Top shareholder lashes out after another boardroom shakeup at Stock Spirits October 24, 2016 The largest shareholder of troubled Eastern European vodka maker Stock Spirits has reacted angrily after it had yet another boardroom shakeup following a spring and summer of investor dissent. The London-listed company, which leads Poland's vodka market, said today it had appointed Carlsberg Poland chief executive Tomasz Blawat, Bain & Company adviser Diego Bevilacqua and former Cookson finance director Mike Butterworth as non-executive directors. [...]
French Connection shares spike after weekend takeover rumours October 24, 2016 Ooh la-la. Shares in French Connection have jumped by 16 per cent this morning after rumours of a takeover bid emerged over the weekend. The struggling clothing retailer, which has made losses for five years in a row, is believed to be being eyed up by UK and US investors. Today it opened 7.5 points up at 39.5p [...]
BHS administrators track millions taken out of retailer by Dominic Chappell October 23, 2016 One of the administrators of BHS wants to take control of Retail Acquisitions (RAL), the company Dominic Chappell used to buy the retailer for £1. Duff & Phelps has applied to the High Court to take over RAL so that they can investigate the money extracted from BHS by Chappell. In particular, the administrators are [...]
Gusbourne puts the sparkle back into the English wine industry as it angles a move in tourism sector October 23, 2016 Demand for sparkling wine has bubbled up in the past few years, cementing its place as one of the UK’s favourite drinks. Although prosecco has benefitted the most from this trend, outselling champagne for the first time in 2014, there’s a challenger on the sparkling wine scene that’s being made a lot closer to home. That new [...]
Fenwick family takes out £5m dividend despite warning on new cost pressures October 23, 2016 The Fenwick family has taken a £4.8m from their department store chain while warning about the pressure government is placing on the retail sector. According to accounts for the year to the end of January 2016, the company's sales rose by 1.2 per cent in the past year, reaching £431.7m. Pre-tax profits were up by a quarter [...]
British American Tobacco (BAT) hopes for lucky strike with $47bn offer for remaining stake in Reynolds American October 23, 2016 Reynolds American is this week expected to respond to a $47bn (£38.4bn) takeover offer from British American Tobacco (BAT), in a move that would create the world’s largest listed tobacco group by turnover. FTSE 100-listed BAT, which already owns 42.2 per cent of Reynolds, said on Friday it will pay $56.50 per share in a [...]
Debenhams’ boss in the spotlight over pension fund woes October 23, 2016 The new chief of Debenhams, Sergio Bucher, will be under the microscope for the first time this week when the company announces its full year results. Bucher joined the department store from Amazon, where he was vice president, and is under pressure to solve the question of Debenhams' growing pension scheme deficit. Analysts at Morgan [...]
Weak pound means pricier petrol and more VAT for the Treasury October 22, 2016 Treasury coffers have been bolstered by the weakened pound driving up prices at the pump according to a report released today. Fuel prices have risen by an average of 3.5p a litre over the last month. This means that the government is raking approximately £25m each month in increased VAT revenues, the AA Fuel Price report revealed. Read more: [...]
Greggs sausage rolls up the leaderboard in hospital food poll October 22, 2016 A ranking of the healthiest providers of hospital food revealed that one of the nation's favourite bakeries was narrowly pipped to the top spot. The "Healthy Hospital Food: 2016 Brand League Table" compared the performance of how well companies meet NHS England targets on healthy checkouts, food advertising and price promotions in hospitals. Although the Royal Voluntary Service and [...]
Sugar-cane restrictions are up for renegotiation, which could play into Tate & Lyle’s hands October 21, 2016 The owner of one of Britain's oldest and most distinctive brands has labelled the UK's departure from the EU as the "biggest opportunity of our lifetime". Tate & Lyle, most famous in the UK for its golden syrup said that removing the shackles of EU quotas and tariffs would mean that it could increase production to a [...]