Gourmet Burger Kitchen sales begin to recover after £4.6bn loss May 29, 2019 Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) has posted a partial recovery in sales since it suffered a record £4.6bn loss last year, when it got the green light for a string of restaurant closures. Read more: Creditors give green light to Gourmet Burger Kitchen closures The restaurant chain’s like-for-like sales fell 9.7 per cent in the first six [...]
M&S looks set to survive FTSE 100 drop amid £600m rights issue May 29, 2019 Marks & Spencer looks set to remain in the FTSE 100 through the skin of its teeth in next week’s reshuffle after launching a £600m rights issue to fund its joint venture with Ocado. City speculation that the department store chain could drop out of the blue-chip index has mounted after it reported a 10 [...]
Supreme Court gives government body chance to appeal cash machine ruling May 29, 2019 The Supreme Court has given the government the right to appeal a £300m court dispute over business rate bills for cash machines outside shops. Late last year the Court of Appeal decided in favour of supermarket giants such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco, overturning a decision that meant retailers were liable to pay business rates on their cash [...]
WH Smith is the UK’s worst high street store, say shoppers May 29, 2019 WH Smith is the worst of all UK high street stores, according to a survey of British shoppers published today. Read more: Ranked: The top 15 retailers to work for The stationery provider got the worst rating of 100 retailers, with just 50 per cent of customers expressing satisfaction based on factors such as quality of [...]
Big Four supermarkets stall amid fast rise of Aldi and Lidl May 29, 2019 The UK’s Big Four supermarkets all failed to post a rise in sales during the last quarter as they battled it out with the German discounters to keep their market share in an increasingly competitive landscape. While Tesco’s overall sales were flat in the 12 weeks to 19 May, its performance trumped the likes of [...]
Pret a Manger has swallowed up Eat – but how will it taste? May 29, 2019 High street lunchtime staple Pret a Manger recently announced it will be purchasing Eat, one of its main competitors. Pret also announced plans to convert many of Eat’s existing shops into Pret’s vegetarian spin off, Veggie Pret, in response to growing consumer demand for vegetarian and vegan options. Three per cent of the population currently [...]
Shop price inflation gathers pace in May May 29, 2019 Shop inflation edged up this month, as rising costs from wages, taxes and political uncertainty drove non-food retailers to push up their prices during May. Following several years of deep discounts, goods in sectors such as furniture and health & beauty have seen year-on-year prices to May 2019 jump, according to a new index carried [...]
High street stalwart Boots mulls more than 200 possible store closures May 28, 2019 Boots, Britain’s largest chain of chemists, looks set to become the latest victim of high street turmoil as its US owner eyes several hundred store closures. Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), the pharmacy retailer's US parent, is reportedly looking at bringing down the shutters on more than 200 Boots outlets across the UK over the next [...]
Vegan burger startup Beyond Meat hits triple its IPO price as it eyes up European expansion May 28, 2019 Vegan burger startup Beyond Meat’s share price jumped today as it said it's mulling a move to cater directly to European customers with a new production site opening in the Netherlands. However, concerns that this expansion might be too much too soon have left investors divided. Read more: DEBATE: At $1.5bn, is plant burger firm Beyond Meat [...]
Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant empire returns to profit despite tough market conditions May 28, 2019 Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant empire has returned to profit despite challenging conditions in the casual dining sector. Ramsay’s company made a pre-tax profit of £500,000 in the year to August 2018 after reporting a £3.8m loss in 2017 due to legal costs and the closure of its Plane Food branch at Heathrow, which lasted [...]