Co-op hands furlough cash back to government as profit doubles April 8, 2021 Co-op has announced it will repay furlough money received during the pandemic as the convenience store chain announced profit more than doubled last year. The firm will hand £15.5m back to the government it said this morning as it revealed that profit after tax and discontinued items was £77m, up from £33m in 2019, on [...]
National Grid pays watchdog £1.5m after inaccurate electricity forecasts April 8, 2021 National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) will pay Ofgem £1.5m after failing to provide accurate electricity demand forecasts back in 2017. One of the key roles of the firm, which is responsible for the transmission of electricity across the UK’s networks, is to provide suppliers with seven day forecasts for power demand. However back in [...]
Lookers set to beat profit forecasts after ‘resilient’ lockdown performance April 8, 2021 Car dealership Lookers today said that full year profit would come in “materially ahead” of the £22.6m predicted by analysts after a better than expected performance in the first quarter. The announcement sent shares into overdrive this morning, with the company’s stock up 13.3 per cent as markets opened. The FTSE 250 firm, which has [...]
Asos bags record profit as pandemic continues to drive sales April 8, 2021 Asos’ profit has soared to record levels as the online fashion retailer has continued to benefit from the boom in demand for online shopping during the pandemic. The ecommerce giant reported this morning that adjusted profit before tax – not including acquisition costs – hit £112.9m in the six months ended 28 February, a £82.8m [...]
Dunelm to beat profit expectations as online sales more than treble April 8, 2021 Dunelm is expecting to beat profit forecasts for the year after digital sales more than trebled during the pandemic. The furniture and interiors retailer said this morning that profit before tax will be “modestly ahead” of the top of the range of analyst expectations. Analysts have predicted that profit will reach between £120m and £125m. [...]
It’s a myth to say sustainable and ethical clothing can’t be affordable April 8, 2021 Forced labour. Environmental hazard. A race to the bottom. It is no secret that the fashion industry is broken. Clothes are the second highest products at risk of slavery and produce around 10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions – that’s more than planes. With labour supply across the global supply chain exceeding demand, fashion [...]
The retail behemoths of the future will be the ones crafting a seamless online platform April 3, 2021 A casual observer of the much publicised takeovers of high street behemoths like Debenhams by online retailers such as Boohoo would be tempted to conclude that having an online presence is the swiftest hack for a brand to succeed in the current retail climate. But that is not the case. The UK may have leapfrogged [...]
US jobless claims rise again despite signs of recovery April 1, 2021 New claims for unemployment benefits in the US rose unexpectedly despite the vaccine rollout and a huge fiscal support driving market recovery. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits came in at 719,000, according to the Labor Department. Last week claims fell to 684,000, their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic. While the number [...]
Top of the shops: Asos sales growth set to continue due to lockdown gains April 1, 2021 Asos is set to report a further jump in earnings and sales as continuing lockdown restrictions have kept consumers shopping online. Revenue is expected to jump 22 per cent to around £1.95bn when it updates shareholders on its trading performance for the half year to February. Earnings are also expected to surge 135 per cent [...]
Global online tax on tech giants ‘in our grasp’, says Rishi Sunak March 23, 2021 Rishi Sunak has today said a global online tax on internet giants like Amazon and Facebook is “in our grasp”. Sunak said he was “very keen to see a resolution” on the issue, with the chancellor making it one of his top three priorities in G7 meetings this year that are hosted by the UK. [...]