Sports Direct’s profits surge 40 per cent July 18, 2013 BRITISH retailer Sports Direct today unveiled a 40 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £207.2m, in what chief executive Dave Forsey called a "record-breaking year for the group and for British sport". The sporting goods vendor posted a 20.9 per cent increase in revenue to £2.19bn. Online revenue grew by 52.1 per cent, now [...]
IPO to value Conviviality at £66.7m July 23, 2013 The owner of the off-licence chain Bargain Booze is set to become the latest company to join London’s alternative investment market next Wednesday. Conviviality Retail which raised around £64m from the placing, said yesterday it will have a market value of £66.7m with shares set to start trading at 100p a share.
Bank of the year September 9, 2013 2013 may be remembered as the year the banking sector shook off the shadow of the financial crisis and really came back into its own. Profitability is up, lenders are at last overcoming tough new regulatory hurdles and a stable future could be just around the corner. Here is our pick of the top five [...]
Help to Buy isn’t the answer to the Conservative predicament September 29, 2013 WITH just 20 months to go before the general election, the Tories need to get their skates on. While many London-centric, private sector employed middle class professionals see Ed Miliband as an unelectable joke, the rest of the country disagrees. YouGov puts Labour 11 points ahead, suggesting a 100 seat majority for Miliband’s party, partly [...]
Inside Track: Foxtons nears a crucial decision on its upcoming float September 5, 2013 THE FORTHCOMING flotation of Foxtons, the ultra entrepreneurial London-focused estate agency, is to move a step closer this weekend with the setting of a price range for the new shares that will shortly be coming onto the stock market if all goes well. Management’s investor roadshow begins properly on Monday and will take in London, [...]
Letters to the editor – 12/09 – Tesco in the US, Pensions crisis, Best of Twitter September 11, 2013 Tesco in the US [Re: What Tesco’s US debacle tells us about the wisdom of markets, yesterday] Few UK companies can stand up to the price competition and, significantly, service levels of US retail. Even new car dealerships are open up until 10:30pm at night in America. Where else in the world could you find [...]
Two former City workers who built businesses out of the financial crisis September 29, 2013 Adam Taylor and Lexi Tamasan’s pet food subscription service is taking a sizeable bite out of a large market PET FOOD is not the first product most think about when founding a company. But when Adam Taylor saw his mother, who suffers from arthritis, struggling with a large bag of dog biscuits, it struck him [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 18 October 2013 October 17, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Tele2 sale lifts Russian hopes VTB has sold 50 per cent of mobile operator Tele2 Russia to billionaire Yuri Kovalchuk and partners, paving the way for the creation of a much stronger fourth competitor in Russia’s mobile market. The deal comes six months after VTB, Russia’s second-largest bank, acquired the Russian arm of [...]
Business services firm of the year September 10, 2013 In an uncertain economy, companies that are willing to try something different – be that a new management team, an innovative business structure or a better use of technology – are the ones that tend to succeed. This category’s nominees live up to the best of these business services. ODGERS BERNDTSON Some of the biggest [...]
City Moves for 13 September 2013 | Who’s switching jobs September 12, 2013 Aviva Investors The investment management business has appointed Andrew Davey as assistant fund manager to its Lime Property Fund. He joined the company in 2007. Deloitte Real Estate Steve Johns has joined the real estate business to head its City leasing team. Johns previously spent 17 years at Cushman & Wakefield, and was most recently [...]