Gaucho to open Covent Garden restaurant as steak success continues January 16, 2023 COVENT GARDEN has been the home of ballerinas, opera singers and street performers for more than a century – and it will soon add Argentinian cowboys to its cast with the opening of a new outpost of steakhouse favourite Gaucho. The man behind the group, Rare Restaurants’ boss Martin Williams, told City A.M. he would [...]
British retailers cheer Christmas sales, but City analysts warn of coming storm January 15, 2023 Britain’s largest retailers kicked off 2023 strongly last week, posting better than expected Christmas sales, signalling the consumer is holding up a bit better than feared. Tesco’s like for like sales were 7.9 per cent higher, while Marks and Spencer pocketed a 7.2 per cent rise. Sainsbury’s also posted record Christmas sales. Those bumper numbers, [...]
Deliveroo shares in the spotlight this week as analysts say firm could be undervalued January 15, 2023 Investors will be watching Deliveroo’s share price this week when the firm releases a fourth quarter trading update on Thursday. The London-headquartered firm has been under pressure since floating on the stock market in 2021, with the share price down some 67 per cent from the original offer price. Competitors, the re-opening of society post-lockdown [...]
Debt write-off for Matalan but founder Hargreaves on his way out January 15, 2023 Bruised and battered retailer Matalan is set to tell markets tomorrow it has been rescued by a debt-for-equity swap with its lenders, according to a host of news reports this weekend. Founder John Hargreaves, who founded the fashion firm some forty years ago, is set to lose control of the firm despite his own last-minute [...]
Magners cider owner says cost of living and strikes help sink its profits as Brits stayed away from pubs January 13, 2023 The company behind Magners cider and Tennent’s lager disappointed investors on Friday as it said that strikes and cost of living pressures had eaten into its performance in recent weeks. C&C Group said that it expects operating profit to reach between €84m and €88m (£75 million to £78m) in the financial year. The company had [...]
Very: Shoppers splurge on air friers and games consoles, but group sales slide January 13, 2023 Sales at online retailer Very rose 2.2 per cent year-on-year during the busy festive season. Toys, gifts and beauty and home departments were the main beneficiaries of the spending splurge, with sales up 17.7 per cent and 10.2 per cent respectively. Games consoles and Ninja air fryers were the bestselling items during the seven weeks [...]
The Gym Group: Brits ditch the pennies and the £s as more fitness fanatics seek cheaper gym membership January 12, 2023 The Gym Group today said it has continued to win over customers in the face of the UK’s cost-of-living crisis as Brits flocked to the low-cost gym in seeking out better “value for money”. The low-cost gym owner said it had increased its membership numbers by 14.3 per cent over the past year, to 821,000, [...]
Halfords boss urges govt to help with labour market gap as profit guidance shrinks January 12, 2023 Halfords’ chief executive Graham Stapleton has called on the government to help fill a gap in the labour market as the group reduced its profit guidance from £60m to £50m. Stapleton said it couldn’t get “enough qualified technicians into our garages to meet demand” and that was hurting growth. According to the chief executive, the [...]
This isn’t just a good Christmas: M&S retains ‘top turkey’ title as festive sales spike January 12, 2023 Once-troubled M&S continues to deliver positive news to investors with turkey sales helping give the firm a healthy Christmas period
Asos’ UK sales slip as analysts warn firm has a “mountain to climb” January 12, 2023 Pandemic darling Asos reported a further decline in UK sales this morning, with the fast fashion flagship’s boss insisting the firm was making good progress on a turnaround plan. UK sales slipped eight per cent year on year in the four months into December 31, with the firm blaming “weak consumer sentiment.” Fast fashion firms, [...]