AI could be picking your coffee as startup takes £2m April 20, 2026 An AI-powered coffee vending machine which tells its users when and what it might like to drink is set to spring up in forecourts, gyms and campuses across the country. Unity Coffee, which uses AI to offer tailored discounts based on the time and user behaviour, has completed a £2m fundraising and aims to “disrupt” [...]
Sainsbury’s threatens to crack down on shoplifters caught swapping eggs April 18, 2026 UK supermarket giants Sainsbury’s has threatened shoplifters with police action if they are caught swapping premium eggs into cheaper boxes. Sainsbury’s has placed signs in stores telling customers that egg swapping is “regarded as theft”, claiming that any footage of shoplifting would be shared with police. In a picture posted on social media by retail [...]
Next boss Simon Wolfson takes record £7.4m pay packet April 17, 2026 Next boss Simon Wolfson took home a bumper £7.4m pay packet last year, as his best-ever pay day could be beaten by next year’s £9.3m – if the firm meets growth targets. Wolfson’s total pay soared from £4.9m the year before, as he took £967k in basic pay and more than £6m in bonuses. The [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks jittery as Starmer makes play to reopen Strait of Hormuz April 17, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The UK and France are set to co-chair a meeting with allies later today in a bid to strum up ways to re-open the Strait of Hormuz. The vital waterway, which sits off Iran’s coast, sees around a fifth of the world’s oil supply flow [...]
Original Factory Shop closes all stores amid collapse April 16, 2026 The Original Factory Shop has closed all 137 stores and its head office, after the retailer collapsed into administration amid growing industry fears over weak consumer confidence and high taxes. The discount department store was put into administration along with Claire’s Accessories earlier this year, as private equity firm Modella Capital said government policy was [...]
Hoo Hing: London’s largest Chinese supermarket defies sterling slump to return to profit April 16, 2026 London’s biggest Chinese grocery group has returned to profit, despite being hit by a weaker pound and falling revenue. Dagenham-based Hoo Hing Holdings was founded in the 1970s and has superstores in Mitcham, Milton Keynes and Park Royal. It posted a small pre-tax profit of £167,559 for the 12 months to the end of June [...]
Dunelm shares slump after Iran war profit warning April 16, 2026 Shares in Dunelm have slumped after the homeware and furniture store warned its profits could dip as the Iran war damages consumer confidence. The FTSE 250 firm’s share price fell as much as 7.9 per cent on Thursday, to 789p, leaving the stock down more than 26 per cent in the year so far. The [...]
Hermès and Gucci shares tank in ‘dismal’ week for luxury brands April 16, 2026 Investors have fled from leading luxury stocks like Hermès and Gucci this week after they revealed tumbling sales as a result of the Iran war. The market was quick to respond to the poor results from several top fashion houses, as doubts swirl around the Middle East’s role as a key market for luxury brands. [...]
M&S Sparks rewards overhauled as retailer offers cash perks April 16, 2026 Marks & Spencer has overhauled its Sparks card reward scheme using AI after shoppers demanded cash perks instead of the existing points-based system. The upmarket food and clothing giant said it is responding to consumer criticism of its loyalty scheme by offering “personalisation and pounds, not points and tricksy pricing”. The Sparks Card had faced [...]
Allbirds shares rockets as shoe brand pivots to AI April 16, 2026 Shares in Allbirds surged by over 580 per cent after the struggling shoe brand unveiled a dramatic pivot into AI, betting on soaring demand for tech infrastructure to revive its fortunes. The Nasdaq-listed firm said it had secured $50m (£37m) in convertible financing to shift into an ‘AI compute infrastructure’ business, focusing on buying high-performance [...]