Wagamama owner Restaurant Group swings to a loss on £115m writedown September 3, 2019 Restaurant Group plunged into the red as it recorded a loss for the first six months of 2019 following its controversial £559m takeover of pan-Asian chain Wagamama. The figures Revenue rocketed 58.2 per cent from £326.1m in the first half of 2018 to £515.9m in the first half of 2019. Restaurant Group fell to a [...]
Top 10 Just Eat shareholder to vote against £9bn merger deal with Takeaway.com September 3, 2019 Just Eat’s proposed merger with Takeaway.com was dealt a setback this morning after a top 10 shareholder revealed it plans to vote against the tie-up. US asset manager Eminence Capital, which holds a 4.4 per cent stake in Just Eat, is set to oppose the British food delivery firm’s £9bn deal with Amsterdam-based rival Takeaway.com. [...]
Tesco Bank sells 23,000-customer mortgage arm to Lloyds Banking Group for £3.8bn September 3, 2019 Tesco Bank has sold its mortgage business to Lloyds Banking Group for £3.8bn, in a move which will see its 23,000 customers switched to a new provider. The retail giant ceased all lending on its mortgages in May, as it announced it was trying to hive off its ledger book. Tesco, which said the portfolio [...]
Retailers warned to ramp up contingency plans as sales growth slumps September 3, 2019 Retailers were warned to prepare for further political and economic turbulence as like-for-like retail sales growth dipped last month in the latest blow for the UK high street. Bricks and mortar sales, not including food products, decreased by 0.5 per cent on a like-for-like basis from August last year. Read more: Retail sales get surprise [...]
Sports Direct trying to ‘drive Debenhams into administration’ September 2, 2019 Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct is backing a legal challenge against Debenhams’ restructuring plan to “drive it into administration so that it can pick up its assets on the cheap”, a court was told today. The sports retailer is backing a challenge brought by Combined Property Control Group (CPC), which represents the landlords of six Debenhams [...]
Arcadia COO steps down amid challenging times for retailer September 2, 2019 Arcadia’s chief operating officer has stepped down after more than 25 years with Sir Philip Green’s retail empire. David Shepherd, who took on the operating chief role in 2012 and was previously a director at Topman, retired at the end of last month. Read more: Arcadia denies it is preparing to dismantle brands His departure [...]
Neil Woodford points finger at ‘unfavourable’ markets for fund woes September 1, 2019 Neil Woodford defended his under-fire investment strategy over the weekend, citing “unfavourable” conditions and a momentum-driven market for the recent failures within his flagship fund. The former star stockpicker pointed the finger at “a narrow fixation on businesses that are seen as beneficiaries of a reflationary global growth scenario” for the underperformance of his own [...]
Debenhams lines up Deloitte as retailer takes on legal challenge to restructuring plan September 1, 2019 Debenhams has lined up advisers from professional services giant Deloitte as it prepares to fight a legal challenge to its restructuring plan. Deloitte is on standby in case Debenhams loses the case and fails to secure an appeal, an event that could tip the embattled department store into administration. Read more: Debenhams appoints restructuring expect [...]
Marks & Spencer tipped to drop out of FTSE 100 amid high street troubles September 1, 2019 Marks & Spencer is poised to drop out of the FTSE 100 later this week in a market reshuffle that sheds light on the troubled retailer’s tumbling share price. One of 28 original constituents still in the FTSE 100, M&S is expected to be relegated to the FTSE 250 on Tuesday following a sharp drop [...]
Cadbury ‘Unity’ bar celebrating diversity divides opinion August 30, 2019 Cadbury’s new “Unity” chocolate bar has divided opinion after being released in celebration of Indian Independence Day. The bar contains four different types of chocolate: dark, blended, milk and white. Cadbury said the aim was to champion the unity of “people of different castes, creed, languages, regions and religions”. Read more: Hotel Chocolat credits relentless innovation [...]
