Rail strikes: Lynch says government hasn’t spoken to RMT since January July 16, 2023 Rail strike misery looks set to continue for commuters after Mick Lynch, the RMT’s general secretary, said the government had not spoken to him about finding a resolution since the start of the year. Speaking on Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday Programme, Lynch said that there has been “no contact. They seem to pick [...]
Mark Kleinman: What’s next for BT and the City’s ugliest row of 2023 July 13, 2023 Mark Kleinman, City editor of Sky News, writes fortnightly for City A.M. Germans could be on the line at Jansen-less BT Hanging-up time is fast-approaching for Philip Jansen, whose plan to step down as CEO of BT Group next year – revealed by me last weekend – was confirmed on Monday. Sources have told me [...]
Superdrug profits soar 71 per cent as budget beauty buys boost sales July 12, 2023 Superdrug has reported a surge in profits in its full year results thanks to a jump in sales of its own-brand products on top of strong Christmas trading. The medicine-to-beauty seller recorded pre-tax profits of £77.8m, up 71.1 per cent compared to the same period the previous year, as the retailer welcomed its first full [...]
Investor Terry Smith ditches Amazon stake over concerns with grocery business July 11, 2023 Top investor Terry Smith has revealed that he ditched his fund’s stake in Amazon due to concerns with the company’s grocery business. In a letter to investors, released yesterday, Smith revealed that the primary catalyst behind Fundsmith’s decision to drop its holding in Amazon last month was due to a “concern over potential capital misallocation”. [...]
British Land overcomes uncertain landscape with leasing spree across London July 11, 2023 British Land provided investors with a cheery update on the outlook for the commercial property sector, as the firm was boosted by leasing activity across London and strength of retail parks. In an update ahead of its AGM later today, the property developer secured 552,000 sq ft of leasing across its portfolio in the first [...]
Jaguar Land Rover reports sales boost as chip shortage eases July 7, 2023 Jaguar Land Rover reported a big sales increases for the first quarter on Friday, with wholesale volumes up 30 per cent compared with the same period a year ago as the global chip shortage and supply constraints “continue to improve.” The luxury car marque said it also expects free cash flow – what a business [...]
Retailers struggle to rack in sales in June as shoppers continue to scale back July 7, 2023 Retailers continued to show signs of struggling in June, new figures show, as sales growth remained well below inflation due to customers scaling back their shopping habits due to the cost of living crisis. Total like-for-like sales in June grew 1.9 per cent from last year’s base of 8.4 per cent, according to figures from [...]
Lavazza burned by surging coffee bean costs with earnings down double-digits July 6, 2023 Lavazza has warned over a double-digit drop in earnings this year amid surging coffee bean costs and said its prices are not set to come down for consumers until 2024. The Italian coffee giant said it is braced for a hefty drop in underlying earnings over 2023 as it looks to limit price hikes. It [...]
We are not rip-off retailers, says Sainsbury’s July 6, 2023 Bosses at Sainsbury’s have said they are “not rip-off retailer” or “profiteers” as they defended the profit made by the retailer amid scrutiny related to food inflation over the past year. The company also defended increased pay packages for its senior executives at its annual general meeting in London, despite the continued cost-of-living crisis. It [...]
Currys: £60m wiped off market cap as share price tanks 12 per cent after retailer pulls dividend July 6, 2023 Around £60m has been wiped off Currys’ market cap this morning as its share price tanked over 12 per cent, following the retailer pulling its dividend in wake of poor results. Currys revealed that it would not be paying its final dividend to shareholders following poor performance, as its Nordic arm weighed down revenue. The retailer [...]