Tesco prepares to sell off restaurant chain Giraffe March 31, 2016 Tesco is preparing for another disposal and sounding out potential buyers for restaurant business Giraffe. The supermarket bought the chain in 2013 for £49m, with plans to open Giraffe branches beside its stores. At the time, Tesco said the deal was an "opportunity to develop some of the space in our larger stores to create retail destinations [...]
Vodafone gets its wires crossed with customers as it becomes the most complained about March 30, 2016 Vodafone has become the UK's most complained about mobile phone provider following a surge of complaints in the final months of 2015. The UK telecoms watchdog Ofcom has said it recorded 32 complaints for every 100,000 of Vodafone's pay-monthly subscribers in the last quarter of 2015. This was a major surge, more than double the amount of [...]
Fruit juices, drinks and smoothies might not be one of your “five a day” according to new sugar study March 24, 2016 Just a few weeks after it was revealed how much sugar was lurking in your Starbucks coffee drinks and a fortnight since George Osborne announced a sugar tax on soft drinks, it seems fruit juice could be another villain too. The authors of a new study have even gone so far as to suggest that [...]
Bottoms up to Great Brewtain: Old Speckled Hen, Doom Bar and Hobgoblin are the nation’s three top ales, according to Tesco March 23, 2016 If you don't still know the difference between ale and beer, now might be the time to learn – ale sales have shot up over 14 per cent in the past year. And, if you still need help discerning them next time you're at the pub, Old Speckled Hen, Doom Bar and Hobgoblin are the UK's [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 rises despite tourism stocks dropping in wake of Brussels attacks March 22, 2016 Tourism stocks took a hit today in the wake of attacks in Brussels, holding the FTSE 100 index back from closing higher. The index closed 0.13 per cent higher at 6,192 points. "European equities dropped on Tuesday after a coordinated set of terrorist attacks at the airport and metro stations in Brussels sent investors out [...]
Supermarkets reap over £1bn of property investment in 2015 as new buyers pile in March 22, 2016 Britain's supermarket sector attracted over £1bn of property investment last year as investors shrugged off the price wars and and went in search of stable returns. Research released today by Colliers International and data analytics provider MSCI revealed that deal volumes reached £1.4bn in 2015, up slightly on the previous year but down on the record [...]
After the government’s volte-face on the sugar tax, will marketeers be left with a crashing low? March 22, 2016 Should the announcement of a sugar tax in last week’s Budget have marketeers worried? It certainly represents a volte-face on the part of the government. In October, when the advisory group Public Health England (PHE) released a report recommending measures to tackle childhood obesity, including a sugar tax of 10 to 20 per cent, a [...]
The Waitrose effect: Living near to the supermarket can double your house price March 21, 2016 We all know that properties near good schools can command higher than average prices – but what about your local supermarket? If you're lucky enough to live within walking distance of a Waitrose, your home is likely to benefit from an uplift to your house price, new research from Emoov claims. It's not clear what [...]
Tesco’s share price rises as supermarket takes fight to the discounters with launch of seven value own-label ranges March 21, 2016 Tesco has added fuel to the supermarket price war after launching a range of entry level own-label brands that will challenge the discounters on price. The retailer's share climbed by more than one per cent this morning after it said it will sell around 80 fresh, meat and poultry products under seven new "Farms" brands which, in many cases, will either match or [...]
BT plays catch up to Sky over on-demand TV March 20, 2016 Telecoms giant BT is looking into gaining further control over on-demand TV service YouView from TalkTalk in an attempt to build up its market share of the premium TV industry and catch leader Sky. BT has held informal talks with TalkTalk over the future of the joint business venture, which would allow BT to pour [...]