Mitie profit slips a third ahead of Interserve merger November 19, 2020 Outsourcer Mitie said that profit had fallen over a third in the first half of the year due to a loss of revenue from high margin contracts impacted by coronavirus. Profit at the London-listed firm slipped 35 per cent from £33m to £21.5m, with revenue also declining 9.8 per cent to £972m. As a result, [...]
Marks & Spencer launches ‘innovation hub’ to expand plant-based food range November 18, 2020 Marks & Spencer (M&S) has announced the launch of a “innovation hub” to develop sustainable food products. The retailer announced today that the nine-strong innovation team, which will launch in January, will seek to capitalise on emerging trends, such as veganism and environmental causes, to become “more relevant” to its customers. Research will include soya-alternative [...]
Tesco, M&S and Sainsbury’s face allegations of worker exploitation in India November 17, 2020 UK retailers including Marks & Spencer (M&S), Tesco and Sainsbury’s are facing calls to apologise following allegations of worker exploitation in their supply chains. Supermarket supplier workers in India reportedly said they do not get toilet breaks or sufficient breaks to drink water or eat lunch. One member of staff told the BBC they were [...]
Greggs to cut 820 jobs as Covid-19 impact bites November 13, 2020 Greggs will cut 820 shop staff jobs as it expects trading to remain below normal for the foreseeable future due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a company spokeswoman confirmed this evening. In September Greggs launched a consultation with union and employee representatives and was aiming to minimise job losses by negotiating reduced staff hours. The company [...]
Brands’ battle for the eyeballs: watch all the Christmas ads here November 13, 2020 As some of the UK’s biggest brands have rolled out their seasonal ads, it’s starting to feel a lot more festive. The battle for the eyeballs started in earnest this morning as John Lewis launched its annual television advertisement, gaining over one million views within just two hours. However, Aldi’s ad so far tops the [...]
US Election: Biden’s (almost certain) win: How it happened November 6, 2020 Live updates on the US Presidential Election 2020 as Donald Trump and Joe Biden go head to head. Rolling coverage as Americans vote.
Marks & Spencer posts first loss in firm’s history November 4, 2020 Marks & Spencer posted its first loss in 94 years as a publicly listed company as clothing sales collapsed due to the coronavirus crisis. The high street stalwart reported a £87m pre-tax loss for the first half of the year. In the same period last year it made a profit of £158.8m in the same [...]
Lockdown: M&S rolls out shopping slot booking service to stop queuing chaos November 3, 2020 Marks & Spencer (M&S) has completed the rollout of its online reservation service to allow customers to book a shopping slot before visiting a physical store
Ocado to make $300m in acquisitions as digital grocer bumps forecasts November 2, 2020 Digital grocer Ocado has announced two acquisitions worth nearly $300m (£232m) and bumped up its full year earnings forecast, it announced this morning. The retail darling said that it had continued to see strong sales growth during the third quarter as people stuck to digital shopping amid to the coronavirus pandemic. Shares in Ocado rose [...]
Weekly outlook, 2-6 November: FTSE heavyweights in spotlight as election day arrives November 2, 2020 It’s election day at last, and while the outcome of Tuesday’s vote in the US will drive the headlines for much of this week and beyond, there’s still a full slate of results and economic updates in store for UK markets. With coronavirus cases now surging at an alarming rate, Boris Johnson has announced a [...]