William Hill to beat profit expectations after strong sports betting performance January 13, 2020 William Hill announced this morning that it beat profit expectations last year due to “favourable sporting results”, as the gambling chain revealed that its finance chief is set to step down. The company said full-year adjusted operating profit for 2019 is expected to be between £143m to £148m, ahead of both market and management expectations, [...]
Takeaway shareholders approve Just Eat acquisition January 9, 2020 Takeaway.com shareholders have approved its £5.9bn acquisition of UK delivery platform Just Eat. The Dutch food ordering company said its plan for an all-share merger received the backing of investors at an extraordinary meeting in Amsterdam today. Read more: Just Eat board rejects Prosus offer in favour of Takeaway.com merger On 19 December Takeaway.com, which [...]
Marks & Spencer shares slip as clothing underperformance weighs on Christmas trading January 9, 2020 Marks & Spencer’s Christmas performance was weakened by poor sales in its menswear business, after the retailer ordered too many skinny jeans in the wrong sizes. The high street chain said it over ordered skinny and slim-fit mens’ trousers, under-bought regular fit jeans and had too many small sizes and not enough medium and large. [...]
Dunelm boosts sales despite shunning Black Friday January 9, 2020 Homeware brand Dunelm reported a jump in sales in the run-up to Christmas despite deciding not to take part in Black Friday discounting. Like-for-like sales increased five per cent in the second quarter while total growth, including the benefit of new stores, was 6.2 per cent following the launch of its new digital platform. Read [...]
Four challenges Sharon White must address at John Lewis January 9, 2020 Incoming John Lewis Partnership boss Sharon White will have a big job on her hands when she joins the retailer next month, as this morning’s trading update showed. The department store issued a profit warning today and made the surprise announcement that John Lewis managing director Paula Nickolds will leave the partnership in February. It [...]
Tesco sees Christmas sales rise for fifth year in a row January 9, 2020 Tesco delivered its fifth consecutive Christmas period of growth last year, outperforming its competitors in a tough retail environment. The grocer’s UK and Ireland division, which includes its wholesale business Booker, increased like-for-like sales by 0.4 per cent in the 19 weeks to 4 January due to a strong operational performance and competitive deals. Read [...]
Card Factory shares dive as retailer warns on profit January 9, 2020 Shares in Card Factory plunged more than 19 per cent this morning after the retailer warned that profits will be lower than expected following a challenging Christmas trading period. The high street chain said full-year adjusted underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) will be in the range of £81m to £83m, reflecting [...]
‘Worst year on record’ for retailers in 2019 January 9, 2020 Last year was the worst 12 months on record for UK retailers, as overall annual sales dipped for the first time since 1995, according to the latest data. Total sales in 2019 fell 0.1 per cent, marking the worst year for retailers since records began 25 years ago, due to a year of political uncertainty [...]
Ted Baker lenders appoint advisers to review prospects January 8, 2020 Ted Baker’s lenders have appointed advisers to review the struggling high street retailer’s prospects. Lenders including Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland have lined up restructuring experts FTI Consultants to lead an independent business review to explore the health of the company, Sky News reported. The review could take several weeks, and may lead to [...]
Greggs to roll out delivery nationwide after successful trials January 8, 2020 Greggs is preparing to roll out a delivery service nationwide following successful trials with Deliveroo and Just Eat. Fans of pasties, cakes and the bakery’s vegan sausage rolls across the UK will be able to order Greggs’ products to their door by the end of the year. Read more: Greggs employees to get £7m payout [...]
