Category: Business & Employment

UK retail sales fell by 0.3% in October 2016 compared with October 2017, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) who said it was the first annual fall since March 2013.

Higher inflation had dampened spending, the ONS said, but it also pointed to the fact that last October had seen very strong growth.

Taking the three months to October, sales volumes were up 0.9% compared with last year.

The ONS said this suggested the underlying pattern in the retail sector was one of growth.

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If you are considering a company merger, acquisition, takeover or joint venture or are in the midst of a shareholder dispute or share capital transaction or need business advice please contact our business growth solicitor.

Call 0161 624 6811 to speak to John Porter and Soibi Iketubosin in our Company/Commercial Department or email jap@wrigleyclaydon.com or si@wrigleyclaydon.com.

Sainsbury’s has reported a 9% fall in half-year profits, but sales rose.

The UK’s second largest supermarket chain said profits were £251m in the 28 weeks to the 23 September, while like-for- like sales excluding fuel went up by 1.6%.

It said the fall in profits was due to price cutting, wage cost inflation and the consolidation of Argos.

Sainsbury’s took over catalogue retailer Argos and Habitat in 2016 in a £1.4bn deal.

Sainsbury’s share price fell more than 3% following the release of the results.

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If you are considering a company merger, acquisition, takeover or joint venture or are in the midst of a shareholder dispute or share capital transaction or need business advice please contact our business solicitors.

Call 0161 624 6811 to speak to John Porter and Soibi Iketubosin in our Company/Commercial Department or email jap@wrigleyclaydon.com or si@wrigleyclaydon.com.

Morrisons, the UK’s fourth-biggest supermarket chain, has reported a 2.5% rise in sales for the third quarter.

Sales at the supermarket have now grown for eight quarters in a row.

Morrisons has been the best performing of the established “Big Four” supermarkets recently, although all chains are attempting to fight off the strong competition coming from discounter supermarkets Aldi and Lidl.

Oldham commercial lawyers

If you are considering a company merger, acquisition, takeover or joint venture or are in the midst of a shareholder dispute or share capital transaction or need business advice please contact our Oldham commercial lawyers.

Call 0161 624 6811 to speak to John Porter and Soibi Iketubosin in our Company/Commercial Department or email jap@wrigleyclaydon.com or si@wrigleyclaydon.com.

Department store chain Debenhams reported annual profits down by 44% at £59m.

Same-store sales in physical outlets were flat, but mobile sales are growing fast and were up by 57%.

Sales of beauty products, accessories and food and drink helped to offset what was a weak clothing market, Debenhams said.

Food sales in its cafes and restaurants were one of the better performers.

The company said in April that it would close 11 warehouses and put up to 10 stores under review.

The company is also slimming down its in-house brands.

Oldham commercial solicitor

If you are considering a company merger, acquisition, takeover or joint venture or are in the midst of a shareholder dispute or share capital transaction or need business advice please contact us.

Call 0161 624 6811 to speak to John Porter and Soibi Iketubosin in our Company/Commercial Department or email jap@wrigleyclaydon.com or si@wrigleyclaydon.com.

Sofa and living room furniture specialist DFS has reported a sharp drop in annual profits.

DFS said uncertainty in the economy had led to a “significant deterioration in the consumer market”, and continued weakness of the pound against the dollar had also held back profits.

Profits dropped 22.3% to £50m although revenues inched up to £762m. DFS has been in business for 48 years. Its brands include Dwell and Sofa Workshop, and it also has brand partnerships with French Connection and House Beautiful. It is in the process of taking over rival brand, Sofology, subject to regulatory approval.

Business advice Oldham

If you are considering a company merger, acquisition, takeover or joint venture or are in the midst of a shareholder dispute or share capital transaction or need business advice please contact us.

Call 0161 624 6811 to speak to John Porter and Soibi Iketubosin in our Company/Commercial Department or email jap@wrigleyclaydon.com or si@wrigleyclaydon.com.

UK building and services firm Carillion has seen its share price fall 18%. It reported a first-half loss of £1.15bn and said it had taken an impairment charge of £134m on its UK and Canadian construction businesses.

It had also made provision of £200m for losses on its support services contracts.

This is on top of an £845m write-off announced in July.

Carillion’s full-year revenues are now forecast to be between £4.6bn-£4.8bn, down from a previous expectation of £4.8bn-£5bn.

How can a business solicitor help your company?

If you are considering a company merger, acquisition, takeover or joint venture or are in the midst of a shareholder dispute or share capital transaction or need business advice please contact us.

Call 0161 624 6811 to speak to John Porter and Soibi Iketubosin in our Company/Commercial Department or email jap@wrigleyclaydon.com or si@wrigleyclaydon.com.

Google has struck a $1.1bn (£822m) deal with Taiwan’s HTC to expand its smartphone business.

Google will not take a stake in HTC, but some 2000 HTC staff will join Google in Silicon Valley.

HTC was once a major player in the smartphone market but has struggled to compete with the likes of Apple and Samsung. Google expects the deal to close by early 2018, provided it gets the all clear from regulators.

How can a company solicitor help your business?

If you are considering a company merger, acquisition, takeover or joint venture or are in the midst of a shareholder dispute or share capital transaction or need business advice please contact us.

Call 0161 624 6811 to speak to John Porter and Soibi Iketubosin in our Company/Commercial Department or email jap@wrigleyclaydon.com or si@wrigleyclaydon.com.

Profits at the John Lewis Partnership have more than halved after it was hit by re-organisation costs and the impact of the weaker pound following the Brexit vote.

It said profits in the six months to 29 July 2017 fell 53.3% to £26.6m.

John Lewis said the fall in the pound had pushed up its costs, hitting profit margins.

It added political uncertainty had hit customer demand.

John Lewis also suffered a one-off £56.4m charge, mainly for restructuring and redundancy costs.

Business profit solicitors

If you are considering a company merger, acquisition, takeover or joint venture or are in the midst of a shareholder dispute or share capital transaction or need business advice please contact us.

Call 0161 624 6811 to speak to John Porter and Soibi Iketubosin in our Company/Commercial Department or email jap@wrigleyclaydon.com or si@wrigleyclaydon.com.

Asda is to axe hundreds of jobs at its Leeds head office and a further site in the East Midlands as part of a major cost-cutting drive.

About 300 jobs are to go at Asda House in Leeds and George House in Leicester with job descriptions to a further 800 roles changed.

Figures for 2016, released in September, showed like-for-like sales were down 5.7% compared with the previous year.

Asda is the third-largest UK supermarket behind Tesco and Sainsbury’s but has been hurt by the rise of German discounters Aldi and Lidl.

Redundancy advice solicitor

When it comes to legal advice, all businesses need someone skilled, reliable and experienced they can turn to for support and guidance. This is where our dedicated team of commercial law specialists can help.

If you are considering a company merger, acquisition, takeover or joint venture or are in the midst of a shareholder dispute or share capital transaction or need business advice please contact us. We have the required breadth of knowledge and depth of experience to advise on a broad range of related matters.

Call 0161 624 6811 to speak to John Porter and Soibi Iketubosin in our Company/Commercial Department or email jap@wrigleyclaydon.com or si@wrigleyclaydon.com.