Wilkin & Sons: King’s jam maker returns to profit despite Reeves’ tax hikes July 11, 2025 Wilkin & Sons, the historic jams maker which supplies King Charles, has returned to profit despite the “significant strain” Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget put on its finances. The Essex-headquartered business, which is behind the Tiptree brand, said the “continued increased in National Minimum Wage” impacted its bottom line while high energy costs also hit its [...]
Arrests made after M&S, Co-op and Harrods cyber attacks July 10, 2025 Four people, including three teenagers and a 20-year-old woman, have been arrested in connection with a wave of cyber attacks that crippled M&S, the Co-op and Harrods. The group allegedly unleashed ransomware that stole millions of customer records, shut down online orders and left supermarket shelves bare. The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the individuals [...]
Irn-Bru maker buys Hal Robson-Kanu’s drinks business July 10, 2025 The maker of Irn-Bru has acquired The Turmeric Co from its founder, former Wales international Hal Robson-Kanu. AG Barr has taken a majority stake in the London-based business, which was established by the retired football player in 2018, for an undisclosed sum. Robson-Kanu’s company produces turmeric shots which aim to help improve recovery by reusing [...]
CBD brand backed by Vernon Kay and Tess Daly raises millions July 10, 2025 Goodrays, a CBD brand backed by Vernon Kay and Tess Daly, has raised £5m as it eyes future growth. The company has been backed by Guinness Ventures whose portfolio includes BBC Maestro, a celebrity-led e-learning business. The series A funding round also attracted the participation of existing and new institutional investors. The news comes after [...]
Not on the High Street slashes jobs as losses widen July 9, 2025 Not on the High Street has continued to slash jobs in a bid to stem its widening losses amid falling sales. The Bristol-headquartered business cut its headcount in March this year having also shed 70 members of staff in the year to 31 March, 2024. The update has been revealed in newly filed accounts with [...]
Hovis: Losses widen amid Kingsmill merger talks July 9, 2025 Losses have widened at bread maker Hovis amid ongoing merger talks with the owner or rival Kingsmill, it has been revealed. Hovis, which is backed by private equity firm Endless, saw its pre-tax losses go from £3.6m to £4.7m in the year to 28 September, 2024. New accounts filed with Companies House also show its [...]
Hamleys: More loss-making stores closed by iconic toys seller July 9, 2025 Hamleys has closed another raft of loss-making stores as it battles to boost its bottom line. The retailer shuttered 29 shops during its latest financial year, having also closed 40 in the prior 12 months. Hamleys, which also opened 22 new locations in the year, now operates 11 stores in the UK and has 176 [...]
Morrisons taps Google’s Gemini AI to solve the supermarket scavenger hunt July 9, 2025 Morrisons has rolled out a generative AI-powered tool, backed by Google Cloud and Gemini, that helps customers find products in store, part of its ongoing digital revamp and data infrastructure overhaul, City PM can reveal. The feature allows users to type in queries for items, ranging from ‘tahini’ to ‘that tomato puree in a tube’, [...]
M&S chair: UK needs to muscle up to tackle cyber threats July 8, 2025 M&S chair Archie Norman has said the UK is probably underresourced to tackle cyber threats and needs to boost its security level to encourage investment. Speaking to lawmakers on Tuesday, Norman said that the UK is “just not resourced up to operate at [the US] level.” “It’s very advantageous if we in this country have [...]
M&S shares sink lower after failing to recover from cyber attack July 8, 2025 Shares in FTSE 100 giant M&S are now lower than they were at the height of the cyber attack that hit the British icon earlier this year. The retailer’s shares are currently changing hands for 337p, after declining steadily from their 374p price on 16 June. That price was itself a recovery from the low [...]
