| |
 UNITED KINGDOM FRANCHISE NEWS ARCHIVE
| | | |
: : May/Jun 2004
|
FCUK chief to sell off £40m of his own shares.
Stephen Marks, the founder and chairman of the French Connection fashion
chain, has asked the company’s brokers Deutsche Bank to sell
between eight and nine million of his shares in the company. ....
[more]
30 Jun, 2004
Monsoon goes on shops spree. Family-controlled fashion
retailer Monsoon is buying 21 High Street shops from Dixons and axing
its dividend to help fund expansion over the next few years. ....
[more]
30 Jun, 2004
After 40 years down the drains, Dyno-Rod aims for £65m
float. Dyno-Rod, the Surbiton-based company which has been
unblocking drains for four decades, is set for a flotation on the
stock market this summer. .... [more]
30 Jun, 2004
Green prepares to strike again as turmoil engulfs Marks &
Spencer. Expectations were mounting last night that Philip
Green will make an improved offer for Marks & Spencer as early
as the next seven days, taking advantage of the turmoil surrounding
the retailer. .... [more]
30 Jun, 2004
Starbucks grinds rivals into ground. Despite the fact
Caffe Nero and Costa Coffee seem to appear on a new High Street every
week, Starbucks reigns supreme in the coffee bar wars. .... [more]
29 Jun, 2004
Left Without A Bean. Coffee shop owners have been left
without a bean after a firm collapsed with £1.1million of debt.
.... [more]
28 Jun, 2004
M&S backs Rose over shares probe. Marks & Spencer
has insisted its new chief has its full backing as the UK's financial
watchdog probes "suspicious price movements" in its shares.
.... [more]
27 Jun, 2004
Karen Millen founders sell out to Oasis for £70m.
The couple who founded the Karen Millen fashion chain yesterday sold
out to retailer Oasis for more than £70m. .... [more]
26 Jun, 2004
Falling UK sales and dollar trigger Body Shop warning.
Body Shop International yesterday admitted that underlying sales were
still sliding across its core UK estate as it warned the weak US dollar
would hit interim profits. .... [more]
25 Jun, 2004
BoI helps launch franchise magazine. Franchise Options,
a new business magazine for the Irish franchise industry was launched
today by the Dublin-based publishing firm Exact Media. .... [more]
24 Jun, 2004
Londis shopkeepers back takeover. Almost 2,000 Londis
shopkeepers are in line for a £31,000 windfall after they voted
for a £60m takeover. .... [more]
22 Jun, 2004
Green 'determined' to buy out M&S. Retail tycoon
Philip Green has voiced his determination to take over Marks &
Spencer as he prepares to talks to the group's US investors. ....
[more]
21 Jun, 2004
M&S kicks out new £8.4bn Green bid. Retail
tycoon Philip Green yesterday slapped a new £8.4bn cash bid
on the table for Marks & Spencer - and the store chain once again
showed him the door. .... [more]
17 Jun, 2004
Rose prepares blueprint for M&S revival. Marks &
Spencer's new chief executive, Stuart Rose, is to unveil how he plans
to restore the fortunes of the retail chain before facing shareholders
next month. .... [more]
16 Jun, 2004
Mugg & Bean to peddle caffeine fix to foreigners.
Coffee-themed restaurant group Mugg & Bean, which recorded a turnover
of just under R200 million in its last financial year, recently extended
its foray into the international marketplace with the opening of its
first UK outlet. .... [more]
14 Jun, 2004
M&S prepares for increased bid. Monaco-based billionaire
Philip Green is widely expected to increase his proposed bid for Marks
& Spencer this week after his initial £7bn-plus offer was
rejected as too low. .... [more]
14 Jun, 2004
He just won't take it easy: Stelios goes brand building at a
breakneck speed. Despite problems at his low-cost airline,
internet café, cinema and car rental firm, the 'no frills'
king is gunning for growth by forming partnerships in new business
areas. .... [more]
13 Jun, 2004
Couple sell PSG group in £11m deal. Wife and husband
team Julie and Gary Hester were on holiday in the Bahamas yesterday
after selling their Huddersfield property searches company PSG Franchising
in a deal worth up to £11m. .... [more]
12 Jun, 2004
M&S's interiors guru told he is no longer part of the furniture.
Vittorio Radice, the man who transformed Selfridges into one of the
country's most fashionable retailers, yesterday became the latest
victim of the management cull at Marks & Spencer. .... [more]
10 Jun, 2004
Experts line up to spread the word. The inaugural Scottish
Franchise Week aims to capitalise on the success of franchising and
the Scots’ appetite for it as a form of starting and running
a business. .... [more]
9 Jun, 2004
Specialist support ready and waiting. The Royal Bank
of Scotland has invested heavily in its national franchise team, which
provides each area of the UK with its own specialist franchise development
manager. .... [more]
9 Jun, 2004
Spear expanding its franchise operations. IT specialist
Spear Business Group is expanding its franchise operations in Wales
to meet growing demand. .... [more]
9 Jun, 2004
Disaster and triumph in the toyshop. The news came like
a hammerblow. Angela Daniels was about to shut up shop one February
night when an e-mail arrived telling her that her franchisor was ceasing
trading. At 5pm. .... [more]
8 Jun, 2004
Green seeks feedback on share element in revised M&S bid.
Philip Green is planning to sound out shareholders in Marks &
Spencer about whether they are keen for him to include an equity alternative
in any revised bid for the retailer. .... [more]
8 Jun, 2004
Franchising: Healthy profits if you keep your finger on the
pulse. Franchise is always reckoned the safer option to going
it alone. You will not be next year's Vodafone or BP, but at the same
time you probably will not be insolvent either. .... [more]
7 Jun, 2004
Stelios to sell flagship net cafe. Easyjet founder Stelios
Haji-Ioannou has put his flagship internet cafe in central London
on the market. .... [more]
4 Jun, 2004
Green looks to shore up M&S bid. Speculation was
mounting last night that retailer Philip Green is considering an approach
to the billionaire Reuben brothers to ask them to invest in his proposed
£8bn bid for Marks & Spencer. .... [more]
5 Jun, 2004
M&S rejects Green's takeover bid. Marks and Spencer
has rejected a proposed takeover bid from retail entrepreneur Philip
Green, saying it significantly undervalued the group. .... [more]
3 Jun, 2004
Court blow for Green in M&S fight. Marks & Spencer
yesterday won an early success in its fight to stay independent as
a court ruled that the law firm acting for retail billionaire Philip
Green must relinquish its role on his £9bn bid team. .... [more]
3 Jun, 2004
M&S ousts bosses to fend off takeover. Chairman
and chief executive replaced as board prepares to fight hostile bid
from Philip Green. .... [more]
1 Jun, 2004
Green to stake £1bn on bid for M&S. Philip
Green will put £1bn of his own money into his bid for Marks
& Spencer, the terms of which will be submitted to the board of
the high street retailer later this week. .... [more]
31 May, 2004
M&S bid 'ready to go', says Green. Finance
is "virtually in place" for his bid for M&S, retail tycoon Philip
Green has said. .... [more]
28 May, 2004
New approach from Philip Green triggers emergency meetings
at Marks & Spencer. Advisers to Marks & Spencer, the struggling
retailer, were last night locked in meetings after receiving notice that Philip
Green, the retail entrepreneur, intended to make an offer for the group. ....
[more]
28 May, 2004
M&S is Green's takeover target. Retail entrepreneur
Philip Green, owner of store groups Bhs and Arcadia, considers a takeover bid
for troubled retailer Marks and Spencer. .... [more]
27 May, 2004
Londis faces new bid from former T&S management.
The long-running battle for control of Londis, the convenience store chain, re-ignited
yesterday when a group of former T&S Stores directors launched a £60m
counter-bid to thwart an agreed deal with Ireland's Musgrave. .... [more]
25 May, 2004
M&S and Sainsbury's shopping for Sir Clive. Sir
Clive Thompson, ousted as chairman of Rentokil Initial last week, has been approached
to become chairman of J Sainsbury and Marks & Spencer. .... [more]
23 May, 2004
Mothercare delivers return to dividends. Mothercare
has announced its return to making dividend payments to shareholders after a two-year
break, following a turnaround in the fortunes of the mother and baby clothing
and homeware chain. .... [more]
21 May, 2004
Scottish franchise in IT and office solutions sector
up for grabs. In the last 50 years, there has been an increase in the
popularity of franchising throughout the UK and the business format franchise
has now become a driving force in the domestic economy. .... [more]
20 May, 2004
M&S flagship may face bulldozer. Nothing
is sacred in Marks & Spencer's struggle to regain its former glory - not even
its iconic Marble Arch store in the West End of London. .... [more]
17 May, 2004
Franchising start-ups a licence for realising entrepreneurial
dreams. Franchising is often a cost-effective way for individuals to start
their own business. .... [more]
17 May, 2004
Abrakebabra to open 200 UK outlets. Abrakebabra
has signed a master franchise agreement with UK-based AKA Group Ltd, that will
see up to 200 Abrakebabra outlets open in the UK in the next five years. ....
[more]
14 May, 2004
M&S poaches George fashion chief. Marks
& Spencer's new clothing boss, Vittorio Radice, yesterday stamped his authority
on the ailing chain by firing one of his lieutenants and drafting in a senior
executive from Asda to replace him. .... [more]
14 May, 2004
M&S shareholders angry Ball did not speak up earlier.
Shareholders in Marks & Spencer reacted furiously yesterday to the revelation
that the retailer's non-executive directors had raised concerns about Luc Vandevelde's
role as non-executive chairman 18 months ago. .... [more]
13 May, 2004
Somerfield expanding in Scotland. Supermarkets
group Somerfield is further expanding its convenience store business with the
purchase today of 11 forecourt convenience sites in Scotland for £2.6m.
.... [more]
12 May, 2004
M&S chairman to quit. Luc Vandevelde is
stepping down as chairman of Marks & Spencer, the company said today, amid
criticism that he is not devoting enough energy to the struggling retailer. ....
[more]
10 May, 2004
Kwik Save closures threaten 400 jobs. The Kwik
Save supermarket chain is to vanish in Scotland in a move that puts up to 400
jobs at risk, Somerfield revealed yesterday. .... [more]
6 May, 2004
M&S pins hopes on youth attitude. Marks
& Spencer has entered the highly competitive world of youth fashion in a bid
to boost its flagging fortunes. .... [more]
6 May, 2004
Board tensions rising at M&S. Board tensions
at Marks & Spencer are rising as it continues to struggle and its part-time
chairman Luc Vandevelde spends more time on his other interests. .... [more]
4 May, 2004
ABI 'red alert' on French Connection. French
Connection, the fashion retailer, is heading for a clash over corporate governance
with the Association of British Insurers. .... [more]
2 May, 2004
|
| | |
Registration
Some sites require first-time users to register. Once you've done this you're typically given unimpeded access to the news provider's site.
Get the news fast - while it lasts!
While some remain active for a longer period, many links last only a week, and others expire in a day. If you're serious about franchising, visit Franchise-chat daily.
|
|
