More than 80 retail bosses urge Starmer to tackle youth unemployment crisis Retail More than 80 retail bosses have called on the Prime Minister to set out urgent measures to tackle youth unemployment, warning that the “ladder of opportunity for young people is wobbling”. The chiefs of leading retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and John Lewis have called on Sir Keir Starmer to safeguard the position of retail as [...]
Food inflation: First signs of energy cost surge feed through to supermarket shelves as discounts fail to stem price growth Economics Supermarket food inflation has risen significantly for the first time this year, a City AM analysis has found, flashing an early warning sign that the surge in energy and freight costs triggered by war in Iran is reaching shelf prices in the UK. City AM reporters gather data on around 200 prices of products across [...]
The Capitalist: Claridge’s launches the ‘Mayfair Meal Deal’ Opinion Claridge's moves in on Tesco, things get heated at the ideas festival, and workers hide in the loo; catch up on the latest shenanigans.
Tesco deal helps Esquires Coffee owner to surge in sales as it eyes 300 stores May 28, 2026 A fresh deal with Tesco helped the owner of the Esquires Coffee chain to a jump in turnover. Cooks Coffee Company, which is listed on Aquis, posted UK and Ireland store sales of £43.1m for the year to end March, a surge of 22.8 per cent. Pre-tax earnings rose 6.8 per cent to £529,000, while [...]
Lidl leapfrogs Morrisons to become UK’s fifth-biggest supermarket May 27, 2026 Lidl has soared past struggling Morrisons to become the UK’s fifth-biggest supermarket, as its heavy discounting gave the grocer an edge in the fiercely competitive market. The German grocer snatched an 8.6 per cent market share, powered by an 8.8 per cent uplift in sales across the last 12 weeks, according to data by Worldpanel. [...]
Greencore shares slide as M&S sandwich supplier counts cost of Bakkavor takeover May 27, 2026 Food manufacturer Greencore counted the cost of its mammoth deal with rival Bakkavor as integration expenses plunged the firm to a loss in the first half of the year. The FTSE 250 firm – which is a supplier to countless supermarket giants including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and M&S – was weighed down by upfront costs associated [...]
Business doesn’t want a ‘partnership’ with the state May 22, 2026 Threatening to cap supermarket prices shows this Labour government views business as a mark, not a partner, says Elliot Keck Former US President Ronald Reagan once said: “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help'”. The modern equivalent is surely “we want to build [...]
Huge change to Tesco meal deal as Corona and Heineken added May 20, 2026 It needn’t be a can of Coke next time you pop to the supermarket for a cheap lunch – Corona and Heineken have been added as drinks included in the Tesco meal deal. Granted, they’re the zero-alcohol versions, but still, it feels like a hedonistic lunchtime treat. Independent London brewer Lucky Saint is the third [...]
M&S profit slumps in fallout from cyber attack May 20, 2026 Marks & Spencer saw its profit slump by a quarter as the retailer took more than a £100m hit from its “traumatic” cyber attack last year. The FTSE 100 supermarket and clothing business saw pre-tax profit fall by 29 per cent to £365m in the year to March, despite sales growing by 25 per cent [...]
Tesco boss Ken Murphy took £1m pay rise in grocer’s bumper year May 15, 2026 Ken Murphy, the boss of Tesco, took a more-than £1m pay rise this year, bringing his total pay packet to £10.8m in the year the grocer solidified its dominant position in the market. The chief executive of the supermarket giant’s total pay packet for the 2025/26 year included £1.5m in basic pay, a £3.4m bonus [...]