Sainsbury’s bats away criticism of new chairman Martin Scicluna July 11, 2018 Sainsbury’s yesterday defended its new chairman after he received criticsm from an investor concerned with his involvement in a botched merger when he worked for Lloyds bank. The supermarket yesterday said insurer RSA’s chairman Martin Scicluna would become non-executive chair in March 2019. Scicluna worked for Lloyds Banking Group when it bought struggling HBOS in [...]
Pressure grows on Premier Foods boss as activist investor builds stake July 10, 2018 The pressure on under-fire Premier Foods chief executive officer (CEO) Gavin Darby has increased today after activist investor Oasis Investment upped its stake in the company. Hong Hong-based Oasis has been vocal in its opposition to Darby who it accuses of “shareholder value destruction”. Read more: Paulson triples stake in Premier Foods as AGM showdown [...]
Tesco UK boss Charles Wilson steps down as chief executive after cancer treatment July 10, 2018 Tesco has announced its UK boss Charles Wilson will step down from his role as chief executive following treatment for cancer. He will remain on the executive committee. Shares slipped 1.6 per cent in early trading on the news. Jason Tarry, currently group chief product officer, will now become chief executive of the supermarket giant's [...]
Poundland founder in talks to salvage Poundworld July 9, 2018 Poundland founder Steve Smith is in talks with Deloitte over a bid for rival Poundworld, as the chain's own founder confirms he is out of the running. Smith, who sold Poundland to Advent International in 2002, is in the early stages of talks with administrators Deloitte about a possible rescue deal. Poundworld founder Chris Edwards [...]
Another London craft brewer sold as Lion gobbles up Fourpure July 9, 2018 London craft brewer Fourpure has been bought out by Australian beer giant Lion for an undisclosed sum. The Aussie company has taken full ownership of the Bermondsey-based brewery, but both founders have said they will remain involved with the business. Brothers Dan and Tom Lowe started the business in 2013. It has since expanded, earlier [...]
Amazon tops UK customer satisfaction rankings as Iceland becomes the UK’s top supermarket for the first time July 5, 2018 Amazon has been named the top company in the UK for customer satisfaction for the sixth consecutive year, while Iceland scored the number one spot in food retail for the first time. Amazon scored 86.7 out of a potential 100 points, followed closely by John Lewis which scored 86.5. Yorkshire Bank took joint third in [...]
Superdry’s share price skyrockets after announcing a second special dividend off the back of a bumper year July 5, 2018 British fashion retailer Superdry has announced its second special dividend in two years, after delivering double digit growth in sales and profits in its full year results. The group is issuing a full year ordinary dividend of 31.2p per share at an increase of 11.4 per cent, coupled with a special dividend of 25p per [...]
Mastercard and Visa lose battle with supermarkets over debit and credit card charges July 4, 2018 Mastercard and Visa have lost the latest round of an ongoing legal battle with a conglomerate of supermarkets after a court found their card charges were too high and had breached competition rules. The two credit card giants had been accused by a number of retailers of charging overly high fees – known as interchange [...]
Tesco has formed a strategic alliance with French supermarket chain Carrefour to enhance competition July 2, 2018 Tesco and Carrefour are teaming up to beat the competition, in a strategic alliance announced this morning. A joint statement issued by the companies say the alliance will cover their relationships with global suppliers, its joint purchasing of all own-brand products, and any goods not for resale. The deal should force prices for own-brand products [...]
Asda has been forced to ration its fizzy drinks amid an ongoing UK-wide carbon dioxide shortage June 30, 2018 Supermarket chain Asda is limiting the amount of fizzy drinks its customers can buy, as the UK's carbon dioxide shortage worsens to near-crisis levels. The retailer has put a six-drink cap on shoppers buying bottles, cans or multipacks of fizzy drinks online, although the limit does not apply in-store. This includes all own-brand drinks, as [...]
