Christmas just got tougher for Tesco, Sainsbury and Morrisons: Lidl adds “discount” oysters to its deluxe range November 21, 2014 In a year dominated by the rise of the discount grocer, it's perhaps no surprise that Lidl and Aldi will be pulling out all the stops to bring consumers a bit of low-cost luxury. Lidl, which launched a £5 lobster in 2009, has a track record of doing exactly that but this year it's pulling [...]
Ineos boosts UK shale with $1bn investment vow November 20, 2014 SHALE gas could rejuvenate the UK’s manufacturing industry, Ineos boss Jim Ratcliffe told a press conference yesterday. The chemicals firm chairman made the comments after revealing that his firm planned to invest $1bn (£637m) in UK shale gas exploration and appraisal, with “substantial further investment” to follow if the company moved into development and production. [...]
Dyson commits £1.5bn in global invention quest November 20, 2014 Inventor James Dyson has today announced that his eponymous company, known for its revolutionary versions of household objects from electric fans to vacuum cleaners, is making a £1.5bn investment in future technology, at home and abroad. Dyson aims to launch 100 new products worldwide in the next four years. The financial commitment includes a £1bn [...]
Summit backs business case for diversity November 19, 2014 BRITISH businesses would perform better if they employed a more ethnically diverse workforce, attendees at an Institute of Directors (IoD) business and ethnicity summit heard yesterday. Vivían Hunt, UK managing partner at McKinsey, told the audience at the event that having ethnic diversity “is just as important as gender diversity”, and stated that it was [...]
Amlin share price dips but declining insurance rates fail to stop growing premiums November 19, 2014 Shares in insurance firm Amlin dipped by more than three per cent yesterday, as the company reported rate reductions across a range of its products during the first nine months of 2014. Average renewal rates were down by 2.5 per cent, although UK fleet motor rates were up by 5.7 per cent, while other UK [...]
Upbeat Melrose plans to pay out £200m in 2015 November 19, 2014 SHAREHOLDERS in investment vehicle Melrose Industries can expect a payout of around £200m early next year, after the company confirmed in a trading update yesterday that it would be making a return of capital in 2015. The business, which buys struggling manufacturing firms and improves them, said that trading during the past five months had [...]
Carillion wins contract to look after 50 prisons November 19, 2014 THE UK Ministry of Justice has appointed construction company Carillion and infrastructure group Amey to manage and maintain its public sector prisons. Carillion has been awarded two of the contracts up for grabs, and will provide facilities management services for around 50 prisons in London, the east of England and the south west, south central [...]
Prudential lifts new business profits despite annuity slump November 18, 2014 Insurance giant Prudential grew its new business profit by 17 per cent in the first nine months of 2014, up to £1.5bn from £1.4bn in the same period of last year. The company reported that UK new business profit grew by 28 per cent in the first three quarters, to £209m, while annual premium equivalent [...]
Supermarket price war fails to save sector as it enters negative sales territory for first time on record November 18, 2014 The supermarket "price war" has failed to help kick-start sales, with the sector falling into negative territory for the first time since records began in 1994. Sales were down 0.2 per cent for the 12 weeks to November 9, according to Kantar Worldpanel. The average basket price of everyday goods such as milk, bread [...]
Supermarkets Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons told they must shrink to survive in war against discounters Aldi and Lidl November 17, 2014 Supermarkets need to dramatically scale down their store estates if they want to stop haemorrhaging sales and return to growth, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs who sent a stark warning to the retail industry. In a research note published yesterday, Goldman Sachs said Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons must cut space by around 20 per [...]