Cinch sales drop below £1bn after ‘rapidly falling’ used car prices January 3, 2025 Sales are car retailer Cinch dipped below £1bn after the company was hit by “rapidly falling” used vehicle prices. For the 12 months to 31 March, 2024, the Hampshire-based firm posted a revenue of £932.5m, down from the £1.01bn it achieved in the prior year. Newly-filed accounts with Companies House also show that its pre-tax [...]
Thames Water to avoid state bailout, the FTSE 100 at 7900 and an ITV bid: my predictions for UK plc in 2025 January 2, 2025 Predictions may generally be a mug’s game, but looking back at my forecasts for the business world in 2024, I seem to have fared better than usual. Klarna, the buy now pay later giant, opted for a New York listing; Dame Alison Rose made a comeback in a senior private equity role; Unilever announced that [...]
Grab the popcorn: Retail’s five most dramatic stories this year December 27, 2024 From Boohoo’s boardroom dramas to The Body Shop’s salvation in the nick of time, 2024 has been a big year in retail. City AM counts down its top five retail dramas this year (spoiler alert: Mike Ashley is at the centre of two of them). Asda tumbles down the supermarket charts Asda has faced a [...]
Asda needs to ‘dig down into its soul’ and recover sense of purpose, say analysts December 9, 2024 Asda needs to “dig down into its soul” and reshape its pitch to customers if it wants to tackle the rising threat from the likes of Aldi and Lidl following a rollercoaster 2024, analysts have warned. The Leeds-headquartered supermarket giant has not been far from the headlines all year amid debt struggles, strikes, falling sales [...]
Webuyanycar sales plunge by £1bn after slide in used car prices December 2, 2024 Sales at Webuyanycar plunged by almost £1bn in its latest financial year as a sharp fall in the value of used cars hit the motor marketplace, it has been revealed. The company, which is owned by Constellation Automotive, has reported a revenue of £2.57bn for the year to 31 March, 2024, according to newly-filed accounts [...]
The Debate: Is Black Friday actually good for business? November 28, 2024 As a tumultuous year for retail draws to an end, the next five weeks are arguably the most important for UK retailers. With consumer confidence remaining unsettled, many retailers are reportedly hopeful that the upcoming Black Friday sales will give them the boost they need to meet their targets. However, consumers are increasingly savvy about [...]
CBI chief: Ministers must ‘co-design’ economic growth with businesses post-Budget November 25, 2024 Businesses should have a stronger voice in setting economic growth policies, the boss of an influential business lobby group has urged, including a shift from “consultation to co-design”. Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), told attendees at the group’s annual conference that the government and firms share a “vision of [...]
Asda brings back industry veteran Leighton as chair November 23, 2024 Asda brought back retail industry veteran Allan Leighton as its executive chair on Saturday, replacing Stuart Rose at Britain’s third largest supermarket. Rose will remain on the board to ensure an orderly transition before stepping down, the company, majority owned by private equity firm TDR Capital, said in a statement. In addition to holding the [...]
Morrisons puts 400 jobs at risk after failing to turn around loss-making bakery November 20, 2024 Supermarket giant Morrisons has confirmed plans to close a loss-making bakery in a move which has put almost 400 jobs at risk. The Bradford-headquartered grocer is looking to shut down Rathbones after failing to return the business to profit. The bakery was acquired by Morrisons out of administration in 2005 but has been loss making [...]
Lidl boss warns retailers are ‘reeling’ after Budget tax raid November 20, 2024 The boss of budget supermarket Lidl has warned retailers are “reeling” following Labour’s tax raid in the Autumn Budget. The German supermarket’s UK boss Ryan McDonnell said the discount brand was staring down the barrel of “tens of millions of pounds” in extra costs. This comes after the Chancellor unveiled a £25.7bn tax-raising package, with [...]