Lord Stuart Rose backs student property firm August 25, 2015 FORMER Marks & Spencer chairman Lord Stuart Rose has emerged as a surprise backer of Select Property Group, a developer and manager of student housing across the UK. Select said yesterday that Rose has invested a “multi-million pound” sum alongside Terry Green, the former boss of BHS and Debenhams. The privately owned group, which was [...]
Boxing Day sales kick off early online at Amazon, John Lewis, Currys, Harrods, Next and Debenhams December 24, 2014 Amazon is kicking off its Boxing Day sale on Christmas Day. That’s right, you can start hunting for deals if Santa didn’t bring what you wanted before you’ve even had time to digest Christmas dinner. But there are also a host of retailers waiting to open their doors to sale shoppers on Boxing Day that [...]
Sports Direct owner Ashley puts money on Debenhams success November 6, 2014 THE FOUNDER of Sports Direct, Mike Ashley, has sold his 4.6 per cent stake in Debenhams and entered into a put option worth 6.1 per cent. The deal was conducted through Sports Direct, and required the business to dispose of the Debenhams stake that it built upon last month, adding a further £33m worth of [...]
John Lewis, M&S, Debenhams – the best Christmas TV adverts of 2014 November 7, 2014 Alright, so there's still a month and a half until the big day – but settle in, because Christmas ads have begun to grace our screens, and they're going to be around for the next 47 evenings in. You might as well become acquainted. First up, we had the big one: John Lewis' much-awaited Christmas [...]
Sports retailer defies odds to increase sales July 16, 2015 SPORTS Direct managed to shrug off a year of bad press surrounding its use of zero-hours contracts, as well as England’s early exit from the World Cup, to increase revenue and profit in the 12 months to April 2015. Group revenue rose by 4.7 per cent to £2.83bn, from £2.71bn in 2014, helped by its [...]
Former Marks & Spencer boss Lord Stuart Rose backs Select Property Group August 24, 2015 There is a new new retail club in town and it’s called Select Property Group. Former Marks & Spencer chairman Lord Stuart Rose has emerged as a surprise backer in the privately-owned developer, which operates a swathe of student housing and is about to launch its first block of serviced flats in Manchester. He has [...]
From Volkswagen and Glencore to the Black Cab protest: Here’s what got us talking this week September 25, 2015 There was an alarming protest in Croydon (with an excellent response from Debenhams). There was an eyebrow-raising development in the world of robotics. And somewhere in the CIty, some window cleaners were left hanging. On the side of skyscraper. For several hours. Here's what got us talking this week Could you fall in love with [...]
Debenhams share price dips as 21 per cent fall in profits revealed October 23, 2014 Debenhams' share price opened lower this morning, after the retailer revealed a 20.6 per cent fall in pre-tax profit for the last year. Over the 12 months to August 30, the department store chain saw underlying pre-tax profit drop to £110.3m, in line with expectations, while reported pre-tax profit fell 23.9 per cent to [...]
Sports Direct now owns 11 per cent of Debenhams October 2, 2014 Sports Direct has just upped its exposure to underperforming department store chain Debenhams, buying a further £33m-worth of shares. The move comes months after the Mike Ashley-owned retailer took its original punt on the high street business, which was ultimately converted into a put option valued at £64m. The new investment equates to a 4.6 [...]
Sports Direct converts its Debenhams stake to put option – and increases its exposure to 12.7 per cent November 6, 2014 Mike Ashley has done it again. He's converted his standard investment (or “investment” as we call it) in Debenhams into a put option, increasing his exposure to the department store along the way. The move, which is actually taking place through Ashley's retail giant Sports Direct, involves disposing of the 4.6 per cent stake taken [...]