JD Sports defends Footasylum boss car park meeting as CMA investigates November 8, 2021 JD Sports has defended reports that its executive chairman met with Footasylum boss amid an ongoing competition watchdog review. The footwear giant’s executive chairman Peter Cowgill met with Footasylum chief Barry Bown, in a car park near Bury in Greater Manchester, this summer, in footage seen by the Sunday Times. JD Sports said in a [...]
Pay and conditions row at Weetabix heats up as workers start four-day strike November 8, 2021 From this morning, hundreds of workers at two Weetabix factories will launch four-day strikes in a dispute over pay and conditions. Members of Unite at the cereal firm’s Kettering and Corby factories have been on strike every Tuesday and Wednesday since September. The union claims engineers face cuts to their pay, terms and conditions, describing [...]
Supermarket fridge doors could save 1 per cent UK electricity use November 7, 2021 Putting doors on fridges in the top five supermarkets in the UK could cut the nation’s total electricity usage by 1 per cent, according to reports. The Environmental Investigation Agency, an international NGO, said supermarkets could save up to a third on their own electricity bills too, according to the BBC which first reported the [...]
Soaring travel agent insolvencies just ‘the tip of the iceberg’ November 7, 2021 Insolvencies of UK travel agents and tour operators have leaped in the last year. Audit and tax firm Mazars said insolvencies jumped 17 per cent from 59 to 69. In July, sector insolvencies rose from one to nine. Experts have pointed to the end of furlough as something that could place additional pressure on the [...]
John Lewis scraps land sell-off after villagers’ displeasure November 7, 2021 John Lewis has been forced to ditch plans to sell off land for homes after Hampshire residents rebelled against the plans. The department store retailer had planned to sell off land for 12 new homes in Longstock, near Andover. However, it ditched the plans, citing “a significant level of opposition to the scheme,” to the [...]
Shoppers are flocking back to UK high streets faster than EU rivals, footfall data shows November 5, 2021 UK retail destinations have reported footfall recovering to near-pre-Covid levels faster than those in major EU economies. Total UK footfall was down 13.7 per cent in October compared to 2019, the pre-Covid comparative. There was a 3.2 percentage point improvement from September. This was ahead of Spain (-19.8 per cent), Germany (-26.1 per cent), Italy [...]
Criminal gangs stole £350m from Covid support schemes November 5, 2021 Fraudsters taking from Covid support schemes have cost the taxpayer almost £5bn, new analysis has revealed. Organised crime gangs took £350m from schemes including the furlough Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, and the subsidised meals initiative Eat Out to Help Out. A remaining £4.6bn was taken opportunistic fraudsters, according to figures [...]
Fulham Shore shares rise as pizza chain plots Greek expansion November 4, 2021 Franco Manca’s owner saw shares jump after it declared the pizza chain was eying Greece in its expansion plans. Fulham Shore’s share price shot up more than seven per cent on Thursday morning, following an update from the group. Franco Manca will launch in Greece with a local franchisee planning to open at least six [...]
Ten entertainment expects to return to profit after record half-term November 4, 2021 Family entertainment provider Ten Entertainment expects to end the year with profits following soaring demand during half-term, and as the group prepares for Christmas. The news, announced by the entertainment group today, marked a turnaround from earlier forecasts of a loss. Although closed for the first 20 weeks of the year due to lockdown restrictions, [...]
Boohoo close to settlement agreement over fraudulent pricing action November 4, 2021 Online fashion retailer Boohoo has said it is close to a settlement agreement over a class action about misleading customers on pricing. A case filed in California alleged that the Manchester based company offered heavy discounts to US customers based on inflated original prices, which allegedly it had never asked customers to pay in the [...]
