With Marks and Spencer’s CEO Marc Bolland bowing out, odds shorten on the City’s retail boss departures January 7, 2016 So M&S boss Marc Bolland has finally stepped down, after years of pressure – but who thought his departure would be revealed just seven days into the New Year? At the very start of this week The Capitalist brought you odds on The 2016 Sack Race, including the 4/5 that was available on Marks’ Dutch [...]
BT unanimously backs Rio Tinto chair Jan du Plessis to deal with “continuing challenges” March 9, 2017 BT has announced Rio Tinto's Jan du Plessis will take over as chairman of the telecoms giant from November. Du Plessis succeeds Sir Mike Rake who will step down after 10 years in the job. He admitted it was "an important time" for BT while Rake highlighted the new chairman will face "continuing challenges". The FTSE 100 firm [...]
Marks and Spencer, Carlsberg, Young & Co Brewery: Best of the Brokers for 13 November 2015 November 13, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com MARKS AND SPENCER RBC Capital Markets liked what they saw at Marks & Spencer’s summer season 2016 clothing preview so much, they made the retailer RBC’s “top pick” with a target price of 700p. The broker said he was encouraged M&S was [...]
UK high street celebrates first December rise in footfall for five years January 16, 2017 The UK high street has benefited from the first December rise in footfall for five years. Footfall increased 0.8 per cent year-on-year in December, according to figures from Springboard and the British Retail Consortium, as consumers sought some festive cheer on the high street. Read more: Debenhams share price jumps as it reveals sales hike [...]
Microwave meal maker Bakkavor set for London float January 15, 2017 Ready meal maker Bakkavor is considering a float on the London stock market, according to reports. The firm, founded in 1986, manufactures microwave meals for supermarkets including Waitrose, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Marks and Spencer. The company also supplies fresh goods such as lettuce, tomatoes and sweet potatoes. According to the Sunday Times, Bakkavor has enlisted Rothschild to [...]
What Next for the UK’s struggling high street? May 5, 2016 Retailers are having a tough old time of it. After last week’s casualties (BHS and Austin Reed) it seems likely that others could follow, and yesterday’s update from one of the high street’s more reliable traders underscored just how jittery the market has become. As a rule, Next tends to downplay its confidence about any [...]
Rivals set to win customers on back of BHS’ demise April 27, 2016 BHS has entered administration, confirming what I have previously written about in this column; its loyal customers have deserted it in recent years. Although BHS will continue to trade while a buyer is sought, the retailer has been in trouble for some time as it failed to modernise its offering. It has been losing market [...]
New M&S boss Steve Rowe reshuffles womenswear team “to reflect way customers shop” April 20, 2016 Marks & Spencer's new chief executive Steve Rowe has reshuffled the retailer's womenswear teams after pledging to revive the fortunes of the troubled clothing division. The company confirmed it has made some alterations to the way the teams are set up across design, buying and merchandising, resulting in changes to around 200 people's roles. The change means that whereas before a [...]
Marks and Spencer, Randgold Resources, Partnership Assurance: Best of the Brokers for 6 November 2015 November 6, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com MARKS AND SPENCER Canaccord Genuity has changed its rating for Marks & Spencer to “hold” with a target price of 570p, after it was briefly “under review” and previously “speculative buy” at 550p. M&S released interim results on Wednesday that the broker thought [...]
Health retailer The Hut hails landmark year as earnings soar following a rise in overseas expansion April 19, 2016 Online health and beauty retailer The Hut Group, whose company tagline is "Attention to retail", has posted a rise in underlying earnings of 33 per cent to £30m in 2015. International sales soared to £167m, up 46 per cent after growing its international business and now accounts for more than 50 per cent of the groups sales. The group, backed by ex-Marks [...]