Sainsbury’s shares dip despite £800m shareholder payout plan January 9, 2026 Sainsbury’s share price has dipped by over 4 per cent on Friday morning following its Q3 results, which revealed grocery sales at the FTSE 100 giant grew by over 5 per cent during the festive period. The boss of the supermarket chain said it “won grocery market share for the sixth consecutive Christmas” after grocery [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Sainsbury’s and Unite dish shareholders cash; Mining merger talks January 9, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. It was Britain’s retail sector taking centre stage yesterday amid a fresh influx of corporate updates that gave a snapshot of the industry’s December performance. Tesco came out swinging, revealing its market share had climbed to the highest in 10 years after a Christmas sales [...]
Shares down as Tesco hits 10-year UK market share high amid festive boom January 8, 2026 After a “strong Christmas” period, Tesco now anticipates its full-year adjusted operating profit will reach the upper end of its £2.9bn to £3.1bn forecast range. In its Q3 update, the FTSE 100 giant revealed its total group sales reached £24.9bn for the 19-week period. It was the Republic of Ireland that had a strong food [...]
M&S shakes off cyber chaos with strong Christmas sales January 8, 2026 Marks & Spencer (M&S) has delivered a steadier than feared Christmas trading update, offering some festive cheer for investors after a year, overshadowed by a costly cyber attack and months of disrupted online sales. The retailer reported group sales of £5bn for the 13 weeks to 27 December, up 3.3 per cent excluding Ocado Retail, [...]
Associated British Foods shares slide after Primark sales slump January 8, 2026 Shares in Associated British Foods (ABF), the owner of Primark, tumbled in early trading on Thursday morning after the FTSE 100 giant warned of a “difficult trading environment” and downgraded the fashion retailer’s growth forecasts. ABF, which owns the chain alongside its wholesale food business, said like-for-like sales across continental Europe declined as much as [...]
Christmas grocery shopping hits fresh high while Brits make budget trimmings January 7, 2026 Brits splashed out on groceries in the run-up to Christmas but watched their budgets more than ever, as own-brand products and cut-price veg caught the eyes of shoppers. Festive grocery sales increased by 3.8 per cent on the previous year, as Brits spent a record £13.8bn on Christmas supermarket shops amid moderately easing retail inflation [...]
Majestic Wine blames Reeves’ tax hikes as profit slashed January 7, 2026 Majestic Wine has blamed Rachel Reeves and her tax policies for its profit almost slashing in half during its latest financial year. The Watford-based business said the “economic environment became more challenging” during the 12 months to 31 March, 2025, especially after the general election and the Chancellor’s first Budget. The chain added that these [...]
Air fryer frenzy sees Ninja’s European sales rocket past £1bn January 7, 2026 A surge in demand for air fryers has helped Sharkninja’s European sales surge past the £1bn mark for the first time, the firm’s latest accounts reveal. Sharkninja Europe, the UK-based subsidiary of the US consumer appliance maker, posted turnover of £1.2bn in 2024, a whopping 43 per cent increase on the previous year, as Brits [...]
Claire’s and The Original Factory Shop collapse into administration, risking thousands of jobs January 6, 2026 High street chains Claire’s and The Original Factory Shop (TOFS) are being put into administration, after their owner said “last-ditch” measures had fallen through, putting about 2,500 UK staff at risk of redundancy. The two retailers had already undergone restructuring and were bought by investment firm Modella Capital last year. Modella said it had made [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Next gets Christmas boost; JLR sales crash after cyber attack January 6, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. British defence stocks were taken for a ride on Monday after rising geopolitical tensions put heightened investor appetite. It was the City’s defence giants Babcock and BAE leading the FTSE 100 to start the week, alongside gold miners who were benefiting from the surging price [...]