Prices of petrol and diesel inch up in February after months of reduced prices March 4, 2019 The price of petrol and diesel inched up in February, ending three months of price reductions. Data from RAC Fuel Watch shows that the average price of a litre of petrol in the UK increased by just under a penny to 120.42p at the end of the month, while diesel increased by 1.24p to 129.88p [...]
Serious Pig founder George Rice wants to pair craft beer with better snacks in British pubs March 4, 2019 The craft beer scene is big business. Hundreds of challenger brands have emerged over the past decade or more to take a bite – well, sip – out of the market share of the mainstream breweries. Some craft beer-makers have become established names, such as controversial Scottish brand BrewDog, while others have been snapped up [...]
‘Chicken king’ Boparan to close a third of Giraffe and Ed’s Diner restaurants March 4, 2019 Giraffe and Ed’s Diner have become the latest casualties in the struggling casual dining sector after the restaurant chains’ owner said it will close a third of their branches. The Boparan Restaurant Group (BRG), which is owned by ‘chicken king’ Ranjit Singh Boparan, is widely reported to have entered a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) that will [...]
Sainsbury’s shares crash as Asda merger torpedoed February 27, 2019 A strongly worded report from the regulator appears to have torpedoed this supermarket mega merger. What a difference a day makes. Until this morning, Sainsbury's (LSE:SBRY) was the best-performing supermarket stock over the past 12 months by some margin. Now, after the regulator's report on its proposed merger with Asda, it's the worst! After months [...]
Chickens come home to roost for Mike Coupe as Sainsbury-Asda deal dies February 22, 2019 Mike Coupe was a happy chappy back in April. Notably he was caught on camera humming the lyrics to the gold digger's song – 'we're in the money' etc, after announcing a supermarket mega merger like no other. This week however the companies' complete lack of understanding of the Competition and Markets Authority has come [...]
The UK’s best and worst supermarkets: How did Sainsbury’s, Asda, Aldi and Lidl do? February 22, 2019 The big four supermarket chains have lost ground to budget rivals in a survey of shopper satisfaction, as customers grow increasingly dissatisfied with the the quality of in-house labels. Read more: Watchdog may block Sainsbury's-Asda merger Aldi and Lidl outperformed the big four with customer satisfaction scores of 68 and 66 per cent respectively, according to [...]
CMA may block Sainsbury’s-Asda merger, finding deal could push up prices and reduce quality February 20, 2019 Sainsbury's suffered a 15 per cent drop in its share price this morning after the grocer's £12bn proposed merger with Asda was thrown into doubt following a swathe of concerns raised by Britain's competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the tie-up could lead to "a substantial lessening of competition at both a national and local [...]
FTSE 100 hits fresh four-month high on US-China trade talk optimism and European banking boost February 15, 2019 The FTSE 100 ended a good week in strong fashion as optimism over the US-China trade dispute and the possibility of fresh stimulus measures for Eurozone banks boosted markets. The UK’s blue chip index rose to a fresh four-month high and closed 0.6 per cent up for the day at 7,237 points. European markets also rose as [...]
You can now trade London skyscrapers on a real estate stock exchange – here’s how it works February 12, 2019 Down the years, through booms and busts, investment in property has always meant one thing – buying buildings. And whether it be a corner shop or a skyscraper, the principle has always been the same – it’s the whole building that you buy. We take that for granted. Read more: Sharp rise in property values [...]
Watchdog delays final report on Sainsbury’s-Asda supermarket merger February 11, 2019 The UK's competition watchdog today extended its probe into the supermarket tie-up between Sainsbury's and Asda by eight weeks. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had decided to delay the publication of its report to give it enough time to “reach a fully reasoned final decision” on the £12bn merger. An inquiry group [...]