Investor Terry Smith ditches Amazon stake over concerns with grocery business July 11, 2023 Top investor Terry Smith has revealed that he ditched his fund’s stake in Amazon due to concerns with the company’s grocery business. In a letter to investors, released yesterday, Smith revealed that the primary catalyst behind Fundsmith’s decision to drop its holding in Amazon last month was due to a “concern over potential capital misallocation”. [...]
H&T shares up: Pawnbroker lending rockets as cash-strapped Brits sell valuables July 11, 2023 Britain’s biggest pawnbroker H&T saw its share price soar this morning, following news that lending grew 22 per cent as punters have been forced to flog off goods to secure extra funds during the cost of living crisis. Ahead of its interim results, which are due to be published in early August, H&T said that [...]
M&S looks to revamp Ocado Retail after chair warns there is ‘work to do’ July 10, 2023 M&S is looking to revamp its joint venture with Ocado as the high street stalwart grows frustrated with the firm’s poor performance, bringing the brands falling profits back to the forefront of investors’ minds. M&S chairman, Archie Norman, told investors at the firm’s AGM last week that there was “work to do” regarding the performance [...]
Coca-Cola HBC fizzes up profit forecast as firm puts Russia exit hit behind it July 7, 2023 Coca-Cola HBC AG, the bottling company for the soft drink giant, upped its profit forecasts for 2023 on the back of a “very strong” June performance this morning, prompting shares to jump nearly 5 per cent. The Switzerland-based firm said that it now expects pre-tax earnings growth of between 9-12 per cent for 2023, up [...]
Retailers struggle to rack in sales in June as shoppers continue to scale back July 7, 2023 Retailers continued to show signs of struggling in June, new figures show, as sales growth remained well below inflation due to customers scaling back their shopping habits due to the cost of living crisis. Total like-for-like sales in June grew 1.9 per cent from last year’s base of 8.4 per cent, according to figures from [...]
We are not rip-off retailers, says Sainsbury’s July 6, 2023 Bosses at Sainsbury’s have said they are “not rip-off retailer” or “profiteers” as they defended the profit made by the retailer amid scrutiny related to food inflation over the past year. The company also defended increased pay packages for its senior executives at its annual general meeting in London, despite the continued cost-of-living crisis. It [...]
Square Mile booming as return to office and pub ramps up footfall July 6, 2023 The near one thousand pubs and businesses across London’s Square Mile have been boosted by an uptick in footfall across the region in recent months, as punters return to the office and enjoy after work drinks. Tuesday to Thursday footfall, the most popular days in which workers travel in the office, is back to over 80 [...]
Young’s: Pub chain shrugs off inflation as London acquisitions spur revenue bump July 6, 2023 Young & Co’s Brewery provided a cheery update to investors this morning as the pub operator revealed a 8.3 per cent lift in revenues in the first thirteen weeks of the year. The 220-strong pub chain said it was boosted by a string of acquisitions it made last year in London and the wider UK, [...]
Currys: £60m wiped off market cap as share price tanks 12 per cent after retailer pulls dividend July 6, 2023 Around £60m has been wiped off Currys’ market cap this morning as its share price tanked over 12 per cent, following the retailer pulling its dividend in wake of poor results. Currys revealed that it would not be paying its final dividend to shareholders following poor performance, as its Nordic arm weighed down revenue. The retailer [...]
Commons Committee demands answer from Asda over ‘unclear’ fire and hire evidence July 5, 2023 The Business and Trade Committee is demanding Asda provide more evidence over it’s “unclear” fire-and-rehire strategy, after some 7,000 workers were threatened with the practice back in May. Chair of the committee, Darren Jones, is hauling the ‘Big Four’ grocer back in front of MPs after it said it was “concerned about apparent discrepancies” between [...]