Arla Foods: Lurpak maker plans €19bn merger April 8, 2025 Arla Foods, the group behind brands such as Lurpak and Cravendale, has announced a merger which could create a €19bn giant. The Swedish-Danish diary co-operative, whose UK headquarters is in Leeds, has revealed plans to merge with Germany-headquartered DMK Group. If it goes ahead, the merger would bring together 12,000 farmers across Europe with the [...]
Avanti West Coast co-owner to launch €1bn Eurostar rival April 8, 2025 A co-owner of Avanti West Coast has confirmed plans to launch a €1bn (£856.6m) rival Eurostar which would run services between London and Paris. FS Italiane Group is looking to run a high-speed rail service between the two capitals by 2029. The group, which co-owns Avanti West Coast alongside FirstGroup, has put aside €1bn for [...]
UK tech startups sound alarm over US tariffs April 8, 2025 The UK’s small and medium-sized tech firms have raised concerns following President Donald Trump’s imposition of a 10 per cent tariff on British goods entering the United States. As part of a sweeping trade shift dubbed ‘Liberation Day’ by the Trump administration, these new levies have injected uncertainty over UK-US economic relations, provoking anxiety among [...]
Why investors should keep calm and ignore the noise – even when markets are volatile April 8, 2025 Camilla Esmund, senior manager, interactive investor – the UK’s second largest investment platform for retail investors This is not financial advice and is for educational purposes only —– To quote Kobe Bryant: “Never get bored of the basics.” It’s a phrase that resonates with many areas of our lives. We’re now into the new financial [...]
Lush to pass tariffs onto US shoppers as it sinks further into the red April 8, 2025 Lush has revealed plans to open a UK hotel as it detailed its response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs amid the ethical cosmetics retailer sinking further into the red. The Dorset-headquartered company has included scant detail in its annual accounts about its plans for a new hotel but did say it is working with a [...]
Premiership clubs cannot get bored of Champions Cup failures, it’s the pinnacle April 8, 2025 Looking across the results from the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup at the weekend with a focus on the seven English teams, there were six results that went the way many expected and one that didn’t. Gloucester’s victory in France against Montpellier was a real surprise, but wins for Northampton Saints and Bath, [...]
Ramsdens: Pawnbroker raises guidance profit on high gold price April 8, 2025 Pawnbroker Ramsdens has raised its profit guidance for the year, boosted by the high gold price and income from jewellery. It now expects profit before tax for the 2025 financial year, which ends on October 1, to be at least £13m. This is up from £11.4m last year and £1m ahead of previous expectations. The [...]
Deliveroo exec: London restaurants can’t take more tax hikes April 8, 2025 London's restaurants can't take more punishing tax hikes, writes Deliveroo's chief business officer Carlo Mocci in today's Notebook.
Brits are bracing for the worst as Trump’s tariffs bite April 8, 2025 Trump’s tariffs are having a seismic impact on British politics, the economy and even the national mood, the latest City AM/Freshwater Strategy poll shows, writes Matthew Lesh Last month’s City Am / Freshwater Strategy poll revealed some green shoots for the economy. While far from a glowing overall picture, the trend was towards a more optimistic outlook [...]
Why using ChatGPT images could cost you down the line April 8, 2025 ChatGPT's new image generator is no doubt tempting for forward-looking marketeers, but don't shrug off the legal risks, writes Paul Armstrong.