Brits prep for an expensive Christmas at the grocers October 23, 2025 Brits are prepping for high grocery spending this Christmas as food inflation continues to dominate daily concerns, according to new data. Consumers’ expectations over the next three months of their personal finances worsened to -11 in October, down from -7 in September, according to the British Retail Consortium. The corresponding metric, personal spending on retail, rose nine [...]
£1.9bn price tag makes JLR Britain’s most expensive cyber attack October 22, 2025 The cyber attack on Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has been estimated to cost the UK around £1.9bn, in what experts are calling the most economically damaging hack in British history. Research from the Cyber Monitoring Centre (CMC), a non-profit group that tracks major cyber incidents, found that around 5,000 organisations across the country were affected [...]
Virgin Wines blames government for inflationary cost pressures October 22, 2025 Virgin Wines has said most of its cost pressures this year have been driven by government policy, including an alcohol duty revamp and a bottle tax. The online wine seller told markets that profit before tax dipped by five per cent to £1.6m in the 2025 financial year, despite flat revenue. CEO Jay Wright pointed [...]
Bodycare: Creditors to lose millions after retailer’s collapse October 21, 2025 Bodycare owed more than £30m when it collapsed into administration with the loss of around 1,400 jobs, it has been revealed. The high street health and beauty retailer fell over in September with an initial 32 stores closed and around 450 employees being made redundant. That move was followed a few days later when it [...]
Unilever: US government shutdown delays ice cream float October 21, 2025 Consumer goods giant Unilever has paused the launch of its ice-cream arm on New York’s stock exchange due to delays at the bourse’s security commission. The US government shut down at the start of October when Democrats and Republicans failed to come to an agreement on spending, with no end in sight. Unilever said the [...]
Hundreds of jobs at risk as Pizza Hut UK dine-in arm goes into administration October 20, 2025 The dine-in arm of Pizza Hut has collapsed into administration, putting dozens of restaurants and hundreds of jobs at risk. DC London Pie Limited, which operates Pizza Hut’s UK restaurants, appointed FTI Consulting as administrators on Monday. The 67-year-old chain has said it will shutter 68 venues permanently, while 1,723 workers face uncertainty on their [...]
Vape giant Supreme buys Slimfast in £20m deal October 20, 2025 Wholesaler Supreme has bought meal replacement and weight management brand Slimfast in what promises to be an immediately earnings-enhancing deal, analysts have said. The deal, which saw Supreme buy Slimfast UK and Europe for £20.1m, sent the former company’s share price up more than six per cent in early trades. Slimfast is known for its [...]
B&M: City broker ‘not concerned’ about retailer despite turmoil October 20, 2025 City broker Panmure Liberum has reassured investors about a serious slide in B&M’s share price, arguing that it’s based on a ‘one-time error’ and doesn’t suggest underlying trouble. B&M surprised markets this morning when it released a trading statement showing a significant accounting error and the related departure of its chief financial officer. The FTSE [...]
Hotel Chocolat tastes sweet success of quitting London October 20, 2025 How Hotel Chocolat has performed since being acquired by Mars for more than £500m in July 2023 has been revealed for the first time. The Hertfordshire-headquartered business quit the London Stock Exchange after being taken over in a £534m deal. The deal, which at the time represented a 169.8 per cent premium on its 139p [...]
Betfred founder: Tax rises are “biggest threat” to the industry October 19, 2025 Betfred shops could vanish from UK high streets if Chancellor Rachel Reeves carries out a potential tax raid in the November budget, the company’s co-founder and chairman has warned. Fred Done, who founded the business in 1967 with his brother, hailed tax rises as the “biggest threat” to the industry he has seen in his [...]