Next raises forecast after Christmas sales beat expectations January 3, 2020 Clothing retailer Next continued its strong progress as the company beat its internal forecast for its Christmas performance by 1.1 per cent. In a trading statement, the company said that total full price sales for the fourth quarter were up 5.2 per cent, with sales for the full year up 3.9 per cent. Read more: [...]
Greggs releases vegan Steak Bake January 2, 2020 Bakery chain Greggs released its vegan Steak Bake to great fanfare today. The product was released in Newcastle last night, drawing long queues at the official launch. Read more: From Greggs to Franco Manca – Britain’s favourite restaurants revealed The new product is made from dairy-free pastry, meat alternative Quorn, onions and meat-free gravy. The [...]
Survive a Tier 4 January with these 34 amazing lockdown delivery kits January 1, 2020 With more lockdowns annoucned up and down the country, January is set to be a rather miserable time, especially for those of us who are gastronomically-inclined. Thankfully, you can kill two birds with one stone – supporting your favourite chefs and getting your fix of restaurant-quality food – by ordering some of these amazing home [...]
Chilango CVA: investors back burrito bond bailout measures December 31, 2019 Investors who ploughed £5.8m into Chilango’s burrito bonds are set to have their investments converted into shares as the struggling Mexican chain fights to stay afloat. Under company voluntary agreement proposals (CVA) launched earlier this month, shareholders were offered the choice between cashing out bondholders’ investments at a rate of 10p per pound or transferring [...]
High street crisis: 16,000 shops closed in 2019 December 30, 2019 More than 16,000 stores have closed this year, according to the latest research, as retailers battle the ongoing challenges facing the high street. In total, 16,073 shops have shut down in 2019 – around 61 each working day – with the rate of store closures forecast to rise next year. Read more: All the big [...]
Small business confidence at an eight-year low December 30, 2019 Confidence among small businesses reached an eight-year low this month, according to a new survey. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Small Business Index (SBI) was negative for a sixth straight quarter, reaching its lowest point since the last recession. Read more: UK business confidence slumps to seven-year low The confidence index now stands at [...]
Boxing Day shopping slump as retailers suffer sharp decline in footfall December 28, 2019 Boxing Day shopping footfall fell at its steepest rate in nine years due to rain and Black Friday deals. In the period up until noon on 26 December, footfall was down by 10.6 per cent on the same period as a year ago, according to data company Springboard. It was the biggest decline since 2010, [...]
Domino’s Pizza finance chief David Bauernfeind dies in accident December 27, 2019 Domino’s Pizza’s finance boss, David Bauernfeind, has died in an accident while on holiday, according to the company. In a brief statement, the firm said: “Our chief financial officer, David Bauernfeind, died in a tragic accident on Thursday, 26th December whilst on holiday with his family.” It is believed he was on a snorkelling holiday [...]
Amazon’s Deliveroo investment could cause higher prices, says CMA December 27, 2019 Amazon and Deliveroo are the subject of an in-depth probe by competition authorities into the e-commerce giant’s investment in the food delivery firm. Neither company offered undertakings in response to concerns aired by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Read more: CMA puts brakes on Amazon’s Deliveroo investment The CMA said earlier this month that [...]
Boxing Day spending set to fall after Brits cash out on bumper Black Friday December 26, 2019 UK shoppers are set to tighten the purse strings in the Boxing Day sales this year after retailers bagged a record performance over the Black Friday weekend. Brits are expected to spend £3.7bn in post-Christmas sales this year, £200m less than in 2018, according to new figures from Barclaycard. Read more: Super Saturday fails to [...]