Tesco retreats as Clarke puts the brakes on February 25, 2014 Supermarket pulls out of the space race with plans to slash spending and cut prices TESCO’S chief executive pledged yesterday to put the brakes on its UK expansion and spend £200m slashing prices as Britain’s biggest grocer seeks to revive sales and win back falling market share. Speaking at an investor conference, Philip Clarke laid [...]
Sir Stuart Rose hits out at UK work culture December 8, 2013 OCADO chair Sir Stuart Rose yesterday hit out at people who complain immigrants are taking too many UK jobs, saying they should stop complaining and accept any work on offer. “I believe that if I was out of work tomorrow morning that I could find a job by tomorrow afternoon and it is up to [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 9 January 2014 January 8, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES UK mobile services in Channel tunnel British Eurotunnel passengers will finally be able to use mobile phones under the sea following an agreement between the Channel tunnel operator and UK telecoms groups to provide the same sort of voice and data services that have been available to the French since 2012. China offers [...]
Debenhams remains unloved as hedge funds pile on the pressure January 9, 2014 HEDGE fund bets against Debenhams have increased four- fold since the start of the year led by a short position from Marshall Wace, amid an overall decline in shorting of high street retailers, fresh figures show. About 4.5 per cent of the company’s stock is now out on loan versus 1.5 per cent just a [...]
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 [...]
Bottom Line: An orderly handover but uneasy lies any head wearing this crown January 29, 2014 LONG live the new king. Sainsbury’s emphasis is firmly on continuity as it announces its new boss. The choice of commercial director Mike Coupe is the antithesis of a palace coup – every inch a loyal insider, Coupe is closely tied to King’s strategic vision, as demonstrated by his involvement in recent successes like Brand [...]
Investis brings former Reuters chief on board November 17, 2013 FORMER Thomson Reuters finance chief David Grigson has been appointed chairman of digital communications firm Investis. Investis, which develops digital media, websites and mobile apps for over 1,700 listed businesses including 70 per cent of the FTSE 100, was bought last year by Gresham Private Equity for £25m. Grigson also currently serves as chairman of [...]
Poundland hires retail analyst Dorgan as it eyes 2014 flotation November 4, 2013 PHILIP Dorgan, one of the retail sector’s top analysts, has joined Poundland, fuelling further speculation that the bargain chain is heading for flotation next year. Dorgan, who has worked over three decades as an analyst, was most recently at broker Panmure Gordon, but was made redundant from the firm in July. One of the most [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 20 January 2014 January 20, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES David Cameron faces EU isolation David Cameron risks “damaging Europe” with his anti-immigration stance, according to some of Britain’s allies, leaving the prime minister looking isolated in his attempts to restrict free movement in the EU. Ministers and officials from several EU powers told the Financial Times they would resist Mr Cameron’s attempts [...]
Analyst views | Are you happy with Ocado’s results? February 7, 2013 PHILIP DORGAN PANMURE GORDON 2012 was another difficult year for Ocado. It failed to deliver accelerated sales growth and it needed to raise money… The debate now moves on to whether its assets are attractive to either M&S or Morrison and, if so, at what price? DARREN SHIRLEY SHORE CAPITAL Ocado’s 2011/12 preliminary results came [...]