Waitrose pledges to keep meat and fish counters open as rivals shutter services November 11, 2020 Waitrose has this morning pledged to keep its meat, fish and deli counters open, taking on the supermarkets that have shuttered the services to cut costs amid falling demand. The up-market grocer said it is committed to the long-term future of its food service counters, and is planning to expand its meat and fish range [...]
Landsec sinks to £835m loss but backs London’s office sector November 10, 2020 Commercial real estate owner Landsec sunk to a £835m loss in its half-year results due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, but reported strong investor interest in London’s office market. Landsec’s share price jumped 7.37 per cent to 690.9p despite mounting losses after the landlord revealed its optimistic outlook on the central London office [...]
Christmas shoppers flock to toy shops ahead of second Covid-19 lockdown November 10, 2020 Toy and entertainment retailers reported a surge in shopper numbers in the days leading up to the coronavirus lockdown, as Brits snapped up Christmas presents ahead of the closure of non-essential stores. The latest analysis showed that toy stores more than doubled their share of pre-pandemic footfall between Monday and Wednesday last week. But one [...]
Aldi to extend click and collect to 200 stores ahead of Christmas November 9, 2020 Aldi has announced that it will extend its click and collect trial to more than 200 stores by Christmas as the budget supermarket seeks to capitalise on the boom in demand for online shopping. The German discounter launched the service from one Midlands store in September, before rolling it out to a further 17 branches [...]
Airline stocks soar on Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine breakthrough November 9, 2020 Airline stocks soared this morning after US pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer reported that early studies suggested its Covid-19 vaccine is 90 per cent effective. Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech are the first firms to show successful data from a large-scale clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine. The companies said they have so far found no [...]
Keir Starmer backs call to end 10pm pub and restaurant curfew November 9, 2020 Labour Party leader Keir Starmer has reportedly backed calls to end the 10pm curfew on pubs and restaurants when the hospitality industry reopens following the ongoing nationwide coronavirus lockdown. The curfew, which forced hospitality businesses to close by 10pm, was criticised for funnelling punters into the streets and onto public transport all at once, making [...]
Taylor Wimpey shares surge as housebuilder hikes profit forecast November 9, 2020 Shares in housebuilder Taylor Wimpey soared this morning after the property developer said it expects to beat profit forecasts in 2021. The FTSE 100 firm said that a strong recovery of the housing market means it will beat analysts’ top operating profit forecast of £626m. Profit will be “materially above” previous expectations as demand for [...]
Boris Johnson says UK ‘well prepared’ for no-deal Brexit November 6, 2020 The prime minister said today he hoped a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union could be agreed, but the country was well prepared if final-stage talks with the bloc did not succeed. “I very much hope that we will [get a deal], and obviously that depends on our friends and partners across the Channel,” [...]
More than 2,000 jobs at risk as Edinburgh Woollen Mill collapses into administration November 6, 2020 High street giant Edinburgh Woollen Mill has collapsed into administration, putting more than 2,000 jobs at risk in the latest blow to the beleaguered UK retail sector. The firm, which is owned by billionaire businessman Philip Day, has appointed FRP Advisory as administrators to its Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Ponden Home brands, it announced this [...]
Wellcome Trust offers to buy developer Urban & Civic for £506m November 6, 2020 The Wellcome Trust has made a £506m offer for housing developer Urban & Civic for £506m, as the health research charity’s investment arm bets on the residential property sector in the south of England. The charity, which has an investment fund worth around £26.8bn, said the recommended offer is “fully aligned with our existing strategy [...]
