Asda and Sainsbury’s propose selling 150 stores to save merger March 22, 2019 Asda and Sainsbury's have offered to sell up to 150 supermarkets and several convenience stores in a bid to save their proposed merger. Read more: Sainsbury's and Asda double down on £1bn price cut pledge to salvage deal The supermarkets promised they could divest between 125 and 150 supermarkets and "a number" of the convenience stores in [...]
Bloomsbury hails bestsellers as it looks set to deliver on guidance March 19, 2019 Bloomsbury today said its 2018 results will live up to expectations as bestsellers such as Mary Pipher’s Women Rowing North helped bolster the company’s top line. Read more: Bloomsbury revenues rise as books buck the UK's retail downturn The publisher's special interest division, which includes non-fiction titles, was boosted by international bestseller In the Closet of the [...]
Discounters win war of the supermarkets amid sluggish Christmas growth January 8, 2019 Aldi led the way during a record-breaking Christmas for groceries, even as sales growth slowed across the sector. The supermarket increased sales by 10.4 per cent, narrowly beating fellow discounter Lidl to the top spot, figures from Kantar Worldpanel show. “The discounters have continued to make their mark over Christmas: two-thirds of all households shopped [...]
Digital bank Monzo ‘to allow customers to go overdrawn’ to buy shares in £20m crowdfunding round November 30, 2018 Challenger bank Monzo will reportedly allow customers to borrow money to buy shares in its most recent fundraising round. The prospectus for the digital bank’s anticipated £20m crowdfunding lets account holders use their £1,000 overdraft to buy shares, but as shares are not openly traded they cannot then be sold to pay off overdrafts, according [...]
The Restaurant Group prepares to raise £315m for Wagamama deal despite criticism November 12, 2018 The Restaurant Group (TRG) pushed ahead with a rights issue to raise £315m to finance its acquisition of Wagamama today, despite concerns from analysts and investors. The rights issue to raise cash for the takeover will be underwritten by JP Morgan Securities, TRG said this morning, in a deal valuing the chain at £559m. “This a transformative deal [...]
Danske shares surge despite new Danish investigation and steep fall in profits November 1, 2018 Danske Bank’s shares rose steeply this morning despite profits plunging a massive 42 per cent in the third quarter off the back of a money-laundering scandal. The news comes as Danish authorities announced a separate investigation into the bank's role in a tax-avoidance scheme. The figures The company’s profit before tax took a major hit, [...]
BT shares drive upwards as it improves guidance after boosting profits November 1, 2018 BT shares pushed upwards this morning as it reported a rise in profits. The figures BT posted a two per cent rise in earnings to £3.7bn in the first half of the year and a 24 per cent year-on year increase to profits before tax to £1.3bn, boosting shares by over nine per cent this [...]
Sugar-free drinks sweeten results for Coca-Cola, but revenues lose their fizz October 30, 2018 Demand for sugar-free drinks helped push Coca-Cola to strong organic revenue figures, despite an overall drop in third-quarter sales. The figures The drinkmaker’s revenues declined nine per cent to $8.2bn (£6.4bn) as it refranchised its company-owned bottling plants. Organic revenues — which exclude impacts of mergers and acquisitions and currency fluctuations — meanwhile grew by six [...]
National insurance hike will ‘wipe out’ half of chancellor’s tax cut for high earners October 30, 2018 A sting in the tail of the chancellor's higher earners tax cut yesterday will wipe out half the gains they would have made from the announcement, according to analysis of the Budget. Philip Hammond said yesterday he would increase the higher rate of income tax from £46,350 to £50,000 a year early next April, saving higher [...]
Bentley could halt production after ‘damaging’ no-deal Brexit October 30, 2018 A no-deal Brexit could be “quite damaging” for Bentley’s annual profit, and may force it to close stop production for a few days, the company’s chief executive said today. Adrian Hallmark said his firm is already stockpiling parts and switching some imports from the port of Dover to Immingham. The carmaker could consider more contingencies [...]
