Asda brings back industry veteran Leighton as chair November 23, 2024 Asda brought back retail industry veteran Allan Leighton as its executive chair on Saturday, replacing Stuart Rose at Britain’s third largest supermarket. Rose will remain on the board to ensure an orderly transition before stepping down, the company, majority owned by private equity firm TDR Capital, said in a statement. In addition to holding the [...]
Lidl boss warns retailers are ‘reeling’ after Budget tax raid November 20, 2024 The boss of budget supermarket Lidl has warned retailers are “reeling” following Labour’s tax raid in the Autumn Budget. The German supermarket’s UK boss Ryan McDonnell said the discount brand was staring down the barrel of “tens of millions of pounds” in extra costs. This comes after the Chancellor unveiled a £25.7bn tax-raising package, with [...]
Badenoch claims Reeves’s Budget was designed to ‘milk private sector’ November 13, 2024 The Labour government’s “ideological” Budget was “designed to milk the private sector”, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has claimed. Quizzing Sir Keir Starmer during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) today, the Conservative leader accused the Labour leader of “having nothing to offer but platitudes”. She said: “Their ideological Budget was designed to milk the private sector and [...]
Struggles continue at Asda as new owner looks to turn around supermarket giant November 12, 2024 The continuing struggles at supermarket giant Asda have been revealed with both Tesco and Sainsbury’s hoovering up its market share in the UK, according to new figures. Sales at the Leeds-based grocer totalled £4.242bn in the 12 weeks to 3 November, 2024, down from the £4.490bn it reported for the same period last year, the [...]
Businesses warn of £400m in extra costs after Reeves’s Budget tax raid November 8, 2024 Businesses across the UK are sounding the alarm over rising costs after Rachel Reeves raised taxes by some £40bn at the Budget last week. The Chancellor announced that employer’s national insurance contributions (NIC) will increase by 1.2 per cent to 15 per cent, and the threshold at which businesses start paying the levy will be [...]
Asda cuts jobs and demands three-days-a-week return to office November 6, 2024 Asda has announced job cuts and asked its staff to return to the office three days a week in the latest move in its turnaround plan. In an internal email on 5 November, the grocer said it was changing its office attendance policy at its George House site in Leicester as well as its Asda [...]
Asda takeover completes as Issa brothers split made official November 1, 2024 Asda is now under the majority control of private equity giant TDR Capital after billionaire Zuber Issa sold his shares in the supermarket giant. Funds managed by TDR Capital now hold a 67.5 per cent stake in the Leeds-headquartered company while Zuber’s brother Mohsin Issa retains his 22.5 per cent holding. A further 10 per [...]
Asda flies in Morrisons and M&S execs as turnaround plan gathers pace October 22, 2024 Asda has added two new members to its leadership team as it looks to bolster the firm amid a significant turnaround plan. Laura Lepley will join in December from Morrisons as vice president of central operations, while Mark Henry will join in January from M&S as vice president of retail in the south of England. [...]
Brand Architekts: Sales at owner of Skinny Tan and Super Facialist slump October 21, 2024 Brand Architekts, the beauty specialist behind British brands including Skinny Tan and Super Facialist, has reported a fall in sales as it pivots to fewer, bigger brands. The company reported an underlying loss of £0.4m compared to a loss of £1.2m for 2023, while its gross profit margin increased 1.5 per cent to 41.2 per [...]
Leon: Restaurant chain’s loss-making streak continues amid Asda takeover September 30, 2024 Restaurant chain Leon lost almost £20m in the year it was sold by the billionaire Issa brothers to Asda, it has been revealed. The company had been purchased by the brothers’ Lancashire-based EG Group in 2021 before most of the group’s UK operations were sold to the supermarket giant for £2bn in October 2023. At [...]