Upper Crust owner SSP announces £100m share buyback November 20, 2019 Upper Crust owner SSP Group this morning announced plans to buy back £100m of shares as it reported sales grew this year due to an increase in air and rail passengers. The figures SSP Group, which has around 2,800 outlets at global transport hubs, said like for like sales were up 1.9 per cent due [...]
Poll: UK house prices won’t match low inflation until 2021 November 20, 2019 UK house prices will not match low inflation until 2021 and are set to fall in London this year as buyers are put off by continuing Brexit uncertainty, according to new research. House prices in the capital will fall 1.5 per cent this year and only hold steady in 2020, a poll by Reuters found. [...]
Shoppers plan to spend more on high streets this Christmas November 20, 2019 The Christmas trading period could deliver some much-needed festive cheer for retailers after a challenging 12 months as a new research reveals that shoppers plan to spend more this year. Most UK shoppers – 87 per cent – are planning to spend the same or more than last year, while 57 per cent said political [...]
Lidl brings hourly pay rate in line with living wage November 19, 2019 More than 19,000 Lidl employees across the UK are set to get a pay rise as the supermarket brings its hourly rate in line with the living wage. Entry-level pay will rise from £9 to £9.30 per hour in stores outside of London and from £10.55 to £10.75 per hour within the M25 to meet [...]
Hammerson continues retail property disposal with £54m sale November 19, 2019 Hammerson has continued its property disposal programme with the £54m sale of a Gloucester retail park to a local authority. Following the sale of St Oswald’s Retail Park, Hammerson has reached £577m worth of disposals in 2019, including the sale of a major stake in its Italie Deux flagship destination in Paris for £423m in [...]
Moss Bros appoints ex-Ted Baker finance chief as CFO November 19, 2019 Suit retailer Moss Bros has appointed former Ted Baker interim chief financial officer Bill Adams as its new finance chief. Adams, who was interim finance chief at Ted Baker before Rachel Osborne joined the company last week, will takeover from Tony Bennett in February. Previously, Adams was finance director at Argos and Homebase. Read more: [...]
Pub operator Ei Group reports earnings drop ahead of Stonegate deal November 19, 2019 Ei Group, the pub operator being bought by Slug and Lettuce owner Stonegate, reported that earnings dropped this year after the disposal of 354 venues. The figures Revenue was up 4.17 per cent from £695m to £724m, in the 12 months to 30 September. Read more: Competition watchdog to examine £1.3bn tie-up between Stonegate and [...]
Major UK high street chains close 6,000 stores in 2019 November 19, 2019 Major UK high street chains have closed almost 6,000 stores so far this year as the retail industry continues to struggle with high rents, business rates and slumping sales. Retailers with 10 or more stores have shuttered 5,834 branches between 1 January and 30 September, an increase of 77 per cent on last year. Read [...]
Cosmetics giant Coty takes $600m stake in Kylie Jenner’s beauty business November 18, 2019 Cosmetics giant Coty, which owns Rimmel London and Bourjois, has taken a $600m (£462.7m) majority stake in reality TV star Kylie Jenner’s beauty brand. Coty will take responsibility for the development of new Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin products, and act as a licensee for skincare, fragrances and nail products. Read more: Debate: Is Kylie [...]
Luxury jewellers Boodles reports profits ‘back on track’ November 18, 2019 Luxury jewellery retailer Boodles reported sales growth following a strong Christmas trading period last year and a 220th anniversary collaboration with Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe. The family-owned jewellers reported turnover of £77.1m for the year ended 28 February, up 8.9 per cent from £70.8m in 2018. Read more: Diamond in a rough year: Petra sell [...]
