Retail sales recover slightly in February driven by DIY purchases March 26, 2021 Retail sales ticked up slightly in February compared to the previous month, as purchases of DIY and household goods offset a steep drop in demand for new shoes and clothing. Sales volumes increased 2.1 per cent following a 8.2 per cent drop in January, with the strongest growth seen in department stores and household goods [...]
British electric vehicle startup Arrival secures $13.6bn valuation in New York March 26, 2021 British electric van and bus startup Arrival secured $13.6bn (£9.87bn) valuation upon its listing in New York yesterday, despite being yet to begin production. The firm, which is yet to turn a profit, went public on Nasdaq yesterday, raising around $660m in gross proceeds to ramp up the delivery of its electric vehicles and expand [...]
Ready meal firm Parsley Box raises £17m ahead of London listing March 26, 2021 Parsley Box has raised £17m through an initial public offering (IPO), which will value the ready meal delivery firm at £84m. The Edinburgh-based company, which targets the “baby boomer” generation, this morning announced its proposed admission to trading on London Stock Exchange’s AIM market. It raised gross proceeds of around £17m – comprising £5m for [...]
Rishi Sunak: Workers will quit if they can’t return to offices, chancellor warns March 26, 2021 Employers may face an exodus of staff if they implement a permanent remote-working strategy after lockdown, the chancellor warned. Rishi Sunak said workers should be allowed to return to offices or they may “vote with their feet” and leave the firm for an employer that encourages face-to-face working. He said offices allow meetings to “happen [...]
Asda faces ‘multimillion pound’ hit if supermarket loses equal pay claim March 25, 2021 Asda could be forced to make a “multimillion pound” payout if it loses an appeal on equal pay at the UK’s top court tomorrow. The supermarket is waiting for the Supreme Court’s judgement after it appealed against a ruling that workers in Asda stores – who are mainly female – could compare their pay with [...]
Furlough: Extra 200,000 workers temporarily laid off in February March 25, 2021 The government paid out almost £4bn in additional furlough costs last month as a further 200,000 people were temporarily laid off. HM Revenue and Customs said it has paid a total of £57.7bn in furlough claims to around 11.4m workers since the pandemic began a year ago. Separate data published today by the Office for [...]
Boohoo cuts ties with hundreds of suppliers following Leicester factory scandal March 25, 2021 Online fashion retailer Boohoo has cut ties with hundreds of suppliers as it seeks to improve conditions for factory workers. The e-commerce giant this morning announced it has “ceased doing business with a number of manufacturers who were unable to demonstrate the high standard of transparency required”. Boohoo published a list of its 78 approved [...]
Cineworld plunges to $3bn loss as screen closures continue March 25, 2021 Cineworld announced this morning that it has secured $213m (£155.6m) bond from investors to help with reopening costs as it revealed it plunged to a $3bn loss last year. The cinema chain posted a loss after tax of $2.65bn in the year ended 31 December, compared to profit of $180.3m in the previous year. Revenue [...]
All Bar One owner Mitchells & Butlers dealt bloody nose by investors over executive pay March 24, 2021 Mitchells & Butlers, the owner of All Bar One and Toby Carvery, has been dealt a blow by shareholders against executive pay plans and corporate governance. Nearly a fifth of investors – 17.5 per cent – opposed the pub chain’s remuneration policy at today’s annual general meeting. Meanwhile, around a quarter of shareholders opposed the [...]
Energy firms refusing to supply pubs during pandemic, trade body says March 24, 2021 The pub industry’s trade body has accused energy companies of refusing to supply venues with power – even where they are used as residential buildings. The British Beer & Pub Association today said a number of pubs across the UK had “experienced poor commercial behaviour” from utility firms that have refused to renew contracts or [...]
