Next confirms consortium bid for Topshop-owner Arcadia January 5, 2021 Next has confirmed that it is part of a consortium bidding for Arcadia brands, but said it was not seeking majority ownership of Sir Philip Green’s collapsed business empire. It was reported last month that the high street retailer was holding detailed discussions with Davidson Kempner about a combined offer for Arcadia, the owner of [...]
Next shares soar following strong online Christmas sales January 5, 2021 British fashion giant Next today reported a surge in online sales over the Christmas period that looks set to boost profit beyond expectations for the year and help offset high street losses. Full-price sales fell 1.1 per cent in 2020 compared to the year before, beating its central guidance of an eight per cent annual [...]
Teaching unions’ refusal to innovate is behind the Government’s schools u-turn January 5, 2021 Over the course of this grim pandemic the government has performed enough u-turns to make a woodpecker’s head spin. Free schools meals, mass testing, masks, furlough, exams, Christmas, one exasperatingly predictable volte-face after another, accompanied by the inevitable, gradual erosion of faith in ministers to chart a course out of this crisis. Read more: England [...]
UK supermarket sales soar to record-breaking £11.7bn in December January 5, 2021 UK supermarkets recorded their busiest ever month in December as grocery sales soared to £11.7bn amid bar and restaurant closures during the festive period. Morrisons was the strongest performer of the Big Four UK supermarkets, with sales jumping 13.1 per cent, followed by Tesco, which toasted a 11.1 per cent rise in sales. Sainsbury’s recorded [...]
Rishi Sunak rolls out more financial support after sinking businesses demand immediate lifeline January 5, 2021 Rishi Sunak has set out plans to offer more financial support to businesses struggling under England’s third nationwide lockdown. Retail, hospitality and leisure businesses are set to receive a one-off grant of up to £9,000 per property to help them survive. Taxpayers will fork out another £4bn for the business grants, which will benefit more [...]
Airline passenger numbers plummet over Christmas period January 5, 2021 The number of passengers flown by Ryanair and Wizz Air fell over 80 per cent for the second consecutive month in December as a dire year for the industry came to and end. The Irish flier carried just 1.9m people last month, down 83 per cent from 11.2m the year before. For the year as [...]
Morrisons posts sales growth but warns of higher Covid-19 costs January 5, 2021 Morrisons has reported a rise in sales during the second half of the year, but warned that tougher new Covid-19 lockdown measures would increase its costs. The supermarket chain posted an 8.1 per cent rise in like-for-like sales excluding fuel in the 22 weeks to the 3 January. Including fuel, like-for-like sales rose 1.9 per [...]
Tested by Covid and Brexit, how have the UK’s borders coped over the New Year? January 4, 2021 After a final frantic negotiating push, the UK and EU agreed a free trade deal in the run-up to Christmas, much to the relief of all concerned. However, despite the deal being done, many were convinced that the New Year would see chaos across the UK’s ports and airports as travellers, businessmen and hauliers all [...]
Post-Christmas footfall plummets as UK shoppers avoid high street January 4, 2021 Footfall across Britain’s high streets plunged almost a quarter last week as Boxing Day sales failed to lure shoppers from their sofas, according to the latest data. The number of Brits hitting the shops fell more than 23 per cent in the seven days after Christmas compared with the week before, latest Springboard figures showed. [...]
Where is Jack Ma? Chinese billionaire ‘missing’ after criticising Beijing January 4, 2021 Speculation has been mounting over the whereabouts of Chinese tech billionaire Jack Ma, who has not been seen in public for two months. Ma, who founded ecommerce behemoth Alibaba, hit the headlines in October when he made a speech criticising China’s financial regulators and state banks. The tycoon was reprimanded by Beijing and the $34bn [...]