Government to fully fund apprenticeships for small firms, Rishi Sunak to announce March 18, 2024 The government will fully fund apprenticeships for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with a £60m investment in up to 20,000 training places, Rishi Sunak will announce.
High Street retail race: Marks and Spencer predicted to overtake John Lewis by 2026 February 8, 2023 Marks & Spencer will overtake John Lewis in the rankings of the UK’s biggest retailers by 2026, according to a new sales forecast. Tesco will retain its position as the largest retailer, followed by Sainsbury’s, but Amazon is on track to move into the top three within the next few years, industry title Retail Week [...]
Range of 30 low-cost items increase in price by 17 per cent in last year – ONS October 25, 2022 A range of 30 every-day low-cost items have increased in price by 17 per cent in the last year, new figures have revealed. Data from the Office for National Statistics show a range of products went up considerably over the 12 months to September, as the cost of living continues to bite. Items including vegetable [...]
Waitrose admits it signed deals with landlords to block rivals from opening nearby stores September 2, 2022 Waitrose has admitted to signing deals with landlords halting other supermarkets from opening nearby for a decade, following a probe by the UK competition watchdog. The supermarket, which is owned by the John Lewis Partnership, has said it has re-written property deals for numerous sites to allay competition concerns. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) [...]
Apollo lines up banks for £6bn Boots bid as takeover race whittles down March 24, 2022 US investment giant Apollo has become a major frontrunner in the bidding race for the UK’s biggest high street chemist, as it lines up banks to finance a £6bn takeover offer for Boots. The New York-based firm is in talks with Bank of America, Credit Suisse and Royal Bank of Canada to support the bid, [...]
Walmart edges closer to Asda sale as buyout firms bid March 16, 2020 US retail giant Walmart has edged closer to a sale of Asda after three private equity firms competing to buy the supermarket reportedly made it through to the next stage of bidding. Buyout firms Apollo Global Management, Lone Star Funds and TDR Capital submitted first round offers for the UK grocer and have been invited [...]
Boots sales surpass pre-Covid levels as city centres spring back to life October 13, 2022 Boots’ retail sales have exceeded pre-Covid levels for the fourth quarter, thanks to rebounding footfall in city centres. Retail sales were up 15.2 per cent on a like-for-like basis, with stores near transport hubs seeing a particular resurgence. Warm weather and a return of travel abroad also buoyed sales, with store transactions up more than [...]
Boots sets mid-May deadline as owner seeks multi-billion sale April 26, 2022 Boots’ owner has set a deadline of 16 May for final offers for the chemist chain. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s (WBA) has issued the deadline to suitors as it seeks to sell the chain, Sky News has reported. Suitors expected to make final proposals include Asda and Apollo Global Management. However, India’s Reliance Industries was thought [...]
Fuelling the fire: Independent retailers ignite petrol price war to attract motorists July 21, 2022 Petrol retailers have kickstarted a price war, with independent vendors slashing costs at the pumps to lure in motorists as the cost of living crisis deepens.
Lidl joins Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Primark to shut shops for Queen’s funeral September 12, 2022 Top supermarkets and retailers including Lidl, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s are set to shut their UK stores on the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. Major retailers B&Q and Primark will also close shops for the bank holiday to mark the Queen’s state-funeral next Monday. Some supermarkets are also working on plans to cut some of [...]