Tesco Mobile breaches £600m debt facility after reporting failure Telecoms The UK’s biggest virtual mobile network operator has breached the terms of its debt facility after a reporting shortfall, Morning Wire can reveal. Tesco Mobile, which has more than 5m customers and is owned by Virgin Media O2 and Tesco, identified a breach in covenants in the funding agreement it has with the Royal Bank [...]
Tesco ‘in talks’ to exit eastern Europe Retail Tesco is reportedly considering cutting loose its business in central and eastern Europe in a move to end its expansion outside of the UK and Ireland. The supermarket giant has hired bankers to explore the possibility of a sale of its operations in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, according to the Financial Times. A [...]
JD Sports becomes latest blue-chip to trade on New York market Retail JD Sports has become the latest blue-chip firm to trade its shares onto a New York market in an attempt to boost its appeal to American investors without having to shift its listing to the US. On Wednesday, the retail giant will begin trading on OTC Markets’ over-the-counter market in America, Morning Wire can reveal, [...]
Tesco fuel sales drag up slowing growth June 18, 2026 Tesco has revealed a nearly 20 per cent boost in fuel sales as the Iran war sends petrol prices soaring, dragging up otherwise slowing revenue. The FTSE 100 supermarket saw fuel sales jump by 19.5 per cent to £1.7bn in the three months to May, while total sales growth slowed to one per cent to [...]
As it happened: Stocks sink after Fed and Bank of England opt for hawkish hold; Oil price tumbles June 18, 2026 Welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Interest rates were left unchanged at 3.75 per cent in Bank of England’s monetary policy committee meeting today as rate-setters wait to find out whether the Iran war peace deal holds up. The Bank’s decision followed Thursday’s inflation data, which stayed below undershot expectations after coming at 2.8 [...]
More than 80 retail bosses urge Starmer to tackle youth unemployment crisis June 10, 2026 More than 80 retail bosses have called on the Prime Minister to set out urgent measures to tackle youth unemployment, warning that the “ladder of opportunity for young people is wobbling”. The chiefs of leading retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and John Lewis have called on Sir Keir Starmer to safeguard the position of retail as [...]
The Capitalist: Claridge’s launches the ‘Mayfair Meal Deal’ May 28, 2026 Claridge's moves in on Tesco, things get heated at the ideas festival, and workers hide in the loo; catch up on the latest shenanigans.
Tesco deal helps Esquires Coffee owner to surge in sales as it eyes 300 stores May 28, 2026 A fresh deal with Tesco helped the owner of the Esquires Coffee chain to a jump in turnover. Cooks Coffee Company, which is listed on Aquis, posted UK and Ireland store sales of £43.1m for the year to end March, a surge of 22.8 per cent. Pre-tax earnings rose 6.8 per cent to £529,000, while [...]
Lidl leapfrogs Morrisons to become UK’s fifth-biggest supermarket May 27, 2026 Lidl has soared past struggling Morrisons to become the UK’s fifth-biggest supermarket, as its heavy discounting gave the grocer an edge in the fiercely competitive market. The German grocer snatched an 8.6 per cent market share, powered by an 8.8 per cent uplift in sales across the last 12 weeks, according to data by Worldpanel. [...]
Huge change to Tesco meal deal as Corona and Heineken added May 20, 2026 It needn’t be a can of Coke next time you pop to the supermarket for a cheap lunch – Corona and Heineken have been added as drinks included in the Tesco meal deal. Granted, they’re the zero-alcohol versions, but still, it feels like a hedonistic lunchtime treat. Independent London brewer Lucky Saint is the third [...]