Pubs push on with demand to loosen licensing laws after World Cup sales boost August 22, 2023 Pubs are continuing with their demands to amend the country’s licensing laws to permit them to sell alcohol earlier in the day on special occasions. Calls to change the law were ignited in the run up to the Women’s World Cup final. Typically, trading laws only prohibit pubs from pouring drinks from 11:00am, so many [...]
Cake Box: Non-executive chair to step down as like-for-like sales sweeten August 22, 2023 Cake Box, the London-listed confectionery chain, has announced the departure of its non-executive chairman Nilesh Sachdev who will step down in November. Sachdev, who is also chair at His Majesty’s Land Registry, is leaving the cream cake maker after five years in the role. The boardroom veteran has helped guide the company since it first [...]
Cost of living crisis: 63 per cent of Brits now shop at discount grocery stores August 22, 2023 More than half of shoppers now shop at discount grocery stores as Brits continue to seek out bargains amid the cost of living crisis. According to new data released by NIQ, in the last four weeks some 63 per cent of the public shopped at value chains such as Aldi, B&M and Poundland, with over [...]
London SMEs committing over half of annual revenue to tech investment, data reveals August 22, 2023 London’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are ramping up their tech budgets, allocating over half of their annual revenue to technology investments, according to a report by Barclays. In the capital, SMEs are directing an average of 54 per cent of their annual revenue to technology investments, such as data analytics and artificial intelligence tools, [...]
Retail shares may rise as profit upgrades boost investor confidence August 21, 2023 Retail shares could shoot up over the coming months despite recessionary headwinds, reports from City analysts suggest. Analysts at Peel Hunt said the market was “undervalued,” following a season of profit downgrades issued by major UK retailers that sent investor conference sinking. Many retailers were hit hard by red-hot inflation which led consumers to be [...]
Domino’s franchisee to declare Russian business bankrupt August 21, 2023 The Russian arm of fast food chain Domino’s is likely to close after its London-listed parent company decided to put it into bankruptcy. Apparently failing to find a buyer for the Russian business, DP Eurasia said it has decided its subsidiary should instead file for bankruptcy. The franchisee runs around 170 Domino’s pizza sites in the country, and had previously said it was “evaluating its presence” there. The Russian economy has been hit [...]
Wilko: On-the-brink retailer missed out on £40m in sale of flagship depot August 20, 2023 Wilko’s sale of its flagship depot has returned to the spotlight as the deal appears to show how the business allegedly missed out on £40m amid a period when it was desperately trying to shore up cash. Last November, the troubled high street store offloaded its 1.1m sq ft warehouse in Nottinghamshire for £48m to [...]
Tesco first retailer to cover VAT on period pants following industry led campaign August 20, 2023 Tesco has become the first retailer to cover the cost of VAT on its range of period pants, in the latest push from retailers to government to place the absorbent underwear in the same category as menstrual products so it can be exempt from the tax. On Monday, the ‘Big Four’ grocer will introduce a [...]
HomeServe founder pours £110m in crusade to revive flailing British high street August 20, 2023 HomeServe founder Richard Harpin is injecting £110m of his own cash into medium-sized businesses, aiming to breathe life back into the UK’s beleaguered high streets. After cashing in on the sale of insurance company HomeServe to Brookfield last year for a cool £4.1bn, the home repairs mogul Harpin said he is trying to “help others [...]
M&S digital chief exits amid business boom August 20, 2023 The top dog behind Marks & Spencer’s digital growth is reportedly leaving the retailer just months after being promoted. Chief digital and technology officer Jeremy Pee, who landed the position in January, is understood to be leaving the business to return to Canada. According to a report in The Sunday Times, M&S’s co-chief executive officer [...]