Supermarkets kick off petrol price drop wars May 15, 2012 TWO of the UK’s top four supermarkets have said they will cut fuel prices from today, passing on savings to customers as the cost of wholesale oil continues to fall. Sainsbury’s and Morrisons – the third and fourth biggest supermarkets by market share respectively – both confirmed yesterday they will cut petrol prices by up [...]
BBA’s Angela Knight to become chief of trade body Energy UK May 13, 2012 ANGELA Knight, current boss of the British Bankers’ Association, has been appointed the next chief executive of trade body Energy UK. The move sees Knight, who takes the helm at the end of July, revert to her background in the energy sector. She is perhaps better known for her financial work, including her current position [...]
Tesco and Sainsbury’s in battle to step up sales October 2, 2011 TESCO reports it half yearly results on Wednesday with analysts predicting international sales offsetting sluggish figure for the UK. The grocer, which has slashed the prices on thousands of lines in a bid to trigger sales rises, will also be eyeing second quarter results from rival Sainsbury’s, which is reporting on the same day. New [...]
Asda market share up as it lures shoppers with price guarantee May 17, 2012 ASDA, the British arm of supermarket giant Walmart, said it continued to gain market share in the first quarter of the year as its focus on low prices and a revamping of own-brand ranges helped drive sales growth. The UK’s second-biggest supermarket chain behind Tesco, said like-for-like sales excluding fuel and VAT accelerated in the [...]
Morrisons sales dip in tough market May 3, 2012 Morrisons posted a fall in underlying sales in its first quarter, reflecting tough comparatives with a bumper period of trading last year and customers switching to rivals who are promoting more heavily. The supermarket chain, which trails market leader Tesco, Wal-Mart’s Asda and J Sainsbury in UK market share, said on sales at stores open [...]
Here’s the real Plan B for Britain: We need a competition revolution May 14, 2012 NO ONE can dispute that the UK economy needs more growth. It seems that the coalition’s essential austerity measures are not enough. But despite its cheerleaders, the usual Plan B, based on debt-financed infrastructure spending, won’t make any difference to growth – while denting confidence. One such plan suggested £30bn in spending. Over three years, [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 21, 2012 DFJ Esprit The cross-stage venture capital firm has appointed Peter Keen as its a new venture partner, specialising in medtech and life science investments. Keen joins with 28 years’ experience in the sector. He was co-founder of Chriscience Group, chief financial officer of Arakis, and is currently non-executive director of Horizon Discovery and Q-Chip. Jefferies [...]
FTSE falls as fear stalks markets May 16, 2012 Commodity stocks took a hammering this morning as investors ran for cover with the prospect of fresh Greek elections adding to the uncertainty stalking markets. The prospect of Greece exiting the Eurozone were mounting as the country struggles to avoid economic meltdown. But in positive UK news official figures showed a drop in the unemployment [...]
Ocado sales growth accelerates May 23, 2012 Online British supermarket Ocado posted an acceleration in sales growth in its second quarter, raising hopes it has got to grips with bottlenecks at its distribution centre that led to a string of profit downgrades last year. Shares in Ocado, whose range includes products supplied by upmarket grocer Waitrose jumped 6.8 per cent on Wednesday [...]
Cable in plea to business after Hague attack May 14, 2012 VINCE Cable was forced to defend his cabinet colleague William Hague yesterday after a series of Conservative attacks on British business provoked outrage. Cable said “commercial diplomacy” is a major part of foreign policy as Hague came under fire from business leaders for telling them to stop “complaining” about the economy and “work harder”. “He [...]