News roundup--Mountain Warehouse, Freemans Grattan, more

LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds, has bought a 20 percent stake in outdoor retailer Mountain Warehouse. The deal will see Mountain Warehouse accelerate its retail portfolio from 110 stores to more than 200 by 2014. For the year to 28th February, Mountain Warehouse saw pretax profits rise 38 percent to £7.67 million, according to an article in the Independent. The deal values Mountain Warehouse at more than £50 million.

DSG international, the electrical retailer and parent company of Dixons, Currys and PC World, reports that total group sales for the 12 weeks ended 24th July 2010 rose 3 percent, and like-for-likes were also up 3 percent. As expected, DSG attributed the rise to strong sales of TVs in the lead up to the football World Cup as well as exclusivity of the Apple iPad. Total online sales were up 12 percent during the period, driven by multichannel ordering and the Reserve & Collect service.

Freemans Grattan Holdings is in a “profit situation” confirmed chief executive Koert Tulleners. In a statement about the company’s losses for the year 2009-10, Tulleners told Catalogue e-business “we are not dwelling on the past”. He added that the business will now concentrate on growth in 2011 and beyond and that it has “many new propositions in the pipeline”.

From 1st March next year, the Advertising Standards Authority’s remit will extend to social media. This will mean that companies using social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook will be subject to the same rules relating to misleading advertising, social responsibility and the protection of children as advertisers in other media. The ASA will have the ability to demand the removal of paid-for ads as well as the ability to place its own online ads highlighting an advertiser's continued noncompliance.