Marks & Spencer’s top 10 festive favourites: slow-cooked turkey, shortbread snow globes, light-up gin and shapewear to hold it in! January 12, 2023 Marks and Spencer saw a record Christmas trade during the latest festive period, with a record £80m sales alone on 23 December, the last Friday before Christmas. Incoming CEO Stuart Machin can also take comfort in a 7.2 per cent rise in the clothing and home category to £3.6bn. But it was the retailer’s Christmas [...]
Tesco ‘considering sale’ of Tesco Bank, according to reports February 20, 2023 Tesco is considering selling Tesco Bank, according to Sky News which has reported that the supermarket giant has started a review process for its banking arm. The review is at a very early stage, according to insiders, and may not lead to a formal sale process. A partial sale or joint venture may also be [...]
UK retail sector shows ‘promising’ signs of recovery in August September 8, 2020 UK retailers showed “promising” signs of recovery last month as sales jumped, the latest research showed. Retail sales increased 4.7 per cent on a like-for-like basis compared to August last year, when they had decreased 0.8 per cent. Total sales were up 3.9 per cent last month, against a decline of 0.4 per cent last [...]
Former Dragons’ Den star Theo Paphitis targets first Boux Avenue profits May 15, 2024 Former Dragons' Den star Theo Paphitis is targeting a first ever profit for his lingerie stores chain Boux Avenue despite its losses widening.
Flood the streets with art: traffic-free weekends and an all-night celebration in the City for a cultural comeback May 24, 2021 The City’s reopening is building up to a crescendo with the return of visitors and audiences to some of the Square Mile’s iconic cultural institutions. One of the things that I – like many others – have missed the most during lockdown has been the opportunity to enjoy world-class art and culture in person rather [...]
WH Smith swings back to profit as retailer eyes global expansion November 10, 2022 WH Smith is back in the black after footfall to airports and railway stations returned this year, following the opening up of society post-Covid. The high street staple posted group profit before tax of £63m for the year to the end of August, compared to a loss of £116m it booked the year previously. WH [...]
Lastminute.com threatened with legal action over unpaid package holiday refunds February 12, 2021 Travel platform Lastminute.com is facing legal action from the UK competition watchdog unless it repays customers whose package holidays have been cancelled due to the pandemic. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) warned the firm that it will take court action unless Lastminute processes the repayments – totalling £1m – within seven days. On 1 [...]
Barclays chief CS Venkat: ‘We are creating a simpler, better, more balanced bank’ February 20, 2024 Barclays chief executive CS "Venkat" Venkatakrishnan has announced that the bank will become "simpler, better and more balanced" in a much-anticipated update on its restructuring plans.
FTSE 100 jumps amid strong earnings but US stocks mixed October 23, 2020 The FTSE 100 jumped on the final day of a tough week for markets, as investors found some optimism in company earnings, but US stocks were more mixed. The UK’s main stock index was boosted by upbeat results from lender Barclays (BARC). New stimulus measures from chancellor Rishi Sunak yesterday also helped stocks. Read more: [...]
Ocado: Annual revenue dives to £2.2bn but up on pre-pandemic level as retailer sees strong festive trade January 17, 2023 Online grocery retailer Ocado saw its revenue dive to £2.2bn in 2022, down 3.8 per cent from the previous year, but up by 40 per cent on pre-pandemic levels in 2019. The online grocery delivery giant managed to claw back some growth with postive Christmas and New Year trading updates. It’s rivals Tesco and Sainsbury’s [...]