Vesa, for its part, has made some platitudes about how Sainsbury’s “strong brand” and well-located stores in the more prosperous south-east make it “an attractive long-term investment opportunity”. But it seems unlikely that the tycoon is happy to remain a passive shareholder, and he continues to play his cards close …
Read More »Post Office value slashed to zero after postmasters scandal
The Government has written down the value of the Post Office to zero after the state-owned chain was hit by the postmasters scandal. In its annual report, the Department for Business said the value of its holding in Post Office Ltd had plummeted from £145m to “nil” in the year …
Read More »Czech billionaire swoops on Sainsbury’s
A billionaire investor known as the “Czech sphinx” has launched a raid on Sainsbury’s – sparking speculation that Britain’s second-biggest supermarket could be targeted in a deal to take it private. Daniel Kretinsky’s firm Vesa Equity Investments has increased its stake in the grocer to almost 10pc by buying shares …
Read More »Royal Mail ‘prioritising parcels over Christmas cards’
A second worker at a separate office in London said that after 36 years of postal work, 2020 had been “the worst so far”. “It’s not in their interest to make sure people get their birthday cards, Christmas cards, and hospital appointments compared to tracked items,” he said. “But these …
Read More »Covid-struck Christmas delivers test of strength for UK logistics as Brexit looms
Boss Lyndon Davies says: “We were bringing in Batman vs Joker’s Scalextric sets to arrive in the UK in late November for sale in January. It went up and down the streets of Dover and then it went to Rotterdam, finally arriving last week.” According to Fraser Robinson, a former …
Read More »End of the Christmas jumper as pyjamas become the must-have Yuletide essential
“You think when you are walking around London at Christmas in normal times, you always see colleagues off out in their Christmas jumpers.” He said: “A lot of people are planning smaller Christmas celebrations with just very close family so they are buying pyjamas.” The site has seen sales of …
Read More »Ocado depot plan in London derailed by locals’ intervention
Ocado has lost the right to open a new depot in north London after the local council ruled that a planning application was misleading. The news emerged after Labour councillors in the area welcomed the move by the authorities in Islington. The decision could be a major setback for Ocado’s …
Read More »The government can still save Christmas
Shops take on temporary workers to cope with the rush, delivery companies are working overtime, Royal Mail finally has something other than junk to put through the letterbox (more than 1bn Christmas cards are bought into the UK every year), pantos are booked out at the theatre, and the restaurants …
Read More »Industry chiefs must learn from Intu’s calamity
Perhaps that explains why management struggled to face up to the severity of the crisis. An emergency rights issue came too late and secondary sites were sold off in dribs and drabs, when there should have been a giant “for sale” sign over every asset it owned Sure, the covenant …
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