Britain’s biggest companies call on Westminster for fundamental business rates reform September 16, 2014 Some of Britain's biggest businesses including Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's, Tesco, General Motors and Tata Steel have called on the government to rip up the current business rate regime claiming the current system is “a critical problem for all of British business”. The controversial tax delivers around £25bn to the Treasury every year, but [...]
Scottish independence: BT, TalkTalk, EE, Telefonica, Vodafone and Three warn of increased costs if Scots vote Yes September 14, 2014 Six of Britain's leading telecoms companies are the latest to warn of potential price rises if Scotland votes Yes to independence. The chiefs of BT, TalkTalk, EE, Telefonica UK, Vodafone UK and Three UK have issued a joint letter warning that the uncertainty around regulation and spectrum allocation, which mobile networks use to operate, could [...]
Asda sparks off a supermarket petrol price war October 29, 2013 ASDA fuelled a supermarket price war when it unveiled plans to cut petrol prices yesterday, causing other major British chains to quickly follow suit. The budget chain said that from tomorrow it would cut petrol to its lowest price this year, at 126.7p per litre on unleaded and 133.7p per litre for diesel. Sainsbury’s is [...]
Ukip party conference 2014: Three reasons Ukip might have the best brand in politics September 26, 2014 After Ed Miliband’s much-maligned slip-ups, this weekend it’s Nigel Farage’s turn to show the world he’s a man of the people, at the Ukip party conference. Farage may be mocked by some – but during his tenure as its leader, he has transformed it from a party on the margins of the political system [...]
Ex-Boots boss Richard Baker to take up chair at Whitbread July 16, 2014 Costa Coffee and Premier Inn owner Whitbread has appointed one of its non-executive directors, the former Boots chief executive Richard Baker, to take over as chairman. Baker, who has sat on the board since 2009, will replace Whitbread’s longserving chairman Anthony Habgood in September. Habgood announced in January that he would be retiring after nine [...]
Tesco’s credit rating downgraded by S&P amid profit fears August 8, 2014 Tesco suffered a fresh blow yesterday after Standard and Poor’s (S&P) downgraded the troubled supermarket’s credit rating over concerns of rising competition in its home market and its recent profit warning. S&P said it had cut its long-term rating on Tesco to “BBB” from “BBB+”, but reiterated its “A-2” short-term corporate credit rating on the [...]
Asda considers new George home brand October 9, 2013 BRITAIN’S second largest retailer Asda is considering launching homeware under the George brand. The Walmart–owned group has applied for the trademark George.home according to filings published last week on the Intellectual Property Office website. A spokesperson for Asda refused to confirm whether it was planning to launch a new homeware brand and said: “We register [...]
Sainsbury’s to expand clothing sales by trialling online launch June 9, 2014 Sainsbury is to take on its high street and supermarket rivals by selling its clothing brand Tu online for the first time. The retailer said yesterday that it will pilot selling clothing to around 200 “invited” customers in the Midlands in August, which if successful would then be rolled out nationwide. It comes after people [...]
Morrisons ramps up assault on rival supermarkets after slashing more prices June 23, 2014 Morrisons has launched a fresh round of price cuts today as the troubled supermarket group steps up its efforts to win back shoppers defecting to cheaper rivals. Britain’s fourth-largest grocer will cut the price of a further 135 grocery and household products today by an average 14 per cent. “These are permanent price cuts, not [...]
South African retail tycoon eyes UK move with new shell vehicle June 9, 2014 SOUTH African retail magnate Christo Wiese has created a shell company in the UK, in a sign that he is poised to make a move on the UK high street. According to Companies House, the name Pepkor UK was set up earlier this year. Former Asda chief executive Andy Bond and his business partner Mark [...]