Restaurateurs reeling as no shows cost sector £90 per missing head July 19, 2023 Restaurateurs are reeling as punters not showing up for dinner costs businesses £90 per head, a new study has shown, leading many to consider throwing in the towel for good. A rising number of diners cancelling at the last minute, or just not turning up, over the last year has led to almost a fifth [...]
Grocery inflation remains ‘incredibly high’ but falls for fourth straight month thanks to supermarket promotions July 18, 2023 Grocery price inflation has seen the biggest drop since its peak in March but remains “incredibly high”, figures show. Supermarket promotions helped the figure fall to 14.9 per cent in the four weeks to July 9, down from 16.5 per cent over the previous month, according to analysts Kantar. It is the fourth month in [...]
Tortilla Mexican Grill: Revenues surge by over a fifth after expansion July 17, 2023 Tortilla Mexican Grill raked in revenues of £32.7m during the first leg of the year, up 22 per cent compared to the same period last year, off the back of a string of new site openings. The fast-casual restaurant chain was bolstered by new openings and growing demand, saying like for like revenue also grew [...]
Sofa so good! DFS reaches record market share as it navigates cost of living crisis July 17, 2023 DFS recorded a four per cent decline in gross sales compared to last year as the sofa giant warns of “significantly worse” market activity during the cost of living crisis. The news comes as earlier this year DFS downgraded its profit expectations to between £30m and £35m, slashing it by nearly half on the £60.3m [...]
Nearly half of tenants struggle to pay rent with millions now facing ‘financial vulnerability’ July 14, 2023 Nearly half of tenants are struggling to pay their rent, with millions now spending more of their disposable income on renting costs than homeowners. As the cost of living crisis has led many landlords to up the costs of rent, some 21 per cent of tenants report spending a higher proportion of their disposable income [...]
Nokia slashes guidance as sales hit by customers cutting back July 14, 2023 Nokia has slashed its guidance for the rest of the year with net sales now expected to be between £19.84bn -£21bn (€23.2bn- €24.6bn) as the mobile phone maker feels the impact of a slowdown in consumer spending. The telecommunications giant said that it was also lowering its operating margin range outlook – the percentage of [...]
Superdrug profits soar 71 per cent as budget beauty buys boost sales July 12, 2023 Superdrug has reported a surge in profits in its full year results thanks to a jump in sales of its own-brand products on top of strong Christmas trading. The medicine-to-beauty seller recorded pre-tax profits of £77.8m, up 71.1 per cent compared to the same period the previous year, as the retailer welcomed its first full [...]
Five Rightmove ads that show how screwed the London rental market is July 12, 2023 London’s rental market is hellish, with landlords selling up to avoid hefty mortgage payments and its supply pool dwindling daily, renters in the capital have their work cut out for them trying to find a place to call home. City A.M. has trawled the pages of Rightmove to showcase some of the ‘premium’ pads on [...]
Loungers: Cafe and Bar operator looks for further expansion as cooling inflation for hospitality boosts revenue July 12, 2023 Cafe and bar operator Loungers revenues jumped 19 per cent during the year, as the owner of the Lounger and Cosy Club was bolstered by 29 new site openings. The London-listed hospitality chain recorded earnings of £47.3m which represents growth of 66 per cent since it first listed on the stock exchange in April 2019. [...]
‘I started this as a hobby’: Cricket star Stuart Broad reflects on his naive start to the world of hospitality July 12, 2023 England cricketer turned pub landlord Stuart Broad has admitted he had a “naive” understanding about what it took to run a hospitality business, as he reopens his pub amid a period of soaring bills and red hot inflation. The 37-year old sports star has recently relaunched his pub and restaurant The Tap and Run in [...]