News roundup--Marks and Spencer, Travis Perkins, more

Marks & Spencer’s director of new channels Susan Aubrey-Cound has quit the business, reports the Independent. The newspaper notes this is the second senior director to leave the business in as many weeks.  In other M&S news, the retailer has launched its outlet section online, selling  womenswear, lingerie, menswear and childrenswear at up to 40 off the regular price. M&S Outlet launched in November 2000, but to date has only been available in 50 dedicated M&S Outlet stores.

Furniture retailer Made.com secured £6 million in series B funding led by Level Equity and joined by PROfounders Capital, a London-based venture capital firm in which Made.com chairman Brent Hoberman is a partner.

Builders merchant Travis Perkins has been approached by the Office of Fair Trading regarding its acquisition of Toolstation in January. Travis Perkins says it was “surprised” by the contact, but is cooperating with the inquiry. The company today reported that pretax profit grew 37 percent to £297 million in the year ending December 2011. Travis Perkins also delivered a revenue growth of 52 percent to £4.78 billion, but saw sales in its Wickes business decline due to “poor consumer confidence and lower levels on disposable income”. Further, investment in store expansion and reorganisation costs at Wickes outweighed the benefits of an improved gross margin, according to a Travis Perkins company statement.

Supermarket Sainsbury’s has investment £2 million in Tamar Energy Ltd, a new company focused on producing energy from organic waste matter. Other investors in the group include RIT Capital plc, Fajr Capital, the Duchy of Cornwall, Lord Rothschild's Family Interests, Sustainable Technology Investments, Low Carbon Ltd, the management team of Tamar Energy and other private investors.