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 [...]
Jollyes: Pets at Home rival to lower 3,000 prices and open new stores January 28, 2025 Pet superstore chain Jollyes has revealed plans to lower thousands of prices and open new stores across the UK. The retailer, which is a major rival to Pets at Home, has also announced a range of new benefits for its employees in a bid to attract new talent. The news comes almost a year after [...]
St Ewe Free Range Eggs on the ‘utter carnage’ of IHT reform and rebuilding trust with Labour January 25, 2025 For Rebecca Tonks, running St Ewe Eggs has been a passion project for 17 years. Tonks, who was 12 when her family first started selling eggs in addition to its dairy produce, launched the St. Ewe Free Range Eggs brand to UK supermarkets in 2007 under the Red Lion accreditation. “It didn’t take very long for [...]