Premium pub and craft beer investments are expected to translate to profit ahead of Marston’s full-year results November 20, 2016 Marston's is set to unveil an upswing in profits this week because of the company's investment into premium food and craft beers. The pub chain, which has an estate of about 1,600 pubs in the UK, including premium chains Pitcher & Piano and Revere, is expected to reveal a jump in full-year profits to £98.3m from £31.3m [...]
Mothercare’s shares are down and profits are expected to fall ahead of this week’s interim results November 20, 2016 Mothercare is expected to report a drop in pre-tax profits in its interim results this week as shares fail to recover from overseas trading fears. Mothercare's shares closed at 109.7 on Friday, halving from the beginning of the year. Read more: Mothercare takes baby steps with first profit in five years Despite a rise of 1.2 per cent [...]
Tesco to build homes on top of London superstores and carparks in bid to raise £400m from extensive property November 20, 2016 Tesco is in talks to build homes on top of its London stores and car parks in a bid to squeeze more value out of its massive land holdings. The supermarket giant hopes that the bold strategy could earn up to £400m. The homes, which could potentially number in the thousands, would take advantage of [...]
There are now 50/1 odds Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones will be the UK’s next Prime Minister November 19, 2016 If British politics follows the US example, allowing an outsider businessman to ascend to the helm of the nation, Peter Jones could soon be swapping the set of Dragons' Den for Number 10. There are now 50/1 odds that Jones will be the UK's next Prime Minister, according to online betting site BetStars, after the entrepreneur [...]
Alcohol industries call for duty freezes in Autumn Statement to distill Brexit fears November 18, 2016 The beer and spirit industries are hopeful for another year of duty freezes, while the wine sector looks for a levelled playing field ahead of Philip Hammond’s Autumn Statement. Earlier this year, George Osborne froze the duty rates on beer, spirits and most ciders, but most wines and higher strength sparkling cider were set to go up, [...]
Your bagged salad is a Salmonella risk November 18, 2016 Researchers at the University of Leicester have found that juices in salad bags are a breeding ground for Salmonella. Even tiny amounts of juices leaching from salad leaves can encourage the pathogen to grow, and the juices also allow particularly dangerous strains of the microbe to thrive. Read more: #Marmitegate: Tesco boss warns suppliers against hiking [...]
Fuller’s facing unappetising cocktail of Brexit, living wage and business rate increases despite outperforming the market in first half November 18, 2016 Fuller's insisted it has "outperformed the market" in the first half of the financial year but cautioned that it faces an unappetising brew of Brexit, the onset of the National Living Wage and business rate changes. Overall revenue at the pub operator and brewer grew 11 per cent to £197.6m in the six months to 24 September, up [...]
Jimmy Choo’s share price rises on sterling’s slide November 18, 2016 Jimmy Choo's share price climbed this morning after the company reported revenue growth due to improved trading and store openings. The luxury retailer's share price was up three per cent at time of writing. Read more: West End gets Brexit boost as sales to tip over £9bn for the first time It said its success [...]
#Marmitegate: Tesco boss warns suppliers against hiking prices November 18, 2016 Tesco's chief executive Dave Lewis has told suppliers not to up prices due to sterling's slide following the Brexit vote. Lewis recently went to war with Unilever after the supplier tried to increase the price of popular goods such as Marmite and PG Tips by 10 per cent. Read more: Marmite peace settlement sends Tesco to the [...]
Retail sales defy gloomy predictions ahead of a bumper Black Friday November 18, 2016 Retail sales have outperformed expectations ahead of the nation's biggest shopping spree – Black Friday. According to the Office for National Statistics, the volume of retail sales increased by 7.3 per cent in October compared to the same month in 2015 – the highest growth rate for fourteen years. The amount spent online grew by [...]