McDonald’s: Middle East boycott over free meals for Israeli soldiers hits sales January 5, 2024 McDonald’s chief executive, Chris Kempczinski, has blamed “misinformation” surrounding the Israel-Gaza war for flattening sales in the Middle-East. In a post on LinkedIn, the head of the fast food chain said calls for boycott have led to “meaningful business impact”. Kempczinski, said: “Several markets in the Middle East and some outside the region are experiencing [...]
Diageo: Guinness maker shares hit lowest level in four years amid China trade row January 5, 2024 Shares at Diageo are now trading at their lowest level since November 2020, in the face of weakening sales and trouble with Chinese trade.
Revs to shut Liverpool bar and host of others as youngsters stop spending January 5, 2024 Revolution Bars has said it will close down eight of its least profitable venues in response to young people scaling back nights out due to the cost of living crisis. In a trading update, the nightlife operator blamed younger customers feeling the “disproportionate” effect of the cost-of-living crisis and the national living wage increase for [...]
More misery for London retail as footfall flatlines January 5, 2024 London retailers took yet another battering over December as footfall fell -1.4 per cent on a year-to-year basis, according to new figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Festive cheer did not appear to be enough to drag shoppers back to the capital’s high streets, with the figure widening from -0.4 per cent the [...]
Could Flutter’s US expansion rock its premium London stock listing? January 4, 2024 Gaming giant Flutter is gearing up for a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the end of the month.
JD Sports sees £2bn wiped off market value but analysts are holding out hope January 4, 2024 JD Sports has not started the new year on the right foot. Nearly £2bn has been wiped off the firm’s market value after it posted an unusually weak Christmas performance. A warning from the ‘king of trainers’ that it would struggle to meet its ambitious £1bn profit target kicked the retailer’s share price down by 25 [...]
Boots enjoys record sales as IPO rumours swirl January 4, 2024 Boots.com reported sales up 17.5 per cent, with November its biggest ever month, while overall it had an 11th straight quarter of market growth.
Sainsbury’s injects £200m for staff pay as bumper Christmas helps stave off Lidl and Aldi threats January 4, 2024 Some 120,000 employees at Sainsbury’s and Argos are set to have their hourly wage increase, as the supermarket injects £200m into improving pay. Staff at the ‘Big Four’ grocer will now be handed £12 per hour, in line with the Real Living Wage. For workers in London this will leap to £13.15. Sainsbury’s has increased [...]
Mortgage approvals rise as rates cool – but the housing market is not out of woods yet January 4, 2024 According to the latest reading from the Bank of England (BoE) net mortgage approvals for house purchases rose from 47,900 in October to 50,100 in November.
Selfridges co-owner’s luxury Alpine villa targeted in row over unpaid taxes: reports January 4, 2024 Austrian real estate tycoon Rene Benko, the co-owner of Selfridges, faces losing his alpine home after tax authorities placed a security on it to cover years of allegedly unpaid taxes.