BUSINESS LIVE: Abrdn doubles share buybacks as assets fall

Trendy retailer AllSaints posted record sales and profits as shoppers brushed off the cost-of-living crisis to splurge on biker jackets and boots.

The company, which is owned by private equity giant Lion Capital, saw profits jump 50 percent to £58.6 million in the year to the end of January.

Customers have continued to buy more expensive items such as a signature leather jacket retailing for around £319 that has been worn by celebrities including singer Nicole Scherzinger.

Holiday Inn owner IHG has posted a 17 percent increase in global hotel room revenue in the second quarter, helped by higher room rates and an uptick in China.

IHG’s global revenue per available room (RevPAR), a key industry performance indicator, was also 9.9 percent in the three months ended June 30 compared to 2019 levels.

The profit of office lessor IWG increased in the first half of the year thanks to strong demand for flexible work products and higher prices.

Office renters are slowly recovering from the lows of the pandemic as employers opt for a permanent hybrid work model, requiring employees to be in the office for a certain number of days per week or month.

The London-listed owner of the Spaces and Regus brands said adjusted core profit from continuing operations for the six months ended June 30 was up 48 percent on a constant currency basis to £198 million.

“We continue to grow as expected and produce a record period for IWG with our highest revenue ever in our 30+ year history, up 14% from the first half of 2022. Importantly, we achieved this alongside increasing EBITDA and cash flow generation, which reduces net debt.

“We did this through a combination of increased demand for flexible work products, improved pricing and cost discipline and I look forward to continuing this momentum in the second half of 2023 and into 2024.

“In the first half of the year, we accelerated our capital-light growth strategy, allowing us to capitalize on the growing pipeline of real estate investors looking to maximize their returns by partnering with IWG – in fact, we signed nearly as many agreements in the first half as of 2023 as we have done throughout 2022.

“We remain well positioned to deliver continued revenue, profitable growth and deleveraging as more companies embrace permanent hybrid working as their model of choice, with IWG being the largest beneficiary.”

Rents must be reduced and investment must be made in Oxford Street to prevent it from becoming a plague of tacky sweet shops, industry leaders warn.

It comes days after harrowing images revealed the shocking magnitude of Oxford Street’s homelessness crisis, with large numbers of people lying on makeshift mattresses.

While still regarded as Britain’s premier shopping destination, the shift to online shopping and the impact of the pandemic have left the street a shell of its former self.

Abrdn has doubled a planned share buyback program to £300m, despite the fund manager’s assets under management falling by £4bn in the first half as market turmoil and economic uncertainty took their toll.

AUM fell to £496 billion in the six months to June 30, compared to £500 billion at the end of December.

“We kept pace to execute our strategy in the first six months of 2023 in a challenging macro environment.

“Thanks to abrdn’s revenue diversification and the resilience we built into our business with the acquisition of interactive investor last year, we increased revenue by 4% and adjusted operating profit by 10% over the period.

“We are on track to meet our cost savings target of £75m in Investments as we continue our work to restore that business to more acceptable levels of profitability.”