Asda’s Issa brothers close to $300m US convenience store takeover November 3, 2021 The billionaire brothers behind EG Group and Asda are almost at the finish line for a deal to acquire Sprint Food Stores, a US convenience store chain, for $300m. The move would mean the tycoons would extend their presence in the US to 33 states, according to Sky News, who first reported news of the [...]
Number of retail M&A deals soars as buyers eye economic recovery October 25, 2021 The number of M&A deals targeting UK retailers has swelled 28 per cent to 37 in the past year, new analysis has found. City law firm RPC found that the number of deals rose from 29 in the previous year while the Morrisons and Asda deals saw deal value skyrocket. Value has soared more than [...]
Asda to hire 15,000 workers as first Christmas delivery slots become available today October 19, 2021 Asda said this morning it is seeking to recruit 15,000 workers to help the supermarket giant with the busy Christmas period. It will be hiring the temporary workers for a raft of roles including in its stores, depots and home delivery service. About 500 roles will be based in depots, 1,500 in home delivery roles, [...]
Maybe 2023: BrewDog momentum for London listing stalls October 18, 2021 BrewDog’s momentum for a market debut in London appears to have slowed as the brewing operation eyes 2023 for a float.“Could it be sometime in 2022? Maybe. 23? Maybe,” CEO and co-founder James Watt told The Daily Telegraph.Watt was keen to distance the listing cooling from ex-staffers’ claims of a “culture of fear” at BrewDog. [...]
Asda deal to sell petrol forecourts to EG Group terminated October 18, 2021 The Issa brothers have decided to terminate EG Group’s acquisition of Asda’s petrol forecourt business. In an update on Monday, Asda said the termination came after the supermarket and the Issa brothers’ EG were allowed to share commercial information with one another. They had been previously restricted under UK competitive law but a ‘hold separate’ [...]
Poundland faced with staggering tenfold rise in shipping costs October 14, 2021 Discount retail giant Pound has seen shipping costs rise tenfold due to global supply chain issues. Andy Bond, chief executive of PepCo, which also runs Dealz stores across Europe, said the retailer has enough stock to keep shelves full although he admitted price pressures are being felt. He did not expect the pressures to ease [...]
Exclusive: Charging firm EO signs deal to power-up Tesco’s EV fleet October 10, 2021 Electric vehicle (EV) solutions provider EO Charging has secured a deal to power Tesco’s fleet of electric vans, EO told City A.M. EO Charging, founded in 2014 in Suffolk, will provide the supermarket giant with more than 200 AC fast chargers as well as 5 DC rapid ones across five depots – including Oxford, Glasgow, [...]
Asda rolls out one-hour home delivery service across 96 stores October 8, 2021 Asda said this morning it is planning to extend its one-hour express delivery service to 96 stores following a successful trial over the summer. The service gives customers access to Asda’s full online range of more than 30,000 grocery products for delivery within the hour if they live within a three-mile radius of a store [...]
Ocado invests £10m into self-driving tech startup Wayve October 6, 2021 Self-driving tech startup Wayve’s total funding raised has hit $60m following an investment from grocer Ocado. Ocado is investing £10m ($13.6m) in a partnership with Wayve that will develop autonomous grocery deliveries. An autonomous delivery trial will involve a number of Ocado delivery vans on busy London routes – with a human driver to oversee [...]
Fuel crisis: Petrol heading towards all-time high of 2012 as drivers face record prices October 6, 2021 Petrol is fast catching up with the all-time high of April 2012, having shot up by an additional £12 for a full tank in last one year. On top of the supply crisis, a barreling crude oil price has pushed price of unleaded by 1.5p in the month of September, just 6p short of 2012 [...]