Starbucks’ rival Luckin Coffee sees share price double on debut May 17, 2019 China's Luckin Coffee shares opened at $25 on Friday morning despite recent poor IPO performances. It was 47 per cent more than the issue price of $17 as the Starbuck's rival raised $561m to give it a pre-trading valuation of around $4bn. Read more: Thomas Cook shares crash 40 per cent as investors urged to sell [...]
Ocado set to cut 400 jobs as it looks to rebuild Andover warehouse after fire May 17, 2019 Ocado has said it will slash as many as 400 jobs after a huge fire destroyed its distribution centre in Andover. The delivery firm’s flagship automated warehouse in Hampshire was razed to the ground in February after a three-day inferno. Read more: Waitrose outlines £1bn online shopping plan Ocado initially tried to find a suitable [...]
Thomas Cook shares crash 40 per cent after Citigroup urges shareholders to sell May 17, 2019 Thomas Cook’s shares collapsed for the second day running today after a broker downgraded the struggling company the day after it revealed a £1.45bn loss. Read more: Thomas Cook shares crash as it suffers 'grim' £1.45bn loss The embattled travel agent’s share price plummeted 40 per cent to new lows of 11.8p this afternoon after issuing [...]
British competition watchdog to probe JD Sports’ £90m Footasylum merger May 17, 2019 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is investigating JD Sports' merger with Footasylum, it confirmed today. JD Sports recently completed the acquisition of Footasylum in a deal worth £90m. Read more: Thomas Cook shares crash as investors urged to sell Both JD Sports Fashion and owner of Footasylum, the Pentland Group, have been issued with an initial [...]
Amazon leads £450m Deliveroo funding round as startup expands London tech team May 17, 2019 Deliveroo today confirmed Amazon is leading a $575m (£450m) funding round in the food delivery business as it plans to expand its London engineering team with some of the cash. Read more: Amazon in talks to invest millions in Deliveroo The round, including money from existing investors T Rowe Price, Fidelity Management and Greenoaks, takes [...]
Debate: As National Vegetarian Week ends, will this group outnumber meat eaters in the next decade? May 17, 2019 As National Vegetarian Week ends, will this group outnumber meat eaters in the next decade? YES – Sophie Lewis is chief strategy officer at marketing agency VMLY&R. If you’d asked me two years ago, my answer would have been in the negative, but we’ve reached a cultural tipping point when it comes to both vegetarians [...]
The Restaurant Group sees sales rocket 57 per cent after Wagamama merger May 17, 2019 Frankie & Benny’s owner The Restaurant Group began to feel the benefits of its controversial Wagamama purchase as sales soared 57 per cent in the year to May. Read more: The Restaurant Group profits fall as like-for-like sales slip Like-for-like sales rose 2.8 per cent, meaning the acquisition of Wagamama for £559m at the end [...]
Amazon in talks to invest £450m in Deliveroo May 16, 2019 Amazon is in talks to invest hundreds of millions of pounds in Deliveroo giving the food delivery app a boost as it takes on takeaway rival Uber Eats. The internet retailer will announce a deal to back Deliveroo as part of a $575m (£450m) funding round which is expected to be revealed in the coming days, [...]
Former Apple retail head Angela Ahrendts appointed to Airbnb’s board May 16, 2019 Airbnb has beefed up its board of directors with the appointment of Angela Ahrendts, former head of retail at Apple. Ahrendts, who is also a former chief executive of luxury fashion house Burberry, will become an independent board member alongside ex-American Express boss Ken Chenault and former Pixar finance chief Ann Mather. She resigned from Apple [...]
Waitrose sets out £1bn online shopping plan as it prepares for life without Ocado May 16, 2019 Waitrose has revealed a £1bn plan to bolster its online operations today as it prepares for life without Ocado. The upmarket grocer has signed a deal with Today Development Partners (TDP) in a bid to treble the size of its online business over the next three years, as its 20-year relationship with delivery giant Ocado nears its [...]