Mortgage approvals rise to nine-month high while consumer borrowing growth slows, says Bank of England November 29, 2018 Mortgage approvals rose to a surprising nine-month high last month, while consumer borrowing increased at its slowest pace since May 2015, the Bank of England said today. While the Bank said mortgage market activity was “broadly stable” in October, households borrowed an extra £4.1bn against their homes and the number of mortgages approved rose to [...]
John Whittaker-led consortium abandons £2.9bn offer for Intu, sending shares crashing November 29, 2018 Intu’s share price nosedived by 36 per cent this morning after a consortium ditched plans to pay £2.9bn for the shopping centre empire, blaming market uncertainty. Intu had repeatedly extended the deadline for the offer from a consortium led by billionaire shareholder John Whittaker, but today the consortium said it would abandon the takeover attempt. “Given the [...]
The drinks master: Should I invest in fine wine or rare spirits? November 28, 2018 Fine wines are undoubtedly having a moment. With stocks seeing a higher return than gold, and with global investment growing by three per cent a year, this shows little sign of stopping. But is wine really the best beverage to invest in? With rare and fine whisky sales reaching £25m in the UK alone in [...]
Tiffany sales disappoint Wall Street as Chinese shoppers curb their luxury spending November 28, 2018 A slump in demand from wealthy Chinese tourists has taken the sparkle off of Tiffany’s latest sales report this afternoon, with weaker-than-expected results sending shares down during pre-trading on Wall Street. The luxury jewellery maker missed its estimates today after reporting a three per cent rise in same-store sales, falling below Refinitiv projections of a [...]
Ikea’s change of focus hurts group profits as it braces for redundancies November 28, 2018 Ikea group profits dropped by a quarter in its latest financial year, driven down by billions of pounds invested into adapting to people's changing shopping habits. The furniture giant’s parent company, Ingka Group, reported the €780m (£688.7m) year-on-year drop in its full-year results this morning, blaming spending on transforming its business model to an approach focused heavily on [...]
H&M axes skinny jeans brand Cheap Monday November 27, 2018 H&M is to axe its independent skinny jeans brand Cheap Monday, with the Swedish retailer blaming “major challenges” to the fashion industry for the decision. The world’s second largest clothing retailer is scrapping the Cheap Monday clothing, which is mainly sold online and through its sole UK outlet on Carnaby Street, as it looks to [...]
Black Friday draws in biggest ever week of sales for John Lewis November 27, 2018 John Lewis Partnership said today that it has seen its biggest ever week of sales as shoppers flooded the beleaguered retailer’s stores for Black Friday discounts. Total sales for the week jumped 7.7 per cent when compared with the same week last year, as purchases hit a record in the firm’s 150-year-old history. Fashion and home [...]
Topps Tiles profits fall as Britain’s biggest tile retailer issues Brexit warning November 27, 2018 Britain's largest tile retailer Topps Tiles reported a fall in profits and said it will stockpile supplies ahead of March next year after issuing a Brexit warning. The figures Topps Tiles said its adjusted profit before tax dropped 14 per cent to £16m for the year ending 30 September from £18.6m the previous year due [...]
RewardStyle founder Amber Venz Box talks influencer marketing and fashion November 26, 2018 Fashion retail is a risky business. Like many sectors, it has been disrupted by the rise of the internet, as consumers increasingly shop on their phones rather than on the high street. So with fewer people browsing in shops, there’s a question of how best to advertise a new dress or a trendy handbag. Traditional [...]
Black Friday fatigue hinders much-needed boost for Britain’s retailers as year-on-year footfall drops November 25, 2018 Black Friday footfall dipped this year while e-commerce sales soared, in a stark reminder of the perils facing high street retailers under threat from online rivals as the Christmas season approaches. Retailers continued to roll out discounts to the public over the course of the weekend but the latest figures show that footfall this afternoon [...]