Week ahead: Retailers in focus ahead of Christmas
9th Dec 2011 09:25
Retailers will be in focus next week, with Carpetright, Sports Direct and Moss Bros among the companies scheduled to report. The outlook statements in particular will be closely-watched by the markets ahead of the key Christmas trading period. However, this holiday season may not be the 'most wonde
Read moreLondon close: Stocks soar as euro talks proceed
27th Sep 2011 16:33
The top share index surged in early dealings and continued heading higher towards the close amid optimism that European leaders will get to grips with the euro crisis. Talks are still ongoing about an expansion of the European Financial Stability Fund, with conflicting signals over whether an agree
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks advance on Euro hopes
27th Sep 2011 12:00
Stocks have built on their early morning gains as optimism that some kind of end to the Eurozone crisis is in sight continues. Talks are still ongoing about an expansion of the European Financial Stability Fund, with conflicting signals over whether an agreement is near failing to put investors of
Read moreLondon open: London follows Wall Street higher
27th Sep 2011 08:24
London's leading share index is posting big gains following a strong performance from Wall Street overnight. RBS leads the way as banks continue their strong performance from yesterday, while silver specialist Fresnillo leads the mining sector's recovery. Optimism that European leaders are making
Read moreMoss Brothers thriving despite economic weakness
27th Sep 2011 07:57
Suit retailer Moss Brothers has shrugged off the recent economic weakness to record trading ahead of expectations and is on course to deliver better than expected growth levels by the year end, it said today. In the period between the end of January and the end of July, it said like-for-like sales
Read moreEngland expects with £85,000 ITE purchase
8th Jul 2011 16:21
Non-executive director Neil England has taken advantage of a weak spell in the share price of ITE Group, splashing out £85,000 on shares in the FTSE 250-listed exhibitions organiser. He took 40,000 shares at 213.5p a share and now had 50,000. ITE organises exhibitions in areas such as the oil and
Read moreDirectors gather Moss shares
21st Jun 2011 16:08
Directors at Moss Bros have been upping their stakes in the gentlemen's outfitter. Chairman Debbie Hewitt's husband Paul spent about £50,000, taking 167,724 shares at 29.6p a time. That means Debbie Hewitt now has an interest in 555,756 shares, or about 0.6% of the company. Finance director Robin
Read moreJD Sports Fashion makes Spanish acquisition
20th Jun 2011 07:07
Trendy sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion has gained a foothold in Spain with the acquisition of the businesses of Sprinter, a sports chain operating in the south of the country. JD Sprinter Holdings, a joint venture in which JD Sports Fashion holds 50.1%, acquired Sprinter's trading businesses,
Read moreBroker tips: Kingfisher, Booker, Moss Bros
19th May 2011 12:47
Kingfisher, the B&Q and Screwfix owner, should report a strong first quarter, according to UBS, which raises its target price on the DIY retailer by 25p. "We expect the first quarter should be another strong showing from Kingfisher, helped by strong seasonal sales in the UK, further momentum in Fra
Read moreBroker snap: Impressive first quarter from Moss
19th May 2011 12:46
Broker finnCap says that Moss Bros has the "financial firepower' to withstand a challenging market and to develop its brand format. While the menswear retailer faced tough comparatives in the first quarter with the first 16 weeks of last year showing a like-for-like (LfL) sales growth of 12.6% (thi
Read moreMoss Bros continues sales momentum
19th May 2011 08:00
Sales momentum at menswear retailer Moss Bros continued in the 15 weeks to 14 May 2011 but it remains cautious about the outlook for the year as consumers cut back on spending. Like for like sales increased 8.2% for the first 15 weeks while total sales for the continuing business increased 12.9% fr
Read moreLondon close: Retailers and banks pull London to dull finish
30th Mar 2011 17:38
Footsie came off its highs for the day, as retailers and banks did their best to drag the market lower. Nevertheless, the blue chip index finished 16 higher at 5,948. Invensys was sharply lower after RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage of the engineer with an "underperform" rating. That was the
Read moreLondon afternoon: Invensys bid fever fades
30th Mar 2011 14:39
Stocks came off the top over the lunch time session, though risers still comfortably outnumber fallers among Footsie constituents by at least two to one. Miners are setting the pace, particularly Vedanta, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Antofagasta. At the other end of the scale Invensys is sharply lo
Read moreMoss Bros revives sales growth
30th Mar 2011 07:29
Menswear group Moss Bros revived like for like sales in the 52 weeks ended 29 January 2011 and said trading remains in line with company expectations. All areas of the business saw growth with the Hire business achieving its highest ever sales, the group said. Like for like sales rose 9.1% during
Read moreMoss Bros ditches Hugo Boss
7th Feb 2011 07:30
Suit hire and sale company Moss Bros is selling its 15 Hugo Boss franchised stores to Hugo Boss UK for £16.5m as part of a move to simplify the business and focus on its core Moss brand. The firm, which has run the stores since 1995, will get £4.2m in cash on 1 April and the remaining £12.3m by the
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