AMANCIO ORTEGA: Once again one of the world’s 10 richest people
Credit: FB Sr Amancio Ortega Premio Princesa de Asturias
Back in the Top 10 Amancio Ortega is once again one of the world’s 10 richest people.
The Inditex founder, and principal shareholder, was ranked 10th on August 28 when he was worth €110.25 billion.
Nor was this Ortega’s first time amongst the world’s super-billionaires, as his €72.33 billion fortune put him in ahead of Bill Gates as the world’s richest man in October 2015 some hours.
He returned briefly in September 2016 and August 2017, before being overtaken by Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Bernard Arnault.
Rafa goes into property Tennis ace Rafael Nadal and Abel Matutes Prats, chairman of the Palladium hotel group, are joining forces on two Costa del Sol developments.
Their company, Palya Invest, is spending more than €200 million on buying land and constructing 100 villas and apartments in Marbella and Estepona.
Matutes, son of businessman and former minister Abel Matutes Juan, said construction was due to begin in Estepona by the end of this year with properties ready by 2027. The Marbella project would be completed in 2028, he added.
Surplus to requirements Unilever, which owns products as diverse as Marmite and Lynx, is considering the sale of its Kate Somerville skincare and REN brands.
City sources quoted by Sky News said that Unilever has engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers to sound out potential buyers without specifying the sums involved.
This latest move follows Unilever’s announcement last March that it intended to demerge its ice-cream division which includes Wall’s, Magnum, Ben & Jerry’s and Carte d’Or.
Looking to float again Tendam, whose labels include Corte Fiel and Woman’s Secret, posted revenues of €550.2 million during the first five months of its financial year.
That was 6.4 per cent more than during the same period in 2023 and by the end of the company’s half-year which ended on August 31, Tendam calculated that this should have risen to between 6.7 and 6.9 per cent.
The company dropped plans for a €2.5 billion listing on Spain’s stock exchange in late spring and is now said to be considering a flotation this autumn or before February 28, the close of its financial year.
Better Beckham sales After a difficult 2022, Victoria Beckham Ltd’s sales rose by 52 per cent to £89 million (€105.59 million) in 2023.
As a result, 2022’s losses of £900,000 (€1.07 million) were slimmed down last year to £200,000 (€237,255).
Sales growth was initially assisted by a brand revamp in 2017 following a £30 million (€35.59 million) investment from private equity group NEO while both NEO and Beckham’s footballer husband helped to keep the business afloat in 2022 with a £6.9 million injection.
No phishing allowed Who hasn’t received a “phishing” text message, ostensibly from the Corte Ingles, Correos or a Spanish high street bank?
Victims learn they are the lucky recipients of special offer, asked to pick up a parcel or told to contact their bank with the sole aim of providing scammers with their personal details.
The Change.org initiative wants to set up a web page, supervised by Spain’s National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) and linked to the telephone companies, where members of the public can report the umber responsible for the fake announcement.
After a certain number of calls, the offending number would be blocked and then passed on to the police.