Supermarket fuel margins more than double since Ukraine war July 22, 2023 Supermarkets have more than doubled their margins on fuel since the start of the war in Ukraine, new analysis suggests. The RAC said Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s were making an average of around 4.7p per litre on fuel sales when the Russian invasion began in February 2022. The motoring services company found this had [...]
FTSE 100 close: London markets measured after strong week July 21, 2023 London markets stayed flat throughout Friday after a strong week, closing slightly higher and extending earlier gains caused by lower than expected inflation. The bluechip FTSE 100 was measured throughout the day and closed in the green at 7,658.53, while the midcap FTSE 250, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, [...]
THG offloads loss-making divisions in bid to streamline as share price slumps July 21, 2023 THG has offloaded its OnDemand business to the division’s management team as the online retailer steams ahead with plans to streamline its operations. The brand which included entertainment retailer Zavi and gadget and toy retailer I Want One of Those – was bought by the groups management team and has also received extra funding from [...]
Summer deals help bump retail sales as growth falls at slowest rate in a year July 21, 2023 Retail sales grew by 0.7 per cent in June 2023 with increases across all the main sectors, as warmer weather and a greater selection increased consumer spending. During the month, non-food stores sales volumes rose slightly by 1.0 per cent in June 2023, following a fall of 0.5 per cent in May 2023, according to [...]
£465m takeover of Lookers set to collapse as shareholder Cinch opposes deal July 20, 2023 The £465 million takeover of car dealership group Lookers is set to collapse after a major shareholder said it planned to block the move. Last month, the board of Lookers said it had agreed the sale of the company to Global Auto Holdings, an entity linked to privately owned Canadian car dealer network Alpha Auto [...]
Pendragon reports strong first half results but rate hikes spark concern July 20, 2023 Pendragon said this morning it expects pretax profits to rise nine per cent for the first half of 2023, on the back of a strong performance from its motor division. In a trading update, the Nottingham-based motor dealership – which is behind brands including Evans Halshaw and Stratstone – said it expects underlying profit before [...]
Dunelm revenues reach £1.63bn as price cuts lure customers in July 20, 2023 Dunelm reported a revenue rise of six per cent over the past year, with the homeware retailer predicting profits to be “slightly ahead” of current market expectations. The Leicester born business said revenues reached £1.63bn in the 52 weeks to July up from £1.55bn in the same period last year. Sales growth declined -8.3 per [...]
UK profit warnings hit highest yearly level since 2008, outside of pandemic July 19, 2023 The proportion of UK-listed companies that issued profit warnings in the past year was higher than any year since 2008, outside of the pandemic, according to new analysis. It comes as higher borrowing costs and a tougher sales environment have weighed heavily on businesses. Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange issued 66 profit warnings [...]
Grocery inflation remains ‘incredibly high’ but falls for fourth straight month thanks to supermarket promotions July 18, 2023 Grocery price inflation has seen the biggest drop since its peak in March but remains “incredibly high”, figures show. Supermarket promotions helped the figure fall to 14.9 per cent in the four weeks to July 9, down from 16.5 per cent over the previous month, according to analysts Kantar. It is the fourth month in [...]
UK inflation to fall to lowest level since March 2022 but Bank of England still tipped to hike interest rates July 17, 2023 UK inflation is on course to drop to its lowest level in over a year, but lingering underlying price pressures will heap expectation on the Bank of England to keep on hiking interest rates, new figures out this week are tipped to show. The rate of price growth in Britain is expected to have dropped [...]