Sales at Pets at Home pass £1.4bn as Brits pick up furry companions May 27, 2021 Revenue at Pets at Home jumped nearly eight per cent in the last year, as coronavirus-led lockdowns persuaded more households to get a pet. Revenue at the pet care retailer jumped 7.9 per cent to £1.14bn in the group’s 2021 financial year. Retail revenue reached £1bn for the first time despite Covid-19 restrictions, and revenue [...]
TUI expects summer boost after pandemic pushes holiday giant into ‘fragile’ position February 9, 2021 The world’s biggest holiday company has announced a €699m loss during its first financial quarter as lockdowns severely limited demand for fights over the festive period. The results signal a difficult year for TUI, whose operations have been battered by the coronavirus pandemic. Cautious optimism Despite the challenges, the group remains confident in a strong [...]
FTSE ends day with slump as Wall Street’s Nasdaq plunges nearly three per cent May 4, 2021 The FTSE 100 slipped back below the 7,000 point mark by the market close, despite a strong start to the week’s trading after the Bank Holiday weekend. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 0.67 per cent by the end of the day, with banking stocks, including HSBC Holdings, Barclays and Standard Chartered posing the biggest drag on [...]
Aldi and Lidl sales growth slows as discounters struggle to compete with Big Four’s online capabilities March 2, 2021 The growth of the discount supermarkets Lidl and Aldi has slowed as the Big Four UK grocers benefitted from their more established online presence during the pandemic. German budget grocers Lidl and Aldi reported that sales were up 10.9 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectively in the 12 weeks to 21 February. However, three [...]
Police release images of ‘Kill the Bill’ rioters as hunt for suspects is stepped up March 23, 2021 Police investigating a riot that marred a “Kill the Bill” protest in Bristol have released images of 10 people they wish to trace. Violence erupted in Bristol city centre on Sunday evening and saw a police station attacked, 21 officers injured and vehicles set alight. Avon and Somerset Police released the 10 images of suspects [...]
UK supermarkets bring in security to enforce mask wearing as Covid cases rise January 12, 2021 Supermarkets are ramping up Covid safety measures, with many of the major UK grocers planning to make masks mandatory and to only allow one person per household in store. Tesco, Waitrose and Asda have joined Sainsbury’s and Morrisons in announcing that customers without masks will be turned away, unless they are exempt for medical reasons. [...]
Ocado chips in to £7m round for UK robotics startup Karakuri May 9, 2019 Ocado has led a £7m seed round for UK robotics firm Karakuri, its first investment in a tech startup. Other backers in the round included Hoxton Ventures, Firstminute Capital and Taylor Brothers. The online supermarket chain will use Karakuri's technology to expand its grocery offering after a fire devastated one of its automated warehouses. It [...]
London stocks end the week lower despite strong economic data April 23, 2021 London’s blue-chip stocks were little changed on Friday but finished the week lower as growing concerns over a surge in global coronavirus cases eclipsed optimism from recent data pointing to a rapid UK economic rebound. The exporter-heavy index ended the session flat, with a fall in heavyweight energy shares and large dollar earning companies including [...]
24-hour blaze at Ocado’s flagship robotics centre burns sales growth February 6, 2019 A major fire at one of Ocado’s key robotic distribution centres is expected to dent sales growth after worsening overnight, with several hundred firefighters being called to the scene in a bid to put out the flames. Ocado's share price slumped eight per cent in morning trading, after the firm released a statement saying that the blaze, [...]
FTSE 100 pushes above 7,000 for first time since Covid crash as Wall Street hits new records April 16, 2021 London’s FTSE 100 rose above the 7,000-mark today for the first time since Covid pummelled financial markets last year. Across the Atlantic, Wall Street again hit new record highs on the back of a bumper set of earnigns from America’s banking giants. Speedy vaccine rollouts and government policy support has lifted investor confidence about a [...]