Topps Tiles share price soars as retailer shrugs off slowdown in DIY demand April 5, 2023 Topps Tiles share price closed up nearly seven per cent today after the retailer posted bumper revenues for the first half of the year. The Leicester-headquartered business reported a 9.5 per cent jump in revenues to £130.5m in the 26-week period ending April 1, with some £9m of the revenue growth related to its acquisition [...]
Another bite out of London: Franco Manca set to go private in bumper deal April 5, 2023 The owner of Franco Manca has been snapped up by a Japanese food franchise company in a £93m deal – the latest in a long line of London-listed firms to be taken private by foreign firms. Fulham Shore, which also owns The Real Greek franchise, announced that it was offloading the business to Toridoll, a [...]
Hilton Foods welcomes ex Co-op chief to replace boss of 30 years as profits nosedive April 5, 2023 Meat packer Hilton Foods has blamed “significant” challenges in its seafood wing for nosediving profits, as it welcomes a former Co-op boss to head up the business. The FTSE 250 firm’s share price was down 1.25 per cent this morning, as it witnessed a steep decline in profits down to £29.6m from £47.4m the previous [...]
Co-op warns cost of living crisis will eat into future profits as food to funeral care firm feels pain of inflation April 5, 2023 The Co-operative Group has warned that ongoing inflation and economic uncertainty is likely to reduce its profits in 2023. The food, insurance and funeral care provider revealed its underlying profit remained flat at £100m for the year while EBITDA was down £15m to £490m compared to £505m in 2021. Group revenue for the year was [...]
The host with the most: Airbnb’s Catherine Powell on surviving the pandemic, disciplined decision making and playing by the rules April 5, 2023 When Catherine Powell made the jump from the magic of Disney to Airbnb in January 2020, she couldn’t have predicted the nightmare of a global pandemic for the travel and tourism industry. But just three months after she joined as head of experiences she was thrown in at the deep end. “The pandemic hit and [...]
The Body Shop owners sell ‘avant-garde’ skincare brand Aesop to L’Oréal for £2.5bn April 4, 2023 L’Oreal has agreed to buy Australian skin care brand Aesop for $2.5bn (£2bn). The French cosmetics giant snapped up the brand from Natura &Co – owners of British retailer The Body Shop. Since its formation over 30 years ago, Aesop has grown greatly in popularity and is most known for its hand soaps and body [...]
‘Worse than the pandemic’: Pub bodies warn of closures as energy bills relief scheme ends April 4, 2023 Hospitality bodies have warned that business failure is worse now than it was during the pandemic as the sector braces itself for the first month of trading following the end of the government’s energy bill relief scheme. “We’re seeing an acceleration of business failure which is now worse than the pandemic,” Emma McClarkin, chief executive [...]
Every little helps: Loyalty cards determining over half of Brits’ shopping choices amid cost of living crisis April 4, 2023 Some 54 per cent of Brits said that price discounts via loyalty cards were most likely to encourage them to buy a product as the cost of living crisis spurs shoppers to hunt for the best bargains. According to data by NIQ, a further 35 per cent of consumers said that a ‘special price discount’ [...]
John Lewis wins sneezing dragon High Court battle after judge dismisses author’s claim April 3, 2023 John Lewis has been found not to have infringed the copyright of a children’s author who claimed it had copied one of her designs in its Christmas advertisement. Fay Evans, 49, from Macclesfield, Cheshire claimed the department store had copied parts of her book ‘Fred The Fire-Sneezing Dragon’ in its ‘Excitable Edgar’ Christmas advert which [...]
How Aldi boss intends to see off supermarket rivals and bring discount store within reach of all UK shoppers April 3, 2023 Aldi will not stop the “relentless” roll out of its value supermarkets across the UK, despite attempts by rival supermarkets to scupper its growth, its chief executive has said. Giles Hurley, the head of UK and Ireland operations for the German discounter, told The Telegraph that they are going to bring stores within easy reach [...]