Rolex giant Watches of Switzerland begins London IPO debut with £650m valuation May 30, 2019 The UK’s largest seller of Rolex watches has begun life as a listed firm in the Square Mile today, having priced its shares towards the top end of the range it had targeted. Investors start trading in Watches of Switzerland on the London Stock Exchange today after the firm priced its shares at 270p, valuing [...]
Cash out: Troubled Ladbrokes boss takes a punt on cutting pay in bid to stop investor revolt May 29, 2019 The chief exec of betting firm Ladbrokes is set to forego around £150,000 as he takes a gamble designed to quell shareholder unrest over his pay. Kenny Alexander, boss of Ladbrokes’ owner GVC Holdings, has agreed give up the majority of a recent pay rise from £750,000 to £950,000 after talks with the company’s board, [...]
Gourmet Burger Kitchen sales begin to recover after £4.6bn loss May 29, 2019 Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) has posted a partial recovery in sales since it suffered a record £4.6bn loss last year, when it got the green light for a string of restaurant closures. Read more: Creditors give green light to Gourmet Burger Kitchen closures The restaurant chain’s like-for-like sales fell 9.7 per cent in the first six [...]
M&S looks set to survive FTSE 100 drop amid £600m rights issue May 29, 2019 Marks & Spencer looks set to remain in the FTSE 100 through the skin of its teeth in next week’s reshuffle after launching a £600m rights issue to fund its joint venture with Ocado. City speculation that the department store chain could drop out of the blue-chip index has mounted after it reported a 10 [...]
Supreme Court gives government body chance to appeal cash machine ruling May 29, 2019 The Supreme Court has given the government the right to appeal a £300m court dispute over business rate bills for cash machines outside shops. Late last year the Court of Appeal decided in favour of supermarket giants such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco, overturning a decision that meant retailers were liable to pay business rates on their cash [...]
WH Smith is the UK’s worst high street store, say shoppers May 29, 2019 WH Smith is the worst of all UK high street stores, according to a survey of British shoppers published today. Read more: Ranked: The top 15 retailers to work for The stationery provider got the worst rating of 100 retailers, with just 50 per cent of customers expressing satisfaction based on factors such as quality of [...]
Big Four supermarkets stall amid fast rise of Aldi and Lidl May 29, 2019 The UK’s Big Four supermarkets all failed to post a rise in sales during the last quarter as they battled it out with the German discounters to keep their market share in an increasingly competitive landscape. While Tesco’s overall sales were flat in the 12 weeks to 19 May, its performance trumped the likes of [...]
Pret a Manger has swallowed up Eat – but how will it taste? May 29, 2019 High street lunchtime staple Pret a Manger recently announced it will be purchasing Eat, one of its main competitors. Pret also announced plans to convert many of Eat’s existing shops into Pret’s vegetarian spin off, Veggie Pret, in response to growing consumer demand for vegetarian and vegan options. Three per cent of the population currently [...]
Shop price inflation gathers pace in May May 29, 2019 Shop inflation edged up this month, as rising costs from wages, taxes and political uncertainty drove non-food retailers to push up their prices during May. Following several years of deep discounts, goods in sectors such as furniture and health & beauty have seen year-on-year prices to May 2019 jump, according to a new index carried [...]
High street stalwart Boots mulls more than 200 possible store closures May 28, 2019 Boots, Britain’s largest chain of chemists, looks set to become the latest victim of high street turmoil as its US owner eyes several hundred store closures. Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), the pharmacy retailer's US parent, is reportedly looking at bringing down the shutters on more than 200 Boots outlets across the UK over the next [...]
