Octopus Ventures leads seed funding round in pet-tech firm Katkin October 28, 2020 London-based pet food company Katkin has secured £4.5m of funding in a seed round led by venture capital firm Octopus Ventures. Katkin was set up by siblings Brett and Nikki O’Farrell to produce healthy cat food after realising the options available didn’t provide cats with the nutrition they needed. The wet food contains 95 per [...]
Woolworths may not be making a return, but our love of retail is October 28, 2020 Admit it, you did it, I did it, we all did it at least once — pinching from the pick n mix at your local Woolworths. And sadly, all that came to an end in December 2008, when all remaining Woolworths stores were shuttered for good. As a nation we mourned. We mourned the loss [...]
Carlsberg raises full-year outlook as beer sales recover October 27, 2020 Carlsberg today lifted its expectations for the full year after posting a better-than-expected beer sales in the third quarter. The Danish brewer said it now expected operating profit to decline by a mid-single-digit percentage, compared to previous guidance of a high-single-digit percentage. It came after the company posted a 2.4 per cent rise in total [...]
Tiktok moves into ecommerce with Shopify advertising deal October 27, 2020 Tiktok has made its first major move into social ecommerce after signing a deal with Shopify to allow brands to sell their wares through the viral video app. The tie-up means Shopify merchants will be able to run video ads on the platform, allowing Tiktok users to click through and purchase a product. The feature [...]
UK betting firm Genius Sports to go public with $1.5bn US deal October 27, 2020 UK sports data firm Genius Sports Group is planning to go public with a listing on the New York Stock Exchange by merging with special purpose acquisition company Dmy Technology. The deal values the combined group at around $1.5bn. Genius Sports boss Mark Locke will stay on as chief executive following the transaction. Dmy chairman [...]
Too harsh or too generous? Rishi Sunak walks the job support tightrope October 27, 2020 Last Thursday, the chancellor gave his third economic statement in a month — U-turning on plans to replace the furlough scheme with a far less generous new Job Support Scheme (JSS) at the end of October. Instead, the JSS will now offer a level of government support almost as generous as that provided by the [...]
Brewdog targets £50m investment after beating initial funding goal October 27, 2020 Brewdog has set its sights on raising £50m by January in its last equity crowdfunding effort, after hitting its initial target of £7.5m in just six weeks. The craft brewer and bar operator launched its Equity for Punks Tomorrow programme on 10 September, reaching £1m in less than 48 hours. The money raised in this [...]
Retail sales fall sharply as new restrictions dampen economic recovery October 27, 2020 Retail sales fell sharply this month as new coronavirus restrictions dampened the UK’s economic recovery, according to the latest research. In the year to October retail sales dropped to a balance of minus 23 per cent, from growth of 11 per cent last month, according to the CBI distributive trades survey. Retail sales have been [...]
Revolution Bars to close six sites as sales plunge due to coronavirus 10pm curfew October 27, 2020 Revolution Bars will permanently close six sites after coronavirus restrictions such as the 10pm curfew on hospitality venues caused sales to plummet. The bar chain announced this morning it would launch a company voluntary arrangement to close sites, cut rents and improve profitability. Investors will need a stiff drink today, with shares already down 6.5 [...]
Premier Inn owner Whitbread swings to huge loss due to hotel closures October 27, 2020 Premier Inn owner Whitbread (LON:WTB) swung to a huge loss in the first half of the year as revenue plummeted while its hotels were closed during coronavirus lockdowns. The figures In the six months ended 27 August, Whitbread posted a loss for the period of £660.5m, a drop of 483.6 per cent from £172.2m profit [...]