BUSINESS LIVE: Retail sales fall 0.3%; Nationwide member benefits hit record; Marston’s appoints new CEO

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is finalizing his autumn statement, which will be presented next Wednesday.

The Ministry of Finance will have breathed a sigh of relief this week inflation figures showed that nominal interest rates had fallen to their lowest level in two years.

British Gas is recruiting hundreds of new employees for its network of call centers.

The energy giant said it would create around 700 new jobs by the end of the year to boost its existing customer service teams in Stockport, Leicester, Leeds, Edinburgh and Cardiff.

Pub group Marston’s has appointed former Merlin Entertainments director Justin Platt as its new boss.

It comes as Andrew Andrea announced he will step down from the role, which he has held for two years, with immediate effect.

Nationwide Building Society made a profit of £989 million in the first six months of 2023 thanks to higher interest rates.

Nationwide’s statutory pre-tax profit for the six months to September was up from £969 million in the same period of 2022.

Royal Mail has increased pressure on the Government to scrap Saturday letter deliveries as it crashed, causing losses of almost £320 million.

As the 507-year-old company heads into a crucial Christmas after last year’s festive season was thrown into chaos by strikes, the company warned that change was “urgently” needed so it could adapt to people’s delivery habits.

The owner of British aerospace company GKN said it is on track to more than double its annual profits after demand and prices soared.

Melrose said profits would be 7 percent higher than expected. CEO Simon Peckham said he is leaving the company “well positioned for the future” as he prepares to step down in March.

Interest rates could be cut as early as February, Goldman Sachs predicted, even as a Bank of England official warned they would have to stay higher for longer.

Economists at the Wall Street Bank believe that if Britain enters a recession, the first rate cut could come in the first quarter of next year – although they see August as a more likely scenario.

Qinetiq boss Steve Wadey has hailed the success of the UK defense sector as his company became the latest to report rising orders amid growing geopolitical tensions.

According to the report, uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine, tensions with China and the conflict in Gaza have boosted defense and security budgets, helping companies like Qinetiq, which specializes in high-tech areas such as robotics, laser and cyber . traditional British defense companies such as BAE Systems and Babcock.

The founders of Hotel Chocolat will share a £280m windfall after agreeing to sell it to Mars.

In the latest takeover of a British-listed company by foreign suitors, Hotel Chocolat’s board backed a 375p per share offer from the US confectionery giant, which valued it at £534 million.

(PA) – UK retailers saw their sales levels fall unexpectedly last month, reaching their lowest level since February 2021 when Covid-19 restrictions were still in place, official data shows.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said retail sales fell 0.3% in October. The statisticians also revised September’s decline from 0.9% to 1.1%.

Analysts had expected a 0.4% increase in October, according to a consensus estimate from Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Food stores said their sales fell by 0.3% over the month, a worse result than in September, but non-food stores saw a decline of 0.2% in October, after sales fell by 2.0% the month before. 1% had fallen.

Retailers blamed the cost of living, reduced footfall and wet weather in the second half of October.

“Retail sales fell again in October to the lowest level since February 2021, when widespread lockdown restrictions were in place,” said Heather Bovill, deputy director for surveys and economic indicators at the ONS.

“Following the recovery in September, fuel sales fell, with rising prices discouraging customers, while food sales also fell as consumers preferred essential goods.”

Jacqui Baker, head of retail at RSM UK, comments on the latest monthly retail sales figures from ONS:

Retailers had high hopes for the start of this year’s Golden Quarter, but unfortunately wet weather and the cost of living dampened sales this month, as cash-strapped consumers didn’t need to spend money on clothing and bigger ticket items to take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday. offers in November.

The sharp drop in consumer confidence in October shows that the cost of living remains under pressure as high mortgages and rents, interest rates and inflation continue to put pressure on household budgets. While there are subtle signs that these pressures are easing, consumers remain cautious and hesitant to spend money unless necessary.

Despite a subdued start to the Christmas trading period, there are reasons to be hopeful. With Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday deals; energy prices fall; and thousands of households taking advantage of the autumn living payment, consumers should feel more confident about spending in the run-up to Christmas.