WH Smith swings back to profit as retailer eyes global expansion November 10, 2022 WH Smith is back in the black after footfall to airports and railway stations returned this year, following the opening up of society post-Covid. The high street staple posted group profit before tax of £63m for the year to the end of August, compared to a loss of £116m it booked the year previously. WH [...]
Next snaps up collapsed Made.com in £3.4m swoop November 9, 2022 NEXT snapped up the brand, domain names and intellectual property of Made.com for £3.4m in a prepack administration this morning, just 18 months after it made its £775m London debut. In a statement this morning, Made.com confirmed it had appointed administrators PwC to sell off its other assets and pay off its debts. Former chief [...]
City workers surprised by golden state coach in pre-dawn rehearsal for Lord Mayor’s Show November 9, 2022 City workers getting to the Square Mile in the early hours of this morning were surprised by a golden State coach during a rehearsal for the Lord Mayor’s show this weekend. The Lord Mayor’s golden coach made its way through the dimly-lit streets of Canada pulled by six horses, and followed by [...]
Brits told they should brace themselves for even higher food and drink prices November 9, 2022 Food and drink prices are expected to climb even higher than previously expected – with meat, fruit, vegetables, dairy and bread seeing the biggest increases, a new forecast has suggested. The rate of food price inflation will reach a peak year-on-year of between 17 per cent and 19 per cent in early 2023, the Institute [...]
Top dog at BrewDog to replace Simon Longbottom as boss of Stonegate November 9, 2022 One of BrewDog’s top bosses is leaving the brewer to head one of the country’s largest pub chains, Stonegate. David McDowall, BrewDog’s president and chief operating officer, is to take up the reins at the Slug & Lettuce chain, it was first reported by Sky News. Stonegate, which operates 4,500 pubs across the country, confirmed [...]
JD Wetherspoon sales lift as budget chain ‘one of few winners’ amid economic crunch November 9, 2022 JD Wetherspoon posted buoyant sales for the first quarter, although it said demand had softened slightly in October. Shares dropped by as much as eight per cent, after the company admitted October trading had been slightly slower than expected. Like-for-like sales were 9.6 per cent higher than the same period last year, with the pub [...]
Marks & Spencer profit dented as Ocado joint venture books £0.7m loss November 9, 2022 Marks & Spencer’s half-year profit slid on Wednesday after it said its joint venture with online grocer Ocado had suffered a £700,000 loss. In half-year results to 1 October, M&S said its group profit before tax was £205.5m, versus a £269.4m sum the previous year. Bosses pointed to a lack of business rates relief compared [...]
BrewDog signed beer distribution deal in Qatar despite ‘anti-sponsorship’ campaign November 8, 2022 BrewDog has signed a deal with an alcohol distributor operating in Qatar, despite launching an ‘anti-sponsorship’ campaign this week protesting human rights in the country ahead of the World Cup. The firm’s beers are distributed in the country by the Qatar Distribution Company – a state-owned subdsidiary of Qatar Airways – which is the only [...]
Barry’s: Office return to City comes ‘hand in hand’ with thriving fitness industry November 8, 2022 The return of office workers and recovery of the fitness sector come “hand in hand”, according to Barry’s Bootcamp London co-founder Sandy Macaskill. Gym-goers’ routines were set off course during the pandemic with “stop-start” closures hitting the fitness industry hard over the past three years. For the head of Barry’s, which has seven studios in London [...]
Restaurants ‘entering winter in freefall’ as insolvencies leap by almost half November 8, 2022 There has been a tsunami of restaurants entering liquidation in the quarter to September, causing hospitality leaders to renew cries for government support this winter. According to recent numbers from the Insolvency Service, the number of food venues facing insolvency sky-rocketed 46 per cent in the most recent quarter. Some 158 businesses went into liquidation [...]