Morrisons has finally sold its stake in Fresh Direct August 16, 2016 Morrisons has disposed of its 10 per cent stake in wholesale business Fresh Direct, it said today – almost 18 months since it first announced plans for the selloff. The supermarket said today it had got £45m from the sale – a premium of £14m to the £31m holding value of its equity investment. Morrisons said [...]
Drop in supermarkets sales leads to UK plc revenues sliding August 15, 2016 Dwindling supermarket sales have weighed heavily on the performance of UK plc, causing listed companies’ revenues to dip 2.2 per cent to £341.7bn in the last quarter, according to new research from retail stockbroker The Share Centre. Supermarkets, which account for nearly one third of the UK's publicly listed companies, saw sales fall below £100bn [...]
Checking out: non-exec director waves goodbye to Morrisons after Ocado deal August 12, 2016 Irwin Lee, a non-executive director at Morrisons – and chair of the supermarket's remuneration committee – will be leaving the board at the end of August. Lee is stepping down to become the chief executive of Rustan Supercenters Inc, a supermarket chain in the Philippines, his native country. He joined Morrisons in July last year to help [...]
Morrisons gets a discount on new deal with Ocado August 9, 2016 Morrisons and Ocado have struck a new deal that will see the supermarket deliver to more areas in Britain, and also reduces the fees Morrisons has to pay the online grocer. Shares in both grocers rose on the news, with Morrisons up 1.5 per cent at 190.9p in early trading, while Ocado rose 2.6 per [...]
Oca-done deal: Morrisons expected to unveil new home delivery tie-up this week August 8, 2016 Supermarket chain Morrisons is expected to announce a refreshed tie-up with online grocer Ocado this week. The deal will enable Wm Morrison to compete more aggressively in the home delivery space by giving it nationwide coverage. Read more: Morrisons sales nudge up as Potts marks first year at helm The company is likely to announce the [...]
Supermarkets under attack from the short-sellers July 4, 2016 Traders believe the worst is far from over for the UK's embattled supermarkets, as short-sellers have piled in to bet against the sector in the next few months. More than three times as many shares are held by people hoping to profit from a near-term fall in the share price of the UK's leading supermarkets as [...]
AmazonFresh opens up to new London postcodes June 30, 2016 US online retailer Amazon has expanded its recently launched fresh food delivery service, Amazon Fresh, across London. Its footprint has grown from 69 to 128 London postcodes less than a month after it began the service in London. Amazon Fresh’s arrival sent shockwaves through the grocery industry. Online supermarket Ocado’s shares fell to a three-year [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 climbs out of the Brexit bloodbath after major losses in recent sessions June 28, 2016 The FTSE 100 bounced back today, as investors bought back into a market that had been heavily sold off in previous sessions. Just nine stocks finished in negative territory, pushing the blue-chip index up by 2.6 per cent to 6,140.39 points. Falls of over five per cent in the last two sessions had wiped nearly £100bn in value of from company market capitalisations. Insurers [...]
Here’s how the supermarkets were doing just before the Brexit vote June 28, 2016 In the immediate run-up to the EU referendum, supermarket sales were strong, according to data released today, but in the three month period before the vote, sales slipped. The figures from Nielsen show that in the four weeks ending 18 June, UK supermarkets had their first increase in year-on-year takings since July 2015. Sales were up 0.4 [...]
Amazon who? Ocado shares jump as it delivers 14 per cent sales rise June 28, 2016 Everyone and their mum may be trying to get into the food delivery business at the moment (Amazon and Uber have both just launched offerings…) – but Ocado has suggested with experience comes wisdom, after it posted a juicy rise in sales. The figures Retail sales rose 13.9 per cent to £582.9m in the 24 weeks to the end of May, [...]