Primark to introduce ‘selective’ price increases to offset pressures April 26, 2022 The owner of Primark has said it will be forced to raise prices on “selective” products in its autumn/winter ranges and issued a margin outlook warning. Associated British Foods (ABF) said its half-year sales and operating profit for the group returned to pre-Covid levels, in interim results for the 24 weeks ended 5 March 2022. [...]
Pandemic passport chaos: Millions put summer plans on hold amid ‘virtually unprecedented’ backlog to meet post-Brexit target April 26, 2022 A “virtually unprecedented” surge in applications for passports after the pandemic has put millions of people’s summer holiday plans in the balance. The country has been urged to get new applications in as “quickly as possible” to meet post-Brexit rules about passport validation, requiring at least three months remaining before being able to renew. This [...]
High street: Applications to convert shops to homes soar but councils reject almost half April 25, 2022 High street shop units are increasingly being targeted for conversion into homes, new data has revealed. Research by commercial law firm EMW found that the number of conversion applications leaped 37 per cent. Some 677 applications were made in 2020/2021, versus 494 in 2019/2020. However, out of the 677 applications for conversion, some 45 per [...]
Portugal scraps EU’s strict Brexit rules and rolls out red immigration carpet for Brits with Spain and Italy likely to follow soon April 25, 2022 Portugal has confirmed it plans to ignore EU rules that require British nationals to be treated as third country citizens at border checks and immigration points. The southern European nation will become the first EU member state to allow UK passport holders to be fast-tracked through electronic passport gates, thereby receiving the same treatment as [...]
Key dairy producer Arla Foods warns about ‘cancel culture’ in industry, driven by millennial and Gen Z shift to veganism and rising costs April 25, 2022 A sense of “feeling ashamed towards dairy in public” is putting some farmers on the brink of calling it quits, a major milk and cheese producer has claimed. Arla Foods launched a campaign called ‘don’t cancel the cow’ in response to supply and demand pressures, including claims that younger people are avoiding dairy – and [...]
Coca Cola beats quarterly revenue expectations as thirst for hospitality returns April 25, 2022 Coca-Cola Co surpassed quarterly revenue expectations after raising prices and the reopening of theatres and restaurants. In results published on Monday, the firm said demand for soft drinks had come back with zest after entertainment and hospitality venues had reopened with the easing of Covid restrictions. Net revenue lifted 16 per cent to $10.5bn in [...]
Price war: Asda and Morrisons slash prices as supermarkets battle to woo shoppers April 25, 2022 Supermarkets are vying to win shoppers hunting for cheaper deals, as Asda and Morrisons become the latest to announce price cuts. Asda, owned by the billionaire Issa brothers, has said it will inject more than £73m into ensuring the prices of more than 100 essential items are low, until the end of the year. Meanwhile, [...]
Activist Cat Rock urges Just Eat Takeaway shareholders to drive out board April 25, 2022 Activist investor Cat Rock Capital has written to Just Eat Takeaway’s shareholders and outlined its concerns in a failure of leadership. Shareholders have been urged to vote against the chief financial officer and legacy supervisory board at the delivery firm’s next AGM. Potential in the company was going to waste due to “poor capital allocation, [...]
Chapel Down toasts to profit nearing £2m as English wine ‘thrives’ April 25, 2022 Wine producer Chapel Down has posted a profit of nearly £2m, in a dramatic comeback from a previous loss. In results for the year to 31 December posted on Monday, the firm reported a group adjusted EBITDA of a £1.93m profit, versus a £0.02m loss in 2020. The firm’s chairman described English wine as a [...]
Burger King plots 200 new UK restaurants as fast food giant eyes whopper £600m London float April 25, 2022 Burger King is eyeing an additional 200 restaurants in the UK over the next four years, after “significant under-penetration” in the country’s market. The burger chain, which has been eyeing a London float since last year, said its adjusted EBITDA nearly tripled to £49.5m. In results for the year ended 31 December, the fast food [...]