Supermarkets supplying N. Ireland to get three month grace period after transition period December 9, 2020 Supermarkets selling into Northern Ireland will have a grace period to adapt their supply systems to the post-Brexit trading reality, Michael Gove said today. When the Brexit transition period ends at the end of the year, Northern Ireland will remain aligned to the EU’s single market and goods arriving in Northern Ireland will be subject [...]
Supermarkets reinstate rationing amid new Covid-19 restrictions September 25, 2020 British supermarkets have reinstated rationing on essential products after the UK was plunged back into fresh coronavirus restrictions. Morrisons yesterday became the first major supermarket to roll out new measures, saying it would limit purchases of products such as toilet roll and disinfectant to three per customer. The company said it had sufficient stock levels [...]
Tesco profits tumble despite surge in pandemic sales April 14, 2021 Tesco’s pre-tax profit fell by 20 per cent to £825m in 2020 despite a pandemic-driven jump in group sales. The UK’s biggest grocer said it incurred £892m of Covid-related costs during the year and repaid £535m of business rates relief. The retailer reported a 6.3 per cent rise in group like-for-like sales, including a 7.7 [...]
Landlords approve Caffe Nero rescue deal December 1, 2020 Landlords have approved Caffe Nero’s rescue deal, allowing the coffee shop chain to renegotiate rental agreements for its 800 UK stores. The company said this afternoon that more than 90 per cent of creditors, including landlords, had given the green light to the company voluntary arrangement (CVA) proposals. It will allow Caffe Nero to move [...]
Joules lures in top Asda director as new chief executive May 8, 2019 Fashion group Joules has poached retail veteran Nick Jones to take over as chief executive, it announced this morning. A former top director at Marks & Spencer and Asda, Jones has spent 25 years working within the retail industry. Read more: Prime retail rents slip for embattled high street landlords After 15 years with M&S, latterly [...]
Online share of grocery sales hits record level during third lockdown March 1, 2021 The third national lockdown pushed the share of online grocery sales to a record high in January, double the level the previous month. The pandemic has accelerated the shift to online shopping with Britain’s big four supermarkets expanding their capacity during the crisis. The online share of grocery sales hit 16 per cent in January, [...]
Asda under fire over new employee proposals April 16, 2019 Supermarket giant Asda has been accused of using a proposed pay rise as a "smokescreen" for unpaid breaks and shortened night shifts. The grocery firm recently announced a set of potential contract changes for its workforce, pledging to hike the basic hourly rate of pay for retail employees. Read more: Asda and Sainsbury's propose selling 150 [...]
McDonald’s breakfast menu returns to all but 28 of its restaurants tomorrow July 7, 2020 McDonald’s will bring back its breakfast menu tomorrow to all but 28 of its open restaurants across the UK and Ireland. Last week the fast food chain announced the gradual roll out of its breakfast menu and walk-in takeaway service to more restaurants. The breakfast menu will continue to be a limited menu for now, [...]
Ranked: S&P Global’s $44bn mega-deal tops list of biggest 2020 acquisitions May 27, 2021 In what was a tough year for businesses across the world, it was a fruitful one for 6,000 mergers and acquisitions. While the pandemic threatened companies of all sizes, some managed not just to survive but to continue growing in the last 12 months. After a year unlike any other, which acquisitions were the biggest [...]
Exclusive: UK private equity firms pool £20bn fire power as they circle higher value targets April 29, 2021 The total value of UK private equity club deals reached £19.7bn last year, a fourfold increase from the £4.5bn in 2019. Moreover, the number of club deals has reached a three-year high as there were 56 deals in 2020, a jump of 30 per cent from 43 the year before, according to new data that [...]