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’Tesco eyes Northern Rock
Tesco has emerged as a potential bidder for Northern Rock as the government races to sell the state-owned lender before a general election, reports The Times. The UK supermarket chain has shown provisional interest in buying the bank,
Every quibble helps Tesco
Behold the highlights from Tesco’s FY results:
HIGHLIGHTS
* Solid start to new financial year – 12.0% (ex-petrol) growth in Group sales, including increase in UK like-for-like sales of 3.4% in first six weeks (4.4% on a VAT-adjusted basis)
* 15.1% increase in Group sales to £59.4bn
* 10.0% growth in underlying profit before tax,
Does Tesco have a pricing problem?
‘Britain’s biggest discounter’ has had a bit of a market share issue of late.
To wit, this chart from JPM analysts Jaime Vazquez, Alastair Johnson and Bianca Brebnor.
The analysts believe the loss of market share is down to a pricing problem at the UK grocer — and they’ve gone on a bit of a field trip to Tescos around the capital to prove it,
CDS report: EU nation default risk touches record high
The cost of insuring debt issued by the Irish government leapt higher this morning as Europe’s beleaguered credit derivatives traders swallowed hard on last night’s news the Irish state had finally decided to bail out Anglo Irish bank.
CDS update: Deutsche, Citi rattle financials
This CDS report was written by Markit’s Gavan Nolan
Credit markets on both sides of Atlantic lost ground today in tandem with their equity counterparts, continuing a trend seen since the beginning of the week.
CDS update: Technically unfavourable
This CDS report was written by Markit’s Gavan Nolan
European credit indices continued to widen today as investors took profits from the recent rally and technicals become less favourable. The Markit iTraxx Europe index was trading around 169bp,
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Tuesday,
- Marstons closes deal with banks on £400m debt restructuring – statement
- Mecom sells off German assets – statement
- Corporate results: AGA, Big Yellow,
CDS update: It’s the economy, stupid
This CDS report was written by Markit’s Gavan Nolan
Credit spreads on both sides of the Atlantic soared today with new data showing an acceleration in the economic downturn. The Markit Eurozone Final Manufacturing PMI for November confirmed that the region’s manufacturing sector contracted at its fastest pace since the survey began in June 1997.
Could Tesco run out of cash?
Perish the thought – especially in the till-ringing run up to Xmas. But the point here is that the longer the primary credit markets remain virtually shut, the greater the risk that a big name corporate breaches a covenant or two.
Tesco to buy RBS share in finance arm
Tesco is poised to buy the Royal Bank of Scotland’s share in Tesco Personal Finance in a £1bn deal. Britain’s largest supermarket chain has been in talks for weeks with the bank over buying the stake in the financial services business the two parties set up a decade ago.
Hunter accepts defeat at Dobbies
As a piece of green (fingered) mail, Sir Tom Hunter’s stubborn refusal to vacate the share register of garden centre group Dobbies did not quite work.
The Scottish entrepreneur’s West Coast Capital turned its nose up at the £15 a share on offer from Tesco in June last year.
Snap news
The latest on Wednesday,
- Tesco make cash takeover offer at 1200 pence per share for Dobbies garden centres, Tom Hunter’s West Coast Capital accepts – statement
- Bank of Ireland sees dip in profits;
Snap News
The latest on Wednesday,
- Another day, another set of right issues. Bradford & Bingley want £300m – statement
- Johnston Press is asking for up to £240m – statement
- Firstgroup aims to place £260m of new stock – statement
- BNP Paribas first quarter profit fell 21 per cent but came in ahead of forecasts – statement,
CDS report: Tesco tightens amid general earnings gloom
European credit derivatives markets trod water on Tuesday as solid results from Tesco failed to shake traders from their pessimism about the Q1 earnings season.
Tesco met forecasts with an 11 per cent rise in annual profit and said it had got off to an “encouraging”
UK’s Tchenguiz to sell Tesco JV stake
Vincent Tchenguiz, the property entrepreneur, is to sell his share in a £490m Tesco supermarkets joint venture and then refinance up to £700m of his residential property to help to fund expansion elsewhere,
Tesco launches first dollar bond
Tesco has launched its first dollar-denominated bond as the group seeks to raise its profile in advance of the opening of its first stores in the US next week. Britain’s biggest retailer, which raised $2bn in bonds,
Tesco and Asda in ‘abuse’ probe
Two of Britain’s largest supermarkets have been ordered to hand over millions of e-mails after the UK Competition Commission began investigating complaints of potential abuse of suppliers. Tesco and
Sir Tom bows out of garden-centre war
Sir Tom Hunter’s garden-centre war with Tesco ended in acrimony on Thursday when the entrepreneur accused the board of Dobbies garden-centre chain of “rolling over” for the supermarket group’s bid.
Pricey petunias – the Dobbies deadline approaches
It is not the biggest or the sexiest but at 5pm on Thursday one of the most intriguing takeover battles this year will reach its climax. Dobbies, a chain of 20-odd garden centres, most located in Scotland,
Tesco tussles for Dobbies as deadline looms
The unlikely battle between Scotland’s richest man and the UK’s biggest retailer over a small garden centre chain entered its final stage Monday when the UK Takeover Panel gave Sir Tom Hunter three days to top Tesco’s bid for Dobbies.
Sir Tom raises Dobbies stake, Tesco waits
Billionaire retailer and philanthropist Sir Tom Hunter increased his stake in Dobbies Garden Centres as Tesco extended the deadline for shareholders to accept its takeover bid for the company, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Hunter lifts Dobbies stake to 25.6%
Sir Tom Hunter, the Scottish entrepreneur, on Wednesday intensified his battle with Tesco for control of Dobbies Garden Centres by breaching a key 25 per cent holding in the chain. Sir Tom’s West Coast Capital vehicle on Wednesday bought shares at a maximum price of £18.45,
Sir Tom closes in on Dobbies
Sir Tom Hunter, the retail and property entrepreneur, has increased his stake in Dobbies Garden Centres, strengthening his grip on the chain amid Tesco’s formal £228m bid for the company. Sir Tom is understood to have increased his stake to 21.4 per cent,
Hunter aims to derail Tesco’s Dobbies deal
Sir Tom Hunter on Wednesday set out to scupper Tesco’s agreed £228m takeover of Dobbies Garden Centres by doubling his consortium’s stake in the nursery chain. The Scottish entrepreneur sparked a bidding war with the country’s biggest supermarket chain by acquiring a further 10 per cent of Dobbies at £17.50 a share,
Hunter considers rival bid for Dobbies
Sir Tom Hunter, the Scottish entrepreneur, is considering whether to challenge Tesco’s agreed offer for Dobbies, the Scottish garden centre chain. However, reports that Sir Tom, who has a 10.6 per cent stake in Dobbies,
Tesco to buy Dobbies and save planet
Here’s something for the gardening columns this weekend: Tesco has emerged as the recommended buyer of Dobbies Garden Centres, the 20-strong chain where Sir Tom Hunter’s West Coast Capital and buyout group Apax have been circling.
Coles battle fuels Australia’s buyout bonanza
Proposed acquisitions of Australian companies have soared to nearly $59bn so far this year, compared with nearly $17bn in the same period a year earlier. And the top bids — including those for Qantas,
Tesco doubles investor pay-out
Sir Terry Leahy promised to return another £1.5bn to Tesco shareholders through a more aggressive sale and leaseback of the retailer’s £28bn store estate on Tuesday, as it reported another year of record profits.
M&S rebuffed as Green decides to stay at Tesco
Terry Green is staying on as head of clothing at the Tesco supermarket chain. That is in spite of holding early-stage talks with his old colleague and friend Stuart Rose about moving and taking a senior position at Marks and Spencer,
M&S shops for Tesco clothes chief
Terry Green, head of clothing at Tesco, is understood to be considering jumping ship to rival Marks and Spencer less than two years after he was charged with raising Tesco’s profile in the fashion stakes.