Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes to cost Timpson £12m extra a year May 16, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget tax hikes are set to cost the business empire of fellow government minister Lord James Timpson £12m extra a year, it has been revealed. The Manchester-headquartered group said the increases in employer’s National Insurance contributions and the National Living Wage will eat into its earnings in the years to come. [...]
Holland & Barrett: Huge losses continue despite sales surge May 15, 2025 Holland & Barrett has suffered another year of losses despite its sales continuing to climb. The Nuneaton-headquartered health foods store chain has reported a pre-tax loss of £61.8m for the 12 months to the end of September 2024. The latest total comes after the retailer also lost £65.3m in the prior 12 months and £59.6m [...]
City veteran Lord Rose ‘horrified’ by slow growth under Labour May 15, 2025 Former M&S boss and current Asda co-chief executive Stuart Rose has hit out at Labour’s lack of strategy aimed at boosting the economy, claiming he has been “horrified” by the UK’s lacklustre performance despite Chancellor Reeves’ pledges to deliver growth at a “faster” pace. Reeves said her £40bn tax raid at last year’s autumn budget [...]
Dior latest retailer to be targeted by cyber attack May 15, 2025 French luxury house Dior has confirmed a cyber attack resulting in a data breach that compromised personal customer information, primarily in China, as cyber security threats continue to plague the retail sector. The company said the breach was discovered on 7 May and involved ‘unauthorised access’ to a customer database. While no financial or banking [...]
B&M appoints ex-Tesco executive as new CEO May 15, 2025 Household goods retailer B&M has appointed ex-Tesco executive Tjeerd Jegen as its new CEO. Jegen will succeed Alex Russo, who joined the company in 2020 and was promoted to the top job in 2022. Group CFO Mike Schmidt will continue to lead the business until 16 June. Liverpool-headquartered B&M announced Russo’s departure in February this [...]
Premier Foods: Mr Kipling maker ups dividend on strong growth May 15, 2025 Revenue at Premier Foods jumped last year, driven by growth in branded goods and international sales. The Mr Kipling owner told markets this morning that adjusted profit before tax rose 8.8 per cent to £169.3m in the year ended March 29. Profit after tax rose 11 per cent, with basic earnings per share up 10 [...]
Burberry ‘optimal opportunity for investors’ as turnaround gains steam May 15, 2025 Analysts have labelled Burberry’s share ‘undervalued’ as the brand’s plan to turn its back on a rocky year gains steam. The FTSE 250 firm reported a major improvement in half-yearly sales on May 14 – although it wasn’t quite enough to stop the company falling into an operating loss for the financial year. Sales fell [...]
How Steven Bartlett’s first Dragons’ Den investment collapsed May 14, 2025 The full story of how the first company that Steven Bartlett invested in when he joined hit BBC One show Dragons’ Den collapsed and was rescued has been revealed for the first time. Morning Wire reported in March that artisan cheese retailer Cheesegeek had been acquired by Scotland-based Albex Group for what was then described [...]
M&S to make £100m cyber claim from Allianz and Beazley May 14, 2025 Marks and Spencer is preparing to claim as much as £100m from its cyber insurance policy, following a major cyber attack that disrupted operations and led to the theft of some customer data. The UK retailer admitted for the first time on Tuesday that personal information, including customer contact details, dates of birth, and online [...]
Co-op: All forms of payment now working after cyber attack May 14, 2025 The Co-op has told its customers that all forms of payments are now working at its stores and online while stock levels should improve by this weekend. The Manchester-headquartered group, which operates almost 2,400 stores around the UK, said it is in “the recovery phase” after suffering a significant cyber attack which caused two weeks [...]