Flying Brands, which operates Gardening
Direct and Flying Flowers, has
confirmed it has received approaches for “certain” of
its assets, but has not at this stage received a bid for the
entire business.
Confectioner Thorntons released a profits
warning this morning. In a statement it said that
“following continued weakness in consumer sentiment and
high levels of promotional activity in the marketplace”,
profits for the full year will “fall short” of
expectations. It now anticipates to break even this year. Last
year, profits were approximately £4.3 million.
Reuters reports that Amazon
was making “takeover overtures” at BlackBerry maker
Research In Motion (RIM). According to the piece, Amazon hired an
investment bank in the summer to with a view to merge with RIM,
but no formal offer was made.
For a cheerier article (of sorts) on the state of the high
street, read the Guardian‘s “It’s bad on the high street
but not yet a disaster”. Think about it this way: deeper
discounting at Christmas, less need to shift excess stock in
January.
K3, a supplier of ERP software, acquired
Retail Systems Group Ltd, a provider of
Microsoft Dynamics software to retailers in the UK and Ireland,
marking its seventh deal of 2011. K3 paid £1.28 million in
cash, with an additional payment of approximately £1.5
million due at completion. A further £200,000 is payable
over the next two years depending on performance criteria. The
deal provides K3 with access to smaller retailers, complementing
its mid-range retail software offering. Earlier this month K3
bought Integrated Business Systems from Maxima
Holdings for £1.4 million in cash, with a retention of
£200,000 as well as certain assets of Unisoft BV, a provider
of point-of-sale systems in the Netherlands and Scandinavia, for
which it paid an initial €500,000 million (£418,000)
in cash, with further consideration of up to €1 million
(£837,000) payable in cash, dependent on certain
criteria.
Fashion Rocks, an online seller of streetwear,
has appointed Begbies Traynor as administrator. It is understood
that the Fashion Rocks website will soon cease trading
online.
Share