How does craft gin compete against big brands? “Create weird and wacky stuff,” says distiller December 9, 2016 Yesterday, gin stole the show as 2016's most profitable spirit as the sector passed a £1bn sales mark for the first time ever, six months ahead of schedule. Today, craft distiller Tom Warner, co-founder of Warner Edwards, gave City A.M. the low-down on the artisan industry. Warner Edwards was founded just over four years ago by [...]
Coca-Cola chief executive Muhtar Kent said he’s stepping down in May December 9, 2016 Coca-Cola chief executive Muhtar Kent said he will step down in May and be replaced by chief operating officer James Quincey. Kent, 64, has worked as chief executive of the beverage company since 2008 and will continue as chairman. He said it was "the most wonderful and unique privilege" to work for the company, and will officially step down 1 [...]
Mapped: Experts analysed 120 years of housing data to show how 14 of London’s boroughs have changed December 9, 2016 Each of London's 32 boroughs has its own unique history, and now you can see how housing changed for 14 of them over the past century. Property consultancy Knight Frank today launched an interactive report that uses 120 years of London housing to study how the areas have changed over time. The case studies detail the history of each [...]
Fyffes’ shares rocket after bananas deal from Sumitomo December 9, 2016 A lot people seem to think 2016 was the year when the world went bananas. And today, investors in them will be going bananas too. Sumitomo, one of Japan's largest conglomerates, revealed it was splashing out €751m (£631m) to buy Irish banana giant Fyffes. Read more: How bananas could one day cure the flu Offering shareholders €2.23 [...]
Food and drink representatives want special protections for their EU workers guaranteed in Brexit negotiations December 9, 2016 Food prices will rise if EU workers employed in the food and drinks industry are forced to leave, representatives of the sector today warned. More than 30 food and drink bodies came together to call on the government to give "unambiguous reassurance" to EU workers they can stay and work in the UK after Article [...]
Photo-Me beams over a successful six months as investment in new areas pays off December 9, 2016 Photo-Me International is all smiles after it outperformed in its half-year results. The figures The photo booth operator’s revenue grew to £110.6m, up 19.2 per cent, or £96.5m at constant currency, up four per cent. Pre-tax profits increased 20.2 per cent to £31m, while rising to £26.9m, up 4.3 per cent at constant currency. As of October, the group had 46,760 units, up [...]
BAT’s vaping robots find e-cigarettes don’t deliver as much nicotine as traditional smokes December 9, 2016 Vaping robots are testing British American Tobacco’s electronic cigarettes to find out how nicotine and vapour delivery to lung cells compare to traditional cigarettes. Dr James Murphy, head of risk substantiation at BAT, said the company had to be sure that other tests weren’t just saying e-cigarette vapour had a reduced impact because it was [...]
Sears sales fall as bosses warn they have no clue when department store group will return to profit December 8, 2016 US department store chain Sears reported its fifth consecutive quarterly loss today and warned investors it cannot guarantee when it will return to profitability. Total revenue at the retailer fell 14.3 per cent to $5bn (£4bn) in the third quarter, down from $5.8bn in the same period of last year. The drop was driven by [...]
Mulberry profits hit by weak sterling December 8, 2016 Revenues were up in the first half of the year for luxury handbag brand Mulberry – but profits were dented by the weak pound, it said today. The Somerset-based manufacturer said revenues rose 10 per cent to £74.5m in the 26 weeks to the end of September, up from £67.8m the year before – but it [...]
Gin is 2016’s trendiest drink, with sales growing in the UK and beyond December 8, 2016 There's no arguing that 2016 has left many of us needing a drink at the end of the day, and no one has benefited from that more than the UK's gin industry. British consumers drank 1.12bn gin and tonics in the last year, breaking the sector's £1bn sales mark for the first time ever six months [...]