How American Express UK is looking to crack Gen Z October 24, 2024 American Express’s UK boss, Hannah Lewis, sits down with City AM to talk breaking into a younger markets and shaking up its image. “Do you take Amex?” It’s a question that has slipped so far into the cultural lexicon there are even memes about it. Scroll through a dedicated Reddit page on American Express and [...]
Dunelm: Consumer demand for sofas boosts group October 24, 2024 Dunelm, the UK’s leading homewares retailer, has reported an uptick in revenue for the 13-week period ending 28 September as consumers continued to spend money on home updates. The company reported sales of £403m for the period, up 3.5 per cent compared to the same period last year. The company reported digital sales, as a [...]
Analysts split over US listing for Watches of Switzerland following activist investor campaign October 23, 2024 London-listed Watches of Switzerland has come under pressure from activist investor Gatemore Capital Management to ditch its UK listing for the US, with analysts split over whether the decision would be beneficial for the firm. The UK’s biggest Rolex seller, which runs 221 stores globally, listed in London in 2019 and is currently a member [...]
HSBC: The questions investors want answered on Elhedery’s East-West split October 22, 2024 HSBC’s new chief executive has made his play to cut costs and home in on core divisions at Europe’s biggest bank, including splitting its businesses into Eastern and Western camps amid geopolitical tensions.
Gear4music: Music instrument retailer returns to growth October 22, 2024 Gear4music said it returned to quarterly revenue growth as the online musical instrument retailer pursued a new strategy to improve its profitability.
Wickes returns to growth but warns pent up DIY demand is easing October 22, 2024 Home improvement firm Wickes reported it had returned to growth over the summer today but warned its sales were likely to wane as pent up DIY demand eases in the coming months. The London-listed retailer reported a 2.1 per cent growth in revenue, or 0.4 per cent on like-for-like metrics, with retail revenue growing by [...]
Sir Rocco Forte leads 300 business leaders in call to scrap ‘spectacular own goal’ tourist tax October 21, 2024 Over 300 business leaders have signed a letter asking Chancellor Rachel Reeves to reinstate tax-free shopping in the UK, calling the so-called tourist tax a “spectacular own goal” for retail. The signatories, which include hotelier Sir Rocco Forte, Paul Smith, Heathrow, John Lewis and Shakespeare’s Globe, have said that if Reeves is serious about promoting [...]
Meet the fund managers: Empowering growth in small UK companies October 21, 2024 In the final edition of this weekly series, investment reporter Elliot Gulliver-Needham sits down with a fund manager for a Q&A. This week, we’re hearing from Georgina Brittain, manager of the JPMorgan UK Small Cap Growth & Income How does your fund stand out from others in the same market? What really sets us apart [...]
‘Tis the season: Festive spending to boost London’s West End October 21, 2024 Festive spending in London's West End is expected to reach £1.7bn, with international tourists set to push sales up by 3.2 per cent in the run up to Christmas.
Costa Coffee in the red despite sales success October 18, 2024 Costa Coffee fell into the red despite its revenue rising by more than £100m in 2023, it has been revealed. The Buckinghamshire-headquartered business, which is owned by Coca-Cola, has reported a pre-tax loss of £9.6m for its latest financial year. The loss comes after the firm posted a pre-tax profit of £245.9m in 2022. Newly-filed [...]