Lookers shares dive as suspected fraud delays financial results March 11, 2020 Shares in car dealership chain Lookers plunged this morning after the firm announced suspected fraud had delayed the publication of its financial results. Lookers’ share price dropped more than 18 per cent after it revealed last night that it had “identified potentially fraudulent transactions”. Lookers, which was scheduled to publish its 2019 results this morning, [...]
Iceland’s founding family mulls buying bigger stake March 10, 2020 Iceland’s founder could seek to regain ownership of the supermarket when South African investment company Brait sells its stake. Brait, which owns around 63 per cent of the frozen food specialist, said in November it plans to offload its stake in several British companies, including Iceland, in the next five years. It will also sell [...]
Asda cuts fuel prices after oil price spirals on coronavirus March 10, 2020 Supermarket Asda has cut the price of petrol and diesel amid the Russia-Saudi Arabia oil war. The supermarket has cut its price by 2p per litre (ppl), meaning petrol will cost 114.7p per litre and diesel will cost 116.7p per litre. Asda said they are its lowest fuel prices since November 2017. “It will be [...]
French Connection in the red after ‘worse than expected’ trading March 10, 2020 French Connection reported a loss last year after trading in the second half was “considerably worse than expected”. The figures The high street retailer this morning said it fell to a loss of £2.9m last year compared to profit of £800,000 in the comparative period. Group revenue fell 11.4 per cent to £119.9m due to [...]
Coronavirus: DFS warns of footfall drop as profit slumps March 10, 2020 Sofa retailer DFS warned that coronavirus has caused a slump in footfall at its showrooms as it reported a dive in profit at the end of last year. The figures Gross sales fell 5.8 per cent to £629.7m, and revenue fell 5.7 per cent to £488m in the 26 weeks ended 29 December. Profit before [...]
Bad weather and coronavirus fears hurt high street sales March 10, 2020 Bad weather and coronavirus fears kept UK shoppers away from the high street last month, while streaming services and takeaway firms benefited from Brits staying at home. Consumer spending was up 2.2 per cent year-on-year last month, driven by digital subscriptions and takeaways as Brits stayed home to avoid storms and coronavirus risks. More than [...]
Reforming business rates – is Land Value Tax really a viable alternative? March 9, 2020 | City Talk The Business Rates system has long been considered by businesses as outdated and in need of reform. It imposes its tax burden whether the business is “in the red or the black”, i.e. profitable or not. Also, whilst purported to be a tax on business collected by means of property, it has a distinct bias [...]
Amazon to sell check-out free store tech to other retailers March 9, 2020 Amazon has launched a new business to sell its check-out free store technology to other retailers. The tech giant launched a website this morning inviting customers to inquire about the service. Amazon, which uses similar technology in its own chain of convenience stores, said it has already signed several deals. The ‘Just Walk Out’ technology [...]
Coronavirus: Supermarkets call for competition laws to be waived March 9, 2020 The bosses of the UK’s biggest supermarkets are expected to warn the government that the outbreak of coronavirus could require competition law to be paused to allow them to collaborate. During a phone call with environment secretary George Eustice at least one of the big four grocers will reportedly call for the suspension of the [...]
Lord Ashcroft’s Devonshire Club at risk of closure as coronavirus stalls takeover March 9, 2020 An exclusive private members’ club co-owned by Tory peer Lord Ashcroft is fighting for survival after a planned takeover deal collapsed due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Devonshire Club, close to Liverpool Street station in the City, had agreed terms with an unnamed buyer, with the deal set to complete this week. However, the firm [...]