Marks & Spencer has started laser printing avocado labels to reduce waste | City A.M. June 19, 2017 In a push towards sustainability, Marks & Spencer (M&S) has started laser labelling avocados. Moving from sticker labels to lasering will save the retailer 10 tonnes of labels and backing paper and five tonnes of adhesive every year on avocados alone. Lasering also uses less energy. So, how does it work? M&S said the innovative [...]
Focus On Orpington: Developers are starting to show an interest in this well-connected town in Zone 6 June 16, 2017 When house-hunting in London, the sleepy town of Orpington may not be high up your list. But there are many reasons why it should be, not least because its house price growth is among the fastest in outer London. According to estate agent JLL’s London Residential Heat Map, house prices in the BR6 postcode grew [...]
FTSE 250 is on track for its worst day of 2017 after disappointing retail results June 15, 2017 Admittedly, it has been a good year for the FTSE 250, which has set several records as weak sterling encouraged investors. But today is not one of those days: the index was on the way to its worst showing of 2017 in morning trading, falling 1.36 per cent to 19,702 points as investors showed their [...]
UK general election: what a hung parliament means for markets June 9, 2017 The UK general election has resulted in a hung parliament, with no party commanding an overall majority. The Conservatives have emerged as the largest party and will likely seek to form a minority government. The result is unexpected. Polls during the election campaign had generally pointed towards a comfortable Conservative majority. Our panel of investment [...]
UK retail sales slide as consumers cut discretionary spending, according to British Retail Consortium June 6, 2017 Retail sales fell back again last month as consumers started counting the pennies and cut their discretionary spending. Like-for-like retail sales were down by 0.4 per cent in May, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), falling back from the sales boost the sector received over the Easter holiday. Non-food retailers dragged on [...]
Alibaba’s Jack Ma invited to join Aston Martin investor in The Body Shop race just days before the final bid deadline June 4, 2017 As L'Oréal readies to accept the final bids for its ailing cosmetics chain The Body Shop, one bidder has made a late attempt to sweeten its offer by calling on Jack Ma, founder of online marketplace Alibaba. Investindustrial, the Italy-based private equity firm which counts household names such as Aston Martin and Ducati under its [...]
Ascential sells 11 B2B magazines including Drapers, Nursing Times and Construction News to Metropolis June 1, 2017 Business-to-business media company Ascential has announced the sale of 11 more magazines today. The FTSE 250-listed publisher has sold titles including fashion magazine Drapers, Nursing Times, Local Government Chronicle and Construction News to Metropolis International. Metropolis, which already owns Property Week, Packaging News, Laboratory News and UK Boarding Schools Guide, is paying £23.5m for the [...]
Leisure will be key to the future of London retail May 30, 2017 London retail has a positive future. Hardly a revolutionary statement in isolation, particularly to the many millions of people who live, work and visit the capital and experience its unparalleled consumer offer. However, there are challenges too: technology, changing shopper habits, and predictions of falling consumer confidence. April saw the biggest quarterly fall in retail [...]
Sale is in The Works for stationery retailer at private equity group Endless May 21, 2017 The Works, a discount stationery and books retailer owned by turnaround private equity firm Endless, is readying to be sold or floated next year. Endless has enlisted the help of bank Investec to begin preparing a sale or listing, the Sunday Times reported. Read more: Why 3i is taking a step back from the UK [...]
Sale is in The Works for stationery retailer at private equity group Endless May 21, 2017 The Works, a discount stationery and books retailer owned by turnaround private equity firm Endless, is readying to be sold or floated next year. Endless has enlisted the help of bank Investec to begin preparing a sale or listing, the Sunday Times reported. Read more: Why 3i is taking a step back from the UK [...]