Mothercare swings to loss as it prepares to refinance debt September 22, 2023 Baby products brand Mothercare has revealed it swung to a loss over the latest year as it is set to complete a refinancing of its debts after interest rates shot up. The retailer said it was taking longer to return to pre-pandemic sales levels. Mothercare, which sells its ranges through retail giant Boots in the [...]
Burberry shares plunge to a 14-year low, but what’s behind the collapse? August 16, 2024 Once a beacon of British heritage and craftsmanship, Burberry’s recent decline has been striking. Shoppers and investors seem to have fallen out of love with the retailer. Sales have plunged, and Burberry shares have fallen 70 per cent over the past year. Earlier this week, the stock touched a 14-year low before rebounding. While the [...]
Airlines lift off helps FTSE 100 reverse early losses July 12, 2022 London markets whipsawed today as a rally among airline stocks outweighed recession fears. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index jumped 0.18 per cent to drop to 7,209.86 points, while the mid-cap domestically-focused FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, added 0.1 per cent to close at 18,854.96 points. [...]
UK retail sales flatline again after bruising Christmas January 28, 2020 UK retail sales flatlined for the third month in a row in January, survey data showed today, as Britain’s high street braces itself for “another tough year for the sector”. The CBI’s distributive trends survey said sales were also expected to be flat next month, marking a disappointing start to the year for the UK’s [...]
Cost of card payments slammed as ‘startling’ after Mastercard exec defends fees May 15, 2023 A lobby group has today warned of the “startling rise in the cost of accepting cards” for small businesses after the European chief of Mastercard defended the fees it levies on merchants over the weekend. Interchange fees, which are charged to merchants and paid to the card issuing bank and payment network, have climbed sharply [...]
London’s tourist tax: Struggling luxury brands LVMH, Mulberry and Burberry have other problems, too January 17, 2024 Mulberry has fallen out of fashion with investors as shares slumped over four per cent this morning, with the luxury retailers expressing growing concerns about flattening sales and the tourist tax. The British fashion house, best known for its leather handbags, has had around £3bn wiped off its market value in the last five months [...]
Retail sales dip in November despite discounting December 19, 2019 Retail sales dipped last month as UK shoppers showed signs of “discount fatigue” in the run up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The amount spent in the three months to November dropped 0.3 per cent compared to the previous three months. Read more: Are there any signs retailers could be in for a merry [...]
Jeremy Hunt drops major tax cuts hint at Davos before March budget January 19, 2024 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt dropped another major hint about March’s much-anticipated budget, saying the “only direction of travel” is for the UK to embrace low taxation. Speaking at Davos in Switzerland, he said Britain should emulate other economies with low taxes, as the Conservatives gear up for an election later this year. Hunt, who will deliver [...]
Simply Be and Jacamo owner hit by revenue fall and warns 2024 will be tough June 6, 2023 The owner of Simply Be and Jacamo has told investors that it expects the hangover of high inflation and low consumer confidence to continue to impact the business next year, as the retailer posts a 82.6 per cent decline in profit before tax. N Brown, which trades solely online posted a 5.3 per cent decline [...]
UK economic data dump set to bolster case against September rate cut August 12, 2024 A slew of official UK economic data this week is poised to bolster the case for policymakers at the Bank of England not to cut interest rates next month, with inflation forecast to rise for the first time this year.