Proxy adviser Manifest has just collapsed into administration March 16, 2018 Shareholder advisory group Manifest has today crashed into administration. Moore Stephens has been appointed as administrator of the lead proxy advisor. According to March 2017 accounts – Manifest’s latest filing with Companies House – the firm had £1.3m of debts payable within the next 12 months. Representatives for the administrators were unable to comment on [...]
Having a house near a supermarket can boost your house price by as much as £43,000 June 9, 2018 Owning a home close to a chain supermarket could potentially boost the house price by £21,500 on average, according to research by Lloyds Bank. The new research also showed that areas within range of so-called premium supermarkets, such as Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury's, will command house prices which are on average 12 per [...]
Asda has been forced to ration its fizzy drinks amid an ongoing UK-wide carbon dioxide shortage June 30, 2018 Supermarket chain Asda is limiting the amount of fizzy drinks its customers can buy, as the UK's carbon dioxide shortage worsens to near-crisis levels. The retailer has put a six-drink cap on shoppers buying bottles, cans or multipacks of fizzy drinks online, although the limit does not apply in-store. This includes all own-brand drinks, as [...]
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) angling for increase in annual budget to take on “blockbuster cases” March 13, 2018 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is having “ongoing conversations” about the way it is funded after questions have been raised regarding its current arrangements. The BBC reported that the prosecutor was in talks with the Treasury to increase its annual budget, which currently sits at £31m. The body often asks the Treasury for an extra [...]
Tesco’s Dave Lewis: The Booker takeover means we can buy more and waste less March 7, 2017 Tesco boss Dave Lewis has said reducing food waste is a factor behind the supermarket’s £3.7bn takeover of wholesaler Booker. The tie-up will enable the combined group to buy a larger proportion of crops each producers. This allows it to both reduce its spend and ensure the residual food doesn't go to waste, Lewis said. Read more: Why Tesco could be [...]
M&S could cease to exist without radical change, warns chairman July 10, 2018 Marks & Spencer’s management confessed existential dread to shareholders today, as its new chairman warned the retailer could disappear within years if the business is not overhauled. Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM), chairman Archie Norman said: “In decades to come, there could be no M&S.” It marked a blunt first appearance for [...]
Morrisons earnings preview: Grocery chain faces uphill battle amid Asda-Sainsbury’s merger May 7, 2018 Grocery chain Morrisons is set to announce its first quarter trading results on Thursday, and the company may have a lot to prove. Analysts at Barclays forecast sales growth of 1.7 per cent, below the company’s figures for the fourth quarter of 2017. If so, it would be the lowest sales growth since the end [...]
Thousands of Sainsbury’s jobs at risk as UK supermarket shakes-up management January 23, 2018 Thousands of Sainsbury’s jobs are at risk as the supermarket seeks to shake-up its management structure. The announcement comes shortly after Tesco put more than 1,500 staff into a consultation period as it prepared to cut around 800 jobs. Read more: Tesco announces it is cutting 800 jobs Structural changes in the retail industry, combined [...]
Majestic Wine reveal solid FY figures, but outlook is cautious June 14, 2018 Majestic Wine revealed solid full-year figures this morning, but issued a cautious outlook. Revenue rose by 2.3% to £476.1 million, broadly in line with estimates. Pre-tax profits jumped by 33% to £17.2 million, meeting analysts’ forecasts. The total dividend was increased by 40% to 7.2p, which comfortably topped the consensus estimate of 5.67p. The wine [...]
Ditch the Chequers Agreement and Hammond can scrap his ‘Amazon tax’ August 22, 2018 Thanks to the Prime Minister’s commitment to raise NHS spending by an additional £20bn, the chancellor is now in a quandary. Philip Hammond signed up to the theory that raising taxes increases revenues, which goes against the volumes of evidence that it actually depresses economic activity, encourages switching of spending to other lower-taxed areas, and [...]