Park Plaza hotel operator warns of ‘quite severe’ staff shortages in London March 1, 2022 Park Plaza hotel operator PPHE has reported revenue recovering to 39.5 per cent of 2019 levels as it warns of “quite severe” staff shortages in the coming months. Shares in the company dipped slightly on Tuesday morning after PPHE announced a 38.9 per cent total revenue increase to £141.4m for the financial year ended 31 [...]
Exclusive: Ultimate Products’ airfryer maker brand receives €1m order from German retailer March 1, 2022 Homeware giant Ultimate Product has said its newly snapped-up kitchen electrical brand has inked a €1m order from a leading German hypermarket retailer. Ultimate Products, which owns legacy homeware brands including Salter and Beldray, told CityA.M. exclusively its German brand Petra had received its first substantial order from an unnamed retailer. The order is for [...]
Second chances: Ex-offenders could help solve recruitment crisis February 28, 2022 “I always wanted to be a drug dealer. Getting a job would have been strange to me,” Liam Meredith, an ex-offender who now runs his own catering business, says. Many young men like Meredith struggle to break a cycle of offending even after they leave prison, due to tumultuous home lives. For men like Meredith, [...]
London retail recovers after Storm Eunice footfall hit February 28, 2022 London’s shopping destinations rebounded last week as crowds returned to the heart of the capital with gusto. Footfall leaped 17 per cent in central London last week, compared to the week prior, according to retail experts Springboard. It was also 374.3 per cent busier compared to the same week last year, when the country was [...]
ABF and Primark sales to surpass pre-Covid levels as consumers eye luggage and swimwear February 28, 2022 Associated British Foods (ABF), which also owns budget retail chain Primark, has said it is on track to surpass pre-Covid levels of sales and operating profit. The food manufacturer has been battling against inflation, alongside the rising costs of energy, but anticipates grocery revenue to inch two per cent higher than 2021. While Primark sales [...]
High Court ruling: Teletext Holidays broke consumer law with refund failures February 28, 2022 The High Court has ruled that Teletext Holidays broke consumer law by failing to refund customers within the appropriate time period for bookings cancelled due to Covid. The Court agreed with the consumer watchdog that Truly Travel and Alpha Holidays, which traded as Teletext Holidays and Alpharooms, breached travel regulations. Under the Package Travel and [...]
‘It was either streaming, scrabble or lingerie’: Sales at Samantha Cameron’s favourite lingerie firm get 200 per cent pandemic boost February 27, 2022 A UK-based lingerie and swimwear company once favoured by Samantha Cameron said this weekend it has seen a 200 per cent spike in lingerie sales during the pandemic as customers looked to spice up their bedroom attire. The founder of Pour Moi said he saw customer numbers soar to help sales reach £31m in the [...]
Convenience chain McColl’s battles administration fears February 26, 2022 Convenience store chain McColl’s Retail Group is gearing up to find a buyer as the struggling company nears collapse. As first reported by Mark Kleinman for Sky News, the group have called in advisers to help find a bidder, and are exploring third party options, who may be willing to invest further capital. McColl’s trades from [...]
John Lewis ditches ‘never knowingly undersold’ pricing pledge February 25, 2022 John Lewis will ditch its iconic “never knowingly undersold” pricing pledge on the grounds it does not reflect the current retail landscape, as high street stores look to fend off competition from online retail giants.
Carlsberg and Coca-Cola bottler forced to halt production in Ukraine after Russian invasion February 24, 2022 Brewing giant Carlsberg and a Coca-Cola bottler have shut down plants in Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s invasion. Danish brewer Carlsberg initially said it had been forced to shut its brewery in Lviv, western Ukraine, after supplies of natural gas to the brewery were cut, Reuters reported. Now, Carlsberg, which has a 31 per [...]