Asda: Will 2026 be the year supermarket giant bounces back? Retail This time last year, analysts warned that Asda needed to “dig down into its soul” if it was to turn around its fortunes. After a rollercoaster 2024 in which it struggled with debt, strikes and falling sales, the Leeds-headquartered supermarket giant was hoping the new year would begin to reveal green shoots of recovery. Under [...]
Wild by Tart launch limited edition gin in national supermarkets hospitality The founders behind Wild by Tart have launched a limited edition gin in national supermarkets as they look to expand from their restaurateur roots. The duo, who started their culinary careers as food columnists for the Evening Standard Magazine, launched Wild by Tart in October 2019 in London Victoria. They have now collaborated with Bathtub [...]
Weight-loss drugs ‘fundamentally changing’ the way Brits eat Retail The rise of weight-loss drugs is starting to affect supermarket sales, with experts warning that the sector is unprepared for the change this Christmas. More than one in ten Brits is set to host someone on GLP-1 medication this year, prompting less alcohol and fewer sweets on the menu. “There is a worry that Christmas [...]
Asda boss bashes Budget as sales continue to drop November 28, 2025 Asda boss Allen Leighton has hit out at the Autumn Budget as anti-growth and anti-investment as sales as the supermarket giant stumbled due to an IT handover. The executive chairman said Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget “didn’t do anything for anybody” and that “there’s nothing the government is doing that is stimulating growth”. Speaking to City AM [...]
Asda: KKR and TDR commit £23m to credit card firm Jaja after warning November 11, 2025 The private equity backers of Jaja Finance have contributed another £23m in equity funding after the Asda credit card firm warned on its ability to continue as a going concern, City AM can reveal. A group of existing shareholders participated in the funding in October, Jaja said, and have also vowed to commit a further [...]
Investors pile into Sainsbury’s, but will it last? November 6, 2025 Sainsbury’s has proved a good bet for investors this year as the grocer goes from strength to strength, but will it last into 2026? The UK’s second-largest supermarket has seen a 50 per cent uplift in share price since April, with another five per cent jump following better-than-expected results on Thursday. It’s a marked departure [...]
Princes Group prices London IPO at bottom end of range October 31, 2025 Shares in Princes Group made their debut on the London Stock Exchange on Friday, rounding off a rare, busy month of listings for the British bourse after a prolonged drought. The Liverpool-based business, which makes Branston beans, Batchelors peas and Napolina olive oil, had set its offer price at 475p, the bottom end of the [...]
Asda credit card firm Jaja Finance warns of ‘material uncertainty’ over going concern status October 7, 2025 The firm behind the Asda credit card has warned of “material uncertainty” over its ability to continue as a going concern after reporting widening losses, City AM can reveal. Jaja Finance, a fintech co-owned by billionaire Mohsin Issa and private equity firm TDR Capital, said it had “substantially advanced” but not yet completed a new [...]
‘Subdued’ services sector suffers steep drop as tax hikes bite October 3, 2025 Business activity expansion fell to a five-month low after a “subdued” services sector experienced a dull end to the third quarter. S&P’s UK Services Purchasing Managers Index Business Activity tumbled to 50.8 in September, falling steeply from the 16-month high of 54.2 secured in August. “This summer’s acceleration in output growth is now looking like [...]
Tesco boss warns Reeves that ‘enough’s enough’ ahead of Budget October 2, 2025 Tesco boss Ken Murphy has warned Rachel Reeves that business will struggle to absorb more costs as fears rise of another tax raid in this Budget. UK retailers were hit by higher labour costs after an increase in the minimum wage and employer’s national insurance costs this April, after changes made at last October’s budget [...]