Coca-Cola HBC acquires Greek bartenders’ mixer firm Three Cents August 9, 2022 Coca-Cola HBC has snapped up premium mixer firm Three Cents for €45m, the global beverage titan announced on Tuesday. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2022 and is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Three Cents is publicly listed in Greece and was founded in 2014 by [...]
Housebuilder Bellway boasts record £3.5bn revenue as UK property prices soar August 9, 2022 Bellway, one of Britain’s largest housebuilders, has boasted a record annual housing revenue of £3.5bn, bosses announced today. The figure has grown by more than £1bn since 2020, and some £400m since last year. Despite raw material and labour cost inflation, Bellway’s housing completions jumped by 10.5 per cent in the year to 31 July, [...]
Legal & General weathers economic storm, handing out £2.5bn in dividends since 2020 August 9, 2022 Legal & General, one of the UK’s oldest financial services firms, has weathered the country’s worsening economic climate, having declared £2.5bn of dividends since 2020. The London-headquartered company, which offers pensions, life insurance and investment services, has navigated financial and economic crises in the UK for more than 180 years. Legal & General, which also [...]
Holiday Inn owner sees group profit more than double after hotel demand returns August 9, 2022 Holiday Inn owner InterContinental Hotels Group has seen group profit more than double versus 2021 after a recovery in demand for travel. The London-listed firm said it was also reintroducing an interim dividend at a level 10 per cent higher than when last paid and launching an initial $500m share buyback. Revenue for the first [...]
Automation isn’t about replacing staff with machines, it’s about focused work August 9, 2022 Scanning the candidates vying to become the next prime minister, the most immediate question springing to mind is: who on Earth would want that job? Soaring inflation, snarled supply chains, labour shortages and some of the detrimental effects of Brexit are plaguing our country. Whichever way you look at it, the UK finds itself in [...]
Heatwave drives retail sales but autumn slowdown anticipated as inflation masks falling volumes August 9, 2022 The summer is set to be “the lull before the storm,” with consumers splashing out on heatwave essentials at the tills while inflation masks a drop in volume sales. UK retail sales increased 1.6 per cent on a like-for-like basis from July 2021, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG sales monitor. However, [...]
Freezing green levies won’t relieve pressure on bills but we must make them equal August 9, 2022 The cost of living crisis has continued to be a major worry for people across the country and a key talking point during the Conservative leadership race. Rising energy prices, partly due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have significantly fuelled the crisis. As the energy price cap is expected to rise to over £3,300 [...]
High street names including Tesco and Greggs call on Tory leadership candidates to slash ‘shop tax’ August 9, 2022 A coalition of retailers including Morrisons, Greggs and Tesco, have called on the Conservative party leader candidates to slash business rates. The Retail Jobs Alliance has called on both Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss to pledge to cut business rates, which it said were “killing our high streets”. The group, consisting of Co-op, Greggs, Kingfisher, [...]
The tech recession isn’t a tragedy, it is a necessary correction for future growth August 9, 2022 The pandemic may have brought many businesses to their knees, but for the tech sector, it was a boon. It accelerated changes to the way we use technology in our work and personal lives, and this, plus a low-interest rate environment, drove higher levels of expectations, investment, and valuations. The world’s biggest tech companies even [...]
Exclusive: Citizens Advice warns suppliers against chasing customers for debts they can’t pay August 8, 2022 Citizens Advice has urged suppliers not to chase customers for debts they cannot afford - with energy bills expected to climb this winter.