The UK’s latest unicorn: Sophos prices its $1bn IPO June 26, 2015 Shares in Sophos, one of the UK's few tech "unicorns", launched its IPO today, valuing it at £1.01bn. Read more: The hunt for London's unicorn tech startups Shares in the cyber security giant began conditional trading at 225p each this morning, raising $125m (£79.3m), with an over-allotment option that could net it another £52.8m. The [...]
Asos CEO Nick Robertson: Bruised and burnt but fighting back October 21, 2014 What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, Nick Robertson declared yesterday. The Asos chief executive has had a tough year, riddled with profit warnings, a fire at its main warehouse, and slowing international sales that have left the firm’s shares badly bruised. Until this year, Asos’ shares have enjoyed a meteoric rise, thanks to [...]
Asos UK sales soar 24 per cent after biggest ever trading week over cyber weekend December 9, 2014 Online retailer Asos said UK sales rocketed after customers rushed to cash in on "cyber weekend" deals, but gains were offset by disappointing international sales. The results Total retail sales increased by 8 per cent to £246m in the three months to November 30. However, this has slowed from the previous quarter, where they grew [...]
The best places to find Cyber Monday deals 2014: John Lewis, Tesco, Asos, Marks and Spencer, Game, Samsung, Halfords and Morrisons December 1, 2014 Beleaguered shoppers are still nursing their bruises and retailers are still fixing up their stores following UK's biggest-ever "Black Friday", yet the deals keep on coming. Tomorrow is "Cyber Monday", the internet's biggest shopping day of the year when online retailers offer consumers another chance to grab a bargain as the Christmas shopping season [...]
Happy birthday Aim: How 20 years of London’s junior market stacks up June 19, 2015 Today is the 20th anniversary of the UK's junior market: despite the fact Aim is currently sitting 24 per cent below its opening price, it has enjoyed some remarkable success stories. The market started with just 10 components at its launch back in 1995; these days, 1,074 companies are listed on Aim. Its value has [...]
Shares slump as Asos issues third profit warning September 16, 2014 ASOS suffered a wardrobe malfunction with investors yesterday, after the online fashion retailer issued its third profit warning in seven months. The former stock market darling warned it would need to cut prices across its international markets, including Australia, after the strength of sterling made the price of its clothing less appealing for customers. Asos [...]
Asos share price leaps as sales climb 27 per cent following tough year for online retailer October 21, 2014 Shares in online retailer Asos have leaped almost 20 per cent this morning, after the beleaguered online retailer reported a 27 per cent rise in sales. Although results posted today showed pre-tax profits fell 14 per cent to £46.9m in the year to the end of August, from £54.7m during the same period last year, [...]
Manufacturing data help FTSE to bounce back after big falls – London Report April 1, 2015 DATA RELEASED yesterday showing that Britain’s manufacturing sector grew at the fastest pace in eight months prompted investors to buy equities on the first trading day of the quarter. The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed 0.5 per cent higher at 6,809.50 points after a 1.7 per cent slide on Tuesday that trimmed its first quarter gains [...]
Forget Silicon Valley and Silicon Roundabout: Birmingham’s Silicon Canal is the future of the UK’s technology sector July 23, 2015 For years now we've been told that London could rival the Silicon Valley with its own tech hub. But five years after launching my business, I’m a bigger advocate for Birmingham's Silicon Canal than I have ever been. There is an incredible talent pool in Birmingham that offers a wealth of brilliant software engineers. These [...]
Asos share price surges on reports of US buyout August 27, 2014 Shares in online fashion retailer Asos soared yesterday on unconfirmed reports that a US company is eyeing a stake in the business. Asos shares, which have fallen by almost two-thirds this year after two profit warnings and a fire at its main warehouse, jumped 17 per cent to 2,751p, pushing up other online players, including [...]