Tesco nears crucial update as Iran war threatens food inflation Retail As the bosses of the country’s biggest supermarkets crowded into the chancellor’s office earlier this month, no voice will have been as loud as that of Ken Murphy, chief executive of Tesco. Rachel Reeves summoned grocery executives to discuss how the Iran war will impact Brits’ weekly shops, and Tesco’s results tomorrow will pull back [...]
Aldi snaps up abandoned London psychiatric hospital to turn it into supermarket Retail Aldi has snapped up an abandoned London psychiatric hospital, City AM can reveal, in the latest sign discount supermarkets are getting increasingly creative in their search to acquire land to expand their UK footprint. The German grocer, which has over 1,000 stores in the UK but hopes to increase this by as many as 500, [...]
Supermarket bosses meet Rachel Reeves amid dire food inflation warning Retail The bosses of some of the UK’s biggest supermarkets met Chancellor Rachel Reeves in emergency cost of living talks on Wednesday, amid warnings that food inflation could rise to double digits this year. Leading supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons attended Downing Street after efforts to gather industry bosses last week were abandoned amid concerns [...]
Reeves summons supermarket bosses again after snub March 31, 2026 Rachel Reeves has summoned supermarket bosses for a Downing Street meeting on Wednesday after being snubbed last week. The new meeting will be attended by executives at Sainsbury’s and Tesco but bosses at Asda, Aldi and John Lewis will miss out, supposedly due to diary clashes. The Chancellor hastily invited grocery executives to a meeting [...]
‘Bumper’ Boxing Day provides boost to struggling high streets December 27, 2025 Boxing Day was a “bumper day” for all UK retail destinations as data shows shopper footfall was up 4.4 per cent on last year, making it the strongest increase in more than a decade, industry analysts said. The retail sector may end the year on a “positive note” as December 26 saw shoppers flock to [...]
Asda: Will 2026 be the year supermarket giant bounces back? December 26, 2025 This time last year, analysts warned that Asda needed to “dig down into its soul” if it was to turn around its fortunes. After a rollercoaster 2024 in which it struggled with debt, strikes and falling sales, the Leeds-headquartered supermarket giant was hoping the new year would begin to reveal green shoots of recovery. Under [...]
Who made the naughty list in the wine world in 2025? December 23, 2025 This was another fascinating year in the world of wine, with some great initiatives and events celebrating the people who make this vital and brilliant industry tick. But there were also some things on my naughty list… read on to find out who made the cut. Nice List – Aldi Aldi’s wine department is fantastic, [...]
A matter of loaf and death: How to bake the perfect sourdough December 23, 2025 Standing in silence here at Bread Ahead in Borough Market, awaiting our instructions, you could have heard a pin drop. I am here taking a sourdough masterclass and attempting to breathe life into my creation, not to mention keeping my mother – the flour-and-water starter used to make sourdough – alive. Thankfully, the air here [...]
Deloitte’s big Christmas quiz 2025 December 9, 2025 The 2025 Deloitte Christmas Economics Quiz by chief economist, Ian Stewart and team The Christmas quiz offers a test of your knowledge of the festive season, economics and politics, in 12 questions. The answers and a brief explanation of the factors at work are provided at the end. 1) Which British politician (past and present) [...]
Christmas adverts 2025 reviewed… Part 2 December 3, 2025 To see part one of our Christmas adverts review click here Are you starting to feel Christmassy yet? It tried it’s damndest to snow last week didn’t it? And what with the lights getting switched on all over town ‘the season’ is increasingly hard to avoid. To be honest I gave in this week, and had [...]