UK economy: ‘Consumers see dark days ahead’ January 24, 2025 GfK's overall consumer confidence index fell to -22, which was down five points on December and put confidence at its lowest level since the end of 2023.
Sainsbury’s to axe 3,000 jobs and close all in-store cafes January 23, 2025 Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has confirmed plans to axe more than 3,000 roles as it prepares to close all its remaining in-store cafes. The major overhaul will cut two per cent of its current workforce, which stands at 148,000. The move will also make around 20 per cent of senior management roles at Sainsbury’s redundant. The [...]
Major lifeline for Wembley Park developer after huge losses January 23, 2025 The developer behind London’s Wembley Park transformation has secured a huge funding boost just months after losses of more than £700m were revealed. Quintain has completed the refinancing of London Designer Outlet and build-to-rent development Ferrum at the site with a £233.6m loan from Bank of America. The deal comes after City AM reported in [...]
Chapel Down: Off-trade issues pull England’s biggest winemaker down January 23, 2025 Sales at England’s biggest winemaker, Chapel Down, fell in 2024 due to “one-off” issues in the first half of the year, but the company has still reported net sales revenue in line with guidance. Chapel Down’s share price rose more than two per cent in early trades. Sales of sparkling wine, which accounts for more [...]
Revolution Beauty expects sales to fall by a quarter in blow to turnaround plans January 23, 2025 Revolution Beauty expects sales to fall by around a quarter in 2025 in a blow to the troubled cosmetics firms’ turnaround plans. The London-listed group said it had experienced some sales softness in its digital channels and an element of de-stocking from US retailers in December. It has also pushed back the launch of certain [...]
Weak UK sales pull Primark down despite international growth January 23, 2025 Lower sales in the UK and Ireland pulled Primark’s performance down in the last quarter of 2024 despite double-digit growth in countries like Spain, Portugal and the US. Primark’s parent company ABF Foods told markets this morning that sales in the UK and Ireland, which account for approximately 45 per cent of its market, declined [...]
THG trading on target after Ingenuity split January 23, 2025 THG, the company behind fitness supplement brand Myprotein, has reported its first trading update after the group split in two earlier this year. The company told the market this morning that adjusted earnings before interest, tax, deprecation and amortisation (EBITDA) for 2024 are expected to align with consensus expectations. At the beginning of January, THG [...]
UK economy: Consumers catch ‘January blues’ as confidence slumps January 23, 2025 Confidence in the health of the economy fell to its lowest level since the BRC started collecting data on the topic in March 2024.
Could the Bank of England push the UK into recession? January 23, 2025 As the Bank of England scrambles to unwind the disastrous effects of quantitative easing, the hidden costs of this policy are becoming clear, says Damian Pudner Quantitative easing (QE) has long been the Bank of England’s monetary policy nuclear option. Launched in 2009 to save a collapsing financial system, it was supercharged during the pandemic, [...]
Mark Kleinman: Kicking the Abbey habit may be harder than it looks for Botin January 23, 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 looks at Santander shifts, a tale of two cities in banking and a canary in the Poundland coalmine Kicking the Abbey habit may be harder than it looks for Botin Is this the [...]