May 15 2013 21:09 BST Number of women on FTSE 100 boards stallsThe drive to get more women on FTSE 100 boards has suffered a further setback, new figures have revealed. Only 12 per cent of directors appointed in the two months to May 1 are women, down from the 50 per cent rate seen a year ago, according to data toBy Brian Groom, Business and Employment Editor |
May 15 2013 19:34 BST S&P cut adds to fears over Co-op's health"The high street will never look the same again," was the boast of the Co-operative Group four years ago after doing two acquisitions that doubled the mutual in size. The choice of words pointed to a group that was becoming more ambitious in reach and scope. In 2008 the Co-opBy Jennifer Thompson and Andrew Bounds |
May 15 2013 16:43 BST Appetite for buying restaurants rises as valuations look appetisingA hamburger and chips at gourmet burger chain Byron will set you back about £12. The fancy burger chain itself will cost closer to £100m. Byron's private equity backers Gondola Group, which also owns PizzaExpress and Italian restaurant group Ask, received the first round of bids for the chain fromBy Duncan Robinson |
May 13 2013 20:21 BST European retailers to sign Bangladesh safety pactHennes & Mauritz, Inditex, Tesco, Primark and C&A have vowed to sign a deal to improve factory safety in Bangladesh as retailers scramble to contain the fallout from the April 24 building collapse that killed at least 1,100 people. The legally binding agreement - the Accord on Fire and BuildingBy Barney Jopson in New York, Richard Milne in Stockholm and Amy Kazmin in New Delhi |
May 09 2013 18:49 BST Morrison hits out at Tesco's price-matching schemeDalton Philips, chief executive of Wm Morrison, hit out at Tesco's price-matching scheme, claiming a third of the comparisons with its own products were unfair, as Morrison's performance improved over the past three months. Britain's fourth-biggest supermarket chain by market share also said it remained in discussions with Ocado overBy Andrea Felsted and Duncan Robinson |
May 08 2013 21:25 BST Lombard: Sainsbury gives a solid performance in a fragile sectorFood retailing is a tough and challenging business. And that's just for investors. Of the three major quoted grocers, Tesco and Wm Morrison have gone into reverse in terms of trading, leaving only J Sainsburymarching onwards. Led by Justin King on his way to an un-totemic 10 years in charge |
May 08 2013 18:40 BST 3i to sell software group Civica to Ontario pension fund3i Group, the London-based private equity group in which activist investor Edward Bramson holds a 5 per cent stake, is to reap more than twice its initial investment by selling British software maker Civica. Omers Private Equity, the direct investment arm of the Ontario-based pension fund, agreed to buy theBy Anne-Sylvaine Chassany in London |
May 07 2013 17:55 BST Diageo: beverage plansThe successful, longstanding chief executive of a consumer company steps down, to be replaced by an insider who has also done a long stint at the company. This should be the kind of succession planning that gives shareholders no cause for alarm. What could be more simple? It is certainly |
May 05 2013 22:32 BST Sainsbury in talks to control bank armJ Sainsbury is in advanced talks to take full control of its eponymous bank as the supermarket chain hopes to accelerate sales of financial services products to its customers. It wants to acquire the remaining 50 per cent stake in Sainsbury's Bank from Lloyds Banking Group, 16 years after launchingBy Daniel Schäfer in London |
May 03 2013 18:19 BST Sainsbury to step up small store openingsJ Sainsbury is poised to step up its convenience store openings this year, with the number of its smaller stores overtaking full supermarkets for the first time. Although Sainsbury is expected to say it will open about 1m square ft of new space, roughly the same as last year, andBy Andrea Felsted, Senior Retail Correspondent |
