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 [...]
H&T shares up: Pawnbroker lending rockets as cash-strapped Brits sell valuables July 11, 2023 Britain’s biggest pawnbroker H&T saw its share price soar this morning, following news that lending grew 22 per cent as punters have been forced to flog off goods to secure extra funds during the cost of living crisis. Ahead of its interim results, which are due to be published in early August, H&T said that [...]
Retailers struggle to rack in sales in June as shoppers continue to scale back July 7, 2023 Retailers continued to show signs of struggling in June, new figures show, as sales growth remained well below inflation due to customers scaling back their shopping habits due to the cost of living crisis. Total like-for-like sales in June grew 1.9 per cent from last year’s base of 8.4 per cent, according to figures from [...]
We are not rip-off retailers, says Sainsbury’s July 6, 2023 Bosses at Sainsbury’s have said they are “not rip-off retailer” or “profiteers” as they defended the profit made by the retailer amid scrutiny related to food inflation over the past year. The company also defended increased pay packages for its senior executives at its annual general meeting in London, despite the continued cost-of-living crisis. It [...]