Commercial news round-up: Sports Direct, Premier Foods, HS2, inflation, pensions
updated on 20 July 2017
This week’s selection of headline-grabbing business news runs the spectrum from large-scale infrastructure projects to tumbling profits at household brand names and on to pension rule changes. For more detail, read on:
- Profits at Sports Direct have plummeted by 60%, despite controversial owner Mike Ashley stating that the chain is the “Selfridges of sport” – a bold claim if ever we’ve heard one. The fall is being blamed by the retailer on the weakened pound.
- As consumers continue to favour cheaper, own-brand products, Premier Foods – maker of Mr Kipling, Ambrosia and many other household brands – takes a hit, reporting an 8% dip in first-quarter sales.
- The government has awarded £6.6 billion in contracts related to the development of the controversial HS2, the high-speed train line that will connect London and Birmingham. With construction due to start next year, the project is set to create 16,000 jobs in civil engineering alone.
- In a surprise development, UK inflation slowed in June, to a rate of 2.6%, down from 2.9% in May. Analysts are blaming it on lower petrol and diesel prices.
- A new state pension age of 68 will be phased in between 2037 and 2039, several years earlier than planned.
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