Raising the standard: The male business chiefs helping the drive for gender equality May 20, 2019 Not all business leaders are joining the battle for gender equality. As more women are being pushed up the corporate ladder and trained for senior roles, some male chief executive officers (CEOs) privately admit to feeling belittled, excluded and minimised. They complain that “you can’t say what you think anymore” and it’s “PC gone mad.” [...]
Corbyn fails yet again to grasp the magic of competitive markets March 19, 2019 It is not the worst thing that Jeremy Corbyn has ever said. But it’s certainly one of the most revealing. A year ago, the Labour leader was explaining why he wanted to leave Europe’s Single Market while staying in the customs union – a stance memorably described by my fellow think tanker Kristian Niemietz as [...]
English whisky maker The Lakes Distillery considers IPO on London’s junior market September 7, 2018 English whisky maker The Lakes Distillery is mulling a listing on London's junior market, it revealed this morning. The company has appointed N+1 Singer as its nominated adviser and broker and convened a meeting to gain shareholder approval later this month. Lakes Distillery, which was founded in 2011, would look to raised up to £15m [...]
Why Coca-Cola’s acquisition of Costa makes sense from a consumer perspective September 5, 2018 News of Costa’s sale to Coca-Cola dominated consumer headlines last week, as the fizzy drinks megabrand purchased the UK-based coffee chain for £3.9bn. Whitbread’s shares jumped more than 16 per cent following the news. Alison Brittain, the chief executive of Whitbread – Costa Coffee’s parent company – said the price paid by Coca-Cola was far [...]
Trust me, we’ve been thinking about market power and competition all wrong November 13, 2018 Economists, politicians, and commentators on both sides of the Atlantic are growing more concerned with the supposed “monopolisation” of the economy. In a 2017 report, the Social Market Foundation found that eight of 10 key British markets, including in phones, gas and groceries, were highly dominated by small numbers of companies. Its director, James Kirkup, [...]
Network Rail wants to ban plastic cutlery and cups from major stations by 2020 June 6, 2018 Network Rail is to ban retailers at some of its stations from supplying plastic cutlery and cups in a push to become more environmentally friendly. By the end of 2020, retailers at some of the biggest and busiest rail stations will also have to implement a coffee cup recycling scheme and expand the roll out [...]
Gold, Frankincense and Sausage Roll: When Bad Publicity Is Good Publicity November 16, 2017 YESTERDAY, THE BAKERY chain Greggs was forced to apologise to Britain’s Christian community. The reason? Because, to promote its advent calendar, it used an image showing the three wise men gathered around a crib containing a sausage roll. Various Christian and right-wing groups and people had piled in. Simon Richards of the Freedom Association [...]
Greggs hikes dividend as healthy food sales help boost profits February 28, 2017 Greggs has reported a jump in sales for last year, and has hiked its dividend after growing profits – but the baker is looking at job cuts as it aims for greater supply chain efficiency. The figures Total sales rose seven per cent to £894.2m from £835.7m, while company-managed like-for-like sales (which excludes franchises) went up [...]
A Christmas sales boost will help Greggs beat expectations in its full-year results January 17, 2017 Pasty maker Greggs announced a strong finish to the year and said its final results will be slightly ahead of previous expectations in a trading update today. The figures Total sales were up seven per cent for the year ended 31 December, while company-managed shop like-for-like sales were up 4.2 per cent. Greggs' share price was up 3.8 per [...]
Greggs is now making the food on-the-go sector appetising – here’s how December 14, 2016 The food on-the-go market is set to grow over the next year; a new YouGov report on the industry indicates how brands can capitalise on this potential. One brand – Greggs – is showing the way. The food on-the-go industry is worth billions, and is set to grow further in the coming years. Our new [...]