LK Bennett: Luxury fashion brand loved by Princess of Wales slumps into the red February 5, 2025 LK Bennett, the luxury fashion brand loved by the likes of Catherine, Princess of Wales, has slumped into the red. The London-headquartered retailer has reported a pre-tax loss of £3.1m for the 12 months to 27 January, 2024, according to newly-filed accounts with Companies House. The loss comes after LK Bennett posted a pre-tax profit [...]
Jack Wills: Job cuts continue as fashion brand halves in size February 5, 2025 Profit has continued to fall at fashion brand Jack Wills, which is owned by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, as more jobs were cut and stores closed during its latest financial year. The company’s headcount reduced from 233 to 135 in the 12 months to 28 April, 2024, while it went from running 32 shops to [...]
UK new car market stalls as weak consumer confidence bites February 5, 2025 New car registrations fell by 2.5 per cent in January as weak consumer confidence and a tough economic backdrop delivered a fourth consecutive monthly decline. There were 139,345 new vehicle registrations in January, according to the latest data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). New registrations for both private and fleet buyers [...]
Octopus Energy: Profit slashed as Greg Jackson’s giant battles rising costs February 4, 2025 Profit has been slashed at Octopus Energy as rising costs and falling sales ate into its margin during the giant’s latest financial year. For the 12 months to 30 April, 2024, the group reported a net profit of £83m, down from the £203m it posted in the prior year. Its revenue also dipped from £12.54bn [...]
Savile Row label Hackett hails international success as profit rockets February 4, 2025 International success has helped up-market Savile Row clothing label Hackett almost quadruple its profit during its latest financial year as sales surged. The London-headquartered chain has reported a pre-tax profit of £3.8m for the 12 months to 31 March, 2024, according to newly-filed accounts with Companies House. The figure comes after Hackett posted a pre-tax [...]
Celebrity luxury spa group Champneys slips further into the red February 4, 2025 Celebrity luxury spa group Champneys slipped further into the red despite its turnover edging closer to a milestone, it has been revealed. The group, which has several sites across the country and was founded 100 years ago, has posted a pre-tax loss of £8.4m for the 12 months to 30 April, 2024. The figure has [...]
Grocery inflation slowed as supermarket discounts deepened February 4, 2025 Grocery inflation in January slowed for the first time in six months after supermarkets lowered prices in response to stretched household budgets. Inflation was 3.3 per cent in January, easing from 3.7 per cent in December, according to the latest figures from Kantar. Prices rose for chocolate, juices and butters, but fell for cooking sauces, [...]
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. [...]