Price of Aussie wine could fall victim to Treasury reforms – yes, even after the trade deal June 24, 2022 AT THE end of last year, to much fanfare, the UK and Australia signed the free trade deal – the first negotiated from scratch following Brexit. The UK is the number one destination for Australian wine exports in value and volume, exporting 246 million litres of wine worth AU$449m in the 12 months to March [...]
New winemakers taking Macon by storm June 15, 2022 The Macon has been referred to as “the unknown cousin of Burgundy”, but with prices soaring all over Bourgogne it is worth taking stock, literally, of these delicious wines and some of the bold, new winemakers taking over the region. Though Burgundy can be seen as the old-school seat of traditional winemaking, a younger generation [...]
Tesco to reveal consumer spending habits with update this week June 12, 2022 Supermarket giant Tesco is set to shed more light on how customer spending is holding up as shoppers deal with rapidly increasing food inflation. The UK’s biggest grocer will reveal how trading has performed over the three months to May when it updates shareholders on Friday June 17. Tesco has been resilient despite pressure on [...]
Morrisons mulls sale of warehouses and fisheries in £600m deal June 12, 2022 Morrisons’ private equity owner is scouting for a buyer for its estate of warehouses, fisheries and food manufacturing hubs in a sale worth more than £600m. The New York private equity titan is mulling a sale-and-leaseback transaction in an endeavour to power returns from its £7bn takeover of the British grocer, according to a report [...]
Morrisons’ private equity owner clears final regulatory hurdle for £7bn supermarket sweep June 9, 2022 The competition watchdog has given the green light to Morrisons’ private equity owner, meaning the deal has now cleared regulatory checks. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had provisionally accepted Clayton, Dubilier & Rice’s offer to sell 87 petrol stations in order to address competition concerns. Now, the watchdog said it has accepted the undertakings [...]
LIV Golf Invitational Series: All you need to know about the new Saudi-backed £200m circuit June 7, 2022 There is a lot that is new at the LIV Golf Invitational Series, which starts at Centurion Club near London this week, from the 54-hole format to the combination of team and individual scoring. But that is the tip of the iceberg, with much more profound changes to the way golf is played and watched [...]
Competition concerns: Morrisons’ takeover of McColl’s probed by CMA May 30, 2022 The competition watchdog is probing Morrisons’ takeover of beleaguered newsagent operator McColl’s, it has been confirmed. The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Monday it had launched an inquiry to investigate whether the takeover will impact competition in the UK, with an initial enforcement order. The two businesses will be instructed to compete as [...]
Smiths News anticipates smaller than expected hit from McColl’s administration May 30, 2022 Newspaper distributor Smiths News has said it is anticipating a smaller than expected hit from McColl’s administration. The London-listed firm, which continues to supply McColl’s under Morrisons’ ownership, has said it has reduced its debt to £5.6m. After McColl’s went into administration, Smiths News took action to mitigate McColl’s bad debt risk, the supplier said [...]
Issa brothers’ EG Group sees fuel gross profit margins reduce slightly after war in Ukraine May 24, 2022 The Issa brothers’ EG Group has seen its fuel division’s gross profit margins slim slightly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Across the firm’s fuel arm, gross profit hit $481m in the three months to 31 March, a 16 per cent increase compared to the first quarter of 2021. However, its gross profit margins were slightly [...]
Shops’ tax bill 755 per cent higher than online rivals amid war of words over sales tax May 23, 2022 Traditional brick and mortar retailers pay 755 per cent more – almost eight times – than their online rivals in business rates tax. The figures come after Sainsbury’s and Marks and Spencer execs have voiced differing opinions over the prospect of an online sales tax. Fresh analysis by real estate advisor Altus Group has found [...]