Begbies warns over companies on the brink April 13, 2011 The number of British companies in serious financial distress soared in the first quarter with restaurants, professional services businesses and the leisure industry in particular difficulty, a report showed. Begbies Traynor, a corporate recovery company that helps wind up or restructure firms, said its Red Flag Alert database showed 186,554 UK businesses were facing significant [...]
Foodies fuel sales rise at Greene King September 6, 2011 Pub and restaurant group Greene King has served up a heartening sales uplift over the past four months, saying sales in its food-focused chains were higher than last year despite the benefit of the World Cup in 2010. Greene King, which runs retail brands Loch Fyne and Hungry Horse among others, said its retail division [...]
John Lewis sales lifted by back to school gear September 2, 2011 John Lewis posted a rise in weekly sales, boosted by parents splashing out on items ahead of the imminent start of the new school year. The employee-owned business said sales at its department stores increased 1.4 per cent to £58.6m in the week to August 27. Sales excluding VAT sales tax fell 0.4 per cent. [...]
Morrisons profit up as it unveils share buyback March 10, 2011 Supermarket group Morrisons has reported a rise in annual profit and issued details o f a share buyback plan. The company announced a pre-tax profit of £874m for the 12 months to the end of January, up from the £858m it made in the same period a year ago. Like-for-like sales, excluding fuel and VAT, [...]
VAT hike and inflation see consumer morale tumble February 15, 2011 CONSUMER confidence fell to just six points above its all time low, according to a Nationwide index released today. After rising to 54 in December, the index dropped to 47 last month, weighed down by a collapse in spending confidence that was mainly caused by the VAT rise and inflation, Nationwide said. The survey’s spending [...]
Irish austerity cuts take a bite out of Domino’s Pizza as growth slows March 30, 2011 Britain’s biggest pizza delivery firm Domino’s reported slower sales growth, hit by a slump in trade in Ireland, sending its shares down 9.3 per cent yesterday. The company, which operates the British and Irish franchises of the global delivery brand, said sales at its 608 shops open more than a year grew by 4.2 per [...]
High inflation hits UK retail sales in July August 18, 2011 THE WEAKNESS of the UK’s consumer recovery was underscored yesterday, after official figures revealed retail sales rose by just 0.2 per cent in July. Clothing sales were particularly weak as cash-strapped households reined in their spending, the figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed. Analysts had pencilled in a 0.3 per cent rise [...]
Royal wedding to boost struggling UK shop sales March 6, 2011 DESPITE sluggish retail sales growth in February, next month’s bank holidays will provide a spring bounce for the high street, accountancy group BDO said today. Like for like sales were up just 0.3 per cent in February compared to the same time last year, the BDO high street sales tracker found. “With January sales and [...]
Strong data should keep stocks heading higher March 27, 2011 AFTER their biggest weekly gain for six months, European stocks could well press even further ahead on this morning’s open. In out-of-hours trading, GFT is forecasting the UK’s FTSE 100 index to open up 12 points from Friday’s close at 5,912. The German DAX is quoted to open up 14 points at 6,960 and the [...]
Worldwide consumer squeeze January 23, 2011 Consumers in most countries globally look set to keep a tight grip on spending in coming months as they worry about job security and rising inflation, according to a Nielsen Company survey released yesterday. Almost half (45 per cent) of Americans foresee a weak economic environment this year, compared with 38 per cent of Europeans [...]