Home Bargains billionaire pays himself over £1bn as sales and profit surge January 7, 2025 The billionaire owner of Home Bargains paid himself more than £1bn as sales and profit both jumped at the discount retail giant during its latest financial year. Tom Morris, who owns 98 per cent of Liverpool-headquartered TJ Morris, the firm behind the brand, received the vast majority of the £1.22bn in ordinary dividends and asset [...]
Coty: Rimmel and Max Factor owner slumps to £53m UK&I loss January 7, 2025 The UK and Ireland arm of Coty, the global beauty and cosmetics giant behind the likes of Rimmel and Max Factor, slumped to a loss of more than £50m during its latest financial year. The Kent-headquartered division has posted a pre-tax loss of £53.4m for the 12 months to 30 June, 2024, according to newly-filed [...]
Grocery spending hit record high at Christmas as Brits favour food over gifts January 7, 2025 Grocery spending hit a record high this Christmas as Brits dined out on premium goods and fizz, in a marked contrast to the anaemic growth in retail spending. Overall take-home sales at the grocers rose by 2.1 per cent over the four weeks to 29 December compared with last year. Brits splashed out on premium [...]
Next: FTSE 100 retailer hikes profit guidance but warns on costs January 7, 2025 Retail industry bellwether Next has upgraded its profit outlook for the year after sales and growth exceeded expectations during the Golden Quarter. The FTSE 100 company hiked its expected profit by five per cent as sales jumped six per cent in the nine weeks to 28 December, nearly double its previous guidance of 3.5 per cent. [...]
Retail gloom as festive season fails to save 2024 trading January 7, 2025 High street stores showed anaemic growth in the 2024 festive season, despite hopes that Christmas trading would inject some cheer into the sector. Sales grew just 0.3 per cent overall in the ‘golden quarter’, which includes Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Online sales continued to beat in-store, [...]
Yeo Valley doubles profit after natural yoghurt demand surges January 6, 2025 Profit at Yeo Valley has almost doubled after sales at the dairy giant jumped by £40m during its latest financial year. The Somerset-headquartered business has reported a pre-tax profit of £8.1m for the year to 26 May, 2024, according to newly-filed accounts with Companies House. The latest figure comes after Yeo Valley returned to the [...]
Sell Asos and buy Currys says City broker January 6, 2025 Analysts have backed Currys as their most preferred consumer stock of the year whilst warning investors away from struggling online marketplace Asos. Panmure Liberum analysts set a target price for Currys at 155p versus its current price of 94.25p. The tech retailer had a strong run last year, with its stock up more than 90 [...]
H Samuel and Ernest Jones owner cuts loss despite £40m sales hit January 6, 2025 The company behind high street jewellers H Samuel and Ernest Jones significantly cut its loss despite sales falling by almost £40m during its latest financial year. The Birmingham-headquartered business has reported a pre-tax loss of £483,000 for the year to 3 February, 2024, down from the £8.9m loss it posted in its prior 12 months. [...]
Tesco and Sainsbury’s to shed light on Christmas sales performance January 5, 2025 The UK’s biggest supermarket groups will shed light next week on how they fared over the key Christmas period amid pressure on shoppers’ budgets. Tesco and Sainsbury’s will both provide third-quarter updates for investors and analysts, where they will reveal their sales for the weeks running up to Christmas. Both grocers are expected to reveal [...]
New car market in UK up 2.6 per cent in 2024, figures reveal January 4, 2025 The UK’s new car market recorded its second successive year of growth with a 2.6 per cent rise in registrations in 2024, new figures show. Industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said around 1,953,000 new cars were registered last year, compared with 1,903,000 in 2023. Growth was delivered entirely by purchases [...]