Brits spent almost £1bn this Valentines Day March 5, 2025 Brits spent almost £1bn on flowers, gifts, and at-home meals this Valentine’s Day as shoppers sought to create a special occasion at home rather than splashing out at a restaurant. According to the latest NIQ Till Tracker, £962m was spent on food and gifting on Valentine’s Day, with the biggest growth in spending on flowers, [...]
Supermarket sales rise, but Asda continues to struggle March 4, 2025 Sales at UK supermarkets rose above inflation in February as Brits looked for cost-effective ways to treat themselves. Take-home sales at the grocers rose by 3.6 per cent over the four weeks to 23 February, while prices rose 3.3 per cent, according to Kantar. However, the headline figure masked a gulf between the performance of [...]
HSBC Innovation Banking bets £30m on fintech Clearscore February 25, 2025 HSBC Innovation Banking has backed global fintech Clearscore lending £30m in debt financing. After first partnering in 2017, the fintech said the continued support of the bank will help drive further business growth across domestic and international markets. Clearscore credited the lender for its “vital role in its global expansion” with the financial marketplace now [...]
TDR Capital looks to refinance education provider BPP after sale fails February 19, 2025 Private equity giant TDR Capital is looking to refinance BPP Holdings, the UK-based provider of professional and academic education, after failing to sell the educational training institution. TDR was reported to be preparing to sell the company last summer with a valuation in excess of £2.5bn, tasking bankers from Morgan Stanley and Houlihan Lokey with [...]
Aldi to create 1,600 new jobs and expand as supermarket rivals cut February 4, 2025 Discount grocer Aldi is set to create 1,600 new roles this year as it expands its store presence in the UK, while its rivals slash jobs. The announcement stands in marked contrast to news of 3,000 jobs cuts at Sainsbury’s, and small reductions in staff numbers at Tesco’s and Morrisons. All three supermarkets have attributed [...]
Grocery inflation slowed as supermarket discounts deepened February 4, 2025 Grocery inflation in January slowed for the first time in six months after supermarkets lowered prices in response to stretched household budgets. Inflation was 3.3 per cent in January, easing from 3.7 per cent in December, according to the latest figures from Kantar. Prices rose for chocolate, juices and butters, but fell for cooking sauces, [...]
Asda equal pay dispute advances as UK supermarkets look on nervously February 3, 2025 Asda workers equal pay can advance to the final legal stage after the Tribunal ruled some of their jobs are of equal value to the jobs in the distribution centres
Asda ditches Aldi and Lidl price match promise just a year after launch January 29, 2025 Asda has axed its price-matching scheme with Aldi and Lidl in a bid to stop “dancing to the tune of the discounters”, according to reports. The Leeds-based firm, which in January 2024 became the first of the UK’s ‘big four’ to offer the scheme, said it wanted to focus on “its own great Asda prices, [...]
Tesco to cut 400 jobs as it moves to ‘more efficient’ working January 29, 2025 Tesco has announced plans to cut more than 400 jobs in a bid to improve efficiency at the grocer, following in the footsteps of Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons. The supermarket giant said that the “more competitive than ever” market means it must “work hard… to offer our customers unrivalled value”. “This means always being open [...]
Morrisons sales surge as customer loyalty pays off January 29, 2025 Eating into the market share of its rivals and growing its loyalty card scheme helped sales surge at supermarket giant Morrisons during its latest financial year. The Yorkshire-headquartered chain has reported a revenue of £15.2bn for the 12 months to 27 October, 2024, up from £14.7bn. Its group like-for-like sales also increased from 1.8 per [...]