Retail gloom as UK stays at home February 17, 2013 SHOPPERS have been deserting the UK’s struggling retailers since the start of the year, adding to gloom in the sec- tor as sales fall for the first time in years and well-established firms col- lapse into administration. Total UK retail footfall sunk 4.6 per cent over the year to January, data from the British Retail [...]
Nedbank uplift on retail gains February 25, 2013 SOUTH African bank Nedbank Group, part of London listed Old Mutual, yesterday said it boosted profits by nearly a fifth last year after strong revenue growth from its retail business. An additional 655,000 new retail customer helped increase the business’s diluted headline earnings per share, a key measure of profitability in South Africa, to jump [...]
Administrators to HMV to close first 66 stores February 7, 2013 HMV, the high street’s last major music retailer, is to close a third of its stores and cut 930 jobs across the country, administrators confirmed yesterday. Deloitte said the closure of 66 lossmaking stores, including four in London, will take place over the next two months in a move that will leave the embattled retailer [...]
LondonMetric makes first buy January 31, 2013 LondonMetric Property has snapped up six retail warehouses for £92.4m, its first acquisition since the company was created through the merger of London & Stamford Property and Metric Property Investments this month. The retail parks, all near London, are 98 per cent let to tenants including B&Q and Halfords, it said yesterday.
What the other papers say this morning February 25, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Captain Magic conjures hedge launch The glory days of the hedge fund launch may not be entirely over. Raffaele Costa, a flamboyant former GLG partner and self-styled “Captain Magic”, will this week unveil the first fund at his new firm Tyndaris, in what will be one of the boldest start-ups since 2008. Merkel [...]
Brothers who took a punt on a new market | City A.M. June 13, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks tobacco with Taz and Umer Sheikh: salesmen, business partners, and self-professed pioneers of the growing electronic cigarette industry SIX years ago, the smoking ban came into force in England, making it illegal to smoke in enclosed workplaces. So when I meet Umer Sheikh – the younger of the two Sheikh brothers behind [...]
Brothers who took a punt on a new market June 13, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks tobacco with Taz and Umer Sheikh: salesmen, business partners, and self-professed pioneers of the growing electronic cigarette industry SIX years ago, the smoking ban came into force in England, making it illegal to smoke in enclosed workplaces. So when I meet Umer Sheikh – the younger of the two Sheikh brothers behind [...]
Shop vacancy figures expose UK retail woes February 18, 2013 BRITAIN’S battered retail sector gained no respite this week as the latest research showed vacancy rates remained stubbornly above 14 per cent last year as retailers continue to shut up shop across the country. The Local Data Company’s (LDC) latest report published today shows vacancy levels fell slightly from 14.3 per cent to 14.2 per [...]
Cameron blows UK’s trade horn on India visit February 17, 2013 LONDON’S transport expertise and Tesco’s expansion plans will be high on the agenda during Prime Minister David Cameron’s trade mission to India this week. Cameron will arrive in Mumbai today with a delegation of ministers and business bosses including Standard Chartered’s Peter Sands to speak with trade partners in India. Transport for London has sent [...]
City Moves for 26 February 2013 | Who’s switching jobs February 25, 2013 Co-operative Group The mutual business has announced the appointment of Rebecca Skitt as human resources director. Skitt has over 20 years’ experience, most recently as head of human resources in Barclays’ global retail and business banking division. She has also held senior roles at Unilever. Jones Day Karim Mahmud has joined the law firm as [...]