Trouble for the big four supermarkets as Aldi and Lidl growth speeds up again October 20, 2015 German discounters Aldi and Lidl both saw growth rates return to over 17 per cent over the last three months, dashing hopes for the Big Four that a slowdown earlier in the year may have been part of a longer term trend. The cut-price chains have been the fastest-growing grocers in the sector for some time now. But in [...]
Asda backtracks on London expansion plans as it seeks to revive flagging sales October 19, 2015 Asda has become the latest supermarket to backtrack on store opening plans after scrapping ambitions to expand in London in favour of reviving deteriorating sales at existing stores. US-owned supermarket chain said it is “temporarily” slowing down the planned expansion of smaller format stores in London as well as its programme to develop more stand-alone petrol [...]
UK farmers get a funding boost: £138m given to rural communities to help them grow October 16, 2015 In an attempt to help UK farmers grow and diversify their business, the government is giving them access to £138m of funding. Under a scheme dubbed LEADER, rural communities will be able to use the money to support projects in their local area, such as the creation of farm shops and ice cream parlours, or the [...]
Government to give one-off milk payment for dairy farmers as Morrisons launches premium milk brand October 12, 2015 Struggling dairy farmers across the UK are to receive a one-off payment to help ease their cash-flow problems caused by the volatile price of milk, the government announced today. Farmers in the four nations of the UK will receive a cut of £26.2m between them. The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) plans to ensure the aid reaches [...]
Tesco launches “immediate” price match guarantee against Sainsbury, Asda and Morrisons October 12, 2015 Tesco has launched a new "immediate" price match service, promising to give money back to customers if they could have bought branded goods cheaper elsewhere. Tesco's Brand Guarantee will enable customers to receive money off their bill at the checkout – both in person and online – if the overall cost of their branded grocery shop [...]
Tesco share price rises as bosses dip into their pockets and buy stake in troubled supermarket chain October 8, 2015 Tesco's board have thrown their support behind the embattled supermarket group by buying nearly half a million pounds worth of shares. Chief executive Dave Lewis has spent £200,000 of his own cash to buy his first 99,950 shares in the grocer. Non-executive directors Richard Cousins and Mikael Olsson have also invested in the business for the [...]
National Living Wage: Lidl and Morrisons have boosted perception by adopting salary rises ahead of time October 7, 2015 From a reluctant starting point, British retailers are now falling over themselves to make the most of Living Wage goodwill, announcing wage rises ahead of next year's obligatory rise. Initially there was much gnashing of teeth over George Osborne's ruling that firms must pay staff above the £7.20 minimum for over-25s from April. Wetherspoon's founder [...]
FTSE 100 index ends up as commodities and energy rally – London Report October 7, 2015 Energy and mining stocks yesterday advanced on the back of stronger commodity prices as Britain’s top shares index extended gains from Monday’s session. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index, which surged 2.8 per cent on Monday, ended 0.4 per cent higher at 6,326.16 points. The index, however, is still down about 3.5 per cent this year [...]
Tesco share price closes up ahead of first half results on Wednesday October 6, 2015 Shares in troubled supermarket Tesco closed up three per cent to 192.10p per share this afternoon, ahead of its full-year results which are due out tomorrow morning. Tesco's shares inched up at the open, and added about one per cent over the course of the morning, and continued to make gains throughout the afternoon. Shares [...]
Shore Capital posts 92 per cent jump in profit during 30th year in business October 6, 2015 Stockbrokers Shore Capital announced a 92.4 per cent increase in interim pre-tax profit in their 30th year of doing business, up from £5m in the first half of 2014 to £9.5m. The company saw revenues increase by 15.1 per cent, to £25.9m and earnings per share up 67.7 per cent, to 20.8p. Boosted by the [...]