M&S sales in slim rise thanks to food April 6, 2011 Marks and Spencer sales were up slightly as rising food sales offset falls in other categories, it said in a trading statement. Its like-for-like sales rose 0.1 per cent in the 13 weeks to 2 April. General merchandise fell 3.9 per cent, but that was cancelled out by a 3.4 per cent rise in food [...]
The man to take the place of St James’s founder May 5, 2011 CHARLES Gregson (pictured), the chairman of money broker ICAP, is to succeed St James’s Place founder Mike Wilson when he steps down later this year. City grandee Wilson will relinquish his post as chairman almost 20 years after he founded the fund manager alongside Lord Rothschild and Sir Mark Weinberg. He will become a “life [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD in association with GFT May 22, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● British Land announces its results today. Recent good news includes the fact it has pre-let around a third of its Cheesegrater skyscraper to Aon. ● On Tuesday, Marks & Spencer will deliver its results. In 1941, the Westminster based retailer raised £5,000 to pay for a Spitfire fighter called “The Marksman”. Shareholders [...]
M&S returns to France April 1, 2011 Marks and Spencer will return to France this year with stores in Paris and its first international website, it announced today. The new website will be in French and is set to trade in Euros. A new store will be opened in Champs-Elysees, central Paris, in the next few months and will sell both womenswear [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS May 11, 2011 RECKITT BENCKISER Goldman Sachs rates the consumer goods producer “buy” but has taken the firm off its “conviction buy” list, and has cut its 12-month target price by 160p to £41.70. The broker thinks the firm contains an increased execution risk following a change in management, though recent quarterly results were encouraging. Goldman is still [...]
Mining shares rebound and oil stocks rise on supply fears June 9, 2011 MINERS rebounded from the previous day’s sharp sell-off to help push Britain’s top share index higher yesterday, while oil stocks tracked crude higher on supply fears. The FTSE 100 closed up 47.45 points, or 0.8 per cent, at 5,856.34, having bounced well clear of the session low of 5,795.00, although thin volumes exaggerated the index’s [...]
STRICTLY BUSINESS BRIEF ENDS VINCE CABLE’S DANCING DREAM June 28, 2011 THERE is something bothering business secretary Vince Cable – and it’s not the separation of retail and investment banking, the Greek debt crisis or even waging war on Rupert Murdoch. No – Cable is concerned his demanding day job could mean he never fulfils his dream of returning to Strictly Come Dancing for a full [...]
M&S signs up Conran March 24, 2011 Marks & Spencer yesterday unveiled a partnership with the founder of household furnisher Habitat as part of a move to modernise its Home department. British designer Sir Terence Conran will oversee the design of furniture, bedding, lighting and kitchenware in the “contemporary” section. M&S chief executive Marc Bolland is overseeing the revamp which is part [...]
Carpetright issues another profit alert April 7, 2011 Carpetright, Britain’s biggest floor covering retailer, warned on profits for the second time in as many months, as shoppers hold back on expensive purchases amid rising bills and government cuts. The group, which trades from around 700 stores in Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium, said profit before tax and one-off items for the year [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 7, 2011 BRITVIC Goldman Sachs has downgraded the soft drinks firm to “sell” and cut its target price by 77p to 384p. The broker thinks the firm’s sales mix will continue to suffer as UK and Irish customers look for better value. It also expects Britvic’s management to admit rising input costs during interim results next month [...]