Britain gets into shape as spending on gyms soars August 17, 2015 Britain's obsession with fitness has showed no signs of slowing over the past year as spending on gym memberships soared 44 per cent. Budget fitness chains such as Pure Gym and the Gym Group have helped to shake-up the sector over the last five years by offering cheap memberships, scrapping contracts and catering to people [...]
Cineworld profits rise to monster levels thanks to Jurassic World and Fifty Shades August 13, 2015 Shares in Cineworld rallied this morning after the UK’s largest cinema operator revealed an 11.5 per cent jump in revenues, saying it was performing ahead of plans thanks to box office hits including Fifty Shades of Grey and Jurassic Park. Total revenues, when factoring in the European chain Cinema City it acquired last year, reached [...]
Game Digital puts profit warning behind it despite slowdown in console sales August 11, 2015 It has been almost two years since the launch of Sony’s latest console, the PlayStation 4 (PS4) and Microsoft’s Xbox One and after the initial sale frenzy, demand is now cooling, according to Game Digital. The video games retailer said revenues at its hardware division were hit by a near 20 per cent drop in [...]
Decline of physical entertainment market slows – but DVD, CD and video game sales still slide August 10, 2015 Things seemed to be looking up for physical entertainment market. Although fewer people are buying video games, CDs and DVDs, the rate of decline has slowed in the last quarter, while several major retailers even recorded an increase in sales. Figures released this morning by Kantar Worldpanel show that the physical entertainment market shrank by three [...]
August 2015 TfL Tube strike update: Action could cost London retailers and restaurants millions as footfall tipped to fall 10 per cent August 5, 2015 Shops, restaurants and bars in London are bracing themselves for a sharp drop in footfall and bookings as a result of the Tube strike, which starts at 6:30pm tonight and will run throughout Thursday. The British Council of Shopping Centres (BCSC) said that on the day of the last strike on 9 July, London shopping [...]
The Jerky Group and Cruga merge to create £24m beef snacks empire August 3, 2015 The Jerky Group has struck a deal to merge with biltong and meat snacks-maker Cruga to create the largest beef snack manufacturer in Europe with a combined turnover of around £12m. Founded in 2000, The Jerky Group’s brands include Wild West Jerky, Hogbites pork crackling and BullOx Biltong. It also produces Dragon’ Den entrepreneur Joe Walters’ [...]
Almacantar buys Shell Centre offices on South Bank for £550m August 3, 2015 Centre Point owner Almacantar has bought part of Canary Wharf Group and Qatari Diar’s controversial Shell Centre scheme on London’s South Bank, which faced opposition last year for obstructing views of the Houses of Parliament. The developer, which owns other landmark buildings including CAA House in the West End, has spent over £550m buying One [...]
Walkie Talkie owners face fresh woes over Sky Garden July 30, 2015 First there was the little problem of the Walkie Talkie dazzling passers-by and melting cars. Then there was the bad hair day it brought to City workers. Read more: Walkie Talkie Sky Garden: How to book a visit to the stunning public park with views across London Now, in another spate of bad luck, it seems [...]
Sainsbury’s share price edges up as it sells pharmacy business for £125m July 29, 2015 Shares in Sainsbury's rose 0.7 per cent to 261.1p after it announced a deal with the German owner of UK chain LloydsPharmacy to sell its pharmacy business for £125m. Read more: Growth at Co-op for the first time in a year as Tesco and Asda decline yet again As part of the deal, Celesio’s LloydsPharmacy will [...]
Domino’s Pizza share price leaps as much as 12 per cent as profit soars July 28, 2015 Investors feasted on Domino’s Pizza shares today as the Pepperoni Passion and Mighty Meaty pizza-maker posted better than expected first half profits. The company, which has over 900 stores in the UK and Europe, said sales increased by 14 per cent to £426.7m in the six months to 28 June while underlying operating profits jumped [...]
