Andy Burnham slammed for Manchester tourist tax plans February 21, 2025 Andy Burnham has been slammed by the chief executive of UKHospitality after backing plans for a new tourist tax to be introduced in Manchester. The mayor of Greater Manchester said earlier this week that tourists visiting the city region should pay a “proper” mandatory “tourist levy”. He added that he wanted to see Manchester city [...]
Drayton Manor: Profit continues to slide as wet summer hits theme park February 21, 2025 Profit at Drayton Manor has fallen for a fourth year in a row since the theme park was rescued out of administration as wet weather continued to suppress sales. The Staffordshire-based attraction has reported a pre-tax profit of £1.2m for the year to 30 September, 2024, down from the £2m it posted for the prior [...]
Checkatrade CEO: ‘My plan to get Britain growing again’ February 20, 2025 The chief executive of Checkatrade has revealed what he would like the government to change in order to boost British businesses and get the country growing again. Speaking during an up-coming episode of City AM’s Boardroom Uncovered interview series, Jambu Palaniappan argued Labour should reform the rules around planning permission to made it easier for [...]
Vitality: Health and life insurer slips into the red despite £100m sales boost February 19, 2025 Health and life insurer Vitality slipped into the red despite its revenue surging by almost £100m during its latest financial year, it has been revealed. The London-headquartered group has posted a loss before income tax of £168,000 for the 12 months to 30 June, 2024, after having achieved a profit of £37.9m in the prior [...]
Very Group returns to half-year profit despite sales decline February 19, 2025 Very Group returned to making a half-year profit during the final six months of 2024 despite a fall in sales. The Merseyside-headquartered business, which includes Littlewoods, has reported a pre-tax profit of £6.1m for the period to 28 December 2024. The profit comes after Very Group fell to a pre-tax loss of £2m during the [...]
Arla Foods: Lurpak maker eyes cuts as it battles rising prices February 19, 2025 Arla Foods, the dairy giant behind the likes of Lurpak and Cravendale, has warned it is looking to make cuts of up to €110m (£91.1m) in 2025 as it battles rising prices and consumer uncertainty. The Danish-Swedish multinational co-operative, which has a large presence in the UK, added it expects to report a revenue of [...]
Astrazeneca: ‘We’re too big to base our CEO’s pay on FTSE 100 peers’ February 18, 2025 Astrazeneca is too big and complex to base its chief executive’s pay packet on the rest of the FTSE index, according to the chair of its remuneration committee. Writing in the pharmaceutical giant’s annual report, chair Sheri McCoy said “UK-listed FTSE companies are not the right peer group for us to use” given the group’s [...]
Vitality: ‘Why your health and life insurance premium won’t go down’ February 18, 2025 In this episode of Boardroom Uncovered, Neville Koopowitz, the chief executive of health and life insurance giant Vitality.
Club L London almost triples in size as it targets international expansion February 18, 2025 Fashion retailer Club L London is targeting international expansion after almost tripling its sales and headcount over a two-year period. The Manchester-headquartered company achieved a turnover of £44.4m for the 14 months to 31 March, 2024, newly-filed accounts with Companies House have revealed. The latest sales figure comes after Club L London’s turnover stood at [...]
Ann Summers slips further into the red as sales dip February 18, 2025 Ann Summers slipped further into the red as it battled “significant external pressures” including the cost-of-living crisis, rising inflation and Google’s safe search restrictions. The retailer fell to a pre-tax loss of £13.1m for the year to 29 June, 2024, after it also made a loss of £3.8m in the prior 12 months. Newly-filed accounts [...]
