Majestic Wine unveils turnaround to deliver £500m sales by 2019 as profits halve November 16, 2015 Majestic Wine has unveiled a three-year plan targeting over £500m sales by 2019 as part of a shakeup that saw the company buy Naked Wines in April and its founder Rowan Gormley take over as chief executive. The FTSE 250 wine retailer has struggled over the last few years with stiff competition from major supermarkets, [...]
Barings Bank rogue trader Nick Leeson is back – with a risk management enterprise called Risk Team November 16, 2015 Nick Leeson, the man who single-handedly brought down Barings Bank, is back in business – and he's taking a punt on businesses hiring him to help them manage risk. Today Leeson, best known as the stripy jacket-wearing inspiration behind Ewan McGregor movie Rogue Trader, said today that the idea the company will focus on raising risk awareness around [...]
Marriott International to buy Starwood Hotels and Resorts for $12.2bn November 16, 2015 Marriott International said today it had agreed to buy Starwood Hotels & Resorts in a $12.2bn (£8bn) cash and shares deal, creating the world's largest hotel company. In a statement today, the company said the combined company – which will include the Sheraton, W Hotels and Ritz-Carlton brands, will have more than 5,500 hotels, with more than [...]
Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley buys Goals Soccer Centres stake November 16, 2015 Outspoken Sports Direct majority shareholder Mike Ashley has diversified again: this time into Goals Soccer Centres, the Aim-listed five-a-side pitch operator. In a statement this morning, Goals Soccer said Sports Direct had bought a 4.9 per cent stake in the company – worth just under £4m – via a contract for difference (CFD). It's not the first time Ashley [...]
BT Openreach boss Joe Garner steps down to move to Nationwide November 16, 2015 The chief executive of BT Openreach has handed in his notice, after he was offered a job leading high street lender Nationwide. It's not exactly classic timing: BT's local access network division is currently at the centre of a competition row. In a statement today, BT said Joe Garner will step down in the spring of 2016, [...]
Taylor Wimpey’s share price rises as it says there is a healthy backdrop to UK housing market and reports sales rates up against last year November 16, 2015 Taylor Wimpey is optimistic about the UK housing market, even with the prospect of an interest rate rise next year. Today it said it expects to improve its operating profit margin in 2015. The figures Britain's second largest housebuilder said sales rates for the year to date are ahead of last year, at 0.76 sales per outlet per week. [...]
Inflation data to set interest rate tone in US – New York Report November 16, 2015 The big event in the US this week will be the inflation numbers, expected tomorrow afternoon UK time. Consumer prices are expected to have gone up by 0.2 per cent over the course of October, making the annual increase just 0.1 per cent. The core consumer price index, excluding lower energy prices, is forecast to [...]
Fewer visitors flock to the high street in October but vacancy rates fall to four-year low November 16, 2015 Fewer shoppers visited the high street in October and flocked to retail parks instead, according to the latest industry figures. High street footfall fell by one per cent year-on-year compared with a 0.6 per cent decline in September the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Springboard revealed today. In contrast, footfall at retail parks increased 2.6 [...]
Black Friday 2015: A third of British and American retailers say the sales bonanza is unprofitable November 16, 2015 Britain's biggest online shopping fixture Black Friday is dividing the retail industry, with a third of major retailers saying it is unprofitable while the same number believe it provides a major fillip, research by LCP Consulting shows. The business consultancy firm’s annual Omnichannel report released today found that retailers with an established presence both in bricks [...]
Sports Direct in talks to open Lillywhites concessions in House of Fraser November 15, 2015 Sports Direct is reported to be in talks with House of Fraser about introducing concessions of its famous Piccadilly store Lillywhites inside the department store chain. Dave Forsey, the chief executive of the sportswear group, has held early stage talks with House of Fraser boss Nigel Oddy, according to The Sunday Telegraph, which reported that proposals [...]