Skip Header
Important information: The value of investments can go down as well as up so you may get back less than you invest. Investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. This is a third-party news feed and may not reflect Fidelity’s views.

Wednesday newspaper round-up: Waitrose, McDonald's, Crown Agents

(Sharecast News) - Waitrose is planning to open 100 convenience stores over the next five years as part of a £1bn-plus investment in new outlets and shop refurbishments. The upmarket grocery chain is planning to unveil a revamped outlet in Finchley Road, north London, on Wednesday. This will kick off a new phase of expansion with its first new store in six years in Hampton Hill, west London, by the end of this year. - Guardian Two former bosses of the collapsed department store chain BHS have been ordered to pay £110m to creditors in relation to breaching their corporate duties. The ruling against Dominic Chappell, the former chief executive of BHS whose Retail Acquisitions team bought the chain for £1 from Philip Green in 2015, and his former colleague Lennart Henningson comes eight years after the retailer collapsed into administration owing creditors, including its pension fund, more than £1bn. - Guardian

Union chiefs who have called three months of rail strikes on London North Eastern Railway (LNER) are lobbying to have Royal Mail train drivers they also represent hired on the East Coast main line. Train drivers' union Aslef said LNER could make strides toward avoiding industrial action by hiring experienced crews, including those currently being let go by Royal Mail. - Telegraph

McDonald's plans to create 24,000 jobs in the UK and the Republic of Ireland over the next four years as it opens more than 200 restaurants in a sign of faith in the high street. The expansion, its biggest since 2002, is part of a £1 billion investment by the chain and its franchisees, which already have 1,435 outlets in the UK employing 171,415 people. Four fifths of its restaurants are owned and operated by franchisees. - The Times

The 191-year-old Crown Agents survived existential crises, including the demise of the British empire and one of the biggest financial scandals of the 1970s, but cuts in government funding and the strains of a pension liability mean that it will not reach its 200th anniversary. The not-for-profit organisation, founded in 1833 to conduct financial transactions with British colonies, was placed into liquidation this month. Directors of Crown Agents, which had become an international development agency, filed a winding-up petition after concluding that they would not be able to attract the funding required to keep it trading. Its 150 staff have been made redundant. - The Times

Share this article

Related Sharecast Articles

Thursday newspaper round-up: CMA, Riverford, Lloyds, Arm Holdings
(Sharecast News) - The appointment of the former boss of Amazon UK to lead the competition watchdog poses a threat to its independence and pledge to hold big tech to account, according to a group including tech companies and the former business secretary Vince Cable. The group - which includes the News Media Association, the Firefox developer Mozilla, the consumer group Which? and the Future of Technology Institute - has written to the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to raise concerns about the appointment of Doug Gurr as the interim chair of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). - Guardian
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Thames Water, Johnson & Johnson, BoE
(Sharecast News) - Thames Water may need as much as £10bn in debt and equity investment to repair its finances, according to a representative of creditors hoping to lend the struggling utility another £3bn. London's high court heard evidence on Tuesday that suggested the UK's largest water company may need significantly more resources than the roughly £6.3bn it has previously indicated. - Guardian
Monday newspaper round-up: Zero-hours contracts, Barclays, Asos
(Sharecast News) - Hundreds of thousands of British workers are on zero-hours contracts despite being with the same employer for years, according to analysis from the TUC. The majority of zero-hours contract workers have been with their employer for more than 12 months, while one in eight have not been granted regular employment rights after more than a decade working in the same place, the organisation said. - Guardian
Friday newspaper round-up: Apple, Daily Mail, OpenAI, Homebase
(Sharecast News) - Apple slightly beat analysts' expectations in its first-quarter earnings for fiscal year 2025 on Thursday. The iPhone-maker's revenue rose by 4%, coming in at $124.30bn, barely above estimates of $124.12bn. Earnings per share were $2.40, just ahead of analysts' expectations of $2.35. Shares rose more than 8% in extended trading after CEO Tim Cook indicated in an earnings call on Thursday that Apple is on the trajectory for revenue growth next quarter. - Guardian

Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

Award-winning online share dealing

Search, compare and select from thousands of shares.

Expert insights into investing your money

Our team of experts explore the world of share dealing.