Pensioner pessimism drags on consumer confidence ahead of Budget October 9, 2024 Just one in six consumers think that the economy will improve over the next year while half think it will get worse, according to Which?
The threat of higher taxes is already harming growth October 9, 2024 An important reason why there was zero growth in June and July is that households are saving bigger proportions of their incomes, says Paul Ormerod The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, had made no secret of her desire to make economic growth her top policy objective. She reinforced the message this week in an interview with the [...]
Honda in the red despite ‘fun’ motorcycles helping to boost European sales by £1bn October 8, 2024 The increasing popularity of ‘fun’ motorcycles helping to boost Honda’s European sales by almost £1bn failed to stop the brand falling into the red during its latest financial year. The Berkshire-headquartered European division achieved a revenue of £4.498bn for the year to 31 March, 2024, up from the £3.523bn it reported for the prior 12 [...]
DPD: How parcel delivery giant is tracking return to growth October 8, 2024 Parcel delivery giant DPD is targeting the expansion of its international services to turn around its falling turnover which has decreased by £100m since the start of 2022. The group, which is owned by France’s La Poste, said it is forecasting a return to sales growth by the end of 2024 after setting its sights [...]
Wine sellers in ‘bleak’ alcohol duty tax burden warning October 7, 2024 Four of the UK’s biggest wine sellers have said that upcoming changes to alcohol duty will lead to price rises in a “bleak” warning to their customers. Majestic, Laithwaites, The Wine Society and Cambridge Wine Merchants are amongst the wine businesses who together launched a poster campaign against changes to the excise duty. Excise Duty [...]
Brioni: Harrods sales fail to stop cost-of-living crisis slashing profit October 4, 2024 Profit at the UK arm of Italian menswear luxury fashion house Brioni was slashed in 2023 despite its sales at Harrods helping to boost its overall turnover. The London-headquartered division has posted a pre-tax profit of £79,230 for the 12 months, down from the £370,533 it achieved in 2022. Newly-filed accounts with Companies House also show that its turnover [...]
Not ‘much to be optimistic about’ in London rental market October 3, 2024 Pressure on the rental market continues to build this autumn despite a cooling market earlier in spring, with more landlords selling up and more tenants looking for short-term homes, according to fresh data. More than three-quarters of agents have seen an increase in the number of tenants searching for properties, while more than half of [...]
Canon remains in the red despite capturing near-£100m sales boost October 3, 2024 The UK arm of camera and printer giant Canon failed to return to the black during its latest financial year despite sales rising by almost £100m. The Uxbridge-headquartered division reduced its pre-tax loss from £7.3m to £5.1m in 2023, newly-filed accounts with Companies House have revealed. The last time Canon UK reported a pre-tax profit [...]
SIG: Revenue drops as housing supplier warns of continued weak demand October 2, 2024 Housing supplier SIG has reported another drop in revenue after soft demand for interiors continued to bite. Group like-for-like revenue saw a sequential improvement but still dropped by four per cent in the three months to 20 September, after a seven per cent decline in the first half of the year. SIG said that weak [...]
Smeg: Sales cool at kitchenware brand as high interest rates ‘stifle’ demand September 30, 2024 The UK arm of kitchenware brand Smeg suffered lower than expected sales during its latest financial year after increasing interest rates ‘stifled demand’ for its products. The Abingdon-based division has reported a turnover of £65.2m for 2023, down from the £67.2m it posted for 2022. The new total is a step back from Smeg’s previously [...]