Moonpig more than doubles revenue as lockdown delivers trading boom July 27, 2021 Online card retailer Moonpig has more than doubled its revenue in its first annual results since a bumper London stock market float earlier this year. The greetings card specialist posted revenue of £368.2m in the year to the end of April, a huge jump from the £173.1m recorded in the previous year. Reported pre-tax profit [...]
Supermarket sales improve tentatively after restaurant reopening hit July 27, 2021 UK supermarket sales improved slightly in the last four weeks as Brits stocked up on beers for the Euros and picnic items to enjoy in the sun, according to new data released today. Total till sales over the four weeks ending 17th July were down 1.3 per cent on the same period last year, new [...]
eBay bolsters logistics options for sellers as platform surges with SMEs July 26, 2021 eBay UK has bolstered protections and logistics for its sellers after seeing a 237 per cent surge in new businesses joining the online marketplace giant amid the pandemic. The pandemic pushed many employees into furlough, unemployment and a general revaluation of working life and with many looking for extra income, side-hustles on online platforms took [...]
Startups urge caution over buy now pay later regulation July 26, 2021 British startups have urged caution over the City watchdog’s plans to regulate the £2.7bn buy now pay later market. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is set to crack down on companies such as Klarna and Clearpay after the number of BNPL transactions across the UK tripled last year. But a lobby group representing startups has [...]
Bridgepoint mulls selling Burger King UK for a beefy £500m July 26, 2021 The owner of Burger King has plotted early stage talks to sell the fast food retailer for some £500m just days after it listed on London’s top market, according to reports. Bridgepoint, the private equity owner behind Burger King, floated on the London Stock Exchange last week in a rare listing that raked in £300m [...]
Selfridges on sale as owners launch auction starting at £4bn July 26, 2021 Selfridges’ owners, the billionaire Weston family, has launched a formal auction to sell its chain of department stores. Advisers at Credit Suisse are starting to look for a buyer and will send out information to target potential bidders and kick off the process. The company is valued at around £4bn. Potential suitors are said to [...]
LSE-listed Kanabo to buy distributor and stoke European cannabis uptake July 26, 2021 Kanabo, the first medical cannabis company to list on London’s top market, is set to buy a distributing company as it plots expansion into Europe. The deal with Materia, a processor and distributor of medical cannabis and CBD products, will make Kanabo Europe’s largest public cannabis company. Kanabo’s board has been eyeing new partnerships to [...]
Swedish drinks firm Kopparberg sues HMRC over tax loophole July 26, 2021 Swedish cider maker Kopparberg has filed a High Court claim against HM Revenue and Customs over allegations of unlawful tax discrimination. The popular booze brand argues that the UK applied excessive duties on imported alcoholic ciders by allowing domestic producers to dilute their products to avoid taxes. The tax loophole, known as post duty point [...]
Visitors migrate back to London’s West End as venues throw open their doors July 26, 2021 Visitors are beginning to migrate back to London’s tourism spots like the West End, as last week’s ‘Freedom Day’ meant theatres and clubs could throw open their doors for the first time in over a year. Last week’s heatwave meant locals and visitors alike could make the most out of London’s reopening – before the [...]
JD Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin hits out at Test and Trace app July 25, 2021 JD Wetherspoon chief Tim Martin has claimed the UK is being “laid to waste” by the Test and Trace app as one-in-eight of the pub chain’s staff are forced to self-isolate. Martin said 5,000 of his 40,000 staff were pinged by the app last week alone, causing labour shortages at some of the chain’s 925 [...]