More than 80 retail bosses urge Starmer to tackle youth unemployment crisis June 10, 2026 More than 80 retail bosses have called on the Prime Minister to set out urgent measures to tackle youth unemployment, warning that the “ladder of opportunity for young people is wobbling”. The chiefs of leading retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and John Lewis have called on Sir Keir Starmer to safeguard the position of retail as [...]
The Capitalist: Claridge’s launches the ‘Mayfair Meal Deal’ May 28, 2026 Claridge's moves in on Tesco, things get heated at the ideas festival, and workers hide in the loo; catch up on the latest shenanigans.
Tesco deal helps Esquires Coffee owner to surge in sales as it eyes 300 stores May 28, 2026 A fresh deal with Tesco helped the owner of the Esquires Coffee chain to a jump in turnover. Cooks Coffee Company, which is listed on Aquis, posted UK and Ireland store sales of £43.1m for the year to end March, a surge of 22.8 per cent. Pre-tax earnings rose 6.8 per cent to £529,000, while [...]
Lidl leapfrogs Morrisons to become UK’s fifth-biggest supermarket May 27, 2026 Lidl has soared past struggling Morrisons to become the UK’s fifth-biggest supermarket, as its heavy discounting gave the grocer an edge in the fiercely competitive market. The German grocer snatched an 8.6 per cent market share, powered by an 8.8 per cent uplift in sales across the last 12 weeks, according to data by Worldpanel. [...]
Huge change to Tesco meal deal as Corona and Heineken added May 20, 2026 It needn’t be a can of Coke next time you pop to the supermarket for a cheap lunch – Corona and Heineken have been added as drinks included in the Tesco meal deal. Granted, they’re the zero-alcohol versions, but still, it feels like a hedonistic lunchtime treat. Independent London brewer Lucky Saint is the third [...]
‘Lost for words’ – Treasury sparks uproar with push to cap supermarket food prices May 19, 2026 The Treasury is putting pressure on supermarkets to cap prices on staple groceries as a quid pro quo for axing taxes and red tape amid fears the Iran war is set to unleash a painful bout of food inflation. According to leaked negotiations between major retailers and the government, the Chancellor’s officials have been pushing [...]
Tesco boss Ken Murphy took £1m pay rise in grocer’s bumper year May 15, 2026 Ken Murphy, the boss of Tesco, took a more-than £1m pay rise this year, bringing his total pay packet to £10.8m in the year the grocer solidified its dominant position in the market. The chief executive of the supermarket giant’s total pay packet for the 2025/26 year included £1.5m in basic pay, a £3.4m bonus [...]
Who Gives a Crap: The toilet roll tycoon making a splash May 6, 2026 Simon Griffiths founded Who Gives a Crap toilet paper with the philanthropic aim of ensuring everyone has access to a clean toilet. He has raised £11m so far, but Griffiths tells Felix Armstrong that’s not nearly enough “I was always an entrepreneurial kid at school,” Simon Griffiths says, as he explains the complex process of [...]
Supermarkets round on Aldi and Lidl over ‘rigged’ system May 6, 2026 A host of leading British supermarkets have rounded on German discounters Aldi and Lidl over fears competition is being “distorted” by a “rigged” system. Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Iceland are ramping up pressure on the competition watchdog to crack down on Aldi and Lidl’s ability to block rivals from opening new stores on nearby land. The [...]
Supermarket inflation: Falling oil prices help keep costs down at the till May 6, 2026 Thank goodness for the price of oil. No, not Brent crude – the stuff that has sent costs at the pump up sharply since the outbreak of war in Iran – but cooking oil. A 500ml bottle of rapeseed oil fell by an average of 14 per cent between April and May across three supermarkets [...]