M&S raises dividend after profit surge – despite cyber hit May 21, 2025 Marks and Spencer has boosted its dividend after reporting profit at a 15-year high, despite the significant impact of its ongoing attack. M&S told investors it would raise its yearly dividend by 20 per cent to 3.6p this year. The dividend boost came after the high street darling told markets that profit before tax and [...]
MPs grill Barclays on outages as HSBC raises cyber attack concerns May 20, 2025 Bank chiefs have said they are ramping up spend on cyber defences after a spate of attacks have blighted the retail sector. HSBC’s UK boss Ian Stuart told the Treasury Committee the bank’s work on cyber protection and IT infrastructure was the “biggest expense in the business”. “Cyber security is at the top of the [...]
Card Factory CEO takes home bumper pay rise May 20, 2025 The chief executive of Card Factory has seen his pay packet jump to more than £1.5m after the company’s sales surged. The West Yorkshire-headquartered retailer has handed Darcy Willson-Rymer the pay rise for its latest financial year, taking home £942,559 in the prior 12 months. The main change to the CEO’s salary was the £531,567 [...]
SSP: Upper Crust owner’s shares surge after profit soars May 20, 2025 Owner of Upper Crust bakery chain SSP Group grew across a number of business lines in its half-year report as revenue soared, despite some headwinds in Europe. The FTSE 250 firm recorded £45m in operating profit – up 20 per cent growth from the first six months of 2024. Shares soared nearly four per cent [...]
M&S attack exposes long term cyber fallout for UK firms May 19, 2025 The long tail of cyber attacks is becoming clearer, and more costly, for UK businesses. New data from Hiscox revealed the long term brand and commercial damage from breaches has more than doubled in the past year, underscoring the mounting risks in an AI-driven threat landscape. In its latest cyber readiness report, Hiscox found that [...]
Pret A Manger: Why prices rises are ‘inevitable’ after surviving ‘near-death crisis’ May 19, 2025 The boss of Pret A Manger in the UK has revealed the tough economic reality the country is currently facing means it is “inevitable” that some prices will have to be increased. Clare Clough admitted recent years have been “challenging” for the high street staple but that the brand’s number one priority is to find [...]
Cricketing star Ben Stokes takes stake in alcohol-free Cleanco May 18, 2025 Cricketing star Ben Stokes OBE has taken a stake in reality tv star Spencer Matthews’ alcohol-free spirits brand Cleanco. Stokes partnership with the firm comes as part of a $5m fundraising round for the brand as it hopes for its first year of cash-flow positivty. Cleanco is also gearing up for global expansion with ambitions [...]
Tesco and Waitrose back King’s challenge to tackle hunger issues May 18, 2025 Four UK supermarkets are launching a joint campaign to tackle hunger, following a challenge from the King. Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Waitrose will take part in the Let’s Make A Meal Of It campaign, which encourages customers to donate to charity FareShare either online or by rounding up their bills in store. The campaign is [...]
Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes to cost Timpson £12m extra a year May 16, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget tax hikes are set to cost the business empire of fellow government minister Lord James Timpson £12m extra a year, it has been revealed. The Manchester-headquartered group said the increases in employer’s National Insurance contributions and the National Living Wage will eat into its earnings in the years to come. [...]
Holland & Barrett: Huge losses continue despite sales surge May 15, 2025 Holland & Barrett has suffered another year of losses despite its sales continuing to climb. The Nuneaton-headquartered health foods store chain has reported a pre-tax loss of £61.8m for the 12 months to the end of September 2024. The latest total comes after the retailer also lost £65.3m in the prior 12 months and £59.6m [...]