Lidl sales soar as big four supermarkets struggle November 12, 2019 Budget supermarket Lidl enjoyed soaring sales this autumn, as the big four grocers struggled to keep up with the German discount stores in the lead up to the crucial Christmas trading period. Lidl was the fastest growing bricks and mortar supermarket in the 12 weeks to 3 November with a sales increase of 8.8 per [...]
Ocado’s tech prowess must be celebrated May 18, 2018 It took a mega deal with a US grocer for Ocado to prove that it’s no basket case. The online grocer saw shares soar more than 80 per cent during trading yesterday after it announced that Kroger, one of the world’s biggest grocery chains with annual sales of $122bn (£90bn), will now use Ocado’s technology to [...]
Coronavirus: Here comes the startup chancellor April 20, 2020 Startups are the economy’s ‘department for the future.’ Their job is to future-proof all the other sectors – from retail and banking through ecommerce to public services. They are vital to the UK’s post-Brexit, post-Covid-19 future. They are also among its most vulnerable. Look up ‘start-up’ in the Cambridge Dictionary and the first example of [...]
Why digital infrastructure could emerge stronger from Covid-19 August 28, 2020 The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the need to modernise digital infrastructure networks. We expect that this will create new investment opportunities. Surging online activity Whether we like it or not, the Covid-19 pandemic has cemented our addiction to fast and reliable internet access. While speaking to colleagues remotely, food shopping online or monitoring our ‘smart [...]
Notion Capital opens £125m fourth fund October 3, 2019 London-headquartered venture capital investor Notion Capital today announced its fourth and largest fund to date, which will target a final closing value of £125m. Notion, which focuses on European business-targeted software-as-a-service startups, has previously backed the likes of fintech starlet Gocardless, Paddle and self-driving tech firm FiveAI. Notion IV will be aimed at startups around [...]
Markets live: FTSE 100 and US stocks soar as vaccine optimism builds July 15, 2020 The FTSE 100 doubled its gains on Wednesday as investor optimism about a coronavirus vaccine grew stronger, also fuelling US and European stocks. London’s blue-chip index climbed as high as 6,241 as it opened trading this morning, following positive trial results of a Moderna vaccine. By 1.30pm the FTSE 100 was up 2.07 per cent [...]
Sainsbury’s sales dip while Ocado and Lidl gain in latest grocer data June 26, 2018 Sainsbury's was the only supermarket to see a decline in sales during the 12 weeks to 17 June, new data shows. Sales slipped by £10m compared to the same period last year, bringing its market share down to 15.6 per cent, according to Kantar Worldpanel. Tesco, Asda and Morrisons also all lost market share despite [...]
Magazine publisher TI Media narrows loss as digital shift helps cut costs October 6, 2019 The publishing group behind Country Life and Horse & Hound has slashed its loss for the full year, as cost-cutting moves helped offset a decline in revenue. TI Media posted a pre-tax loss of £3.2m in the year to 31 December 2018, compared to £13.7m in the previous 12 months. Read more: Marie Claire ends [...]
M&S braced for fresh decline in profits as store closures continue May 19, 2019 Marks & Spencer is set to report a sharp decline in profits for the full year as it looks to beef up its online offering amid a raft of store closures. The high street stalwart is expected to post pre-tax profits of roughly £520m in its full-year results of Wednesday, a fall of 10 per cent on [...]
Morrisons records 14th quarter of growth despite hit from political uncertainty May 9, 2019 Morrisons took a hit from British political uncertainty in the first quarter of the financial year, it revealed today, as its sales growth slowed to put it behind major rival Tesco. Excluding fuel, like-for-like sales grew 2.3 per cent in the quarter, Morrisons said, a slowdown from 3.6 per cent in the first three months of [...]