Shake up at Dirty Martini as owners appoint advisers for possible sale November 11, 2018 The group that runs the Dirty Martini chain of cocktail bars confirmed today it had appointed advisers to examine a sale. CG Restaurants said it had “received a number of unsolicited approaches, which are being considered in the context of delivering best value to our shareholders.” It also said: “This may or not result in [...]
Analysts express doubt over The Restaurant Group’s takeover of Wagamama’s November 11, 2018 Analysts have expressed doubt over Frankie and Benny’s owner The Restaurant Group’s (TRG) £600m acquisition of Asian fusion chain Wagamama’s. TRG is the preferred bidder in the sales process which was sparked in June by Goldman Sachs on behalf of private equity backers Duke Street and Hutton Collins, it was announced last month. However analysts [...]
All Saints profits hit by retail storm November 11, 2018 Fashion brand All Saints has seen its profits plummet as online shopping continues to take its toll on high-street fashion retailers. The company’s underlying profits fell by more than half to £10.6m because of property losses and a drop in in-store sales. Sales rose eight per cent to £327m in the year to February. But [...]
Alibaba’s record-breaking Singles Day sales hit $10bn in first hour November 11, 2018 Online retail giant Alibaba today smashed records for the largest shopping day on the planet, making sales of over $1bn (£770.5m) in just 85 seconds. The sales came during Singles Day, the world’s largest online retail festival. Alibaba’s total sales hit $10bn after one hour and had reached over $24bn after 16 hours. The festival's sales eclipse the estimated [...]
Netflix boss Reed Hastings excited by new rivals Disney Plus as they continue expansion November 10, 2018 Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings has claimed he is looking forward to the challenge prosed by Disney, who are launching their own online streaming service. The new service, Disney Plus, will go head to head with Netflix and Amazon Prime when it launches late next year. Hastings has admitted that Disney are a "formidable" company in the [...]
Essex fizz could give French winemakers a run for their money November 10, 2018 Wine from Essex could rival the Champagne region of France, scientists have found. A study from the University of East Anglia showed that some of the UK’s best land for wine production was in areas like Essex and Suffolk. The researchers found nearly 35,000 hectares of prime land for cultivating grapes across England and Wales, [...]
Golden quarter could bring Christmas cheer to struggling British retailers November 9, 2018 Retailers might find seasonal cheer in an early Christmas present as experts predict a strong final quarter to the year. Sales in the sector are expected to tick up by two per cent year-on-year, according to analytics company Global Data. The increase will be driven by food and groceries, which are expected to grow 2.5 [...]
Kerching: Supermarkets win court ruling over £300m cash machine case November 9, 2018 Supermarket giants including Sainsbury’s and Tesco have won a £300m court dispute over business rates for cash machines outside shops. Today’s ruling from The Court of Appeal decided in favour of the retail giants, who are set to be refunded hundreds of millions of pounds from the government and local authorities. For eight years retailers [...]
Creditors give green light to Gourmet Burger Kitchen closures November 9, 2018 Gourmet Burger Kitchen’s plan to close 17 of its restaurants was given the go-ahead by creditors today, as the firm looks to abandon its underperforming restaurants as part of a major restructuring plan. Some 250 jobs could be axed as a result of the closures, which have been triggered through a controversial insolvency plan used [...]
Iceland’s palm oil Christmas ad banned for being ‘too political’ November 9, 2018 Iceland has had to pull its eagerly-anticipated Christmas advert from the nation’s TV screens for breaching political advertising rules. The festive clip, which tells the story of deforestation caused by palm oil production through an animated short film about an orangutan, was made in a deal that Iceland struck with campaign group Greenpeace. However, the [...]