UK inflation expectations remain at five-year high April 8, 2019 The British public’s expectations of inflation for 2019 stayed at their highest level in five years, new Bank of England data revealed today. Read more: Inflation edges up from two-year low as food and alcohol prices rise Britons expect the inflation rate – the speed at which prices increase over time – to be at 3.2 per [...]
Debenhams shares fall into the red as investors eye deadline for Sports Direct offer April 8, 2019 Debenhams shares dipped five per cent in early afternoon trading today, falling from a 15 per cent rise this morning as the deadline for a pre-pack administration draws near. The embattled department store chain is set to hand ownership to lenders tomorrow if Sports Direct fails to reach an agreement with the retailer by the end [...]
Raising the bar: Beer firm Brewdog kicks off sixth fundraising round with £1m prize draw April 8, 2019 Brewery chain Brewdog is to launch a sixth fundraising round, which features a prize draw to win £1m worth of shares in the firm. The firm announced the equity fundraising at its general meeting last week, which comes in a bid to raise £7m and expand its shareholder base to 200,000 people. Read more: Brewdog [...]
Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley confirms £150m equity offer for Debenhams as it considers 5p per share takeover April 8, 2019 Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct officially confirmed an offer to underwrite a £150m share issuance by Debenhams today on the condition that Ashley be made chief executive. The sports store chain said the underwriting of the equity issuance, which would see Sports Direct take on the financial risk involved in selling new equity to current shareholders to raise [...]
Hotels stump up for new business rate bills April 7, 2019 Some of London’s most iconic hotels are facing renewed pressure from rising property taxes, according to business rate experts who fear that the sector could be hit by the latest round of bills. Real estate services firm Colliers found that 93 London hotels have been charged with a combined total rates bill of £12.2m this [...]
Sports Direct makes £150m offer to underwrite Debenhams in bid to make Ashley CEO April 7, 2019 A bitter and hard-fought battle for control of one of Britain’s oldest department store chains descended into farce last night as Mike Ashley tussled with Debenhams to prevent the retailer from entering into a pre-pack administration. In his latest efforts to ramp up pressure on the chain’s board, the Sports Direct owner last night accused [...]
Mike Ashley makes legal threat as Debenhams deadline beckons April 6, 2019 Sports direct owner Mike Ashley has suggested he could take legal action against directors at Debenhams as the deadline for him to make a formal bid for the struggling department store chain approaches. Ashley has until April 8 to make that bid but as the chance of his participation in a rescue deal decreases, he [...]
Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group risks pension row with £25m funding cut proposal April 5, 2019 Sir Philip Green's Arcadia Group has proposed cutting the £50m it pays into its pension scheme in half in a move that risks igniting a new pensions row. Arcadia, which owns high street retail brands like Topshop, has internally discussed plans with advisers to cut retirement contributions to £25m as it looks to restructure its [...]
Co-op boosts revenue and profit following Nisa deal April 5, 2019 Co-op has increased its revenue and profit strongly in the wake of its acquisition of retail chain Nisa in May. Looking forward the group warned of potential uncertainty over Brexit and said it was planning for various scenarios as best as it can. The numbers Revenue rose 14 per cent to £10.2bn and profit before [...]
Gaucho’s merger with M Restaurant brings boss Martin Williams ‘full circle’ April 4, 2019 The founder of M Restaurants said today he has come “full circle” by merging his chain with steakhouse Gaucho, which he led for years before founding M. Martin Williams, who is taking over as chief executive of the new parent company, always hoped to merge the two after helping to take Gaucho out of administration with Investec [...]
