Ocado share price soars over 40 per cent following Amazon takeover rumours June 22, 2023 Shares in Ocado soared over 40 per cent this morning following speculation that Amazon is eyeing a takeover of its grocery technology business. The tech giant is reportedly mulling an £8-a-share move, The Times has reported, with Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan said to be acting for the potential bidders. “Bid chatter helped lift web-based [...]
DS Smith: Inflation can’t keep profits boxed up for Amazon cardboard provider June 22, 2023 DS Smith reported soaring profits and trading in line with expectations in its full year results this morning, as the package specialist continued to show strong resistance to high inflation and rising paper costs. The London-listed group – which delivers boxes and paper products to companies including Amazon and Brewdog – saw pre-tax profits up [...]
Whitbread: Premier Inn owner thanks London travel boom for hike in hotel sales June 22, 2023 Tourists flocking to London for the King’s coronation helped bolster Premier Inn owner Whitbread’s trading in the first leg of the year, as the hotel group revealed an 18 per cent hike in sales. As Brits embraced travel and leisure after the pandemic, the chain of affordable hotels said sales across its 800 strong portfolio [...]
Private equity firm Elliott joins £500m takeover race for Reiss June 21, 2023 US private equity firm Elliott Advisors has reportedly joined the race to takeover upmarket fashion brand Reiss from its current stakeholders Next and Warburg Pincus. Elliott has expressed interest in buying the fashion brand for upwards of £500m, Sky News has reported. Up to three parties are also keen to buy the brand, which is [...]
Revolution or all-out war? Firm brands ‘hostile’ Boohoo coup ‘self-serving and opportunistic’ June 21, 2023 All eyes turn to the AGM of troubled fashion giant Revolution Beauty as it hit back at “hostile” shareholder Boohoo ,labelling its attempted coup as “opportunistic” and “self-serving”. Boohoo, which holds a 26.6 per cent stake in the Revolution, revealed it would vote against chief executive Bob Holt, chairman Derek Zissman and chief financial officer [...]
THG share price up as firm eyes profitability boost while CEO gives up power to veto hostile bids June 21, 2023 THG said it was anticipating a “significant increase in profitability” in its half year results following a boost from its nutrition segment and and big losses earlier in the year. The e-commerce retailer said that CEO Matthew Moulding had given up his special share in the firm, which means that Moulding can no longer veto [...]
Wagamama owner waves goodbye to CFO as part of top team shake up June 21, 2023 Wagamama’s owner The Restaurant Group (TRG) is waving goodbye to its chief financial officer, Kirk Davis, as part of a shake up of its top team. The hospitality group, which also owns high street eateries such as Frankie & Bennys, said that Davis will step down after the publication of its interim results in September [...]
Halfords profits tumble by £38.3m but expects ‘strong growth’ June 21, 2023 Halfords reported a £38.3m drop in annual profits as the group was hit by a decline in consumer demand for cycling following its lockdown boom and a tough economic climate. For the year, underlying profit before tax slumped to £51.5m compared to £89.8m the prior year and £56m during the pandemic as the retailer invested [...]
Claim of supermarkets profiteering doesn’t pass ‘basic smell test,’ says former Sainsbury’s boss June 21, 2023 The former boss of Sainsbury’s has roundly rejected claims that British supermarkets are profiteering during the cost of living crisis, arguing that the government and regulators should focus on helping those in need instead of considering “interfering in markets”. “This idea that [supermarkets] are somehow profiteering in these circumstances… it doesn’t even pass a basic [...]
Peloton: Wheels come off for bike maker as UK losses widen to £210m June 20, 2023 Peloton’s UK arm has struggled to keep up the momentum of its pandemic success, with the group posting widening losses as sales of the luxury exercise bike fall significantly from their lockdown peak. In its most recent financial results in the year to June 2022, the American brand’s British division said sales contracted 13 per [...]