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 UNITED KINGDOM FRANCHISE NEWS ARCHIVE
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: : May/Jun 2003
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Hamleys views rival offers. The bidding war for the
Hamleys toy shop chain has gathered pace following news that the store's
directors have withdrawn their backing for an original takeover. ....
[more]
30 Jun, 2003
Body Shop is bruised by tourism slump. Green cosmetics
retailer The Body Shop yesterday revealed a big slump in underlying
sales at its core UK business. .... [more]
27 Jun, 2003
Bidding war breaks out for Hamleys. The founder of
Waterstone's bookstores, Tim Waterstone, has launched a bid for Hamleys,
the world famous toy retailer. .... [more]
27 Jun, 2003
M&S staff face pay cuts. Staff at Marks and Spencer,
once seen as one of the most generous employers, are furious to discover
that their pay packets are likely to be getting smaller. .... [more]
25 Jun, 2003
Small firms 'at risk' from new law. Small firms are
losing out to unfair competition from local authorities, according
to a body representing small businesses in the UK. .... [more]
24 Jun, 2003
Hamleys keeps door open to Waterstone bid. The toy retailer
Hamleys reiterated its support for a management buyout yesterday but
held the door open to a higher offer from the bookselling entrepreneur
Tim Waterstone. .... [more]
24 Jun, 2003
Fidelity may reject £278m offer for PizzaExpress. The
biggest shareholder in PizzaExpress is considering not accepting the
terms of the £278m takeover offer for the struggling restaurant group
over concerns that the price does not reflect the long-term value
of the business. .... [more]
24 Jun, 2003
The safe route to starting a business has its downside.
Franchising allows individuals a potentially safer route to start
a business but this is tempered by the reduced profitability. ....
[more]
23 Jun, 2003
Toy story, part two: Tim Waterstone mulls counter-bid for Hamleys.
Tim Waterstone, the entrepreneur behind the Waterstone's book chain
and the children's retailer Daisy & Tom, said yesterday that he might
submit a formal bid for Hamleys. .... [more]
21 Jun, 2003
Surprise fall in UK retail sales. The UK's High Street
shops had a disappointing time last month, according to the latest
set of official figures. .... [more]
19 Jun, 2003
Sex toys chain wins legal fight. Ann Summers, the sex
toys and lingerie chain, has won its legal fight against a ban on
advertising for workers in job centres. .... [more]
18 Jun, 2003
Hamleys agrees £47m takeover. World famous toy retailer
Hamleys has been bought by its management team with the help of the
Icelandic company Baugur. .... [more]
17 Jun, 2003
Doorstep mail deliveries help Express Dairies return to profit.
Express Dairies, which was awarded a Postcomm mail delivery licence
in April, yesterday said it is already delivering 100,000 items a
week and has deals to deliver books, CDs, contact lenses and catalogues.
.... [more]
17 Jun, 2003
Franchising: It's hard to find good staff these days.
Growth in franchising is still being held back by the shortage of
the right people to operate the outlets. It has been a problem for
some years and it is getting no easier. .... [more]
16 Jun, 2003
Body Shop founder honoured. The Body Shop founder Anita
Roddick has been made a dame in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.
.... [more]
16 Jun, 2003
Asda's Kate snubs Marks & Spencer. Marks & Spencer has
suffered a major rebuff in its attempts to find a new chief for its
children's clothing division, eight months after the departure of
Michele Jobling. .... [more]
15 Jun, 2003
£7.2m bonanza for M&S chiefs. Marks & Spencer executives
shared in £7.2m pay and perks last year. Most went to chairman Luc
Vandevelde, chief executive Roger Holmes and the latest man charged
with pepping up the brand, Vittorio Radice. .... [more]
13 Jun, 2003
Recognition Express named top UK franchise. Badge making
franchise Recognition Express was unveiled as this year's Franchisor
of the Year at a lavish awards ceremony in central London last week.
.... [more]
11 Jun, 2003
INTEREST - UK 'not yet ready for the euro'. Key economic
tests for ditching the pound and joining the euro have not yet been
met, Chancellor Gordon Brown has told MPs. .... [more]
9 Jun, 2003
Icelanders back bid for Hamleys. A bid battle for the
200-year-old Hamleys toy business loomed last night after it emerged
that the Icelandic retail investment group Baugur has agreed to finance
a management buyout. .... [more]
5 Jun, 2003
Ready to take on the big boys. Jack Kyrris is sure he
hasn't bitten off more than he can chew. The Notts entrepreneur is
suing fast food chain Burger King for a "minimum" of £42 million.
.... [more]
2 Jun, 2003
Pendragon drives up profits hopes. Pendragon, the UK's
largest car dealership group, says strong trading means profits for
the full year are likely to be ahead of market hopes. .... [more]
2 Jun, 2003
Blair ready to fight for euro. Prime Minister Tony Blair
says it is important for Britain to join Europe's single currency
and that he is ready to battle sceptical public opinion. .... [more]
1 Jun, 2003
Bhs chief makes offer to buy Harrods. Philip Green,
the maverick retail entrepreneur who owns Top Shop and the Bhs department
store chain, has offered to buy Harrods, the Knightsbridge store,
from Mohamed Al Fayed. .... [more]
29 May, 2003
Mothercare falls into the red. The High Street retailer
Mothercare has made bigger-than-expected losses, cancelled its dividend
and warned that its recovery programme will take longer that first
thought. .... [more]
22 May, 2003
M&S unveils expansion into home store market. Marks
& Spencer yesterday unveiled details of its new chain of homeware
outlets, promising stores focused on "concept worlds" rather than
traditional furnishing departments. .... [more]
21 May, 2003
Thorntons' profits melt away. Hot, sunny weather and
chocolate do not mix - as confectionery manufacturer and retailer
Thorntons found to its cost in the run-up to Easter. .... [more]
21 May, 2003
Barter exchange system takes businesses back to the future.
The newest idea in the world of franchising is one of the oldest forms
of trade, predating even the invention of money itself. .... [more]
20 May, 2003
Knowledge that can be taken on trust. In buying a business
format franchise, you are buying the right to run a system that somebody
else has proved will work. .... [more]
20 May, 2003
Safeway to press Green over bid plans. Safeway, the
supermarket retailer at the heart of a protracted £3bn five-way takeover
battle, is to meet Philip Green on Thursday, to ascertain if the entrepreneur
is serious about mounting a bid. .... [more]
20 May, 2003
M&S to unveil loyalty credit card. Marks & Spencer will
join the ranks of the credit card giants this week when it unveils
details of its nationwide loyalty scheme. .... [more]
18 May, 2003
Mothercare slips back. Mothercare, the babywear retailer
which has enjoyed a rally of sorts since February, has been falling
in recent days. .... [more]
17 May, 2003
INTEREST - UK's euro decision day named. The announcement
on whether the UK should join the euro will be made in the House of
Commons on 9 June, Downing Street has said. .... [more]
15 May, 2003
INTEREST - Pro-euro bosses press Blair. Pro-euro bosses
are urging Tony Blair not to rule out joining the single currency
before the next election. .... [more]
12 May, 2003
A coffee coup for Whitbread. The John Lewis Partnership
has clinched a deal with Whitbread to put Costa coffee shops into
Waitrose supermarkets. .... [more]
11 May, 2003
INTEREST - Brown denies sidelining euro. Chancellor
Gordon Brown has attempted to reassure euro supporters he would support
Britain's membership of the single currency under the right economic
circumstances. .... [more]
11 May, 2003
Ex Pizza Express owner drops bid. The former owner of
Pizza Express has pulled out of the battle to take over the business.
.... [more]
9 May, 2003
Laura Ashley becomes fashion victim. The beleaguered
high street fashion retailer Laura Ashley today announced the resignation
of its chief executive as it reported a full-year loss and cancelled
its annual dividend. .... [more]
8 May, 2003
Australian's UK inns a boon to the backpacker. Antipodean
backpackers fed up with spending their European peregrinations at
basic youth hostels or fleainfested B&Bs will soon be able to stay
at designer budget inns built especially to cater for their needs.
.... [more]
8 May, 2003
Firms set to join M&S tax challenge. Marks & Spencer's
court challenge to the Inland Revenue is reportedly to be joined by
up to 45 businesses to recoup up to £1bn of tax. .... [more]
4 May, 2003
Green told: Show your hand. Safeway has called on retail
king Philip Green to make clear whether he intends to launch a bid
for the company. .... [more]
4 May, 2003
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