Sainsbury’s warns on growth as trolley wars heat up Retail Sainsbury’s has said it expects no profit growth in the next year as competition in the grocery market intensifies. The supermarket giant reported retail underlying operating profit of £1.036bn in the 52 weeks ended March 1, up 7.2 per cent from £966m last year. It said double-digit growth at its Sainsbury’s retail arm was partially [...]
Frasers to launch Sports Direct in Australia and New Zealand Frasers will enter into a long-term agreement with wholesaler Accent Group to launch Sports Direct across Australia and New Zealand in the next step in its international growth plans. The 25-year partnership aims to rollout up to 100 Sports Direct stores across the region, which would boost the total number of Sports Direct stores by [...]
B&M: Poor UK sales weigh on earnings for bargain retailer Retail Discount retailer B&M expects full-year earnings to fall year on year as poor UK sales weigh on overall company performance. However, the company told markets this morning that it expects to report earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) above the midpoint of its £605m-£625m guidance range. The firm lowered its expected full-year EBITDA [...]
Consumer confidence flattens as recovery stalls despite wage growth April 11, 2025 Consumer confidence was flat in the first quarter of the year despite high wage growth, as economic uncertainty weighs on Brits. Overall consumer confidence rose 0.3 percentage points in the first three months of 2025, with sentiment towards the UK economy at its lowest level in over a year, according to Deloitte. “The consumer recovery [...]
Libby’s Naked Wine Diary: The perfect glass to enjoy with friends April 10, 2025 @doesmybumlook40 @knackeredmother and @libbybrodie walk into a bar… And this is the Naked Wine they drank together The last time the three of us were together was at Kylie Minogue’s birthday party. It was a surprisingly intimate affair at Mayfair club Annabel’s, where we sipped Kylie’s Prosecco (very good) and rose (excellent) as the pixie-sized Queen [...]
Bionow Awards honour our greatest Innovators April 9, 2025 The Bionow Awards are given to honour those most deserving for their ingenuity and dedication, distinguishing them from their competitors and proving them worthy of recognition. With a prestigious history of more than 20 years, the awards have become the leading life sciences accolades in the UK; highlighting the achievements of the sector, shining a [...]
Confidence in UK stocks hits new high among retail investors April 3, 2025 Confidence in the UK market has hit new highs among British retail investors as savers move away from US stocks. A third of all retail investors are backing the UK as the top performing stock market over the next five years, a survey of 1,000 investors from Etoro found, well above the previous record of [...]
UK grocery sales slow in March but there are ‘reasons to be optimistic’ April 3, 2025 Total sales at UK supermarket tills slowed in March, but analysts pinned this to a later-than-usual rather than a structural slowdown. Sales growth at tills slowed to 2.7 per cent in the four weeks to April 2, down from a four per cent rise in February, according to NIQ. In-store visits grew 6.8 per cent [...]
Currys upgrades outlook as sales outperform April 3, 2025 High sales growth at Currys has led the electrical retailer to increase its expected profit for the full year. Its share price rose more than 10 per cent in early trades. The company told markets this morning that adjusted profit before tax is now expected to be around £160m, versus previous guidance of £145m to [...]
City broker downgrades St James’s Place despite robust inflows April 2, 2025 RBC has downgraded St James’s Place’s target stock price, while Quilter and Rathbones both received upgrades. RBC analyst Ben Bathurst downgraded his price target on Britain’s largest wealth manager from 1,100p to 1,050p today. St James’s Place’s stock price underperformed today on the news, falling more than two per cent compared to a decline of less [...]