UK service sector slows to weakest growth for six months August 3, 2023 The UK’s services sector grew at its slowest rate for six months in July as subdued consumer demand and higher interest rates weighed on businesses, according to new data. The influential S&P Global/CIPS UK services PMI survey showed a reading of 51.5 last month, down from 53.7 in June. Any reading above 50 indicates growth [...]
B&Q owner Kingfisher lowers outlook as struggling French arm drags down profit March 25, 2024 Kingfisher has made a loss during the full year as a slowdown in sales in its French arm continues to impact its bottom line.
Ferrero Rocher, Nutella and Kinder Surprise owner hails sales surge April 12, 2024 UK sales have surged past £500m at the owner of confectionary brands such as Ferrero Rocher, Nutella and Kinder Surprise, according to new accounts.
On the whole, the economy is on the up – but only just June 25, 2024 The UK reported surprisingly strong growth in the first quarter of this year, outpacing every other G7 economy. However, recent figures have been less positive.
BT shares jump after Altice sells 24.5 per cent stake in FTSE 100 giant to Bharti August 12, 2024 BT shares jumped 6.4 per cent after the market opened this morning after it emerged that its largest shareholder, Altice, had agreed to sell its stake in the business. The FTSE 100 giant’s largest shareholder agreed to sell its 24.5 per cent stake in the telecoms company to Indian conglomerate Bharti. Altice, which has struggled [...]
Vaccine hopes fail to inject consumer confidence during lockdown January 21, 2021 The nation’s largest ever vaccination programme failed to buoy UK consumer confidence during the latest national lockdown, a new survey has shown, as widespread gloom about current Covid restrictions prevailed into the New Year. The closely-watched consumer confidence index from researcher GfK fell two points to minus 28 in January after a slight uptick over [...]
Why the Bank of England may be wary of a growing UK economic recovery July 12, 2024 Debapratim De at Deloitte reckoned the Bank of England will be in "no hurry" to cut interest rates after this morning's GDP figures.
Retail: Insolvencies expected to ‘uptick’ as market consolidates amid Superdry and Ted Baker trouble February 12, 2024 Less than two months into 2024 and six UK retailers have already gone bust, with a further two warning they may fall into trouble, as experts warn the market will “continue to see an uptick in insolvencies”. According to figures from Centre of Retail Research, over 400 job roles have been impacted by retailers shutting [...]
EV transition could be fast-tracked by more than a decade if people buy second hand, says report June 7, 2023 The UK’s EV transition could be fast-tracked by over a decade if the country makes more use of the second-hand electric vehicle (EV) market, a new report shows. Research from the Green Finance Institute found that accessing the used EV market could boost uptake in the UK by as much as 17m, should barriers including [...]
Nationwide: House prices fell nearly 2 per cent in 2023 as higher mortgage costs bite December 29, 2023 House prices in the UK fell 1.8 per cent over the course of 2023, according to the latest data from the Nationwide House Price Index.