Insolvencies set to rise as Budget hikes business costs, Begbies Traynor warns November 18, 2024 A combination of elevated interest rates and higher business costs resulting from the Budget is set to lead to a spike in insolvencies, Begbies Traynor has warned. In last month’s Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves increased the amount employers have to pay in NICs by 1.2 per cent, and lowered the wage threshold at which employers [...]
Badenoch claims Reeves’s Budget was designed to ‘milk private sector’ November 13, 2024 The Labour government’s “ideological” Budget was “designed to milk the private sector”, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has claimed. Quizzing Sir Keir Starmer during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) today, the Conservative leader accused the Labour leader of “having nothing to offer but platitudes”. She said: “Their ideological Budget was designed to milk the private sector and [...]
Struggles continue at Asda as new owner looks to turn around supermarket giant November 12, 2024 The continuing struggles at supermarket giant Asda have been revealed with both Tesco and Sainsbury’s hoovering up its market share in the UK, according to new figures. Sales at the Leeds-based grocer totalled £4.242bn in the 12 weeks to 3 November, 2024, down from the £4.490bn it reported for the same period last year, the [...]
One Stop sales jump at Tesco-owned convenience store chain November 7, 2024 Sales at convenience store chain One Stop, which is owned by Tesco, jumped to almost £1.3bn during its latest financial year. The Walsall-headquartered business has posted a revenue of £1.29bn for the 12 months to 24 February, 2024, up from the £1.17bn it achieved in the prior year. Newly-filed accounts with Companies House have also [...]
Barclays completes £600m Tesco Bank takeover November 1, 2024 Barclays has completed its £600m takeover of Tesco’s banking arm after high court approval for the buyout came on 17 October. As part of a ten-year partnership between the two firms, Barclays will begin operating and managing Tesco Bank. Tesco will keep all of its existing insurance and money services activities, including ATMs, travel money [...]
Tesco ups guidance after first-half performance ‘exceeds expectations’ October 3, 2024 Supermarket giant Tesco has upped its profit guidance following another strong period of trading for the UK’s biggest grocer. Tesco increased its retail adjusted operating profit guidance to £2.9bn, from £2.8bn, after it “delivered volume growth ahead of expectations”. Continuing sales at the grocer grew 3.5 per cent in the 26 weeks ended 24 August [...]
Tesco Mobile in the red despite sales passing £1bn October 1, 2024 Tesco Mobile fell into the red despite its sales passing the £1bn mark during its latest financial year, it has been revealed. The provider, which is a joint venture between the supermarket giant and Virgin Media 02, has reported a pre-tax loss of £449,000 for 2023, according to newly-filed accounts with Companies House. The loss [...]
3i Group: Inside Britain’s biggest retailer you’ve probably never heard of September 24, 2024 £32.5bn investment trust, 3i Group, owns Britain’s biggest retailer: Action. You’ve likely never heard of Action, and that’s because it doesn’t actually operate in the UK, instead having close to 3,000 stores across 12 European countries like Germany, the Netherlands and France. The group is kind of like B&M: Selling items at a low cost, [...]
Tesco boss Ken Murphy: ‘The AI revolution is upon us’ September 18, 2024 Tesco boss Ken Murphy has said that personalised grocery offers like Tesco Clubcard could “nudge” consumers towards making healthier decisions and that the AI “revolution is upon us” in retail. The Tesco chief executive said that, for example, an AI programme could note someone’s high sodium intake and encourage them to buy lower-sodium and healthier [...]
Tesco loses Supreme Court ‘hire and fire’ appeal after three-year battle September 12, 2024 Tesco has lost its ‘hire and fire’ appeal after the Supreme Court ruled it cannot terminate its employees’ contracts for the purpose of depriving them of retained payment. The judge said that employees’ contracts contained a clause barring the supermarket giant from removing their right to retained pay. The ‘landmark’ legal battle was initially brought [...]