Marks & Spencer’s director of new channels Susan
Aubrey-Cound has quit the business, reports the Independent. The newspaper notes this is the
second senior director to leave the business in as many weeks. In
other M&S news, the retailer has launched its outlet section
online, selling womenswear, lingerie, menswear and childrenswear
at up to 40 off the regular price. M&S Outlet launched in
November 2000, but to date has only been available in 50
dedicated M&S Outlet stores.
Furniture retailer Made.com secured £6
million in series B funding led by Level Equity and joined by
PROfounders Capital, a London-based venture capital firm in which
Made.com chairman Brent Hoberman is a partner.
Builders merchant Travis Perkins has been
approached by the Office of Fair Trading regarding its
acquisition of Toolstation in January. Travis
Perkins says it was “surprised” by the contact, but
is cooperating with the inquiry. The company today reported that
pretax profit grew 37 per cent to £297 million in the year
ending December 2011. Travis Perkins also delivered a revenue
growth of 52 per cent to £4.78 billion but saw sales in its
Wickes business decline due to “poor
consumer confidence and lower levels on disposable income”.
Further, investment in store expansion and reorganisation costs
at Wickes outweighed the benefits of an improved gross margin,
according to a Travis Perkins company statement.
Supermarket Sainsbury’s has investment £2
million in Tamar Energy Ltd, a new company focused on producing
energy from organic waste matter. Other investors in the group
include RIT Capital plc, Fajr Capital, the Duchy of Cornwall,
Lord Rothschild’s Family Interests, Sustainable Technology
Investments, Low Carbon Ltd, the management team of Tamar Energy
and other private investors.
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