Office boom fuels rise in profits at workspace provider Regus March 1, 2016 Regus shares climbed higher yesterday after the workspace provider posted a 67 per cent jump in annual profits and hiked its dividend. The company, which has over 2,700 centres across across 977 towns and cities worldwide, reported pre-tax profits of £145.7m in 2015, on sales up 15.9 per cent to £1.9bn. Underlying earnings per share rose by 51 per [...]
Greggs’ share price leaps after 25 per cent rise in profits, but three bakeries set to close as part of £100m restructuring March 1, 2016 Greggs' share price leapt by more than 14 per cent this morning after the bakery chain announced better-than-expected full-year profits and a £100m investment plan to overhaul its manufacturing operations. The FTSE 250 company, which has around 1,700 stores in the UK, plans to cut three bakeries in Twickenham, Edinburgh and Sleaford as part of the five-year plan and use the [...]
UK household spending growth slows for fourth month in a row in January, Asda income tracker shows March 1, 2016 UK households enjoyed a double digit rise in their weekly spending power in January, despite growth slowing for the fourth month in a row. Asda’s latest income tracker released today shows that consumers were £12 – or 6.7 per cent – better off in January compared with the same time last year, taking their average [...]
Budget hotelier Travelodge puts £1bn sale plans on hold after record year February 29, 2016 Travelodge has confirmed it has shelved plans for a £1bn sale of the business after hailing record earnings of £100m last year. The budget hotelier has been at the centre of heated bid speculation after its co-owners Goldman Sachs, GoldenTree Asset Management and Avenue Capital, brought in bankers from Deutsche Bank to advise them on [...]
Businesses in Marble Arch team up to launch improvement district February 29, 2016 Businesses in Marble Arch and Edgware Road have backed plans to invest £2.5m in sprucing up the west London area after launching a new business improvement district (BID). Over 78 per cent of businesses, retailers, restaurant and hotels from Marble Arch and northern Park Lane voted in favour of setting up the new group to [...]
Un frappucino, per favore! Starbucks to open in Italy February 29, 2016 Starbucks hopes to win over a nation of coffee lovers after announcing plans today to expand into Italy. The Seattle-based coffee chain said it has signed a licensing deal with Italian entrepreneur Antonio Percassi to open stores in cities across the country, with the first cafe due to open in Milan in early 2017. Percassi's eponymous firm operates several franchises and has overseen the [...]
One million retail jobs at risk from rising wages and tax costs, warns British Retail Consortium February 29, 2016 One million retail jobs could disappear in the next decade as high street shops across the country struggle to cope with drastic changes in shopping habits and rising costs. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned that government policies including the new national living wage, the apprenticeship levy and rising business rates will add as much as £14bn [...]
UK shoppers are turning to websites overseas in search of a better bargain, says PwC February 29, 2016 Better prices would drive two thirds of UK consumers to shop from an online retailer outside of the country, according to a report that reveals dramatic changes in shopping behaviour over the last year. Accountancy firm PwC surveyed nearly 23,000 people across six continents about their shopping habits for its annual Total Retail report released [...]
Retailers John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Home Retail Group, Kingfisher and John Lewis top list of offenders in late supplier payments February 29, 2016 Britain's five largest high street retailers were late in paying a shocking 80 per cent of their invoices to suppliers last year, a report today has revealed. MarketInvoice, a peer-to-peer platform for selling invoices online, has found that late payments to suppliers rocketed last year, with high street retailers John Lewis, Boots, Home Retail Group, Marks & [...]
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct faces relegation from FTSE 100 index February 28, 2016 Sports Direct faces relegation from the FTSE 100 list when the blue chip index of top UK companies comes up for renewal next week, after a dismal performance this year. Shares in Mike Ashley’s troubled sportswear empire have plunged by 50 per cent since August last year amid growing criticism over its working practices and [...]
