New flavours and quirky marketing help popcorn burst in popularity as sales rise 14 per cent to £120m September 26, 2016 Innovations in flavours and marketing, as well as snackers acquiring a taste for healthier treats, have pushed popcorn sales up 14 per cent in the last year. Total UK popcorn sales rose to more than £120m in the 52 weeks to 16 July, according to market intelligence group IRI. Both volume and value sales increased, [...]
Bluebird and Le Pont de la Tour owner D&D London restaurant group dishes up best ever profits September 26, 2016 Premium restaurant operator D&D London served up tasty growth last year, despite a troubling second half, and has committed to investing in the UK after the vote for Brexit. The figures Chief executive Des Gunewardena has said the second half of the year "was certainly not a bed of roses", though full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation [...]
Deliverwho? Sainsbury’s is bringing back the bicycle delivery service it first started in 1915 September 26, 2016 Sainsbury's is trialling a bicycle delivery service in London that promises to get groceries to customers within one hour – a service it first started in 1915. The retailer is starting the trial from Wednesday in various parts of west London, from Westminster to Wimbledon. Cyclists peddling food for tech startup Deliveroo have become a common sight [...]
London Chamber of Commerce and Industry calls on government to heed the ‘unintended consequences’ of business rates shake-up September 26, 2016 The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has called for the government be wary of the 'unintended consequences' of changes to business rates and to mitigate against them by encouraging local investment. LCCI said local government should be allowed to retain all the money it makes from business rates as part of a "greater devolution [...]
Aldi grows sales to record high but operating profit takes a hit as discount supermarket unveils plans for store upgrades September 26, 2016 Discount supermarket Aldi has announced plans for a £300m overhaul of its UK stores as it reported record sales for the year to 31 December 2015. The figures Sales in the UK and Ireland rose to £7.7bn from £6.9bn, a year-on-year increase of 12 per cent, and twice what the company reported three years ago. Operating [...]
Ristorante Frescobaldi’s Florentine wine success set to go global September 26, 2016 There are many foodies who would argue London has the most competitive restaurant scene in the world. The number of food-led sites in the capital has increased by almost a fifth over the last five years alone, according to figures from Market Growth Monitor, leaving new restaurants and pop-up organisers vying for competition more than [...]
SABMiller and AB InBev wait with bated breath for £79bn megabrew deal ahead of SAB shareholder vote on Wednesday September 25, 2016 SABMiller investors will cast their votes this week on a deal which, if passed, will be the UK’s largest ever corporate merger. The deadline for proxy votes on Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (AB InBev) £79bn takeover bid will close tomorrow morning, while shareholders will also be able to vote in-person at the company’s High Court meeting on Wednesday. The [...]
The Brexit vote boosted fine wine sales so much the market is running out, according to BI Fine Wine and Spirits Merchant September 25, 2016 The Brexit vote has breathed so much life into the UK’s fine wine scene that it is beginning to drain the market of available stock, according to wine merchants BI. Sales at BI have risen by 26 per cent since the June referendum when compared with the same period of 2015, after the dip in [...]
Business groups write to communities secretary Sajid Javid to campaign against changes to business rates September 25, 2016 Groups representing retailers and small businesses have come together to write to communities secretary Sajid Javid to urge him to pull back on changes to business rates. Business rates are being re-evaluated, and changes proposed for the way business rates are valued could "sink individual businesses into hardship", the lobby groups warned. Read more: West End gets [...]
Sports Direct’s property aide jumps ship months after Mike Ashley appoints his daughter’s boyfriend to run property portfolio September 25, 2016 Sports Direct's top property lawyer has jumped ship after Mike Ashley hired his daughter's boyfriend to run the retailer's property portfolio. Allawee Albaghdadi had been at Sports Direct nearly five years, but, according to his LinkedIn profile, left the embattled company in July for commercial law firm EMW. Read more: Sports Direct chairman: I have dealt with killers, I [...]