Diageo: Guinness maker warns tariffs could offset recovery February 4, 2025 Drinks giant Diageo has cautioned on the effects of Donald Trump’s tariffs on its business, which outperformed analysts’ expectations this year after a significant contraction last year. US tariffs, “whilst anticipated”, could “impact [our] building momentum,” the Guinness-maker’s chief executive Debra Crew said, adding that the levies clouded the company’s ability to predict what would [...]
Magnet: Kitchen maker bets on premium as huge losses continue February 3, 2025 The group behind kitchen maker Magnet is hoping expanding into the premium market will help it return to profit after falling to another huge loss and cutting hundreds of jobs. Nobia Holdings UK, the company behind the brand, has set about restructuring itself in recent years after not making a pre-tax profit since 2019. But [...]
Profit boost for Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones ahead of DHL deal February 3, 2025 A company which was sold by Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones to DHL at the end of 2024 returned to the black before the deal was signed, it has been revealed. Brandpath Group, which was part of the PJ Investment Group, provides e-commerce businesses with global fulfilment services and works with the likes such as Google. [...]
High street sales grow but threat of closures looms February 1, 2025 High street sales grew in January but the gains failed to offset volume losses last year, leading analysts to warn of closures as costs mount. Total retail sales in discretionary spend categories grew by 7.1 per cent in January, although this comes off the back of a 0.8 per cent drop last January, according to [...]
Emma Bridgewater: Jobs cut as UK’s ‘queen of pottery’ sinks further into the red January 31, 2025 The pottery brand founded by eponymous designer Emma Bridgewater cut jobs as it sank further into the red during its latest financial year. The business, which is based in Stoke-on-Trent and backed by BGF, has posted a pre-tax loss of £4.4m for the 12 months to 27 April, 2024. The loss comes after the company also [...]
John Lewis misses festive sales target as turnaround falters January 31, 2025 Sales at John Lewis are reported to have fallen short over the key Christmas trading period as middle-class Brits increasingly switch to shops like Marks and Spencer. According to reports from the Daily Telegraph, sales at Waitrose similarly missed targets. The employee-owned John Lewis Partnership (JLP) blamed “lower consumer confidence and weaker than expected market confidence” for [...]
Five graphs the Bank of England will assess before interest rate decision January 30, 2025 The Bank of England's first interest rate decision of 2025 will take place next week, and investors widely expect rate-setters to reduce borrowing costs for a third time.
Mulberry: Luxury brand looks to turnaround ‘sub-optimal’ performance January 30, 2025 British luxury plan Mulberry has unveiled a turnaround plan aimed at rescuing the retailer from a period of decline. This comes after its share price has fallen 17 per cent in the last month and more than 30 per cent in the last year. Revenue for the last quarter of the year fell 18.3 per [...]
Mark Kleinman: Are Barclays pay rows a mere historical relic? January 30, 2025 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column. This week, he tackles pay rows at Barclays, how WH Smith is clinging on and a floating debate for Monzo Are Barclays pay rows a mere historical relic? There was a time when Barclays and public [...]
Tesco to cut 400 jobs as it moves to ‘more efficient’ working January 29, 2025 Tesco has announced plans to cut more than 400 jobs in a bid to improve efficiency at the grocer, following in the footsteps of Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons. The supermarket giant said that the “more competitive than ever” market means it must “work hard… to offer our customers unrivalled value”. “This means always being open [...]