Retailers lead the way in London after industrials give up gains March 29, 2022 High street retailers lifted London’s top indexes today despite a sharp drop in oil prices prompting investors to ditch industrial giants. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index climbed 0.86 per cent to reach 7,537.25 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index surged two per cent to 21,491.97 points. Traders are seemingly upbeat about the [...]
Last minute Mother’s Day idea: Try the Pan Pacific hotel March 25, 2022 Mother’s Day is on the horizon and with canny timing the Pan Pacific hotel has launched an afternoon tea centred around childhood memories in its elegant Orchard Lounge. Award-winning executive pastry chef Cherish Finden recalls her own Singaporean childhood during either a traditional English tea or a fully Asian affair, the latter of which I opted for. We [...]
Michael Grade named Ofcom chair March 24, 2022 Michael Grade has been named the government’s preferred candidate for the Ofcom chair, the Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries announced today. Lord Grade has had a long career in broadcasting, encompassing London Weekend Television, the BBC, ITV, as well as over nine years as Chief Executive of Channel Four Television. In May 2004 he was appointed [...]
Letters: Ocado can stay strong March 23, 2022 [Re: Shoppers spend less at Ocado after offices reopen and Covid measures ease, March 17] Many of the headlines writing off Ocado this week missed the big picture. Far too little attention was paid to a crucial statistic: Ocado’s retail sales in this quarter were 31.7% higher than pre-pandemic levels. Shoppers may be shopping online [...]
The City View: P&O Ferries in hot water, and the Fed and BoE hike rates March 17, 2022 Today Andy Silvester returns to host The City View — he chats to City A.M.’s Economics and Markets reporter Jack Barnett about the Fed and Bank of England’s rate hikes, and the Monetary Policy Committee statement that further tightening of monetary policy may be needed in the next few months. Andy also takes us through [...]
Shoppers spend less at Ocado after offices reopen and Covid measures ease March 17, 2022 Ocado customers are spending less through the online grocery delivery service as pandemic habits return to normal. In an eight week trading update, Ocado said its average basket size came in at £124, 15 per cent lower than last year. This was reflective of changing shopper behaviours as customers return to physical supermarkets and offices. [...]
Supermarkets made hay from restrictions, now they need to consolidate to keep going March 11, 2022 THE rapid grocery delivery sector has grown at a staggering pace across Europe and the US. Two years on from when we first saw Getir, Weezy, Zapp and Gorillas advertised on buses and hoardings across London, data from the ONS revealed the average weekly sales of online groceries in December 2021 were £372m – more [...]
M&S boss Steve Rowe to step down after six years March 10, 2022 M&S has announced its CEO Steve Rowe will step down after six years at the helm of the supermarket. Rowe will leave his role at the company’s preliminary results on 25 May as part of a planned succession programme, the supermarket revealed on Thursday afternoon. He will be replaced by Stuart Machin, who will become chief [...]
Online grocer Ocado inks deal with French retail group February 17, 2022 Online grocery firm Ocado and French Groupe Casino have inked a formal partnership in France. The companies said they had signed a memorandum of understanding to create a joint venture to provide logistics services for grocery retailers in France. The deal also means Ocado will integrate Octopia’s marketplace platform into OSP. Tim Steiner, CEO of [...]
Little Moons set to fetch £100m in private equity bidding war February 10, 2022 An ice cream business that boomed in popularity via TikTok is the focus of a private equity bidding war that could value it at above £100m. Little Moons, which creates Japanese mochi ice cream balls, has surged in popularity thanks to a viral TikTok video and now has five private equity firms readying a bid, [...]