Virgin Atlantic Holidays: Record profit as sales take off April 9, 2025 Profit at Virgin Atlantic Holidays has jumped to a new record level as its sales surged to their highest since the Covid-19 pandemic. The group, which was founded by Sir Richard Branson, has reported a pre-tax profit of £48m for 2024, up from the £25.4m it achieved in 2023. The results come after Virgin Atlantic [...]
JD Sports boss warns of price rises as shoe makers resist Trump’s tariffs April 9, 2025 The chairman of FTSE 100 giant JD Sports has said prices will rise if President Donald Trump’s tariffs stay at their current levels. Speaking on the Today programme, chairman Andrew Higginson, who also chairs the British Retail Consortium (BRC), added that it’s unlikely shoe production will shift to the US and lambasted the uncertainty caused [...]
The Debate: Has the plastic bag levy been a success? April 9, 2025 Ten years on, the plastic bag levy has largely been hailed a success - but has it actually helped the planet? Two experts go head to head in this week's Debate.
Will Trump tariffs end up helping Next, M&S and Dunelm? April 8, 2025 UK heavyweights who aren’t exposed to the US market, like Next and M&S, may end up seeing some silver linings from Trump’s tariffs, according to analysts. Only a few UK retailers – namely JD Sports, Doc Martens and Burberry – sell to the states and produce in eastern Asia. Berenberg analysts said that positives from [...]
Lush to pass tariffs onto US shoppers as it sinks further into the red April 8, 2025 Lush has revealed plans to open a UK hotel as it detailed its response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs amid the ethical cosmetics retailer sinking further into the red. The Dorset-headquartered company has included scant detail in its annual accounts about its plans for a new hotel but did say it is working with a [...]
Deliveroo exec: London restaurants can’t take more tax hikes April 8, 2025 London's restaurants can't take more punishing tax hikes, writes Deliveroo's chief business officer Carlo Mocci in today's Notebook.
UK retailers claw back losses as wave of selling turns to opportunistic buying April 7, 2025 Heavyweight UK retailers clawed back some of their losses on Monday afternoon as the morning’s sell-off turned to buying. The FTSE 350 general retail index had dropped by as much as four per cent in early trades, but later stabilised to minus 2.8 per cent. Even UK retailers with very little presence in the US, [...]
City broker downgrades Watches of Switzerland as US prices set to rise April 7, 2025 A City broker has downgraded its price target for Watches of Switzerland by a fifth, citing lower spending and higher prices as the retailer’s challenges. Peel Hunt downgraded the target price for the luxury watch firm from 500p to 400p. Shares in the retailer were trading at 335p as of midday on April 7, having [...]
Jaguar Land Rover: Donald Trump’s tariffs threaten US growth April 7, 2025 The scale of the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs facing Jaguar Land Rover has been revealed as the luxury car maker outlined how many vehicles it exported to the US in the first three months of 2025. The Coventry-headquartered automotive giant saw wholesale volumes in its fourth quarter rise by 14.4 per cent in North [...]
Clintons back in profit after closing stores and cutting over 300 jobs April 7, 2025 Clintons has surged back into the black after closing more stores and cutting over 300 jobs. The gift card giant has posted a pre-tax profit of £8m for the year to 29 June, 2024, according to new accounts filed with Companies House. The total comes after Clintons made a pre-tax loss of £5.3m in the [...]