General retail stocks bounced back this week despite a tumultuous week for the sector.
Shares in Woolworths were suspended on Wednesday as the company was locked in talks over a sale of the retail business to Hilco for a nominal sum and its stake in publishing venture 2 Entertain to the BBC for£100 million.
The first£50 million of any sale of the business has to go to the pension fund and there were grave concerns whether the retail business had sufficient cash to continue. It was widely expected the future of the business could be sealed by the end of the week.
JJB Sports confirmed it has received an approach for its health club chain, with founder David Whelan in the frame. Separately rival JD Sports took a 10 per cent stake in JJB Sports, describing the move as a “strategic investment”.
Buy JJB, said Panmure Gordon, describing the shares as “massively undervalued”. The broker said: “We see a significant share price bounce.”
Signet Jewelers reported third-quarter like-for-likes down 6.6 per cent and a pre-tax loss of $23.6 million (£15.4 million). UK like-for-likes were down 2.4 per cent but this figure deteriorated to 8 per cent in the last three weeks of the quarter.
Fashion retailer Alexon revealed further weak trading, with like-for-likes down 11 per cent in the 17 weeks to November 22. New management “has their work cut out” said Singer Capital Markets.
There were some better signs from French Connection, but it too said performance had weakened in recent weeks.
For the 16 weeks to November 25, UK and European retail like-for-likes were up 1 per cent. However, overall group turnover was slightly down because of a weaker showing by wholesale and North American retail.
“We believe the group’s relatively high average price points will prove to be detrimental to delivering full-price sales,” said KBC Peel Hunt.
AIM-listed Flying Brands confirmed that talks over a possible takeover by Sir Tom Hunter’s West Coast Capital had broken down.
The first£50 million of any sale of the business has to go to the pension fund and there were grave concerns whether the retail business had sufficient cash to continue. It was widely expected the future of the business could be sealed by the end of the week.
JJB Sports confirmed it has received an approach for its health club chain, with founder David Whelan in the frame. Separately rival JD Sports took a 10 per cent stake in JJB Sports, describing the move as a “strategic investment”.
Buy JJB, said Panmure Gordon, describing the shares as “massively undervalued”. The broker said: “We see a significant share price bounce.”
Signet Jewelers reported third-quarter like-for-likes down 6.6 per cent and a pre-tax loss of $23.6 million (£15.4 million). UK like-for-likes were down 2.4 per cent but this figure deteriorated to 8 per cent in the last three weeks of the quarter.
Fashion retailer Alexon revealed further weak trading, with like-for-likes down 11 per cent in the 17 weeks to November 22. New management “has their work cut out” said Singer Capital Markets.
There were some better signs from French Connection, but it too said performance had weakened in recent weeks.
For the 16 weeks to November 25, UK and European retail like-for-likes were up 1 per cent. However, overall group turnover was slightly down because of a weaker showing by wholesale and North American retail.
“We believe the group’s relatively high average price points will prove to be detrimental to delivering full-price sales,” said KBC Peel Hunt.
AIM-listed Flying Brands confirmed that talks over a possible takeover by Sir Tom Hunter’s West Coast Capital had broken down.
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