Pandemic festivities: A ‘normal Christmas’ is on the horizon, says Sajid Javid October 25, 2021 A “normal Christmas” is on the way, providing everyone “plays our part”, health secretary Sajid Javid has said today. Responding to concerns that this Christmas could face the same fate it did last year, Javid told BBC Breakfast: “What we know about this virus is that it’s unpredictable and I don’t think any sensible health [...]
Naughty or nice: Big Tech is eyeing up our kids for their Christmas wishlist December 8, 2021 Christmas is coming and the Amazon parcels are gathering in drifts of tech gifts around Christmas trees all over the world. This year, again, Christmas wishes are being realised online as we wonder nervously whether we might be able to visit family for Christmas or if new travel restrictions may thwart Santa’s plans too. Like [...]
JD Sports expects to beat profit expectations following Black Friday and Christmas sales January 12, 2022 JD Sports expects full-year profits to beat expectations following improved trading performance over Black Friday and Christmas.
Met Police sued over refusal to investigate Downing Street Christmas party allegations January 11, 2022 The Metropolitan Police has been sued by a legal charity over its failure to investigate Downing Street Christmas party allegations. The Good Law Project has issued formal legal proceedings against Britain’s largest police force after pleading with the Met to take action in December. The not-for-profit sent a letter to the Met before Christmas, asking [...]
M&S declares war on Aldi over ‘obvious’ copy of Christmas gin December 16, 2021 Marks and Spencer has launched legal action against discount supermarket rival Aldi, over what it alleges is a copycat gin. Aldi’s ‘The Infusionist’ gold-flake gin liqueur range has been accused of copying M&S’ Light-Up Gin, in papers filed at the High Court earlier this month. M&S registered three varieties of its designs earlier this year, [...]
Shoppers spend £14bn on Christmas categories as supermarket sales growth exceeds forecasts January 11, 2022 Shoppers dashed to supermarkets to make last-minute Christmas purchases as weekly sales growth peaked in the week ending 25 December. Brits splashed out £14bn on Christmas products over the three month festive period, according to data from NielsenIQ. Sales growth for the period surpassed initial forecasts from NielsenIQ analysts, who predicted sales would grow to [...]
Plan B Omicron curbs derail pubs and restaurants’ vital Christmas trading period January 11, 2022 The re-emergence of curbs to tamp down on the spread of Covid-19 derailed the vital Christmas trading period for Britain’s hospitality sector, reveal new figures published today. Brits pulled back sharply on spending at pubs, bars and restaurants over the festive period, according to research undertaken by Barclaycard. Spending at restaurants sunk over 14 per [...]
Christmas wine for your dry bird: How to pick the perfect festive bottle December 15, 2021 It is the festive season, and we will soon be shoving turkeys into ovens to feed the masses, but turkey is a notoriously dry bird and calls for the right wine to help wet our whistles. Though traditionalists may feel the classic Bordeaux is always acceptable beware of drying tannins. A wiser choice if you [...]
Don’t wait till after Christmas to sell your property November 18, 2021 There was a time when the property market could quite logically be split into seasons. But, such is the disruption to all our usual timetables and routines, that is no longer the case. The seemingly never-ending chain of events that impacted the the market in recent years, from tax changes and SDLT holidays to Brexit [...]
Ocado anticipates ‘best-ever Christmas’ as it eyes new Zoom site openings December 14, 2021 Ocado has forecast its “best-ever Christmas ahead” and said it anticipated mid-teens sales growth for 2022. In a trading update for the 13 weeks to 28 November, the grocer said there was “strong momentum in under-lying demand”. It posted retail revenue of £547.8m for the quarter. This was compared to £570.1m in the same period [...]