M&S to be fully operational by August after heavy cyber attack, boss says July 1, 2025 Marks and Spencer boss Stuart Machin has said he expects the worst of the retailer’s cyber attack to be over within the next four weeks. M&S has been struggling with the attack since April, with some systems still offline – including click and collect services. The retailer’s share price climbed slightly in response, up 0.62 [...]
Berkeley, Persimmon and Barratt hit by house price slowdown July 1, 2025 Weak growth in UK house prices has hit the shares of the UK leading listed homebuilders, with pundits concerned that a demand for private housing will prevent the government from reaching its ambitious housing goals. Berkeley’s share price has dropped by more than eight per cent in the past month and Persimmon is down four [...]
Macquarie to inject £1.2bn into struggling Southern Water July 1, 2025 Macquarie is to invest £1.2bn into the struggling utility Southern Water in a move that could prevent a possible breach of its regulatory license. The new equity investment plan will enable Southern, which supplies water to 2.6m customers in Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, to fund its Ofwat-approved investment programme for the [...]
Manchester Airports Group takes off amid expansion drive July 1, 2025 The UK’s largest airport group has reported a record year of passenger traffic and rising profit as it presses ahead with a major programme of expansion. Manchester Airports Group, the conglomerate which owns Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports, reported a 12.5 per cent increase in adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization [...]
Sunny spring boosts sales at Sainbury’s July 1, 2025 Sainsbury’s has reported a boost in fresh food sales this spring despite growing competition in the UK’s supermarket sector. The FTSE 100 company said that overall sales grew 4.9 per cent in the 16 weeks to June 21, ahead of the market. Grocery sales grew 4.9 per cent, while non-food sales grew 4.2 per cent. [...]
Landlords pick Manchester over London for higher returns June 30, 2025 Manchester has surpassed London in terms of the best yields for landlords, despite the former having a much lower average rent. London ranked fifth in a survey of rental yields, with the average annual return on investment in the capital at just 2.25 per cent, versus 4.21 per cent in Manchester, according to specialist property litigation [...]
WH Smith knocks down price of high street stores to close sale June 30, 2025 WH Smith has been forced to reduce its offer price for its high street arm by £ 12m amid lower-than-expected cash flow in the period leading up to the sale. The move will see WH Smith become a pure-play travel retailer, and its high street arm will be rebranded to TG Jones. The Swindon-headquartered company [...]
Rayner urged to reform landlord fees in Renters’ Rights Bill June 30, 2025 Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has been urged to reform high landlords’ fees in the upcoming Renters’ Rights Bill to help balance the market. In a letter to the Housing Secretary, lettings and property management agent Hello Neighbour said that landlords were being charged £2bn in London alone in “excessive fees”. These fees are related to exit [...]
House sales keep increasing but price inflation slows June 30, 2025 Housing market activity has continued at its fastest rate for four years, although with plenty of choice available, house prices are under pressure, according to Zoopla’s latest house price update. Prices grew by 1.4 per cent year on year in May, according to Zoopla’s latest house price index. “There is plenty of demand to buy [...]
Carmarker Lotus: ‘No plans’ to shutter UK factory despite fears of closure June 28, 2025 Lotus has said it has ‘no plans’ to close its Norfolk factory despite media reports that the carmaker may move production to the US. Reports on Friday suggested that the company’s Hethel factory – which employs 1,300 people – could be closed within a month, but Lotus said it is “continuing normal operations” in a [...]
