After a slump and a court case the Virgin airline boss is ready for more August 30, 2010 Virgin Atlantic boss Steve Ridgway is still dealing with the fallout from the collapse of a price-fixing trial involving his airline. Despite not actually facing any charges, his firm, which has always styled itself as the people’s champion, was battered and bruised by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) case, which alleged collusion between Virgin [...]
After a slump and a court case the Virgin airline boss is ready for more August 30, 2010 Virgin Atlantic boss Steve Ridgway is still dealing with the fallout from the collapse of a price-fixing trial involving his airline. Despite not actually facing any charges, his firm, which has always styled itself as the people’s champion, was battered and bruised by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) case, which alleged collusion between Virgin [...]
Car production soars by 44pc May 20, 2010 CAR production in Britain jumped by 44 per cent in April compared with the same month last year. A total of 98,290 cars were made in the month as the industry emerged from recession. Commercial vehicle production also rose – increasing 40.8 per cent to 10,777, according to the society of motoring Manufacturers and Traders. [...]
Alliance Boots profit tops £1bn for first time May 17, 2010 BRITAIN’S biggest pharmacy chain Alliance Boots has posted annual profits of more than £1bn – becoming only the third UK retailer to pass that milestone. The group, bought in 2007 by private equity firm KKR and executive chairman Stefano Pessina for £11bn in Europe’s biggest leveraged buyout, said the 13 per cent increase in trading [...]
Retail sales up again in April but pace stalls April 27, 2010 BRITISH retail sales volumes grew for a third straight month in April, albeit at a slightly slower pace than expected, and retailers are confident of an acceleration next month, a survey showed yesterday. But a sustained recovery in consumer spending looks threatened by signs the housing market may be running out of steam and the [...]
C&C pins hopes on new Magners ads May 25, 2010 C&C Group hopes a series of new ad campaigns and acquisitions will help to arrest declining sales in its Magners brand. The UK cider market has been growing around five per cent a year but Magners has seen a reversal in fortunes. Chief executive John Dunsmore said: “Magners has lost substantial market share in the [...]
GDP growth higher than estimated May 25, 2010 STRONGER industrial production in the first quarter helped to nudge GDP growth up to 0.3 per cent although the economic picture remains lacklustre. The upward revision of 0.1 per cent will nevertheless provide a small boost to the new Coalition government, which faces the daunting task of toning up the UK’s finances. Howard Archer, chief [...]
JD Wetherspoon urges caution as sales drop May 5, 2010 PUBS group JD Wetherspoon is feeling the sobering effects of lower consumer spending and tax and duty rises with sales growth slowing in recent months. Same outlet sales for the 13 weeks to 25 April slipped 0.8 per cent. This was much steeper than the 0.2% decline recorded over the nine month period. Meanwhile total [...]
John Lewis sees another sales rise May 14, 2010 JOHN Lewis has posted another week of sales growth with fashion sales up by more than a fifth. The employee-owned firm – which is seen as a bellwether of the UK retail sector – said sales at its 28 department stores and one “at home” store increased 17.7 per cent to £55.1m in the week [...]
Next ups forecasts after revenue boost May 5, 2010 NEXT yesterday revised its full-year profit forecasts upwards after seeing a 4.1 per cent increase in total sales in the first quarter. The retailer’s Directory was mainly responsible for the positive figure after the catalogue recorded a 7.2 per cent jump. High street sales were up by only 2.8 per cent. Like for like sales [...]