All articles by Alec Mattinson – Page 101
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NewsMedia Bites 6 March: John Lewis/Waitrose, Domino’s Pizza, Coronavirus
Partners at John Lewis will receive their lowest annual bonus since 1953 as new chair Sharon White embarks on an overhaul likely to result in store closures.
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NewsCharlie Bigham’s propelled back into the black with sales boost
Upmarket ready meals supplier Charlie Bigham’s has rebounded back into the black, driven by stellar sales growth that continues to defy the wider slump in the ready meals market.
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NewsCity snapshot: John Lewis profits drop 23% amid writedowns and bonus cut
The John Lewis Partnership has reported a 23% plunge in underlying pre-tax profits while taking a writedown of over £100m on its John Lewis store estate and cutting its staff bonus to 2%. Plus, updates from Domino’s Pizza, Total Produce, Origin Enterprises, PureCircle and all the rest of the latest news from the City.
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NewsMedia Bites 5 March: Tesco, John Lewis/Waitrose, Intu
Tesco is to price-match Aldi on hundreds of branded and own-label goods in a sign of growing confidence in its ability to win back customers from the German-owned discounters.
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NewsCity snapshot: DS Smith delivers ‘robust’ Christmas performance
FTSE 100 packaging giant DS Smith said it had delivered robust performance since 1 November despite macro-economic uncertainty. Plus, Devro falls to loss amid factory writedowns and all the latest news from the City.
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NewsMedia Bites 4 March: Greggs, Grocery market share, Reckitt Benckiser
The popularity of vegan sausage rolls has resulted in record profits for Greggs, but the bakery chain said yesterday that stormy weather had depressed sales last month as it raised concerns about the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
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NewsGreggs hails ‘exceptional’ year but New Year sales slow
Greggs has posted a jump in annual sales and profits following an ‘exceptional’ year for the food to go chain, but admitted it has seen a ‘significant’ slowdown in sales in February due to stormy weather.
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NewsCity snapshot: Supermarkets enjoy green shoots of recovery in February
UK supermarkets saw the ‘green shoots’ of recovery in February, with small but positive growth in as total till sales improve to 0.7% in the last four weeks, according to Nielsen, and the strongest growth since November in the Kantar figures.
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NewsMedia Bites 3 March: Coronavirus, Tesco, Just Eat Takeaway.com
British supermarkets have drawn up “feed the nation” contingency plans that would help the country cope with any panic-buying brought on by a sudden escalation of the coronavirus outbreak.
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NewsMarket crash creates 'buying opportunity' for UK supermarket stocks
Heavy share price falls across global stock markets have created a buying opportunity for undervalued UK supermarket stocks, according to broker Bernstein.
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NewsCity Snapshot: Just Eat Takeaway.com takes action against Delivery Hero
Just Eat Takeaway.com is taking action against German rival Delivery Hero, accusing it of breaking a standstill agreement by announcing plans to increase its stake in the newly merged UK-listed firm.
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NewsMedia Bites 2 March: Asda, John Lewis/Waitrose, British Honey Co
Private equity bidders and the brothers behind EG Group are vying to take a majority stake in Asda.
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NewsUK food & drink M&A aided by ‘distressed’ deals at end of year
Grant Thornton’s review of the 2019 food and beverage M&A market found the year concluded with 215 transactions involving
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NewsCity snapshot: ‘Distressed’ deals boost fourth quarter food and drink M&A numbers
UK food and drink deal volumes edged upwards in 2019, though the final quarter was aided by a high number of ‘distressed’ M&A deals as tough macro-economic conditions continue to constrain dealmaking in the sector. Plus, Beyond Meat fails to hit market expectations, share prices plunge again and all the rest of the latest news from the City.
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NewsMedia Bites 28 Feb: Reckitt Benckiser, AB InBev, M&S
Reckitt Benckiser has taken a £5bn impairment on the acquisition of baby formula maker Mead Johnson as its new chief executive seeks to draw a line under a period of underperformance.
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NewsWalmart in talks with potential Asda buyers
Walmart has admitted it is in talks with potential buyers for Asda, despite an IPO for the UK supermarket chain remaining an “attractive” option.
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NewsCity snapshot: Walmart/Asda, Diageo, SSP Group
Walmart is in talks with private equity firms about selling a majority stake in Asda, a year after the collapse of its deal to merge the supermarkets chain with Sainsbury’s.
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NewsCity snapshot: Danone cuts 2020 guidance on ‘volatile and uncertain’ outlook
French dairy giant Danone has cut its growth targets for 2020 amid ‘volatile and uncertain’ global economic conditions and the potential impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Plus, Diageo and SSP Group warn of financial hits from COVID-19 outbreak, annual results from McColl’s and Nichols and all the rest of the latest news from the City.
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NewsMedia Bites 26 Feb: Tesco, UK Farming, Amazon
More than 1,800 jobs are set to go in Tesco’s bakeries after a slump in sales of traditional loaves of bread as customers turn to bagels and flatbreads
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NewsCity snapshot: Hotel Chocolat boosted by store openings and global growth
Hotel Chocolat has posted a double-digit rise in first half sales and 7% pre-tax profit growth driven by the opening of new stores, international expansion and growing sales of its Velvetiser hot chocolate system. Plus, Tesco sells its share of China joint venture and all the rest of the latest news from the City.