Waitrose pledges to keep meat and fish counters open as rivals shutter services November 11, 2020 Waitrose has this morning pledged to keep its meat, fish and deli counters open, taking on the supermarkets that have shuttered the services to cut costs amid falling demand. The up-market grocer said it is committed to the long-term future of its food service counters, and is planning to expand its meat and fish range [...]
Roasted: Caffe Nero rejects Issa brothers bid in favour of CVA November 30, 2020 Roasted: Caffe Nero rejects Issa brothers bid in favour of rent deals and restructuring
Private equity interest: Why is Morrisons such an attractive takeover target? June 21, 2021 Morrisons has rejected a £5.5bn takeover approach from a US private equity firm amid speculation that more UK supermarkets could be snapped up. Shares in Morrisons jumped earlier this morning following confirmation of the rejection at the weekend, as the chain said potential bidder Clayton, Dubilier & Rice “significantly undervalued” the grocer with its 230p-per-share [...]
Wincanton to restart dividend payments on strong outlook November 5, 2020 Logistics firm Wincanton announced that it would restart paying dividends today on top of bullish forecasts for its financial outlook. Although profit shrunk from £26.2m to £19.1m in the first half of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the FTSE 250 firm said that it expected its full year results to be “materially ahead” [...]
Watchdog delays final report on Sainsbury’s-Asda supermarket merger February 11, 2019 The UK's competition watchdog today extended its probe into the supermarket tie-up between Sainsbury's and Asda by eight weeks. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had decided to delay the publication of its report to give it enough time to “reach a fully reasoned final decision” on the £12bn merger. An inquiry group [...]
Aldi launches first click and collect trial September 14, 2020 Aldi has launched its first click and collect trial as the budget supermarket seeks to attract new customers amid rising demand for online shopping. The German discounter is running the trial for Aldi employees from a store in the Midlands and is planning to extend the service to customers in the coming weeks. If the [...]
Coronavirus: Primark agrees £370m deal with suppliers after backlash April 20, 2020 Primark has agreed to pay an extra £370m to suppliers after the budget retailer was criticised for cancelling orders during the coronavirus lockdown. The high street giant announced this morning that it will now “take all product that was both in production and finished, and planned for handover by 17 April”. Primark had previously committed [...]
Sainsbury’s and Asda double down on £1bn price cut pledge to salvage deal March 19, 2019 Sainsbury’s and Asda have outlined their pledge this morning to slash shop prices as a result of a planned merger, doubling down on efforts to push through a major tie-up despite being dealt a recent devastating blow by Britain's competition watchdog. The two grocery giants, who suffered a setback last month when the Competition and Markets [...]
Waitrose ranked best UK supermarket in annual Which survey February 22, 2020 Waitrose has been ranked as the best supermarket in the UK in an annual satisfaction survey conducted by Which. The chain, which is owned by John Lewis, hit five stars on most categories, but did come joint-last in value for money. Budget supermarkets Aldi and Lidl continue to be ranked highest in terms of value. [...]
Iceland mulls bid for potential Sainsbury’s-Asda store sell-offs February 11, 2019 Frozen foods giant Iceland is mulling a move to snap up supermarket stores that Sainsbury’s and Asda could be forced to offload as part of their proposed tie-up. "We are looking at everything for sure," Iceland's managing director Richard Walker told the FT. "Food retail drives footfall and we are the only supermarket that is [...]