ASOS shares soar as it offloads Lichfield warehouse to M&S in £66m deal Retail Retail giant ASOS agreed to sell one of its stock warehouses to Marks and Spencer for £66m in the latest sign of its efforts to save money on rent and improve its financial position. The fashion retailer said the sale of the Lichfield fulfilment centre, which is expected to close by the second half of [...]
Labour hands police ‘long-overdue’ violent shoplifting powers Retail The government has handed the police a set of “long overdue” powers to crack down on soaring levels of violent shoplifting, which has been branded a “national scandal”. The crime and policing bill was granted royal assent on Wednesday, meaning assault against retail workers is classed as a specific offence, and the effective immunity for [...]
‘National scandal’: Record-high shoplifting driven by repeat offenders Retail Shoplifting has been branded a “national scandal” as incidents reach a record high, fuelled by a growing number of repeat offenders. More than 500,000 shoplifting offenses were recorded last year, according to official figures released in response to a parliamentary question by former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith. Fears around the worsening state of [...]
Economy could suffer for eight months after Iran war ends, minister says April 26, 2026 Surging food and energy prices caused by the Iran war could last for more than eight months after the conflict ends, Starmer’s right-hand man has said. Higher petrol, food and plane ticket prices will persist for “eight-plus months” following the end of the conflict, chief secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones said. The minister [...]
Supermarkets pile pressure on government to cut energy costs April 23, 2026 Supermarkets are calling on the government to cut taxes on energy to help retailers dodge looming food inflation, with Sainsbury’s, Tesco, M&S and Asda piling pressure on Labour. The boss of Sainsbury’s, the UK’s second-largest grocer, became the latest industry figure to call for the Treasury to step in. On Thursday, the supermarket said it [...]
Trojan tools: AI is professional services’ newest cyber liability April 21, 2026 As the UK government ramps up pressure on businesses to strengthen their cyber defences over Anthropic’s Mythos, professional services firms are already feeling increasingly anxious about cybersecurity. In the last month, a hacker gained access to one of Bain & Co’s internal AI tools, which followed another attack that exposed cybersecurity flaws in a system [...]
Sainsbury’s to deliver food inflation update as Argos future could be settled April 21, 2026 After Tesco hit back against fears of double-digit food inflation last week, supermarket rival Sainsbury’s is set to update the market this week. From the Iran war to the future of Argos, Felix Armstrong looks ahead to a landmark set of results due on Thursday. Sainsbury’s spooked shoppers last week when it threatened people caught swapping [...]
M&S Sparks rewards overhauled as retailer offers cash perks April 16, 2026 Marks & Spencer has overhauled its Sparks card reward scheme using AI after shoppers demanded cash perks instead of the existing points-based system. The upmarket food and clothing giant said it is responding to consumer criticism of its loyalty scheme by offering “personalisation and pounds, not points and tricksy pricing”. The Sparks Card had faced [...]
Tesco boss downplays double-digit food inflation warning over Iran war April 16, 2026 The boss of Tesco said he doesn’t “recognise” warnings that food inflation could soar to double digits this year due to supply chain chaos caused by the Iran war. Ken Murphy, chief executive of the supermarket giant, said he currently has no concerns over significant price inflation and “doesn’t know” whether this is coming down [...]
Tesco shares jump as profit surges despite Iran ‘uncertainty’ April 16, 2026 Tesco shares jumped in early deals this morning after the retailer reported a better-than-expected profit for the year to the end of February. The supermarket giant made an operating profit of over £3.1bn in the year to February 2026 compared to its own forecasts of between £2.9 and £3.1bn. The supermarket expects to make an [...]