Great British Bake Off is coming to tech-heavy Shoreditch: GBBO 2015 winner Nadiya Hussain is putting on a Christmas baking masterclass November 23, 2015 London's big eaters can look forward to a festive feast this weekend as Foodies Festival Christmas returns to Truman Brewery with a sprinkling of stardom. Great British Bake Off stars and top chefs will all descend on Shoreditch on Friday to get everyone in the festive spirit. This year's winner of the BBC baking show, Nadiya Hussain, will prepare [...]
Argos owner Home retail group share price jumps amid takeover talk November 23, 2015 Shares in Home Retail Group shot to the top of the FTSE 250 today, amid speculation that the Argos owner is being circled by a number of private equity firms. Shares in Milton Keynes-based company, which also owns Homebase, jumped as much as seven per cent to 110.6p per share in early morning trading. However, Home Retail Group has still lost nearly half [...]
Black Friday UK 2015: EBay has just unveiled its first deals for bargain-hunters including offers on Macbook Pro, Xbox One Console, LG 50 inch Smart LED TV, Lenovo Notebook November 23, 2015 As all good retailers know, Black Friday is not about incremental sales, it's about being the first to snare the finite amount of cash consumers are willing to spend in the run-up to Christmas. Amazon has kickstarted the process with the first of its 7,000 deals going live this morning. Carphone Warehouse, Very and a host of [...]
Small food suppliers hit the hardest by supermarket price wars November 23, 2015 Britain's small food manufacturers have emerged as the biggest casualties of the supermarket price wars, according to new research out today that reveals how the gap between the profit margins of the suppliers and their bigger competitors is widening. According to law firm EMW, profit margins at small to medium-sized manufacturers – those with less [...]
Christmas spending to hit £16.5bn as 60pc of Brits head to discounters for their festive food shop November 23, 2015 Britons are feeling a bit more generous this Christmas than they were last year thanks to improved economic conditions and higher wages, new figures show, with spending set to reach £16.5bn over the festive season. Travelodge’s annual Christmas report, which surveyed the spending habits of over 3,000 people, found that households expect to spend an average of [...]
UK consumer confidence rebounds on record employment and cheap fuel November 23, 2015 Consumer confidence has rebounded after three months of steep decline due to a rise in positivity toward the jobs market, new survey figures reveal. The consumer confidence index published this morning by Lloyds Bank today hit a score of 158, up five points from October. The index, compiled from a survey of just over 2,000 [...]
Christmas markets London 2015: Guildhall in the City gears up for the season November 22, 2015 Want to know something depressing? Christmas is only 33 days away. But don’t worry, the folks at Guildhall are here to help, as the British Red Cross Christmas market hits the historic plaza next week. Packed with everything from basket-weaving to haute couture from British designers like Amanda Wakeley, this year City dwellers need only pop [...]
Black Friday 2015 total spend is expected to be almost £2bn as online shoppers take to their mobiles November 22, 2015 This Black Friday will indeed be a buying-bonanza, according to Visa, which expects an impressive £1.91bn to be spent online and in store. Visa Europe predicts £1.19bn will be spent in shops this Friday, up 20 per cent from 2013, but just a four per cent increase from last year. Perhaps shoppers will be looking [...]
Mog the Cat vs Man on the Moon: Sainsbury’s trumps John Lewis for Christmas advert of the year – but there’s a third surprise most shared ad of 2015 not far behind November 22, 2015 The Christmas bonanza has once again pitted John Lewis and Sainsbury’s against each other to create the year’s most heartwarming advert, and the supermarket appears to have trumped the reigning champion once again. John Lewis has topped the video charts with Man on the Moon for the most shared festive ad of the year in 2015, however, considering it’s [...]