Waitrose to ramp up convenience store expansion with 100 new sites August 21, 2024 The premium grocer Waitrose will expand its store portfolio by around a third over the next three years in one of its “biggest periods of expansion” as it ramps up investment into ‘Little Waitrose’ convenience shops. The Berkshire-headquartered company will invest over £1bn in a project to open 100 new stores and revamp a further [...]
Angling Direct: ‘Robust’ performance spurs hope of reeling in £100m revenue target August 21, 2024 Angling Direct has reported a “robust” first half of the year and said it was confident of achieving a 25 per cent increase in UK revenue to £100m in the medium term. The Norwich-based specialist fishing tackle and equipment retailer reported UK growth of 5.9 per cent in the six months ended 31 July 2024. [...]
Klarna swoops in to buy collapsed rival Laybuy August 21, 2024 Buy-now pay-later (BNPL) giant Klarna has snapped up its collapsed rival Laybuy after the Kiwi fintech folded into receivership earlier this year, City A.M. has learned.
JP Morgan nudges up UK growth forecasts after latest GDP figures August 20, 2024 JP Morgan bumped up their growth forecasts for the UK economy in the third quarter of this year following last week’s GDP figures. The investment bank now expects the economy to grow 0.4 per cent between July and September, up from a previous estimate of 0.3 per cent. This equates to an annualised growth rate [...]
HSBC mulls sale of South African businesses in pivot to Asia August 20, 2024 HSBC is reportedly considering selling its South African businesses as part of its pivot towards Asian markets.
Vanguard: Asset manager soars to second most popular UK retail investor pick August 20, 2024 Vanguard has jumped to become the second most popular asset manager among UK retail investors for the first time. While American passive manager Blackrock has long dominated the number one spot for net sales among UK retail investors, this is rival Vanguard’s first time in the quarterly Pridham Report. Vanguard brought in £1.6bn in net [...]
H&T: Profit jumps due to ‘ongoing constraint in the supply’ of short-term loans August 20, 2024 The UK’s largest pawnbroker and short-term loan business, H&T, announced a double-digit profit jump in the first half of the year as Brits showed no sign of reining in loan demand. Profit before tax was £9.9m in the six months to 30th June, up 12.5 per cent from the £8.8m reported in the same period [...]
Topps Tiles acquires CTD brand and assets out of administration for £9m August 19, 2024 FTSE-listed Topps Tiles has acquired CTD Tiles out of administration for £9m as it looks to enter the housebuilding segment. The purchase included CTD Tiles’ brands, 30 stores, selected stock and customer data, Topps said. CTD, which supplied tiles to the retail, trade and commercial markets, entered administration on 19 August after a wider downturn [...]
All eyes on Powell at Jackson Hole as markets look for US rate cut clues August 19, 2024 Global financial markets will be firmly focused on Jackson Hole in the Rocky Mountains later this week for hints on when the US' central bank may start lowering interest rates from a 23-year high.
FTSE the exception: Global markets rally past ‘Black Monday’ after US recession fears ease August 16, 2024 Global markets have continued to rally after the ‘Black Monday’ event last week, which saw stock markets crash over fears of a US recession. Since then, markets have now bounced back, as fears over recession have faded after strong US retail sales data and unemployment numbers. The Japanese Nikkei 225, which fell almost 20 per [...]