Pilgrim’s Food Masters starts trading after completing £703m Kerry acquisition September 28, 2021 Pilgrim’s Food Masters, which was created following the £703m acquisition of Kerry Group plc’s Consumer Foods’ Meats and Meals in June, has started trading. Kerry Group agreed to sell its Meats and Meals business in the UK and Ireland, which manufactures food-to-go and meat-free products, to American corporate Pilgrim’s Pride for €819m. Pilgrim’s Food [...]
ASOS brings 180 jobs to Northern Ireland as it launches tech hub in Belfast September 28, 2021 Northern Ireland’s Economy Minister Gordon Lyons this morning announced that online fashion retailer ASOS will invest £14m in a new Tech Hub in Belfast which will create 184 new jobs over the next three years. The new Belfast hub will be operational in early 2022, with 52 dedicated roles in the first year, growing to [...]
Linen firm Julian Charles changes course after appeal to younger consumers September 28, 2021 Bedding retailer Julian Charles has revealed a successful turnaround at break-even position after posting a multi-million pound loss. The linen firm hit an EBITDA break-even point in the six month period ended April 2021, under new ownership by SKG Capital. Appealing to younger customers with new designs had helped the business reverse its fortunes, it [...]
End of furlough: ‘Time for the UK economy to put its big girl pants on’ September 27, 2021 This week, the government’s £70bn furlough support scheme comes to an end. The end of the Job Retention Scheme, or furlough, will force organisations to make decisions regarding the future of furloughed employees. City PM sought the views of a number of small business owners about whether now is the correct time to remove the [...]
EG Group’s billionaire Issa brothers snap up 52 KFC sites September 27, 2021 Petrol stations giant EG Group has snapped up over 50 KFC sites across the south of the UK for a not-yet-disclosed sum. It follows the Issa brother’s acquisition of Asda for £6.8bn last year with private equity group TDR Capital. The 52-KFC-site deal, with former owner of the sites Amsric Group, involves around 1,600 employees, [...]
Jerry can sales surge at Halfords as fuel panic buying grips the UK September 27, 2021 Jerry can sales surged an eyewatering 1,656 per cent at Halfords this weekend, as panic buying gripped the UK when news of a fuel shortage hit the streets. With a trickling supply of HGV drivers in the country, fuel forecourts have been reporting a reduced supply of petrol and diesel, which has led to cars [...]
London is back: Footfall boost as Brits return to city centres September 27, 2021 London enjoyed a 6.5 per cent boost in shoppers last week, ahead of national figures for increased footfall. Office workers have returned in droves this month while international tourism to the city is slowly picking too. Retail experts Springboard said footfall across UK retail destinations rose 2.7 per cent last week from the week before. [...]
Boohoo: Long journey to win back investors after worker neglect September 27, 2021 Online fashion retailer Boohoo faces an uphill battle in overcoming its reputation after poor treatment of garment workers. The fast fashion giant has made moves to improve problems in its supply chain in recent months and to make itself more transparent to consumers – but it may not be enough. Analysts said the measures looked [...]
Labour declares tax war on Amazon as plans to support high street are unveiled September 27, 2021 The Labour Party has set out plans to shift the tax burden to online giants like Amazon as the current system is “stacked” against high street firms, Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said this morning. Reeves said she would freeze business rates next year if she was in No 11, while also offering a cut for [...]
Boris Johnson mulls calling in army to deliver fuel as pumps run dry after weekend of panic buying September 27, 2021 Prime Minister Boris Johnson is said to be weighing the option to let soldiers drive fuel trucks as pumps ran dry after a weekend of panic buying. Emergency measures were triggered late last night, with Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng choosing to suspend competition laws for the fuel industry to allow suppliers to target filling stations [...]
