Rolls-Royce faces fresh engine problems as Singapore Airlines grounds planes. Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) could be flying into more turbulence after Singapore Airlines grounded two Boeing 787 airliners because their engines were wearing out faster than expected. The new airliners are fitted with Rolls’ Trent 1000 TEN engine, the latest version of the Trent 1000, which has suffered a series of problems since coming into service in 2011. Inspections of the Singapore Airlines’ jets revealed that blades in the high-pressure turbines were wearing out. The aircraft have been taken out of service for repairs. Rolls said that it had warned airlines using the Trent 1000 TEN that the high-pressure turbine blades would have a “limited life cycle”.
Superdry co-founder Julian Dunkerton scores wafer-thin victory in board battle. Julian Dunkerton has scored a stunning victory in his battle to return to Superdry (SDRY), the fashion retailer he co-founded, at an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday. He won 51.15% of the votes cast to re-elect him as a director, with 48.85% against, while Boohoo chairman Peter Williams was also elected to the board by the same margin. Shares in Superdry initially jumped 5% after the result of the proxy vote was released late on Tuesday morning before going into reverse to be down 5%. Mr Dunkerton, who holds an 18% stake in Superdry, was backed by his co-founder James Holder, who has a 10% holding.
Sainsbury’s sales slump worsens as Asda nabs second place. The sales slide at Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) has worsened, allowing takeover target Asda to leapfrog it as the country’s second-biggest grocer. Sales at Sainsbury’s fell 1.8% in the three months to March, cutting its market share to 15.3%, according to closely watched figures from research firm Kantar. By contrast, sales rose by just 0.1% at Asda, but that was enough to give it a 15.4% market share. This marked two years of continuous growth at the Walmart-owned retailer, Kantar said. Its numbers are based on total till roll and include sales of non-food goods at Sainsbury’s and Asda, such as their clothing ranges, but not sales at Argos, which Sainsbury’s bought in 2016.
Bonmarché staff brace for job losses as Philip Day launches cut-price takeover. Bonmarche Holdings (BON) landlords and 1,900 employees have been put on notice after retail tycoon Philip Day launched a shock cut-price takeover bid for the beleagured fashion chain. Mr Day, who owns Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Peacocks and Jane Norman, is offering shareholders just 11.5p a share, a 36% discount to Monday’s closing price, after he swooped on a 52.4% stake in Bonmarché having struck a deal with its former private equity owners. Mr Day’s offer values Bonmarché at just £5.7m, lower than its £6.6m current trading price and a steep fall from the £100m it was worth when it floated in 2013.
Shell cuts ties with anti-climate change lobby groups. Royal Dutch Shell ‘B’ (RDSB) is severing its ties with major US oil lobbyists because of their opposition to tackling climate change. Shell will stop being a member of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) from next year after the lobby group attacked plans to tax greenhouse gas emissions. The energy giant is also planning to distance itself from another nine lobby groups that hold policies out of line with Shell’s pledge to help meet the Paris climate goals. The company warned it will publicly distance itself from specific policies held by their trade groups where they differ from the Shell view, and was “prepared to walk away” from groups that have materially different climate policies.
Workspace boss departs for ‘personal reasons’. Workspace Group (WKP) is on the hunt for a new chief executive after Jamie Hopkins decided to step down for “personal reasons” after seven years running the flexible office provider. He will leave at end of May, when chief financial officer Graham Clemett will step up until a permanent successor is appointed. Workspace has grown rapidly over the past five years due to booming demand for flexible office leases, particularly in London, where all of its 65 buildings are located. It faces stiff competition from US-owned WeWork, one of the world’s most valuable privately owned companies.
MPs ‘very likely’ to launch RBS cash pot probe. MPs are said to be preparing to launch an investigation into the way smaller lenders were awarded portions of the £775m Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) cash pile earlier this year. The awards come from the RBS Remedies fund, a cash pile carved out of the bank in exchange for its bailout during the financial crisis and its failure to spin off its subsidiary Williams & Glyn. The giveaway is aimed at creating more banking options for the UK’s small businesses, which are reliant on banking giants Barclays, Lloyds, RBS and HSBC for most of their services.
Julian Dunkerton vows rapid improvement at Superdry (SDRY) as battle ends with crunch vote. Julian Dunkerton has vowed to get Superdry back on track in just three to four months if he succeeds in his bid to win back a seat on the board of the company he co-founded. Shareholders will take part in a crunch vote on Tuesday that will finally end a long-running power struggle between Mr Dunkerton and Superdry’s management team, led by chief executive Euan Sutherland. The vote is expected to be tight and will determine whether Mr Dunkerton, who stepped down as brand director of Superdry just over a year ago, will achieve his months-long battle to rejoin the struggling fashion brand and regain control of its design process.
Schroders moves to block Mike Ashley’s takeover of . Mike Ashley’s £140m attempted takeover of Findel faces a fresh hurdle after the retailer’s second-biggest shareholder rejected the billionaire’s offer. Powerful fund manager Schroders wrote to Findel’s board saying it backed the company’s existing management and considered the Sports Direct founder’s bid as “significantly undervaluing” the business. Schroders, which has an 18.85% stake in the online seller of clothing, greeting cards, gifts and homeware to “value-conscious” consumers, added that Mr Ashley’s 161p-a-share offer did not recognise Findel’s “future prospects”.
Marketing recovery pushes WPP up. WPP (WPP) extended its winning streak to a fourth day on hopes of consumer goods giants splashing out on marketing budgets after years of belt-tightening. City scribblers at Deutsche Bank predicted that advertising and promotional spend among the top global advertisers will stabilise and could even accelerate in 2019. WPP and the ad sector have been squeezed by consumer goods giants reining in spending in the hunt for stronger margins. Deutsche analyst Chris Collett argued that recent industry comments in the US suggest that spending growth at top advertisers could climb after three straight years of decline.
Questor: British Land Company (BLND) looks cheap indeed on a 37% discount to the value of its assets. Hold. Questor share tip: a possible bid for one of British Land’s rivals suggests that real estate investment trusts are unloved and undervalued
