Autumn Budget: B&Q boss hands Reeves tool kit for growth November 12, 2025 Ahead of the Autumn Budget, City Reporter Samuel Norman sits down with top industry names for a Budget Briefing. This week, the boss of retail stalwart B&Q warns truly fixing the foundations starts with building confidence. After Labour’s monumental 2024 general election sweep, Chancellor Rachel Reeves seized her economic tool kit, telling Britons she was “fixing [...]
Christmas adverts in 2025 review, from John Lewis to AI Coca-Cola November 11, 2025 As the embers of bonfire night slowly cool in the rain, our minds are turned to Christmas in its full commercial glory. It’s funny how at this time of year people start to look at ads – the same people that have been actively avoiding them all year! Christmas adverts have become a necessary backdrop [...]
Retailers hit by subdued October as Budget threat looms November 11, 2025 UK retailers suffered a “subdued” October as Brits tightened their pockets ahead of what is expected to be a tax-heavy Autumn Budget. Retail sales increased 1.6 per cent year-on-year but remained below the 12-month average of 2.1 per cent, marking the weakest growth since May. The new data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and [...]
Barclay family’s Very Group snapped up by US private equity giant November 10, 2025 Online retailer The Very Group has been snapped up by a US private equity giant, ending an over 20 year tenure of ownership under the Barclay family. The group will now be controlled by Washington-based Carlyle alongside Abu Dhabi-based investment fund International Media Investments (IMI). It marks the latest offshoring of businesses for the Barclay [...]
Trip: CBD drinks brand valued at £200m after Joe Jonas backing November 10, 2025 Trip, a CBD drinks brand, has been valued at more than £200m after a fundraising round backed by the likes of singer and actor Joe Jonas. The London-headquartered firm has raised a further £30.3m in a move which it said makes it the most valuable UK-founded drinks brand since Innocent and Fever-Tree. The business has [...]
Co-op to open or refurbish dozens of stores amid cyber attack recovery November 10, 2025 The Co-op has said it is pushing forward with a number of new stores and major refurbishments as it bounces back from a damaging cyber attack. The retailer said 50 stores will be opened or re-opened by Christmas as it urged the Government to reform business rates ahead of the autumn Budget. It said reforms [...]
Retail footfall sinks for sixth straight month as Brits fear Budget taxes November 7, 2025 Footfall at the UK’s shops has declined for the sixth consecutive month, marking another worrying sign for the retail sector. Total activity fell by 0.7 per cent in October, led by drops in shopping centre and retail park footfall, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). BRC chief Helen Dickinson said that nervousness around the [...]
Investors pile into Sainsbury’s, but will it last? November 6, 2025 Sainsbury’s has proved a good bet for investors this year as the grocer goes from strength to strength, but will it last into 2026? The UK’s second-largest supermarket has seen a 50 per cent uplift in share price since April, with another five per cent jump following better-than-expected results on Thursday. It’s a marked departure [...]
Uber Eats new tech aims to beat Deliveroo in Christmas delivery war November 6, 2025 The annual Christmas rush, characterised by frantic supermarket dashes and sold-out delivery slots, is undergoing a fundamental change, with on-demand delivery cementing its role as the crucial last-minute lifeline. Uber Eats has laid out its strategy to dominate this market, deploying a heavy suite of new tech aimed at maximising order efficiency and expanding into [...]
AI-assisted shopping starts to go mainstream November 5, 2025 The promised AI revolution in shopping is starting to materialise, with shoppers increasingly trusting agents for personal recommendations ahead of the festive season. Traffic to retail sites from AI tools is expected to surge fivefold year-over-year, with particular boosts on Cyber Monday and Black Friday, according to Adobe. “Traditional models of how consumers react with [...]