Saudi Arabia And Gucci Owner Reportedly Eye Up ￡2Bn Stake In Selfridges

Being informed of what’s happening in the world of business is key to make sure you have your finger on the pulse, which is why I’ll be here every week to bring you all the latest news from the world of business with my weekly Brave Bold Brilliant business news - a great way to check in with what’s happening in the UK and globally.

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Feel free to let me know if there’s anything specific you’d like me to cover in future updates.

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In the meantime happy reading!

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GENERAL?

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Inflation fell to 3.4% in February, down from 4% in January – This edges closer to the Bank's target of 2%.?The drop means the cost of living is rising at its slowest pace since September 2021, when it stood at 3.1%.?Inflation, the rate at which prices rise over time, has been gradually falling since it hit 11.1% in October 2022, its highest rate for 40 years.

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Bank of England urged to step up work to align finance sector with climate goals - In a letter to Governor Andrew Bailey, more than 50 leading economists and campaign groups warned the Bank is slipping behind other major central banks as its work on key green measures slows.

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ON THE UP?

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Social media firm's shares jump in stock market debut - Reddit, Inc. shares have closed 48% higher on the company's first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Reddit revealed that it had priced its shares at $34 each, near the top of a marketed range. By the close of trade on its shares stood at $50.44, valuing the firm at more than $9bn (￡7.1bn). It was one of the biggest ever initial public offerings (IPO) by a social media platform. It put 22 million of its shares up for sale and, in an unusual move, offered some of the shares to the platform's users, although it has not been disclosed how many took up the offer.

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London Gatwick continued recovery of traffic drives strong financial performance - 40.9 million passengers passed through the airport by year end – up 24.7% on 2022 - with passenger demand at 88% of pre-pandemic levels for the year.?Revenue at ~￡1bn (+30.7%), driven by the continued recovery in passenger numbers.?Profit for the period at ￡314.8m (+69.9%), with EBITDA at ￡617.7m (+38.4%).

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Wetherspoon boss reports ‘reasonable’ year ahead as sales continue to increase - The pub chain reported a 8.2% jump in revenue for the period to ￡991m, up from ￡916m in the prior period. Operating profit increased 81% to ￡67.7m, up from ￡37.4m, with profit before tax surging 682.6% to ￡36.0m, up from ￡4.6m.?

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Next beats expectations to post record profits as sales soar - The fashion giant’s profit before tax rose to a record high of ￡918m, up 5% from the ￡875m in profit the business reported in the previous year. Total group sales increased 5.9% to ￡5.8bn during the same period. Looking ahead, Next said its guidance is unchanged since its Christmas trading update as it expects profit before tax to grow 4.6% to ￡960m in the financial year of 2024. Next chair Michael Roney said: “In the context of the wider economic environment, the year to January 2024 was a very good year for Next and the business materially outperformed our initial expectations.

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Hostelworld Group beats expectations thanks to Asia travel demand boom - Online travel agency Hostelworld Group has traded ahead of expectations, thanks to an increase in demand for travel in Asia.?The Irish company, which is listed in London, said adjusted EBITDA reached €18.4m (￡15.7m) up from €1.3m (￡1.1m) in the same period last year.?Full year net bookings totalled over six million, an increase of 37% year-on-year.?

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Cider maker Thatchers toasts success despite ‘unprecedented economic challenges’ - Sales at historic cider maker Thatchers Cider Company Ltd increased despite the company facing “unprecedented economic challenges” during its latest financial year. The Somerset-based business, which was established in 1904, has reported a turnover of ￡175.2m for the year to August 31, 2023, up from ￡155.5m. Newly-filed accounts also show Thatchers made a pre-tax profit of ￡15.6m, down slightly from ￡16.8m.

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Trustpilot swings to profit as monthly users soar - Trustpilot has turned a profit of $7m (￡6m) in its full financial year, swinging back from a loss of $15m (￡12.8m) in 2022. The global review platform said revenue climbed 18% year on year to $176m (￡150.5m) as monthly unique users of the platform soared more than 30% to over 57 million. The FTSE 250 firm jumped nearly 9% as investors welcomed the news.

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Currys plc raises profit outlook after bidding battle hopes dashed - It said group underlying pre-tax profits for the year to the end of April are now expected to be at least ￡115m, up from the previous guidance for between ￡105m and ￡115m.

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IN THE DOLDRUMS

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Direct Line Group aims to cut costs by ￡100m following ￡189m loss - Direct Line CEO Adam Winslow has revealed plans to slash operating costs by ￡100m by the end of 2025 after the business made a ￡189.5m loss in 2023.?The provider declared an operating loss from ongoing operations of ￡189.5m in 2023, compared with a loss of ￡6.4m in 2022.

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Barclays family’s The Very Group dealt blow as auditor 德勤 quits - Bonds in the Very Group, a UK retailer that also offers financial services to its customers, fell after it said Deloitte had ended an 11-year relationship. Deloitte has quit as auditor of retail business the Very Group, hitting the value of its debt amid a growing spotlight on the Barclay family’s business empire and its previous ownership of the Telegraph newspaper

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Ted Baker jobs at risk as administrators appointed - High Street fashion chain Ted Baker is set to be put into administration, putting hundreds of jobs at risk.?Authentic Brands Group, the Ted Baker brand owner since 2022, said "damage done" during a tie-up with another firm was "too much to overcome".?Ted Baker will continue to trade and customer orders will be fulfilled, the US group said.

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Gucci owner 开云 issues profit warning after China sales slump - The French billionaire Fran?ois-Henri Pinault’s luxury goods company, Kering, has issued a profit warning of falling revenues, as demand dries up for its leading brand Gucci in China. Unlike its rivals in the sector, which have fared better, the Paris-based company said like-for-like sales in the first quarter would drop by 10% year on year, while those at Gucci were expected to fall by nearly 20%.

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Naked Wines explores refinancing options as tough trading conditions bite - The online wine retailer has hired Interpath Advisory after seeing investor confidence in the company plummet in recent months. Shares in Naked Wines have fallen by almost a third over the last year, leaving it with a market capitalisation of less than ￡50m.?The news comes after the business promoted former AB InBev executive Rodrigo Maza to chief executive last month.

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ONES TO WATCH

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Nationwide, Virgin Money directors "unanimously" back ￡2.9bn deal - Directors at Nationwide Building Society and takeover target Virgin Money, said they would "unanimously" recommend the proposed ￡2.9bn deal to independent Virgin Money shareholders.?Under the terms of the deal, each Virgin Money shareholder will receive 220p in cash, comprising 218p per Virgin Money share and a proposed dividend of 2p per share.?The total value represents a 38% premium to Virgin Money's closing price on March 6.?

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Majestic Wine in advanced talks to acquire Vagabond Wines - Vagabond Wines is a wine bar chain that has filed its notice to appoint administrators.?Majestic could agree a deal to purchase Vagabond within days.?Sources close to the talks that Majestic regarded the two businesses as a complementary fit and that the deal would help Majestic to grow its customer base by combining Vagabaond’s product proposition with its own on-trade supply business, ?Majestic Commercial.

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Ofgem fast-tracks Scotland to England ‘electricity superhighway’ with ￡2bn extra funding - The subsea energy project, which could connect up to two million homes with clean energy, will be the beneficiary of a faster funding process that could knock two years off its development timeline.

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Saudi Arabia and Gucci owner reportedly eye up ￡2bn stake in Selfridges - It is reported that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Kering, which is the parent company of Gucci, are considering acquiring a stake in the retailer.?Selfridges’ ownership has become the subject of interest since the collapse of its Austrian co-owner Signa.

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