Greencore: M&S sandwich supplier roars ahead amid takeover battle April 1, 2025 Convenience food manufacturer Greencore told markets this morning that it expects profit to come in ahead of expectations for the second quarter, underpinned by “on-going operational and commercial excellence initiatives and a continued focus on cost control”, it said. Convenience food company Greencore supplies all major supermarkets in the UK, including M&S, with chilled prepared [...]
Co-op invests further in lower prices as ‘trolley wars’ beckon March 25, 2025 Co-op Group has invested millions in lower prices as all the grocers gear up to battle for value-seeking customers. The business, which is owned by its 5.5 million members, will invest more than £70m into matching prices with Aldi on 100 everyday essentials for its members. The move will take the co-operative’s investment into lowering [...]
Morrisons to cut hundreds of jobs and close cafes in huge shake-up March 24, 2025 Supermarket giant Morrisons has put 365 jobs at risk after it revealed plans to close more than 50 of its cafes. The Yorkshire-headquartered chain said 52 of its cafes, 17 convenience stores and dozens of meat and fish counters at its shops are slated for closure. Morrisons said the closures are part of a “wide-ranging” [...]
Labour MPs warned ‘perfect storm’ of retail costs could benefit Reform UK March 19, 2025 Labour MPs are being warned a “perfect storm” of costs facing the retail sector could see seats lost to Reform UK. New analysis from the Retail Jobs Alliance (RJA) has revealed Labour holds 24 of the UK’s 30 constituencies with the highest numbers of voters working in retail, according to an Electoral Calculus survey in [...]
Asda’s confident new boss is a boon for shoppers, and a threat to rivals March 19, 2025 Asda's bold new boss may have spooked rivals, but shoppers will come out on top, writes Susannah Streeter in today's Notebook.
Broker questions Asda’s turnaround plan March 17, 2025 London broker Jeffries has questioned whether Asda’s sales will rise quickly enough to meet the demands of its turnaround plan. Last week, UK supermarket giant Asda announced a drop in yearly sales, alongside a significant turnaround plan aiming to bring the supermarket back to its roots. Key to this plan is a significant investment in [...]
Asda: ‘It’s going to take time to rebuild’ says new boss March 14, 2025 UK supermarket giant Asda has dominated headlines for the last year for a host of different reasons: turmoil at the top, declining market share and issues with a significant IT upgrade. The grocer’s market share fell 5.8 per cent between December 2023 and 2024, while the market share of all other major UK supermarkets grew. [...]
Asda: ‘We know what we need to do’ after sales disappoint again March 14, 2025 Sales and revenue at Asda dropped last year, as expected, but the supermarket said it has begun to deliver on its turnaround plan. Like-for-like sales at the supermarket giant fell by 3.4 per cent year on year, while revenue dipped 0.8 per cent to £21.7bn. The TDR-owned supermarket struggled last year with a declining market share [...]
Asda owner TDR Capital weighing up David Lloyd sale March 14, 2025 TDR Capital, the private equity giant behind the likes of Asda, is considering selling gym chain David Lloyd to itself. The firm has hired Jefferies to explore its options which could include transferring its stake from one of its funds to another while securing new investors. According to the FT, which first reported the story, [...]
Boots to be taken over by US private equity firm in $10bn deal March 7, 2025 Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), the owner of Boots, has agreed to a $10bn (£7.8bn) takeover by a US private equity firm. Sycamore Partners is expected to complete the takeover by the end of the year. The US-listed WBA said of the deal: “[Sycamore’s] experience in retail and consumer services would ensure WBA was better positioned [...]