Hotel Chocolat ‘cautious’ as falling revenue and profit dampen outlook for Mother’s Day and Easter sales March 8, 2023 Hotel Chocolat had a bittersweet second half of 2022 with dents in its revenue and profits, owing to “hefty investments”, as it is not so optimistic ahead of Mother’s Day and Easter. The premium chocolate maker reported a fall in its revenue to £129m down from £142m last year, while its gross profit was down [...]
Greggs on a roll: Baker will boost its UK sites to 3,000 as later opening proves a hit with steak bake lovers March 7, 2023 Steak bake favourite Greggs said it expected to become a “significantly larger” business as it announced plans to grow its presence to 3000 sites following stellar sales figures. The budget bakery chain saw total sales up 23 per cent to £1.5bn in 2022, compared to £1.2bn the previous year, as consumers craved the brand’s new [...]
The Notebook: Nick Bowes on devolution, LA’s issues and why Lewisham is now home March 6, 2023 ACCESS to opportunities – well-paid jobs and high-quality study – is a major part of the levelling up agenda.Clearly, some parts of the UK don’t have the same access to jobs and education as others. London scores well, being home to amazing universities and colleges and thousands of high-end jobs. Many Londoners can see the [...]
Selfridges plays down £1.7bn debt concerns saying it is ‘very confident’ about year ahead March 1, 2023 The owners of Selfridges have said they are “very confident” about the outlook for this year as it sought to play down reported concerns that its debt pile, worth over £1.7bn, could cause problems for the luxury department store. The Telegraph reported that the Thai and Austrian owners of Selfridges have laden the firm with [...]
Christmas comes early: PayPoint swoops on savings club Appreciate in £83m ‘earnings enhancing’ deal February 28, 2023 PayPoint has completed its acquisition of Christmas vouchers firm Appreciate Group. The two companies agreed the £83m deal last November and the boards have now finalised the buy-out agreement. The deal with PayPoint, which allows Brits to pay bills at 28,000 convenience stores across the country, involves the incorporation of some of Appreciate Group’s board [...]
Loris Karius: Football’s forgotten man set for second chance with Newcastle United in Carabao Cup final, five years on from his Champions League nightmare February 25, 2023 Five years on from his Champions League horror show, Loris Karius has the chance to resurrect a once promising career and help end Newcastle United’s trophy drought in the Carabao Cup final against Manchester United at Wembley on Sunday. In an age of wall-to-wall coverage of football from the Champions League right down to the [...]
UK edges further away from recession as families’ economy and inflation outlook brightens February 24, 2023 Another brighter than expected set of economic numbers out today indicate the UK has a chance of avoiding a much-tipped recession this year. Consumer confidence climbed faster than forecast to minus 38 points this month, up seven points from minus 45 points in January, according to research firm Growth for Knowledge’s index which has been [...]
Connecting the community with the Crypto AM Spring Awakening February 23, 2023 The date and venue of the much-anticipated Crypto AM Spring Awakening has been announced as March 30 at the Mansion House.
Heathrow narrows losses to £1.3bn thanks to travel bounce back February 23, 2023 Heathrow Airport narrowed its losses sharply in 2022 amid a bounce back in travel demand, but said results were weighed on by surging cost pressures and lower passenger numbers. The group reported underlying pre-tax losses of £684 million for last year, against losses of £1.3 billion in 2021. It said no dividends were paid in [...]
Royal Mail tracked staff to see how fast they worked, admits disgraced boss to MPs February 22, 2023 Royal Mail boss Simon Thompson was forced to acknowledge that technology had been used to track workers after being dragged back to face a parliamentary committee. Weeks after his original hearing caused uproar amongst staff Thompson, who was on this occasion ordered to swear under oath, told parliament that had been 16 occasions in the [...]