Russia’s Gazprombank requests $288m repayment from gold producer Petropavlovsk April 20, 2022 Russian gold producer Petropavlovsk has received a request from Gazprombank for an immediate repayment of $288.1m. Gazprombank, which has been heavily sanctioned by the UK government amid the war in Ukraine, has demanded repayment of some $201m for a term loan. The company has also requested repayment of approximately $87.1m, due under the group’s Russian [...]
Toasting to success: Naked Wines sees lifted sales as loyal customers return to purchase drinks April 20, 2022 Online wine seller Naked Wines has raised a glass to results in-line with expectations after crediting high levels of returning customers. In an update for the fiscal year ended 28 March, the Norwich-based retailer said performance was in-line with expectations. Trading was driven by repeat customer sales, strong retention and demand from existing members, the [...]
Synectics: Trade ahead of expectations thanks to UK contracts including National Grid April 20, 2022 Surveillance systems maker Synectics said trading in the first quarter was slightly ahead of its board’s expectations. Synectics chairman David Coghlan put a good performance down to “an improved contribution from public space and infrastructure security systems in the UK, including the National Grid contract.” The Sheffield-based company won a five-year contract to provide surveillance [...]
Just Eat slashes profit guidance for year and mulls sale of Grubhub April 20, 2022 Just Eat has said it has lowered its profit guidance for the year and is mulling the sale of its US arm Grubhub. The delivery service said that “management is currently, together with its advisers, actively exploring the introduction of a strategic partner into and/or the partial or full sale of Grubhub.” “There can be [...]
Hospitality bosses: Government should ‘do everything possible’ to urge workers back to desks April 19, 2022 City centre business groups have called for the government to have more urgency in encouraging commuters back to offices after figures revealed low attendance numbers at government departments. There was a daily average of only one third of staff back at their desks at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), in numbers [...]
‘Scramble for staff’: Restaurants hike pay by double-digits in attempt to woo staff to stay April 19, 2022 Pubs and restaurants have hiked workers’ pay by an average of 11 per cent in recent months. A staffing blight continues to plague the hospitality sector, according to data from the latest CGA and Fourth’s Business Leaders’ Survey. Almost four in five businesses told the survey that they had increased wages in a bid to [...]
Hasbro warns of price hikes on the horizon as demand for Dungeons & Dragons soars April 19, 2022 Toy maker Hasbro has warned it will have to hike prices even more to offset other rising costs. The Action Man maker said it was anticipating a potential revenue hit of some $100m this year after it suspended toy shipments to Russia. Hasbro said it would hike prices mid-year and was trying to mitigate supply [...]
Retail footfall lifted by shoppers stocking up for long Easter weekend April 19, 2022 Shops saw a footfall injection in the run up to Easter as Brits flocked to high streets to make the most of the good weather. Footfall during Monday to Thursday last week was up by an average of 15 per cent, with a 21.9 per cent rise on Thursday. Footfall across all retail destinations rose [...]
Egg farmers threaten to stop production in price row with supermarkets April 19, 2022 Egg farmers have warned they could be forced to stop production after claiming the country’s biggest supermarkets are “suffocating businesses.” Farmers have previously called on supermarkets to raise the price of eggs as producers struggle with significant feed and energy cost increases. Now, the British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA) has said farmers may [...]
Prada: Strong US sales offset impact of Covid lockdown in China April 19, 2022 Designer handbag maker Prada performed above expectations in the first quarter of the year, as US sales offset trade suspensions in Russia. CEO Patrizio Berteilli also said strong results in the US in the first four months of the year helped to offset the impact of Covid lockdowns in China. Speaking to Italian newspaper Corriere [...]
