Dunelm raises profit forecast after weather helps boost sales June 20, 2019 Furniture firm Dunelm has raised expectations for the year after strong sales growth in recent months driven by poor weather. The company said unseasonably favourable weather had boosted like-for-like growth in May and June as it continued to defy the UK’s gloomy retail sector. Shares in Dunelm climbed more than five per cent as the [...]
Tesco shares: Reasons to be cheerful June 18, 2019 Early selling following this Q1 update attracted bargain hunters. Our head of markets explains why. Tesco (LSE:TSCO) recovery from the dark days of having taken its eye off the ball in the UK continues apace. The radical overhaul which the business has undergone has seen Tesco’s shares rise by 50% over the last three years. More [...]
Morrisons and Amazon: Retail’s newest BFFs June 14, 2019 By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. Extending its relationship with the world’s biggest retailer is shrewd business by Morrisons’ CEO. The quiet revolution at Morrisons (LSE:MRW) under chief executive David Potts continues to impress after the supermarket chain extended its partnership with online giant Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). Whereas its rivals have looked to grow through consolidation – with Tesco (LSE:TSCO) buying Booker and Sainsbury’s (LSE:SBRY) trying to [...]
Packaging maker DS Smith shares on the rise as profits soar June 13, 2019 DS Smith shares rose five per cent today on the news it enjoyed profit boost of nearly one-third last year. The packaging manufacturer said it had plans in place to stockpile goods ahead of Britain’s planned exit from the EU at the end of October. Read more: DS Smith sells plastics division to US private [...]
Tesco sales growth slows in ‘subdued’ market June 13, 2019 Tesco sales growth slowed in the first quarter of the year due to a “subdued” UK market. The supermarket, which is the largest in the UK, said sales hit £9.08bn in its core market, representing like-for-like sales growth of 0.4 per cent. Read more: Tesco Bank quits ‘challenging’ mortgage market Analysts had predicted growth in [...]
Gympass secures $300m in Softbank-led funding round June 12, 2019 Gympass has raised more than $300m (£236m) in a funding round led by Japanese investment giant Softbank. Read more: Softbank earns $11bn for selling some of its huge Alibaba stake The corporate fitness platform, which offers flexible gym memberships, said it has secured the funding from Softbank’s Vision Fund and existing investors. Softbank’s Latin America [...]
End of the Saga: Chief executive Batchelor hangs up his lance June 12, 2019 The chief executive of over 50s travel and insurance group Saga will retire next year, the company said today. Lance Batchelor will retire at the end of the financial year in January 2020 after six years with the business. The recruitment of his successor is underway. In April Saga shares sank 40 per cent after [...]
Lidl unveils £500m London expansion plan for 40 new stores June 12, 2019 Lidl has unveiled a £500m expansion plan to create 40 new stores in the capital, including its first central London store. The German discount supermarket said the openings would create 1,500 new jobs over the next five years. Read more: Big Four supermarkets stall amid fast rise of Lidl and Aldi A proposed Tottenham Court [...]
Mortgage lending grows in solid start to the year June 11, 2019 The UK mortgage market enjoyed a solid start to the year as residential lending and new mortgage commitments both rose. The outstanding value of all residential mortgage loans rose to £1.45bn in the first quarter, a 3.4 per cent rise on a year earlier. Read more: Mortgage approvals rebound after delay on Brexit deadline The [...]
Surface Studio 2 review: Microsoft’s shape-shifting iMac killer June 5, 2019 The Surface Studio 2 is the latest addition to Microsoft’s Surface range, which began in 2012 with a series of hybrid tablet computers. But while those first devices were popular, it wasn’t until the launch of the Surface Book laptop in 2016 that the company really started upping their design game, and stealing Apple’s brushed [...]