A bigger bite: Pret hikes team member salaries as commuter coffee favourite vows to invest in workforce March 2, 2023 Pret a Manger will increase the salaries of its workers from the start of next month to avoid falling foul of minimum wage laws, which change on April 1. Sandwich chain Pret said that it would hike pay for its worst-paid staff by 2.9 per cent, from £10.30 an hour to £10.60 an hour. It ensures [...]
JustEat: Takeaway orders tumble due to spending pullback but profit outlook raised March 1, 2023 Online food delivery firm Just Eat Takeaway.com has said it returned to underlying earnings last year and expects to remain profitable in 2023 despite seeing a drop in orders as customers cut back. The Amsterdam-based group swung to underlying earnings of 19 million euros (£16.7 million) last year from losses of 350 million euros (£308 [...]
Growers warn leek supply will be exhausted by April as Therese Coffey tells Brits to eat turnips February 24, 2023 Growers are warning of a leek shortage that will see British-grown supplies exhausted by April. High temperatures and a lack of rain, followed by a period of cold weather, are being blamed for creating the “most difficult season ever”. Supermarkets are already limiting the sale of tomatoes and other fruit and vegetables because of a [...]
Hold the ketchup: UK supermarkets facing tomato shortage February 21, 2023 UK supermarkets are facing a tomato shortage after bad weather in Europe and Africa disrupted supplies. Shoppers across the country have been sharing their frustration on social media after being unable to find tomatoes at their local stores. Growers and suppliers in Morocco have had to contend with cold temperatures, heavy rain, flooding and cancelled [...]
Cost of living: Brits switch to discount brands while 1.7m have cancelled subscriptions like Netflix, reveals Lloyds February 17, 2023 A fifth of people polled by Lloyds Bank have switched to discount brands in a bid to save cash to cope with the cost of living, while 1.7m have cancelled subscriptions like Netflix, it has been revealed. The shift to discount shopping has been significant during the cost of living crisis, with an 18 per [...]
Wagamama owner has ‘little hope for future’ activist shareholder says, urging major strategy overhaul February 16, 2023 Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group has shown “little hope for the future” and is in need of a strategy overhaul, an activist shareholder has urged. Oasis Management, a hedge fund which holds a 6.5 per cent stake in the company, called on the hospitality firm to “re-align its priorities” and take immediate steps to restore [...]
SSP: Upper Crust owner’s UK recovery hampered by rail strikes as commuters stop buying baguettes February 16, 2023 Upper Crust owner SSP has seen the recovery in its UK arm hampered by repeated waves of strike action across railway networks. The company, which runs food outlets at transport sites such as airports and railway stations, revealed the performance of its UK and Ireland business lagged behind other regions globally due to train strike [...]
Nestle: Cost inflation eats into KitKat maker’s profit as it tumbles 45 per cent to £8.4bn February 16, 2023 KitKat and Nescafe coffee maker Nestle has revealed its net profits tumbled by 45 per cent as cost inflation led the global food and drink giant to hike up the prices of its products. The Switzerland-headquartered company, which owns some of the world’s biggest food brands, said its net profits fell to 9.3 billion Swiss [...]
Subway mulls selling business in deal that could be worth over £8bn February 15, 2023 Family owners of sandwich giant Subway are considering a possible sale, in a deal that could be worth as much as £8bn. In a statement, the American fast-food firm said “its shareholders are exploring a possible sale of the company” after 60 years of family ownership, but added there “is no indication of timing or [...]
Supermarket wars: Waitrose to invest £100m in own brand products as it squares up to discount rivals February 15, 2023 Waitrose is to invest £100m in cutting prices on hundreds of its own-brand products amid intense competition in the sector as consumers battle record inflation. The upmarket grocer is reducing the prices of almost a third of its lowest-priced Essential Waitrose range by an average 14%, while almost a quarter of the cuts, which come [...]