Premier Foods’ under fire from top shareholder over collapsed bid talks with McCormick April 13, 2016 Premier Foods' third biggest shareholder has slammed the company for failing to recommend McCormick's 65p per share offer to the board, after its American suitor walked away today. Paulson & Co, a US hedge fund that owns a seven per cent stake in Premier and has already locked horns with the company over its handling of the [...]
The Co-operative Group eyes sale of 300 food stores to focus on convenience April 13, 2016 Around 300 Co-operative food stores could face the axe as part of plans to shed its larger shops and focus on expanding its more profitable convenience business. The mutual, which has over 2,800 stores throughout the UK, is understood to have hired bankers at Rothschild to find buyers for the stores to help raise funds to spruce up the rest of its [...]
House prices: London and regional rental prices climbed higher in March April 13, 2016 London rents rose by 7.7 per cent in the year to March as demand for rental property in the capital remained strong, new research shows. However, HomeLet said that the data comes ahead of reforms that are predicted to have a major impact within the sector, including a stamp duty increase for buy-to-let properties, and could tell [...]
UK bricks and mortar retailers lack relevant e-commerce experience at board level, claims report April 12, 2016 British retailers lack relevant e-commerce experience on the boards, a new study by a leading global executive search firm has found, putting them at risk of falling further behind by their online-only rivals. According to DHR International, only five per cent of executive directors at the leading UK-listed bricks and mortar retail companies have an online background, placing the high street at a [...]
Interserve joint venture walks away from £1bn One Nine Elms scheme as talks collapse April 12, 2016 A £1bn scheme to build twin luxury residential-led towers in Nine Elms faced a new hurdle yesterday after a construction deal with the contractors collapsed. CI-One Construction, Interserve's joint venture with China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), said it has "mutually agreed to end negotations" with Dalian Wanda over its appointment as the main contractor at One Nine Elms, near Vauxhall. The [...]
Death knell for physical music as digital sales overtake for the first time April 12, 2016 The global music market hailed its first significant year-on-year growth in nearly two decades, as booming digital music sales overtook physical formats for the time. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s (IFPI) annual report reveals that digital revenues now account for 45 per cent of the market after a 10.2 per cent jump to $6.7bn (£4.7bn) last [...]
Furniture chain ScS narrows losses as sales heat up April 12, 2016 Furniture chain ScS said losses narrowed in the first half of the year as demand for its sofas and flooring reached a record high. The figures The retailer, which floated last year, said its like-for-like order intake – which reflects sales it has not yet booked – rose by 9.1 per cent in the six months [...]
Safestay boss Larry Lipman explains why a new breed of hostels is catching the attention of investors April 11, 2016 The boss Safestay said it was only a matter of time until hoteliers exploring opportunities outside of their saturated markets jump on the hostel bandwagon, as the upmarket hostel owner revealed a rise in full-year revenues. The Aim-listed company, which was founded by property veteran Larry Lipman five years ago with the aim of sprucing up the hostel [...]
Tesco explores sale of Dobbies Garden Centres April 11, 2016 Tesco is preparing to sweep its shelves clean of more non-core businesses – this time in the gardening section – as the supermarket chain focuses on reviving sales at its core supermarkets. The retailer, which will publish its full-year results on Wednesday, already sold off a number of assets including its South Korean business Homeplus for £4.2bn last [...]
Goldman Sachs agrees to pay $5bn to settle mortgage claims April 11, 2016 Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay $5.06bn (£3.6bn) to settle claims that it mis-sold mortgage backed securities in the run-up to the financial crisis. The settlement with the US Justice Department relates to residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS) sponsored or underwritten by the US investment bank between 2005 and 2007. Goldman Sachs has agreed to [...]
