Prix. The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, to give it its full name, is a favourite on the Formula One [...]
B&Q cuts 220 head office jobs October 9, 2012 DIY retailer B&Q is set to make 220 workers redundant at its head office in Hampshire as part of a move to create a more “agile, omnichannel retailer”. The job cuts stem from the group’s “Martini” plan launched in 2009 by its parent company Kingfisher to reduce costs and improve customer service in stores and [...]