Landsec books nearly £200m loss as it shrinks presence in London November 15, 2022 British property investment trust Land Securities, known as Landsec, has booked a nearly £200m loss over the past six months as interest rates sting. It follows a £275m profit in the same period last year, as the company retreats out of London. Landsec, one of the largest office leasers in London, has cut the capital’s [...]
CMA launches probe into £1.9bn merger between National Express and Stagecoach January 26, 2022 The UK competition watchdog said this morning it has launched an investigation into the £1.9bn merger between National Express and Stagecoach due to concerns over the tie-up. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had served a so-called initial enforcement order, which stops the companies from fully combining while it considers the deal. Stagecoach [...]
Sage records ‘strong start to year’ despite investor uncertainty January 26, 2022 The Sage Group makes a “strong start to year”, with software subscription revenue growth up by 13 per cent to £336m, increasing subscription penetration to 73 per cent.
Union seeks urgent meeting with Unilever for ‘cast iron guarantee’ of factory workers’ futures November 19, 2021 Unite the Union has called for urgent talks with Unilever after it announced the sale of its tea business to a private equity firm. Unilever confirmed the £3.79bn sale of its tea division – including household names such as PG Tips and Lipton – to CVC yesterday following an auction process. Unite pointed to CVC’s [...]
Tesco hikes profit forecasts and launches share buyback programme October 6, 2021 Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket, has hiked its forecasts for full year profits and kicked off a share buyback programme. Stronger than expected demand for the food retailer’s products prompted it to raise expectations for retail operating profits to between £2.5bn and £2.6bn. Ken Murphy, chief executive of Tesco, said: “We’ve had a strong six [...]
Now hiring: DPD bets big on online delivery market with 6,000 new workers and £200m spending spree June 18, 2020 Delivery giant DPD is hiring 6,000 new workers in order to keep up with demand from “the biggest boom in online retailing in the UK’s history” as a result of the coronavirus lockdown. The firm said it would also put £200m extra cash into its network, as part of an “unprecedented investment in our infrastructure [...]
‘Thousands of jobs at risk’: Bar bosses despair over fresh Christmas rail strikes December 6, 2022 Pub and bar bosses were last night left despairing over a slew of fresh strike dates, which fall over Christmas. Rail union RMT announced three more days of walk-outs on Monday night, with workers set to strike from 6pm on Christmas Eve to 6am on 27 December. Industrial action had already been planned on 13, [...]
Waistcoats and aviators: Lockdown TV drives fashion sales October 12, 2021 John Lewis has revealed how lockdown TV inspired fashion and lifestyle trends over the past year. Television series replaced the shop window, the retailer said. In March 2021, searches for aviator sunglasses and sales of AND/OR flare jeans rose after 1970s-set The Serpent aired on the BBC. Sales of waistcoats jumped 114 per cent between [...]
Retailer Koovs hangs hopes on 2020 growth despite drop in sales July 17, 2019 Indian fashion retailer Koovs said it is on track for a return to growth in 2020, despite a decline in sales over the last 12 months. The London-listed firm posted net sales of £7.5m in 2019, down from £9.6m the previous years, while revenue was flat at £6.4m. Shares in Koovs dropped more than six [...]
UK economy avoids recession edge as GDP shows no growth November 10, 2023 The ONS said services fell by -0.1% per cent, construction grew by 0.1 per cent and production was flat at 0.0 per cent, as the UK economy appeared to remain stagnant.