Misery index gives cause for hope September 23, 2024 There is an unmistakable inverse correlation between emiserating factors like unemployment, wages and house prices and consumer confidence, but new analysis suggests things may be looking up, says James Sproule The cost-of-living crisis may be difficult to define or quantify, but it is easy enough to feel – and misery has been felt not just [...]
‘Spoonful of sugar’ to come with Budget medicine, Labour mayor suggests September 21, 2024 A Labour mayor has said he thinks there will be “a spoonful of sugar along with the medicine” in the Budget next month. Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, told the PA news agency he believes economic growth will be delivered “through our combined authorities and through devolution”, but it could be “very [...]
Viking River Cruises: Record UK profit as sales recover to pre-Covid level September 20, 2024 The UK arm of Viking River Cruises has achieved its highest revenue figure since the Covid-19 pandemic while its profit hit a new record. The London-headquartered division has reported a revenue of £119.9m for 2023, up from the £94m it achieved in 2022, according to newly-filed accounts with Companies House. The last time Viking River [...]
Quorn: Meat-free food brand loses more than £60m as supermarket sales slashed September 19, 2024 The company behind meat-free food brand Quorn lost more than £60m during its latest financial year as its sales in UK and US supermarkets continued to decline. The North Yorkshire-headquartered Marlow Foods has posted a pre-tax loss of £63.4m for 2023, having also made a loss of £15.4m in 2022. The last time the Quorn [...]
Fentimans in the red after poor summer weather flattens drinks brand September 19, 2024 Soft drinks and tonic water brand Fentimans fell into the red during its latest financial year after bad summer weather and the cost-of-living crisis impacted its sales. The Northumberland-based business has reported a pre-tax loss of £655,708 for 2023, according to newly-filed accounts with Companies House. The loss comes after Fentimans posted a pre-tax profit [...]
Secret Escapes: Post-pandemic demand helps significantly cut loss September 19, 2024 A surge in post-pandemic demand helped sales at jump by more than £60m at Secret Escapes in a move that helped to significantly cut its pre-tax loss. The London-headquartered group has reported a revenue of £170m for 2023, up from the £108m it posted for 2022. Newly-filed accounts with Companies House have also revealed that [...]
M&C Saatchi: ‘Significant improvement’ in profitability as problems ease September 18, 2024 Ad agency M&C Saatchi said that cost-saving measures had contributed to a much-improved performance in the first half of the year, adding that it was “excited” about the future. The company told markets this morning that revenue grew by six per cent in the six months to 30 June, with 12.9 per cent growth in [...]
The Notebook: Investors pile into ISAs ahead of touted capital gains tax raid September 18, 2024 Investors spooked by the rumoured hike in capital gains tax are piling into ISAs, writes Interactive Investor's Myron Jobson.
Hotel Chocolat names new CEO as expansion effort takes shape following £534m takeover by Mars September 16, 2024 Hotel Chocolat has promoted its UK managing director Lysa Hardy to become its new chief executive in yet another sign of change after a takeover by Mars. Hardy, who was a non-executive at Superdry until July this year, will take over from co-founder and current chief executive, Angus Thirwell, according to a LinkedIn update. Last [...]
Hellofresh: Cuts to UK workforce significantly slashes loss September 13, 2024 The last time the UK arm of Hellofresh made a pre-tax profit was the £8m it reported in 2020. Since then it has lost almost £50m.