Marks & Spencer launches plastic packaging-free fruit and vegetable trial to try and cut plastic waste January 16, 2019 Marks & Spencer launched a trial today of plastic packaging-free fruit and vegetables at its Tolworth store as it moves to cut the amount of plastic it uses. The retailer said it had introduced trained greengrocers to advise customers on the over 90 lines of loose fruit and vegetables it was selling from two aisles. [...]
Patisserie Valerie reveals balance sheet was significantly manipulated in ‘devastating’ fraud January 16, 2019 Patisserie Valerie posted a bombshell update to the market this afternoon, admitting that its balance sheet was “significantly” manipulated and thousands of false entries were made into the high street baker’s books before a shock £40m black hole was discovered last year. The troubled firm has appointed RSM as auditors and KPMG has been hired to [...]
Sears chairman wins auction for troubled department store chain with $5.2bn bid January 16, 2019 The chairman of bankrupt US department store chain Sears has won an auction for the retailer with a bid of $5.2bn (£4bn). Read more: Bidders table competing offers for struggling HMV Eddie Lampert prevailed in the auction today after weeks of back-and-forth negotiations. Lampert’s bid, made through his hedge fund, ESL Investments, will keep up to [...]
Offers on the table for HMV, say administrators January 16, 2019 Rescue offers have been made for beleaguered retailer HMV, its administrators confirmed today. Big Four accountancy firm KPMG, which had set a deadline of Tuesday this week for interested parties, said today that several offers have been put on the table for the 97-year-old chain. However, the identity of the bidders is not yet known. Will [...]
Weak residential market expected to hit profits at flooring distributor Headlam January 16, 2019 Shares in floor covering distributor Headlam sank as much as 10 per cent on Wednesday morning after it predicted that a weaker residential market would hit profits in 2019. Europe's largest distributor of floor coverings said that it now expects underlying profit before tax in 2019 to be between £39m and £41m, lower than in [...]
Booming US market breaks box office records for Cineworld but UK sales slip January 16, 2019 Cineworld shares slumped five per cent in morning trading, as the world’s second largest cinema chain revealed flattened UK sales despite the success of films such as Black Panther breaking box office records. A record 308m people visited the cinemas during 2018, the chain said. Meanwhile, like-for-like revenue jumped 6.2 per cent year-on-year in the 12 months [...]
McDonald’s loses EU copyright case over the Big Mac name January 16, 2019 McDonald’s will lose the exclusive rights to its eponymous Big Mac burger as European regulators yesterday found in favour of Irish chain Supermac’s. The David against Goliath battle culminated in a decision by the EU Intellectual Property Office, finding that McDonald’s had not proven genuine use of the trademark for the last five years. Read [...]
City Pub Group toasts sales rise as it splashes out on new sites January 16, 2019 Pub owner City Pub Group today reported a rise in sales after strong Christmas trading and a spate of acquisitions. The pub chain saw a 1.6 per cent boost in like-for-like sales in the 52 weeks to the end of December, while turnover soared 22 per cent on the year before to £45.6m. Read more: Magic [...]
Icing off the cake: Finsbury Food drops as butter prices skyrocket January 16, 2019 AIM-listed cake maker Finsbury Food dropped sharply this morning despite growing like-for-like sales 0.5 per cent in the last six months. Shares in the Thorntons supplier fell nearly 12 per cent an hour after markets opened this morning, trading at 82p. Read more: Cake maker Finsbury Foods sees profits slip after bakery closure The drop came [...]
Over-50s insurer Saga set to meet profit expectations after sales cruise forward January 16, 2019 Saga, the insurer and package holiday provider for the over-50s, reported overall profitability is in line with expectations today despite a “challenging” market. Forward sales for cruises have been strong, the company reported, with its ship the Spirit of Discovery, which will set sail in June this year, reaching 69 per cent of the sales [...]