Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct hires Matt Pearson as new finance boss after 18 months… but he’s only “acting” June 4, 2015 It's taken 18 months and some serious shareholder pressure, but Sports Direct has finally appointed a new finance boss… although only on an interim basis. The Mike Ashley-owned retailer has today promoted Matt Pearson to the role of acting chief financial officer with immediate effect. He also joins the board. Pearson was group [...]
BHS brand is losing its homeliness to high street rivals – Brand Index March 24, 2015 BHS is one of Britain’s most recognisable retailers, but has experienced troubles in recent years, prompting Sir Philip Green to sell the company for £1 to Retail Acquisitions. The new owner is already looking into the possible closures of a third of the chain’s 171 stores. YouGov BrandIndex underlines the difficulty BHS has had competing [...]
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct share price rises after raising profit outlook May 28, 2015 Sports Direct's share price shot up more than four per cent ahead after upping its profit forecast for its most recent financial year, ahead of its AGM today. The sportswear retailer's employees and major third party suppliers will gather to hear updates on the group's current and future performance, raised its profit and earnings outlook for [...]
Watchdog launches probe into fashion March 26, 2015 THE COMPETITION and Markets Authority (CMA) yesterday opened an investigation into dominance in the fashion, clothing and footwear markets. They will decide whether to proceed in October. Shares in Burberry, Next and Debenhams closed down yesterday.
Sports Direct share price falls despite revenue rising 4.7 per cent July 16, 2015 The figures Shares in Sports Direct fell 0.48 per cent to 731p per share in early morning trade. The company said group revenue rose 4.7 per cent to £2.83bn in the year to April 2015, from £2.71bn in 2014. It was helped by its "sports retail" and "brands" sectors, which rose 5.5 per cent and [...]
Retail sales helped by early Easter and likely to continue – London Report April 12, 2015 RETAIL sales data from the British Retail Consortium due out this week is expected to show decent sales growth due to the fact that Easter occurred at the very beginning of April this year. The report will also show that UK consumers are highly unlikely to hold back on making purchases due to the possibility [...]
Debenhams refinances debts with £225m bond June 26, 2014 Department store Debenhams refinanced its debts yesterday after launching a £225m bond issue. The retailer has sold £225m of senior notes due in 2021 at a 5.25 per cent yield. This was more than the £200m it had planned to raise when it announced the bond issue last week. Chief executive Michael Sharp, said the [...]
House of Fraser posts record sales in first year under Nanjing Xinjiekou as it ramps up international expansion April 21, 2015 House of Fraser's new owners will be toasting their decision to acquire the business, which has revealed record like-for-likes for the year. The figures Like-for-like sales at the department store were up 5.8 per cent, with gross total value (GTV) rising to £1.3bn. Profits rose £29.6m to £460.2m while adjusted EBITDA rose seven per [...]
Three things to expect from the M&S full-year results on Wednesday May 18, 2015 If City analysts are anything to go by, this Wednesday could be a good one for Marks & Spencer's chief executive Marc Bolland. The troubled high street giant is forecast to post its first full-year rise in profits for four years. M&S has invested billions of pounds trying to improve the 798-strong store portfolio, up [...]
Sports Direct shares drop as M&A boss departs February 17, 2015 Sports Direct's share price was down more than four per cent this morning after it emerged that its mergers and acquisitions boss Jeff Blue is leaving the company. Blue, a former Merril Lynch banker, was hired two years ago to spearhead takeover deals for Mike Ashley's high street behemoth. He was also standing in [...]