Latest news with #Britons'
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Spinners raises £4m to meet demand for 'competitive socialising'
A leisure chain which aims to capitalise on Britons' enthusiasm for 'competitive socialising' has secured a multimillion-pound funding injection to accelerate its growth. Sky News understands that Spinners - which offers games such as bowling, crazy golf, darts and shuffleboard - has struck a deal with investor Gresham House Ventures to provide the new capital. Spinners, which opened its first site in Reading in 2021, now trades from three venues and says it wants to become a UK-wide chain. Money latest: Its expansion plans reflect the growth of experiential leisure activities, with technology-led innovation in crazy golf and shuffleboard fuelling consumer spending at a time when many traditional pub and nightclub operators are experiencing significant financial pressure. Other businesses which have raised capital to fund rapid growth include F1 Arcade, the Formula One simulator chain, and Red Engine, the group behind Electric Shuffle venues. Jamie Bylett, founder and director at Spinners, said the funding would "enable us to accelerate our growth, and we look forward to announcing the location of new Spinners venues over the next few months". Francis Ireland, an associate at Gresham House Ventures, said: "With demand for competitive socialising growing rapidly, Spinners has built a strong base of customers at its existing sites. "We think the business has huge potential for continued expansion as customers seek out activity-based social experiences, so we are excited to be supporting Spinners as it continues to roll out its fantastic venues up and down the country." Gresham House Ventures invests on behalf of the Baronsmead and Mobeus venture capital trusts and is part of Gresham House, the specialist alternative asset management group. The valuation at which it was making its £4m investment was unclear.
Economist
6 days ago
- Health
- Economist
How Labour should save the NHS
Reform UK, the party leading in Britain's polls, has an uninspiring slogan: 'Britain is broken'. The fact that even the populists' bumper sticker carries none of the hope of 'Make America Great Again' says a lot about Britons' mood. Nothing illustrates the malaise more strikingly than the state of their beloved National Health Service (NHS). Hospitals are crumbling, sometimes literally. Waiting lists in England are 7.4m, twice as long as before the covid-19 pandemic. Public satisfaction has collapsed from 70% in 2010 to 21% in 2024. 'Broken' was also how Wes Streeting, Labour's health secretary, described the service on his first day in office last year.
North Wales Chronicle
28-05-2025
- Business
- North Wales Chronicle
Warm weather boosts B&Q's DIY and garden sales
The firm said recent sunshine saw demand rocket across its garden and seasonal ranges, helping UK and Ireland like-for-like sales jump 5.9% higher in the three months to April 30. Sales of seasonal products alone soared by nearly a third (29.8%) across B&Q and were 21.2% higher for Screwfix. Kingfisher said seasonal products accounted for more than a fifth (21%) of all group-wide sales in its first quarter. But it added that some of the strong sales growth was likely to have been 'pulled forward' from second-quarter trading. Kingfisher's update also showed that trading challenges remain across its operations in France, where it trades as Castorama and Brico Depot, as well as Poland, with sales down by 4.9% and 0.4% respectively in reported currencies. Overall, group-wide like-for-like sales lifted 1.8% on a constant currency basis and the group said it remains on track for full-year underlying pre-tax profits of around £480 million to £540 million. Kingfisher chief executive Thierry Garnier said: 'Our UK banners performed particularly well, driven by strong seasonal sales and growth in trade and e-commerce.' But he added a note of caution despite the better-than-expected first-quarter figures. 'It is still early in the year and consumer sentiment remains mixed across our markets,' he said. Kingfisher also confirmed that it does not expect any direct hit from global trade tariff woes, as it has no US sales or operations and sources most of its products in Europe from the same country in which they are sold, while between 20% and 25% of items are also sourced from Asia. 'We therefore expect little direct impact from any potential changes in cross border tariffs, but remain watchful of any broader impact on both inflation and market demand,' it said. Despite the sales rebound, shares in Kingfisher fell 3% in morning trading on Wednesday, having risen strongly in recent weeks. Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at global trading and investing platform IG, said: 'It seems Britons' first impulse on seeing the sun is to start doing some DIY, if Kingfisher's results are any indication. 'Up 16% so far this year, the shares have been a haven from tariff volatility, though the update didn't offer much to extend the rally in the short term.'
Powys County Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Powys County Times
Warm weather boosts B&Q's DIY and garden sales
B&Q owner Kingfisher has seen UK sales bounce back thanks to a warm weather boost for the DIY chain. The firm said recent sunshine saw demand rocket across its garden and seasonal ranges, helping UK and Ireland like-for-like sales jump 5.9% higher in the three months to April 30. Sales of seasonal products alone soared by nearly a third (29.8%) across B&Q and were 21.2% higher for Screwfix. Kingfisher said seasonal products accounted for more than a fifth (21%) of all group-wide sales in its first quarter. But it added that some of the strong sales growth was likely to have been 'pulled forward' from second-quarter trading. Kingfisher's update also showed that trading challenges remain across its operations in France, where it trades as Castorama and Brico Depot, as well as Poland, with sales down by 4.9% and 0.4% respectively in reported currencies. Overall, group-wide like-for-like sales lifted 1.8% on a constant currency basis and the group said it remains on track for full-year underlying pre-tax profits of around £480 million to £540 million. Kingfisher chief executive Thierry Garnier said: 'Our UK banners performed particularly well, driven by strong seasonal sales and growth in trade and e-commerce.' But he added a note of caution despite the better-than-expected first-quarter figures. 'It is still early in the year and consumer sentiment remains mixed across our markets,' he said. Kingfisher also confirmed that it does not expect any direct hit from global trade tariff woes, as it has no US sales or operations and sources most of its products in Europe from the same country in which they are sold, while between 20% and 25% of items are also sourced from Asia. 'We therefore expect little direct impact from any potential changes in cross border tariffs, but remain watchful of any broader impact on both inflation and market demand,' it said. Despite the sales rebound, shares in Kingfisher fell 3% in morning trading on Wednesday, having risen strongly in recent weeks. Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at global trading and investing platform IG, said: 'It seems Britons' first impulse on seeing the sun is to start doing some DIY, if Kingfisher's results are any indication. 'Up 16% so far this year, the shares have been a haven from tariff volatility, though the update didn't offer much to extend the rally in the short term.'
Leader Live
28-05-2025
- Business
- Leader Live
Warm weather boosts B&Q's DIY and garden sales
The firm said recent sunshine saw demand rocket across its garden and seasonal ranges, helping UK and Ireland like-for-like sales jump 5.9% higher in the three months to April 30. Sales of seasonal products alone soared by nearly a third (29.8%) across B&Q and were 21.2% higher for Screwfix. Kingfisher said seasonal products accounted for more than a fifth (21%) of all group-wide sales in its first quarter. But it added that some of the strong sales growth was likely to have been 'pulled forward' from second-quarter trading. Kingfisher's update also showed that trading challenges remain across its operations in France, where it trades as Castorama and Brico Depot, as well as Poland, with sales down by 4.9% and 0.4% respectively in reported currencies. Overall, group-wide like-for-like sales lifted 1.8% on a constant currency basis and the group said it remains on track for full-year underlying pre-tax profits of around £480 million to £540 million. Kingfisher chief executive Thierry Garnier said: 'Our UK banners performed particularly well, driven by strong seasonal sales and growth in trade and e-commerce.' But he added a note of caution despite the better-than-expected first-quarter figures. 'It is still early in the year and consumer sentiment remains mixed across our markets,' he said. Kingfisher also confirmed that it does not expect any direct hit from global trade tariff woes, as it has no US sales or operations and sources most of its products in Europe from the same country in which they are sold, while between 20% and 25% of items are also sourced from Asia. 'We therefore expect little direct impact from any potential changes in cross border tariffs, but remain watchful of any broader impact on both inflation and market demand,' it said. Despite the sales rebound, shares in Kingfisher fell 3% in morning trading on Wednesday, having risen strongly in recent weeks. Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at global trading and investing platform IG, said: 'It seems Britons' first impulse on seeing the sun is to start doing some DIY, if Kingfisher's results are any indication. 'Up 16% so far this year, the shares have been a haven from tariff volatility, though the update didn't offer much to extend the rally in the short term.'
