Going Dutch: Motorists who open door with wrong hand to be fined up to £1,000 January 25, 2022 Motorists who open their car’s door with the wrong hand will risk being fined up to £1,000. Under the new High Code’s updates – coming into force from Saturday – motorists are forced to use the ‘Dutch Reach’ manoeuvre, which requires drivers and passengers to get out of their cars using the hand “on the [...]
Marston’s Christmas sales disappoint but restrictions lifting will enable ‘some semblance of normal trade’ January 25, 2022 Marston’s misses out on bountiful Christmas but signs show consumer confidence ‘rebuilding’ Pub operator Marston’s has joined other hospitality chains in reporting a disappointing Christmas trading period, with sales dipping. In a trading update for the 16 weeks to 12 January 2022, total like-for-like sales were down 3.9 per cent compared to the 2019 financial [...]
Russia has made EU threats look full of hot air January 25, 2022 As the EU's supplies shorten, so does its ability to present a united front in the face of the Kremlin's aggression.
Covid-19 curbs decimate London’s retail economy January 24, 2022 Onerous restrictions on daily life during the pandemic has decimated London’s retail economy, reveals a fresh study released today. The capital’s retailers lost nearly a year’s worth of sales during the pandemic, underlining the severe blow curbs on economic activity has delivered to London’s shops, pubs and restaurants, research carried out by the Centre for [...]
December home transactions show ‘strong end to frenzied year’ as markets expected to slow January 21, 2022 According to HMRC data, the provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions in December 2021 was 100,110. This marks a 20 per cent dip on December 2020 but a 7.6 per cent spike on the prior month. Last year also saw a record level of home transactions of almost 1.5m, the highest since 2007, [...]
High Street takes a Christmas beating as retail sales volumes dropped by nearly 4 per cent in December January 21, 2022 UK retail sales fell in December by 3.7% as the Omicron variant spread and shoppers made Christmas purchases earlier in November due to concerns over supply chain shortages, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said retail sales volumes fell by 3.7% for the month, compared with a 1% rise in November. [...]
Military veterans step up to support the jabs effort January 21, 2022 The pandemic, though tough, has brought out the best in Britain – from clapping our NHS staff way back in the first lockdown to volunteers coming forward to help with the vaccination effort. It’s hardly surprising that front of the queue offering to help support the vital booster jabs effort are veterans of the Armed [...]
The Works has ‘record’ Christmas as it beats pre-pandemic levels January 21, 2022 The Works reported a revenue hike this morning, up 30.6 per cent, and increasing 17.9 per cent compared to pre-pandemic performance.
Wincanton continues to reap rewards of pandemic-era eCommerce boom January 20, 2022 Supply chain partner Wincanton has continued to reaped the rewards of the pandemic-era eCommerce boom, after revenue from the eFulfilment sector has soared over 50 per cent. Total revenue for the group rose by 15 per cent, in comparison with the same quarter last year, Wincanton confirmed in its third quarter trading update today. The [...]
Shoppers rack up £3.3bn buy-now-pay-later debt in Christmas spending spree January 20, 2022 Shoppers racked up £3.3bn of debt using buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) products in a spending spree over the Christmas period, new data has revealed.