Some 600 jobs at risk as Nestlé closes UK factory and moves some production to Europe April 28, 2021 Nestlé plans to close its Fawdon factory near Newcastle, putting 573 jobs at risk in the process. Under new proposals, the Swiss food and drinks conglomerate said products currently made at Fawdon would move to other plants in the UK and in continental Europe. If the plans go ahead, the Fawdon factory will close “towards [...]
Bouji restaurant group Hakkasan sold to hospitality giant Tao April 28, 2021 The famously bouji restaurant group Hakkasan has been bought by international hospitality giant Tao Group for an undisclosed sum. First opened in Fitzrovia in 2001 by Wagamama founder Alan Yao, Hakkasan soon became synonymous with London’s high end, high price dining scene, frequented by celebrities and oligarchs, with an encampment of paparazzi often waiting outside. [...]
Dixons Carphone to close all Dixons Travel airport stores as it repays £73m furlough cash April 28, 2021 Dixons Carphone will close all of its Dixons Travel stores, having made the decision to shut down the business after the government removed airside tax free sales for most retailers. All 35 stores, found in airports around the UK including at Heathrow and Gatwick, as well as two concessions on P&O Cruises, will close, after [...]
UK’s sanitising obsession boosts sales at Dettol maker Reckitt Benckiser during Covid pandemic April 28, 2021 The UK Government’s message of “Hands, face, space” during the Covid pandemic is still paying off for hygiene and cleaning products maker Reckitt Benckiser. Reckitt Benckiser reported a higher-than-expected jump in quarterly sales as Brits kept up their heightened cleaning regimens a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, and the company backed its full-year outlook. The pandemic [...]
Business rates relief snub costs Sainsbury’s £400m as profit slumps despite lockdown sales boost April 28, 2021 The last year saw most Brits spend up large at the supermarket, but despite a sales boom Sainsbury’s first quarter profit has slumped because it chose to say no to business rates relief. Sainsbury’s, the UK’s second largest grocer after Tesco , said it made an underlying pretax profit of £356m in the year to [...]
Food prices drop for first time in four years due to anti-stockpiling measures in 2020 lockdown April 28, 2021 Food prices fell this month for the first time in four years in comparison to last year, when retailers paused discounting to reduce stockpiling at the beginning of the pandemic. Prices fell 0.6 per cent in April, down from a rise of 0.3 per cent in March, marking the first time food prices have been [...]
Vaccine passports: Key to normalisation but many obstacles remain April 27, 2021 Following the UK’s roadmap for the lifting of restrictions, those living in England could be allowed to embark on a foreign holiday as early as 17 May. Europe plans to launch a digital health pass scheme in June to save this summer’s holiday season from the pandemic, but technical and political obstacles are showing just [...]
Pandemic legacy: This is just the beginning for online shopping as sector sees five years of growth in 12 months April 27, 2021 The vast majority of UK consumers who bought online for the first time during the pandemic will continue to buy online, despite the High Street having reopened earlier this month. The pandemic is the main reason for this shift, with 56 per cent of clothes shoppers telling digital marketing agency MullenLowe Profero they bought more [...]
Asda beats competitors to become fastest growing Big Four supermarket for first time in more than two years April 27, 2021 Asda beat its competitors to become the fastest growing of the biggest UK supermarkets for the first time in more than two years as consumers ventured further for their food shopping. The latest data showed Asda, which was recently sold by US retail giant Walmart to the Issa brothers and TDR Capital, increased its market [...]
Premier Inn owner Whitbread targets £100m in extra cost savings as pandemic decimates profit April 27, 2021 Premier Inn owner Whitbread will cut costs by an additional £100m over the next three years following the impact of the pandemic, which caused the hotel chain to swing to a huge loss. Whitbread said this morning that it will “take actions to ensure that we exit the crisis as a leaner, stronger and more [...]