London Report: Retailers reveal where tills rang for Christmas January 12, 2014 RETAILERS are expected to reveal where UK shoppers showed their Christmas cheer, with a round of results in contrast to last week’s gloomy December tidings. Figures out this week from retailers such as Argos, Asos, Dixons, Ocado and Primark are expected to show increased sales. The successes are in contrast to the sales dips seen [...]
The perfect fit: Meet Girl Meets Dress co-founder Xavier de Lecaros Aquise June 23, 2014 Harriet Green talks true grit with Girl Meets Dress co-founder Xavier de Lecaros Aquise. Advocates of the sharing economy, otherwise known as collaborative consumption, claim that it is finally reaching a mainstream audience. Earlier this month, for example, the government announced reforms to outdated legislation, ending long-running questions over the legal status of ultra short-term [...]
Best of the Brokers for 18 December 2013 December 17, 2013 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com ASOS Panmure Gordon has downgraded the online fashion store from a buy to a hold rating,but as increased its target price from 5,950p to 6,126p. After a 124 per cent rise in the share price this year, Panmure thinks this momentum is unsustainable, [...]
7 UK retail bosses that have quit unexpectedly February 24, 2014 Mothercare’s future on the UK high street looked promising when Simon Calver, the former head of online movie rental service Lovefilm, was appointed by chairman Alan Parker two years ago to lead its turnaround efforts. The board banked on his online experience to overhaul its estate and turn the chain into a multi-channel retailer. But [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 5 March 2014 March 4, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Faith, hope and hedge funds for CoE The Church of England is ramping up the exposure of its £6bn endowment to alternative investments such as hedge funds and private equity in a move that will cement its position as one of the UK’s largest single investors in these types of assets. The Church [...]
Sydney, Australia: the global cultural capital of the future April 27, 2014 Forget the stereotype, Australians can do hipster as well WHAT’S the difference between Australia and a petri dish? If you leave a petri dish for long enough it will eventually develop a culture… Or so the joke used to go. But anyone who’s visited Sydney recently would struggle to justify that view. Australia’s economy has [...]
McColl’s kicks off retail IPOs with plan for £50m stock market float January 27, 2014 CONVENIENCE store group McColl’s is set to jump the queue of retailers preparing to join the stock market after confirming plans yesterday to float next month. The retailer, which owns 1,276 newsagents and convenience stores, wants to raise £50m in a main market listing that is expected to value the group at around £225m. McColl’s [...]
Cat cure firm Circassia in biggest healthcare float for eight years February 6, 2014 A CURE for cat allergies could soon be hitting the market after its Oxford-based developers yesterday confirmed plans to raise £175m on the London stock market in the biggest healthcare float since 2006. Circassia, which is privately backed by firms like Invesco Perpetual and hedge fund Lansdowne Partners, said it will use the money to [...]
Best of the Brokers for 04 December 2013 December 3, 2013 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com SMITH & NEPHEW Morgan Stanley has raised its rating from equal-weight to overweight and raised its target to 904p from 757p. The broker thinks new products will offset a decline in market share and that the company will reap the benefits of a cost-cutting [...]
Bottom Line: A global web player that is best of British September 19, 2013 ANYONE who said there was no space in the internet retail revolution for British business may have to start eating their words. On the heels of Ocado’s return to form thanks to a licensing deal with Morrisons comes this startling set of numbers from Asos. They confirm the online fashion retailer’s extraordinary achievement. In little [...]