Retailer share prices are crashing. Here’s what you need to know about the sell-off June 5, 2014 An unexpected profit warning from online retailer Asos has investors very worried about the health of the sector generally. Asos shares opened more than 40 per cent lower after it announced that it had been forced to slash its full-year profit margin guidance. The key paragraph comes from CEO Nick Robertson: The resultant higher mix [...]
Fears over Ebola contagion puts airlines in a spin – London Report October 7, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index fell back yesterday, with travel and leisure companies hit by concerns that the spread of Ebola outside Africa could hurt air travel and the tourism business. Sentiment was also hit by a set of poor data, including an unexpected four per cent month-on-month drop in German industrial production in August. Analysts had [...]
Germany’s €6bn mega-float puts London on notice September 3, 2014 Europe’s biggest online fashion player Zalando, a rival to Britain’s Asos, plans to raise more than €500m (£399m) to fund its expansion by listing a stake on the Frankfurt stock exchange. The announcement comes as London’s tech community launches a fight back to maintain its lead over its European rivals. Yesterday, the Coalition for a [...]
Best of the Brokers for 09 June 2014 June 9, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com THOMAS COOKBerenberg have launched coverage of Thomas Cook Group with a “buy” rating and a target price of 200p. The broker believes that while there are structural challenges in the tourism industry, management efforts at Thomas Cook are likely to lead to improved [...]
Marketing to millennials: Is Generation Y really all that different? September 21, 2014 Talking to advertising and media executives these days, you’d be forgiven for thinking that there’s an alien group lurking among UK consumers. Millennials, we are told, are different. Born between 1980 and 1995, they split their summers between south-east Asia and Bestival, often sporting torn jeans, face paint and/or a pair of Google Glasses. When [...]
Ladies by a head at sun-soaked Epsom June 7, 2014 THE SUN came out to meet the millenary yesterday as Investec Epsom Ladies Day got underway. There was all sorts of fashion to be seen from tartan to frilly tutus, but the Harvey Nichols fashion scouts and star fashion judge Mariella Tandy managed to pick out six ladies for the best dressed final. “It’s been [...]
Asos ramps up investment on growth abroad October 23, 2013 ASOS announced plans yesterday to ramp up spending over the next two years as it moves to improve its distribution network to cope with an ever expanding business. The online fashion retailer will invest £110m over the next two years, increasing capital expenditure to £55m a year from a planned £35m and stepping up investment [...]
UK company profit warnings at three year high, says report July 27, 2014 The number of profit warnings issued by FTSE 100 companies was at a three-year high in the first quarter, according to a report by Ernst & Young. In its quarterly Analysis of UK Profit Warnings report, the consultancy firm revealed that companies listed on the London Stock Exchange issued a total of 74 warnings [...]
Entrepreneurial spirit alive and kicking in UK September 15, 2014 ENTREPRENEUR of the year The City A.M. Entrepreneur of the Year award recognises those individuals or groups who set up a successful new venture and are now growing it as a profitable business. According to campaign group Startup Britain, more than 410,000 new businesses launched in the UK in 2014 so far – up from [...]
We’ve discovered the UK’s tech unicorns – now we must nurture their growth September 7, 2014 After creating its first product in the 1970s, it took Apple years to become one of the world’s most valuable companies. But in today’s technology sector, a new breed of tech firm is emerging – the unicorn. The unicorn is a startup that grows exponentially to reach a billion-dollar valuation within a few years of [...]