Ted Baker races to improve ecommerce offering as online sales disappoint February 11, 2021 Fashion retailer Ted Baker said it is racing to improve its digital shopping platform as it reported disappointing online sales in the fourth quarter, which were unable to offset the impact of store closures on revenue. The firm also revealed that it will take a £5m Brexit-related hit in its full-year results, reflecting extra duty [...]
London pubs and restaurants face ‘bombshell’ without action on business rates, Khan says February 10, 2021 London pubs, restaurants, shops and other hospitality firms have saved more than £3bn due to the business rates holiday, it was revealed today, as pressure mounted on the government to extend the break. Figures showed that 73,140 retail, leisure and hospitality businesses in the capital had benefited from the business rates holiday during the pandemic [...]
Mike Lynch: Live updates as British tech entrepreneur fights extradition to US February 10, 2021 British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, the founder of software firm Autonomy, today begins the second day of his fight against his extradition to the US. Yesterday, the court heard opening arguments from Lynch’s defence team and lawyers representing the US. Lynch is facing charges of securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy in the US related [...]
Persimmon takes £75m hit on dangerous cladding costs February 10, 2021 Persimmon will take a multimillion pound hit on costs associated with cladding safety issues that have been discovered since the Grenfell Tower tragedy. The housebuilder said it has made a £75m provision in its 2020 results to pay for dangerous cladding to be removed or investigated at 26 high-rise buildings in its legacy development portfolio. [...]
Dunelm reinstates dividend as pandemic continues to drive homeware sales February 10, 2021 Dunelm this morning announced it will reinstate its dividend as sales boomed – despite store closures in lockdown – due strong consumer demand for homewares. Total sales soared 23 per cent from £585m to £719.4m in the first half of the year and profit before tax was up 34.4 per cent from £83.6m to £112.4m. [...]
Redrow profit jumps as sales boosted by demand for regional properties during pandemic February 10, 2021 UK housebuilder Redrow reported a jump in revenue and profit in the first half of the year, as shifting customer demand for bigger homes outside of London during the pandemic buoyed its regional business. Redrow this morning posted profit after tax of £141m, up from £128m in the first half of last year. The development [...]
Ocado sales jump in pandemic but investment in international business slows earnings growth February 9, 2021 Online supermarket Ocado reported a jump in revenue due to a surge in demand for home food delivery services in the pandemic, but said investment in its international technology business offset growth. Group revenue increased 32.7 per cent to £2.33bn, up from £1.76bn last year, driven by 35.3 per cent growth in its retail revenue [...]
Joules buys digital retailer for up to £12.5m in bid to expand in booming homeware market February 9, 2021 Joules has bought digital homeware retailer The Garden Trading Company for up to £12.5m, as it seeks to expand further into the thriving interiors market. Garden Trading sells its own home, garden and outdoor product designs through its direct-to-consumer platform and through 1,000 stockists across the UK. Joules said the acquisition will strengthen its position [...]
Bellway revenue soars as first-half housing completions break records February 9, 2021 UK housebuilder Bellway reported that completions rose to record-breaking levels in the first half of the year, sending revenue soaring. Housing revenue jumped more than 12 per cent to £1.72bn in the first half, up from £1.52bn the previous year. The number of homes sold rose 6.3 per cent to 5,656, compared to 5,321. Bellway [...]
DAY 1: Tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch fights extradition to the US February 9, 2021 British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch began earlier today his fight against his extradition, slamming the US for “overreaching” and saying the UK authorities could prosecute the alleged fraud. Alex Bailin QC, for Lynch, said the US Department of Justice (DoJ) is “not the global marshall of the corporate world”, as he launched the former Autonomy [...]
