Intu’s property empire loses £300m of value as retailers shut up shop October 23, 2018 Intu took a £300m hit to its property valuation in its latest quarter, also cutting its rental growth forecast amid the UK’s high street decline, it revealed today. The shopping centre chain is currently mulling a £2.9bn takeover offer from a consortium including British billionaire John Whittaker, Saudi investment group Olayan, and Brookfield Property Group. [...]
Creditors approve plan to close 42 Homebase stores August 31, 2018 Creditors have thrown DIY store Homebase a lifeline and approved the closure of 42 stores and rent cuts on several others. At a meeting held today in London, creditors passed the proposals with 95.9 per cent voting in favour. Damian McGloughlin, chief executive of Homebase, said: “We are pleased that an overwhelming majority of our creditors, [...]
Chinese behemoth Alibaba hails significant revenue hike, despite profit blip August 23, 2018 Alibaba today bolstered its position as China’s largest online retailer, revealing revenue growth of 61 per cent for its first quarter. The group published an income of 80.9bn yuan (£9.2bn) in the three months ending June, marginally ahead of forecasts, and an increase in customers on the Taobao shopping platform as 576m people flocked to the website and app, up four [...]
PepsiCo buys SodaStream for $3bn August 20, 2018 PepsiCo has agreed to buy Israeli drinks firm SodaStream for $3.2bn (£2.5bn), in a sign that the company intends to persist with its healthy product ambitions amid the departure of its long-reigning chief executive. The landmark deal comes several weeks after PepsiCo boss Indra Nooyi said she would step down after 12 years of leading [...]
Former Staples chain Office Outlet to close stores in new CVA filing August 19, 2018 Stationery chain Office Outlet, formerly known as Staples, is set to launch a Company Voluntary Arrangement – an insolvency procedure to reduce stores and costs – tomorrow and close a selection of its 96 UK stores. Sources today told Sky News that the retailer, which was bought by restructuring fund Hilco in 2016, will request a [...]
Amazon eyes Homebase stores marked for closure August 19, 2018 Amazon is set to bid for a selection of Homebase stores in a move to improve its last mile delivery process. The online retailer could turn the stores into delivery warehouses when Homebase closes 42 of its 241 sites through a company voluntary arrangement this year. Amazon could use the sites, which are conveniently located in urban [...]
DIY SOS: Travis Perkins warns Wickes profits will be lower as consumers spend less on home improvement July 31, 2018 Wickes parent Travis Perkins warned this morning that the home improvement retailer’s profits will be lower than expected due to a weaker consumer backdrop in the UK’s DIY market. Shares dropped more than eight per cent in early trading. The figures The business, which also has several trade-facing units, reported like-for-like revenue growth of 4.2 [...]
Homebase’s perception drops on news of sale to restructuring firm Hilco May 30, 2018 Last week, in another dent to bricks and mortar retail, Homebase announced it had been sold to retail restructuring firm Hilco for a sum of just £1. Australian company Wesfarmers bought the brand for £340m back in 2016. However, industry experts panned its strategy and management, accusing it of failing to appreciate the difference between [...]
FTSE 100 round up: Smurfit Kappa, Kingfisher, Whitbread, BT Group and Mediclinic among biggest risers May 25, 2018 The FTSE 100 closed up 20 points today on 7,737 after a late rally. That marked a slight fall on last week when the market closed on 7,778 points. The biggest risers were paper giant Smurfit Kappa, Telecoms company BT, B&Q owner Kingfisher, hospitality company Whitbread and hospital group Mediclinic, which all added at least [...]
Homebase flogged for £1 to HMV owner Hilco amid UK retail malaise May 25, 2018 Troubled DIY chain Homebase has been flogged by Australian retail giant Wesfarmers, which blamed a “deterioration” of the UK economy and took a painful loss of up to £230m. In a statement early this morning, Wesfarmers said the UK chain has been sold for £1 to turnaround fund Hilco – best-known known for buying what [...]