Jimmy Choo To Float On London Stock Exchange

Luxury shoe brand Jimmy Choo has confirmed its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange.

The company said it was targeting a minimum free float of at least 25% of existing shares in Jimmy Choo.

The proceeds would be used to help fund its growth strategy, including a new store concept, and "expansion into Asia and selected new markets".

The initial public offering (IPO), set to take place next month, could value Jimmy Choo at more than £700m.

Jimmy Choo was bought by JAB Luxury in 2011 - 15 years after its first London store was opened by co-founders Tamara Mellon and designer Jimmy Choo.

Jimmy Choo co-founded the company but left in 2001

The brand - made famous by the character Carrie Bradshaw in TV's Sex And The City - grew to become a "must have" in the luxury market - with annual sales growth running at more than 10%.

It now operates from 120 own-stores worldwide.

Jimmy Choo left the company in 2001 and Tamara Mellon in 2011. Choo's niece, Sandra Choi, is now the company's creative director.

Chief executive Pierre Denis said: "Jimmy Choo is a clear success story with strong momentum and I am confident that our future as a public company can only extend our reputation and position in this attractive sector."

Revenues in the first half of the year grew 9.4% on the same period last year and Jimmy Choo said it had enjoyed an "encouraging start" to its second half.

Jimmy Choo is likely to be one of a number of high profile names joining the stock market in the coming weeks after the removal of uncertainty over the Scottish referendum result.

Motoring breakdown service the RAC is also said to be near to announcing plans to go public, while challenger bank Aldermore and housebuilder Miller have already disclosed their listing plans.

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Climate Protesters Held In Wall Street Sit-In

More than 100 demonstrators calling for action on climate change have been arrested after a sit-in protest in Wall Street.

The activists blocked parts of Broadway in Manhattan's financial district to protest against what they see as corporate and economic institutions' role in the climate crisis.

"I wanted to come specifically to disrupt Wall Street because it's Wall Street that's fuelling this," said protester Ben Shapiro, from Youngstown, Ohio, as he sat by the district's famous bull statue.

The event is part of Climate Week to coincide with a UN climate summit

Shortly after the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, demonstrators tried to push back metal barricades that police had used to keep them away.

Police turned pepper spray on the crowd.

The demonstration, called Flood Wall Street, drew hundreds of protesters

Later a core group of a few dozen activists staged a sit-in steps away from Wall Street.

Demonstrators did not obtain a permit for the rally, police said, and some refused to disperse.

Two protesters dressed as Captain Planet are led away

By nightfall, a total of 102 people, including a person wearing a white polar bear suit, were arrested for disorderly conduct.

On Sunday more than 100,000 people marched through Manhattan in one of many demonstrations around the world urging policymakers to take quick action.

Actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo were among the celebrities in Sunday's march.

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Tesco Profit Error: Could Something Be Amiss?

By Ian King, Business Presenter

Even from a lesser company, three profits warnings inside a year would be startling.

Coming from a blue-chip stalwart like Tesco, it is nothing short of astonishing.

In issuing a profits warning on top of a profits warning, Britain's biggest food retailer almost seems to be taking to an extreme the strategy so commonly seen in its stores, with three for the price of two.

So what exactly has Dave Lewis, the new chief executive, uncovered?

Well, in its own words, Tesco has identified an overstatement of its expected profit for the half-year, principally due to the accelerated recognition of commercial income and delayed accrual of costs.

In other words, the reporting of costs incurred in the first half of the year appears to have been delayed so they are pushed into the second half, while profits enjoyed during the second half of the year appear to have been brought forward into the first half.

Mr Lewis' response indicates there may be more to this mistake

It is unclear what kind of activities generated these profits, but commercial income, with regard to supermarkets, could mean rebates from third-party suppliers or payments from those suppliers to incentivise Tesco to give their goods better positions when they are displayed in its stores.

This latter practice is common place in the supermarket sector and, having worked previously at Unilever, Mr Lewis will be familiar with it.

The overall effect of these two actions will have been to pretty-up Tesco's first-half numbers.

Cynics will suggest Mr Lewis has every reason to restate the numbers lower - after all, the period, the six months to August 23, was when his predecessor, Philip Clarke, was at the helm.

Some would say it is in Mr Lewis' interests to ensure that period is painted in as bad a light as possible in order to make any subsequent turnaround under him look better.

Tesco shares have fallen over 40% in the last year

It's known as "kitchen sinking" in the City - where every possible bad bit of news, including the proverbial kitchen sink, is thrown into the accounts to make them look bad.

But the sheer size of this overstatement, £250m, would suggest this is a bit more serious.

So is Mr Lewis' response: the suspension of four of Tesco's UK executives, his recruitment of the top City lawyers Freshfields to investigate and his hiring of outside auditors from Deloitte - Tesco's regular auditor is PwC - to examine what has happened.

At this time, there is no suggestion that anything illegal has been happening. After all, all businesses occasionally recognise revenues early or take their time to recognise costs in the accounts.

Yet the sheer aggression of the accounting policy in this instance and Mr Lewis' response to discovering it rather suggests he thinks something may be amiss.

And, with plenty of American investors - who tend to be more litigious than their European counterparts - on Tesco's shareholder base,  he is doing the prudent thing in checking this out as thoroughly as possible.

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Phones 4U: 1,700 Jobs And 362 Stores To Go

Carphone Presses On With Phones 4U Repair Job

Updated: 11:01pm UK, Monday 22 September 2014

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The owner of Carphone Warehouse is to press ahead on Tuesday with an attempt to salvage hundreds of jobs at Phones 4U despite administrators' move to axe more than 360 stores.

Sky News has learnt that Dixons Carphone plans to make a statement on Tuesday that it remains interested in acquiring between 50 and 100 shops from the ailing mobile phone retailer's estate.

Dixons Carphone is finalising a list of the stores which it is interested in acquiring, and intends to negotiate directly with the properties' landlords once they have been closed down.

It will also invite Phones 4U staff from the corresponding shops to apply directly to it for jobs if it is successful in taking them over.

Sources close to the administrator said that Dixons Carphone had made a cash offer on Monday to buy 27 Phones 4U shops on commercial terms understood to be similar to those secured by EE and Vodafone in transactions which will keep open almost 200 stores.

However, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which is handling the chain's administration, is said to have decided not to pursue Dixons Carphone's proposal.

In a statement, PwC said there was "limited interest in the balance of the estate from parties considering going concern offers. This comprises 362 stores. Regretfully, as a result, the administrators announce that those stores will close permanently and 1697 staff employed at these locations will be made redundant."

Dixons Carphone's intention to pursue negotiations directly with landlords could offer a glimmer of hope to hundreds of Phones 4U employees, although one insider suggested its interest was llikely to be in closer to 50 than 100 stores.

Well over 1500 Phones 4U staff are already thought to have applied for roles at Carphone Warehouse outlets.

Phones 4U was forced into administration last week when EE notified the company that it was terminating a distribution agreement which expires next year.

That decision left the chain without a network partner following Vodafone's withdrawal, sparking a public dispute between Phones 4U's owner – the private equity group BC Partners – and the network operators.

Sky News revealed last week that Vodafone and EE had held talks in recent months about a joint takeover of Phones 4U but that the negotiations had stalled over competition issues.

The networks have denied attempting to profiteer from the retailer's collapse, despite accusations from John Caudwell, Phones 4U's founder, that they had behaved "ruthlessly".

Documents seen by Sky News show that on July 8, while discussions were taking place about extending Vodafone's distribution contract with Phones 4u, the mobile network's UK executives made a presentation to group colleagues entitled "Phones 4u - Partner of Choice".

Several weeks later, Vodafone notified Phones 4u that it would not be renewing their agreement, while no further talks about a takeover of the company were held.

Dixons Carphone declined to comment on Monday night.

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Many Rail Passengers Unhappy With Delay Info

Just one in three rail passengers say they are satisfied with the way train companies deal with delays and cancellations, according to a customer survey.

A total of 34% of those questioned said the disruption had been handled either very or fairly well, with another 36% saying neither well nor badly and 29% either fairly or very poorly.

Passengers complained Twitter provided better information than station staff and only 17% were aware of disruptions before arriving at their station.

Passengers said they needed delay information as quickly as possible

The survey by Passenger Focus revealed passengers wanted honest, reliable and up-to-the-minute information that painted a realistic picture of problems as they unfolded.

Passenger Focus chief executive Anthony Smith said: "Despite improvements, it is clear that many passengers are still dissatisfied with the way the rail industry deals with delays.

"Passengers need information as quickly as possible - ideally before leaving home. Only 17% knew about the disruption before arriving at the station.

"For instance, a fallen tree across a railway is just that, not an 'obstruction'. Passengers told the full reasons for the delay are likely to be less frustrated than those who are not.

Train operators said they had worked hard to make improvements

"Passengers now receive information from a range of sources, so train companies must ensure that staff at stations and on trains are ahead of the information game."

The survey findings were based on responses from 1,020 passengers who had experienced a delay in the previous seven days.

One customer said: "I'd have liked an announcement from a human, rather than numbers on a board."

Another said: "Just the facts - the live departure information is often just a joke. Why cannot Southeastern be honest and just say 'no trains' rather than raising hopes?"

Passenger Focus accepted the tone of announcements needed to signal the train company was "on the passengers' side" and could be as important as the content of the messages.

A fallen tree should not be described as an 'obstrution' said the survey

Michael Roberts, director general of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents Network Rail and rail operators, said rail companies had worked hard to make improvements.

"Passengers are at the heart of what we do and we know they want the industry to provide them with clear, accurate and timely information so they can make informed journey choices," he said.

"That is why we have worked hard to make improvements and are already committed to implementing many of the report's key recommendations.

"The industry will shortly produce a revised plan that includes more prominent service information on websites, earlier notification of any changes to the following day's timetable and measures to boost awareness of how to claim compensation for delayed journeys."

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Mothercare To Raise £100m For UK Revival

Mothercare is planning to close more UK stores as it steps up efforts to bring the business into the digital age.

The loss-making retailer of clothes and other goods for parents and young children said it was to fund the revamp through a £100m rights issue which would also reduce its debt burden.

Its new boss, Mark Newton-Jones, took over earlier this year as Mothercare's attempts to fight off strong competition, particularly online, faltered under Simon Calver who quit in February.

Mr Newton-Jones said it was his aim to create a digitally-led business, supported by a modern store estate.

The company, which also owns the Early Learning Centre brand, is to reduce its core UK estate of 110 out-of-town stores and 50 in-town sites by another 60 stores - though up to 20 new stores would open in better sites.

It had already closed more than 153 loss-making stores under Mr Calver but the UK business continued to make a loss - totalling £26.3m in its last financial year.

Although its 1,500 international franchise partners helped offset the problems.

Mothercare said a refit programme would introduce digital screens, video walls, iPads, customer Wi-Fi and click and collect enhancements.

Mr Newton-Jones said: "Our ambition is for Mothercare to become the leading global retailer for parents and young children.

"The support of our shareholders will allow us to deliver on this ambition."

Its share price fell sharply on Tuesday following news of the rights issue.

At its height, Mothercare was almost a £1bn firm but value has eroded to below £200m.

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Tesco Finance Chief 'Absent For Five Months'

Tesco Profit Error: Could Something Be Amiss?

Updated: 9:35am UK, Tuesday 23 September 2014

By Ian King, Business Presenter

Even from a lesser company, three profits warnings inside a year would be startling.

Coming from a blue-chip stalwart like Tesco, it is nothing short of astonishing.

In issuing a profits warning on top of a profits warning, Britain's biggest food retailer almost seems to be taking to an extreme the strategy so commonly seen in its stores, with three for the price of two.

So what exactly has Dave Lewis, the new chief executive, uncovered?

Well, in its own words, Tesco has identified an overstatement of its expected profit for the half-year, principally due to the accelerated recognition of commercial income and delayed accrual of costs.

In other words, the reporting of costs incurred in the first half of the year appears to have been delayed so they are pushed into the second half, while profits enjoyed during the second half of the year appear to have been brought forward into the first half.

It is unclear what kind of activities generated these profits, but commercial income, with regard to supermarkets, could mean rebates from third-party suppliers or payments from those suppliers to incentivise Tesco to give their goods better positions when they are displayed in its stores.

This latter practice is common place in the supermarket sector and, having worked previously at Unilever, Mr Lewis will be familiar with it.

The overall effect of these two actions will have been to pretty-up Tesco's first-half numbers.

Cynics will suggest Mr Lewis has every reason to restate the numbers lower - after all, the period, the six months to August 23, was when his predecessor, Philip Clarke, was at the helm.

Some would say it is in Mr Lewis' interests to ensure that period is painted in as bad a light as possible in order to make any subsequent turnaround under him look better.

It's known as "kitchen sinking" in the City - where every possible bad bit of news, including the proverbial kitchen sink, is thrown into the accounts to make them look bad.

But the sheer size of this overstatement, £250m, would suggest this is a bit more serious.

So is Mr Lewis' response: the suspension of four of Tesco's UK executives, his recruitment of the top City lawyers Freshfields to investigate and his hiring of outside auditors from Deloitte - Tesco's regular auditor is PwC - to examine what has happened.

At this time, there is no suggestion that anything illegal has been happening. After all, all businesses occasionally recognise revenues early or take their time to recognise costs in the accounts.

Yet the sheer aggression of the accounting policy in this instance and Mr Lewis' response to discovering it rather suggests he thinks something may be amiss.

And, with plenty of American investors - who tend to be more litigious than their European counterparts - on Tesco's shareholder base,  he is doing the prudent thing in checking this out as thoroughly as possible.

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New iPhone Selling For Thousands In China

Apple iPhone 6 UK Launch Was 'PR Masterclass'

Updated: 9:59pm UK, Friday 19 September 2014

By Richard Suchet, Sky Reporter

I have an iPhone 5. The one without fingerprint recognition. I can't remember if that's the 5c or the 5s.

The camera has enough pixels but I couldn't possibly tell you how many. I don't know how much memory it has and my fingers are too fat to send coherent text messages.

It's white and, for a reason I just can't understand, it always wants to play 'Regulate' by Warren G when I turn it on its side.

My relationship with my mobile phone is akin to my relationship with the waste disposal unit built into my kitchen sink.

When it breaks, it's inconvenient and I get very angry - other than that my emotional attachment is nil.

And that's why I was so struck by the scenes outside the Apple store in London's Covent Garden this morning, where the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus went on sale at 8am.

I arrived at 7am to find over 1,000 people queuing round the famous piazza.

Sam Sheikh, 27, had been there since Saturday.

He said: "Last year I queued for a few days for the iPhone 5 and because of a stock shortage I was unable to get that phone.

"So I promised to myself that this year I will be the first person to get the new phone, no matter how many days it will take."

His friend, Jameel Hamed, 26, had been there for three days: "Just seeing the new iPhone in my hand will have made it worth waiting here for days," he said.

"I'm especially excited by the size of the screen. It's 5.5 [inches]. I was waiting for the big screen on iPhone. I'm especially excited for this. And the battery."

At 8am sharp, Apple staff gathered at the front door of the shop. As the doors opened, they cheered and clapped.

Then the big countdown. 10! 9! 8! 7! - the excitement and tension is carved into the faces of Sam and Jameel.

6! 5! 4!... the crowd join in and the countdown echoes through Covent Garden. Those within earshot know that the 9th and 10th instalments of a plastic handset are about to go on sale.

3! 2! 1!... Sam and Jameel are led into the shop... the staff are celebrating with disconcerting enthusiasm and camera flashes illuminate the grey morning. 

This was a PR masterclass - a press pen, an army of security guards, fanfare.

Apple even brought in their own TV crew, who filmed the action with such vigour that for a moment I thought I'd been cast in the Bourne Ultimatum.

But for all the manufactured hype, there is something quite remarkable about the Apple brand.

How many other companies can claim to have such loyal and passionate customers?

The iPhone 6 Plus costs between £619 and £789 - hardly bargain basement prices - and yet, as Jameel left the store holding his new device aloft, he declared: "I feel on top of the world."

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Tesco Profit Error: New Finance Boss Rushed In

Tesco has managed to secure the services of its new chief financial officer more than two months early - a day after revealing a £250m profits error.

Alan Stewart had in July quit the same role at Marks & Spencer to join Tesco but was forced to take a period of so-called 'gardening leave'.

The supermarket chain said today that he would start work on Tuesday, rather than the previously announced date of December 1.

Tesco wanted to get Stewart early after revealing on Monday an accounting issue that had led it to overstate its first half profit forecast by £250m.

Alan Stewart joins Tesco today from M&S

It was later revealed that four executives in its UK business had been suspended as an inquiry examines the way rebates paid by suppliers were treated and whether they were reported in the right time period.

Its shares lost 12% of their value on the FTSE 100 in the hours after the announcements and the decline continued on Tuesday.

Tesco has been without a finance chief since Laurie McIlwee officially left the business earlier this month though Sky News learned today he had not been at its HQ since April - raising further the pressure on chairman Sir Richard Broadbent.

The supermarket's new chief executive, Dave Lewis, only started in the job at the beginning of September following the sacking of Philip Clarke on the eve of his 40th anniversary at the retailer.

A spokesman for M&S said the firm released Stewart after a personal appeal from Lewis to M&S chief executive Marc Bolland.

"It was a request from Dave to Marc ... We felt it was the right thing to do," he said, adding that Tesco did not pay any compensation for Stewart's early release.

The development emerged as new industry figures showed the extent of the challenge facing Tesco on the shop floor.

Waitrose is snapping at the heels of Tesco's wealthier customers

Kantar Worldpanel reported that while the chain's market share remained unchanged at 28.8% in the 12 weeks to September 14, its sales were down 4.5%.

Of the so-called 'Big Four', only Asda appeared to be holding off the challenge from the hard discounters at the bottom of the market and Waitrose at the top.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: "Consumers are currently benefiting from intense price competition between the grocers.

"For the first time ever we've seen the average basket of everyday goods bought today costing exactly the same as it did a year ago. 

"Some staple groceries such as vegetables, milk and bread prices are actually falling as the big retailers all compete for a bigger slice of shoppers' wallets.

"Aldi has continued its run of double-digit growth, which now stretches back to February 2011, by recording a sales increase of 29.1% compared with last year.

"Similarly, Lidl has increased sales by 17.7%, showing that shoppers still have a strong appetite for the discount stores.

"At the other end of the market Waitrose has grown its sales faster than in previous months, up 4.5%, which has brought its market share back up to 5.1%".

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Greene King May Mix With Spirit In Tie-Up

The brewer and pub operator Greene King has said it is in talks with rival Spirit Pub Company about a "potential combination".

Greene King, the UK's largest pub retailer and brewer with 2,000 pubs, restaurants and hotels, confirmed the news in a statement to the stock exchange following a report in the Financial Times, which put a value on a potential deal at £700m.

The company, whose brands include Hungry Horse, Old English Inns and Loch Fyne, said it approached Spirit, whose 750 pubs include the Chef & Brewer and Taylor Walker names.

The statement by Greene King added that a further announcement would be made in due course.

The FT had reported that Spirit had rejected an early takeover offer and had since raised it to 110p per share.

Shares in both companies rose in the wake of the announcement - with Spirit's almost 20% higher.

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