Flying Brands has divested Gardening
Direct, its last remaining retail brand. Gardening
Direct was sold to Jersey Choice Marketing, a
company linked to Jersey Plants Direct, for
£2.88 million. Further, Flying Brands announced today that
it is in advanced discussions to lease the greenhouses and
despatch centre at Retreat Farm to Jersey Choice. Should the deal
be finalised, that side of the business will also be
discontinued. Proceeds from the disposal will be used to repay
creditors and as working capital. Flying Brands retains the
freehold of Retreat Farm which was valued earlier this year at
£3.3 million.
Electronics retailer Maplin has announced that
it is accelerating its investment strategy under a new senior
leadership team. John Cleland, who was appointed chief executive
in April 2012, is joined by Mike Lucas, retail director, and Ryan
Thomas, who joined the business in May 2012 as multichannel
director. Alongside the investment in new stores, the strategy
will focus on improving the company’s operations, marketing and
customer service as well as expanding the business-to-business
division. In addition, Maplin is investing in its multichannel
services, including website improvements and the development of
additional eCommerce platforms, comprising smartphone and social
media shopping applications. As expected, the investment in the
company’s new initiatives will have a short term impact on
EBITDA, which was £29.9 million in 2011, down from
£40.8 million in the previous year.
Lloyds Banking Group has donated an extra
£8 million to the Farepak compensation fund
after a high court judge questioned bank executives’ morals
leading up to the demise of the company. It is understood that
Farepak could probably have survived had its bank HBOS lent it an
extra £3 million to £5 million. A legal case against
nine Farepak directors subsequently collapsed. In a statement,
business secretary Vince Cable said, “The result of the
legal proceedings case against the former directors was
disappointing but this increased compensation will go some way in
helping those who were left considerably out of pocket by
Farepak’s collapse. My department and Lloyds will work to make
sure this money gets to the victims as quickly as possible. I
will be meeting a group of Farepak’s creditors and MPs next week
to discuss the case.”
JJB, the sportswear retailer, posted a
disappointing trading update this morning, with sales
considerably short of expectations. Group like-for-like sales for
the 22 weeks ended 1st July 2012 decreased by 8 per cent. As at
1st July 2012, net debt was £15.4 million.
French toy retailer Groupe Ludendo is close to
buying Hamleys for up to £60 million,
reports the Financial Times. Also from the Financial Times, prices change as often as
every 15 minutes on Amazon as some sellers use
data mining tools and complex algorithms to undercut competitors.
Royal Mail has launched MarketReach, a new
initiative to provide companies and their agencies with a suite
of mail campaign services. Royal Mail will provide planning,
data, creative and design services through to print, delivery and
response evaluation. Royal Mail says it’s currently in talks with
more than 50 companies about providing the new service.
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