Visa Europe records three billion contactless payments over the last 12 months May 10, 2016 Card company Visa has recorded three billion contactless transactions in Europe over the past year. In April alone, European consumers used their cards 360m times, clocking in at almost 140 transactions per second. Contactless now accounts for one in every five Visa card payments in Europe, up from one in 60 in 2013. In the [...]
KKR halves Pets at Home stake and eyes Tesco June 9, 2015 PRIVATE equity giant KKR has nearly halved its stake in Pets at Home just as it emerged yesterday that the firm has been invited to bid for Tesco’s South Korean business. US-based KKR bought Pets at Home from private equity rival Bridgepoint in 2010 for £995m. The pet care and products retailer floated on the [...]
One million retail jobs at risk from rising wages and tax costs, warns British Retail Consortium February 29, 2016 One million retail jobs could disappear in the next decade as high street shops across the country struggle to cope with drastic changes in shopping habits and rising costs. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned that government policies including the new national living wage, the apprenticeship levy and rising business rates will add as much as £14bn [...]
West Berkshire Brewery raises glass as it expands into Islington-based pub Shillibeers and puts pen to paper on new brewery June 2, 2016 Crowdfunding beer maker West Berkshire Brewery is raising a glass after it put pen to paper on a new £3m custom-built brewery and secured its first urban pub, Shillibeers, in Islington. The new brewery will allow West Berkshire to increase its brewing capacity tenfold and also to provide packaging for other breweries. The brewer has said the [...]
Tesco’s share price is all over the place. Here’s why April 22, 2015 Shares in Tesco were up more than two per cent in early trading, brushing off the shock of a larger than expected loss of £6.38bn for the year. Despite the massive loss – the largest ever recorded by the supermarket and the sixth biggest of any UK company – investors initially remained confident in the ability [...]
Sports Direct has extended its Debenhams put option May 12, 2016 Sports Direct International has extended its Debenhams put option by a year – meaning shareholders in Mike Ashley's retailer will continue to be concerned with the fate of the department store, whether they like it or not. Sports Direct entered into the original agreement with Goldman Sachs in 2014. The stake was built up to 16.6 [...]
Amazon might be planning to launch online food service Fresh in the UK – but against Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda and other major players, has it bitten off more than it can chew? September 23, 2015 If there were an award for the company that most shaped the retail zeitgeist over the past 10 years, then Amazon would most certainly be a contender. Its innovations have changed the way we shop. Such a pioneering status inevitably creates a great deal of interest. However, along with the interest come some hype: including the [...]
Putting the super back into the supermarkets: What the Co-op rebrand tells us about the current state of the sector June 1, 2016 The unveiling of the Co-op rebrand last week was the latest sign of a major shift in the supermarket arena. The brand’s decision to revert back to its origins, resurrecting – albeit also modernising – its 1968 logo, was a clear attempt to spark an emotional connection with an audience for whom loyalty is meaning [...]
Supermarkets reap over £1bn of property investment in 2015 as new buyers pile in March 22, 2016 Britain's supermarket sector attracted over £1bn of property investment last year as investors shrugged off the price wars and and went in search of stable returns. Research released today by Colliers International and data analytics provider MSCI revealed that deal volumes reached £1.4bn in 2015, up slightly on the previous year but down on the record [...]
At the close: One-way traffic on the FTSE 100 as miners and supermarkets drag it down May 4, 2016 Sunshine may be sweeping the capital, but the stock markets are still feeling down, as the FTSE 100 sunk to a four-week low. Closing down 1.2 per cent at 6,112.02, the FTSE 100 has now lost five per cent since it hit 2016 highs back in the middle of April. Miners dug themselves into a hole as [...]