Spending on essentials has hit record highs February 7, 2017 Spending on essential goods such as food and fuel has reached record highs as inflation has started to hit the UK consumer's wallet. There was a 15.3 per cent jump in petrol spending year-on-year in January, according to Barclaycard, and a 2.9 per cent hike in supermarket expenditure. This was coupled with a 3.4 per cent [...]
Heineken closes in on Punch Taverns as its investment vehicle buys 28 per cent stake February 6, 2017 Heineken has moved a step closer to completing its acquisition of Punch Taverns after its investment vehicle bought a significant stake in the British pub chain group. The Dutch brewer announced today that Vine Acquisitions, the vehicle it shares with partner Patron Capital, built up its share in the company to 28.5 per cent on Friday [...]
Boohoo moves forward with $20m acquisition of Nasty Gal February 6, 2017 Online fashion retailer Boohoo is moving forward with its $20m (£16m) acquisition of bankrupt rival Nasty Gal, announcing this morning that the deal will be completed by the end of the month. Boohoo, which targets millennial shoppers, announced its intentions to buy up Nasty Gal's intellectual property assets and customer database on 28 December. This [...]
Yo Sushi founder Simon Woodroffe: I want to be the next Richard Branson February 6, 2017 It took a life crisis for Simon Woodroffe to set up restaurant chain Yo Sushi. “I got divorced in the early nineties and was out in the wilderness for a long time. I was down to my last £200,000 tied to my flat and was desperate to do something with my life. That’s when I set [...]
British smokers are switching to e-cigarettes faster than anyone else in Europe February 6, 2017 Britons are switching from cigarettes to electronic alternatives faster than anyone else in Europe. Since 2013, one person has switched from traditional smoking to so-called vaping every four minutes in the UK, according to new research from EY. And now more than 2m British people vape, a total of 4.2 per cent of adults. By contrast, the [...]
Flopshop: Arcadia Group brand Topshop’s sales drop over Christmas February 5, 2017 Sir Philip Green’s fashion brand Topshop suffered a like-for-like sales drop of nearly 11 per cent over Christmas, the most important shopping period of the year. The Sunday Times has reported that sales across the Arcadia Group as a whole, which includes Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Evans, fell by about 6.5 per cent. The poor [...]
BrightHouse in bid for favour with watchdog February 5, 2017 ELECTRICALS rent-to-own retailer BrightHouse has put forward reform plans to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in a bid to save its reputation with the watchdog. The FCA is scrutinising a business plan from BrightHouse and will be deciding whether the retailer should be allowed to continue lending. The retailer allows shoppers to pay for goods, [...]
AccorHotels to bag Travel Keys February 5, 2017 French hotel group AccorHotels, owner of Sofitel and Fairmont hotels, is in talks to bag up luxury travel company Travel Keys. Atlanta-based Travel Keys offers luxury holiday lets in over 100 destinations, including Mexico, Hawaii and the Caribbean. Read more: You won't believe the opulence of these new hotel suites The discussions come just less than [...]
Amazon is looking for shop space in London, according to reports February 5, 2017 Tech giant Amazon has reportedly started searching for shop space in central London as part of its move into the grocery market. Amazon first revealed its ambitions to open grocery stores last December under the banner "Amazon Go". In a video, Amazon said it was using technology to create a shop with no check outs. Customers would [...]
Nobody panic, but your KitKat and Dairy Milk could be about to shrink February 5, 2017 Chocolate lovers could be about to witness some sleight of hand worthy of Willie Wonka – and might want to start stocking up on favourites such as KitKats and Dairy Milk bars. Sweet-making giants Mars, Nestle and Cadbury owner Mondelez, which make the classic snacks and many others, is said to be thinking of cutting the size of [...]