Mitchells & Butlers reports strong festive period with sales up 4.7 per cent January 13, 2017 Pub, bar and restaurant group Mitchells & Butlers has reported an uptick in sales during the first quarter of the year, citing a particularly strong festive period. The figures Like-for-like sales growth for the year-to-date increased to 1.7 per cent in the 15 weeks to 7 January, with trading over the festive period "particularly strong [...]
Winners and losers from retail’s “Super Thursday” January 12, 2017 So many retailers decided to update the market on trading today that Shore Capital analysts published a note to complain about it. But as the morning has progressed, clear winners and losers have emerged from the data deluge. Here are our picks: Winners JD Sports put its gymwear rival Sports Direct to shame today as it scored [...]
Tesco share price falls despite sales rise in third trading quarter as investors focus on weaker Christmas trading January 12, 2017 Tesco's share price fell despite the supermarket giant reporting its first quarterly market share growth since 2011, as sales grew for the eighth quarter in a row. The figures Group like-for-like sales grew 1.5 per cent in its third trading quarter, with UK like-for-like sales growing even faster, at 1.8 per cent. The supermarket said it [...]
UK consumer spending is set to fall as inflation hits growth this year says Cebr January 11, 2017 Surging inflation is set to dent real wages and resilient consumer spending, according to an influential think tank. Inflation will almost quadruple to 2.7 per cent over the course of 2017, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr). The UK’s economic growth will stutter in 2017 as the effects of the consequent [...]
Food suppliers squeezed as supermarkets play hardball in Brexit price talks January 10, 2017 Food suppliers are being squeezed as supermarkets play hardball in talks over which side should shoulder the burden for the devaluation of the pound, new figures suggest. Research from insolvency firm Begbies Traynor shows 6,000 food suppliers were showing signs of financial distress in the final quarter of 2016, an increase of 13 per cent [...]
Manufacturing giant Premier Foods to increase prices due to Brexit vote January 10, 2017 Premier Foods, the supplier of iconic brands such as Mr Kipling cakes and Bisto gravy, is in talks with its major retail customers about lifting prices due to a double whammy of weaker sterling and higher commodity costs. City A.M. can reveal that the listed food manufacturer last month opened discussions with the likes of [...]
Christmas spending splurge fails to push high street sales into positive territory January 6, 2017 High street shops ended a disappointing year with a dismal performance during the festive season, failing to land positive sales despite bumper spending in the week before Christmas. Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, meaning shoppers had an extra day to spend, but like-for-like sales growth on the high street still came in at [...]
Boost for ECB as Eurozone inflation reaches highest point since 2013 January 4, 2017 Eurozone inflation rose to its highest point since 2013 as higher oil prices fed through to the big increase, in welcome news for efforts by the European Central Bank (ECB) to boost Europe's economy. The annual rate of inflation rose to 1.1 per cent in December, according to flash estimates from the European Commission, almost [...]
Shop prices continued to fall over Christmas – but inflationary pressures are pushing up clothing prices January 4, 2017 The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has called the start of a likely rise in inflation as it reported overall shop prices fell by 1.4 per cent in December, a deceleration from the 1.7 per cent fall in the previous two months. The sharp fall in the value of the pound since the Brexit vote has not [...]
Germany’s inflation soars to highest since 2013 while France posts steady increase January 3, 2017 Inflation in Germany more than doubled in December 2016 while France also posted an increase, in a sign of further economic recovery in the Eurozone which will be welcomed by the European Central Bank (ECB). German consumer prices soared by 0.7 per cent compared to November, bringing the annual rate of increase to 1.7 per [...]