McDonald’s gets final bids for super-size sell-off of restaurants to franchise partners in China and Hong Kong September 15, 2016 McDonald's has received final offers from at least three bidders for more than 2,000 of its restaurants in China and Hong Kong that have been put up for sale to franchise partners in a super-sized sell-off. Private equity outfit Carlyle Group has served up an offer with Chinese state group CITIC, while TPG Capital is working with local [...]
Summer retail spend still strong following the Brexit vote September 15, 2016 Retail sales edged downwards in August following the nation's bumper spending spree in July – but sales were more than six per cent higher than last year, indicating consumers were still happy to spend after the Brexit vote. Excluding fuel, sales fell 0.3 per cent month-on-month in August, but sales were up 6.2 per cent on last year, [...]
These are the surprisingly unhealthy high street breakfasts from Pret a Manger, Costa Coffee, Starbucks and Eat September 15, 2016 If you didn't have time to eat breakfast at home this morning, chances are you nipped into a Pret a Manger or Starbucks in the way to work for a last-minute snack. But the illusion that high street coffee and food outlets are healthy has been knocked upside the head by new research from health [...]
A tale of two retail sectors: Shares in fashion retailers fall as supermarkets jump September 15, 2016 It was the best of times, it was the worst of times in the retail sector today, as shares in retailers led both the risers and the fallers in the FTSE 100. Firmly in the spring of hope was the supermarket sector, where Morrisons led the risers, with shares jumping 7.13 per cent to 207.4p in [...]
Big brewer “beerhemoth” companies such as AB InBev and SABMiller are putting the craft beer revival under threat September 15, 2016 In a blow to hipsters and ale aficianados, big brewers' ability to provide significantly cheaper beer is at risk of undercutting Britain's thriving community of local, independent beer producers, the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) has warned. More than 200 new breweries opened in the past year alone, with 1,540 now operating in Britain. However, the [...]
John Lewis warns on job losses due to its commitment to staff pay September 15, 2016 The John Lewis Partnership warned this morning that it may be losing staff "over time" due to its paying its employees higher than the government-imposed national living wage. The company committed to paying workers "well above" the new national living wage, but said this had landed it with £33m in extra costs. If the department store had [...]
Next posts a fall in profits in “challenging and volatile” trading environment September 15, 2016 Announcing a fall in profits this morning, Next said that trading since its July sale had been "challenging and volatile". The figures Next's pre-tax profit fell 1.5 per cent to £342.1m, down from £347.1m a year earlier. It was weighed down by profit falls at Next Retail and Next Brand which dropped 16.8 per cent and [...]
Knowingly undersold? John Lewis profits fall 15 per cent – but not because of Brexit September 15, 2016 You know things are bad when the chattering classes stop spending: today John Lewis admitted things had gone downhill in the first half as market conditions worsened. The figures Profit before tax and exceptional items fell 14.7 per cent to £81.9m in the six months to the end of July, despite a 3.1 per cent rise in gross sales, to £5.27bn. Although [...]
Morrisons reports improved sales and increased profits and says Brexit has had no negative effect September 15, 2016 Shares in Morrisons jumped almost five per cent as the market opened, after the supermarket reported an increase in sales during the 26 weeks to 31 July, and said it hasn't seen any ill effects from the Brexit vote. The figures Revenue dipped to £8.03bn from £8.06bn this time last year, however like-for-like sales in the first [...]
Dunelm Group reveals seven per cent uptick in revenue as it hikes dividend by 17 per cent September 14, 2016 Furniture retailer Dunelm Group has hiked its dividend after reporting increased revenues and profits for the 52 weeks to 2 July. The figures Total revenues grew 7.1 per cent to £880.9m from £835.8m the year before. Operating profit was up to £129.3m from £122.5m, a 6.6 per cent year-on-year change, while pre-tax profit was up 6.2 [...]