M&S warns of ‘more challenging 2024’; Made.com enters administration – business live

Key events 1m ago European shares, oil prices dip 10m ago Wetherspoons to sell 39 more pubs as sales slow 1h ago Taylor Wimpey reports slower sales, cancellation rate up sharply 1h ago Introduction: M&S warns of ‘more challenging 2024’; markets await US midterm election results Filters BETA Key events ( 4 ) Made. com ( 3 ) 1m ago 08. 50 GMT European shares, oil prices dip European stock markets are drifting lower, with the UK’s FTSE 100 index down 24 points, or 0.

3%, to 7,281. Germany’s Dax is also down 0. 3%, while the French bourse has edged 0.

15 lower and the Italian borsa is 0. 4% higher. Oil prices have dipped after industry data showed US crude stockpiles rose more than expected last week, and amid worries about Chinese demand.

Last week, there were hopes that China might move towards relaxing its stringent Covid-19 restrictions but over the weekend health officials said they would stick to the current policy in response to new infections. Brent crude, the global benchmark, has fallen 36 cents to $95 a barrel while US light crude has lost 48 cents to $88. 43 a barrel.

Sterling has inched up 0. 1% to $1. 1552 against the dollar and is flat versus the euro, at €1.

1464. 10m ago 08. 41 GMT Wetherspoons to sell 39 more pubs as sales slow Wetherspoons said it was selling 39 more pubs, as sales slowed and the pub chain warned of “substantially higher” costs for staff, food and repairs.

Like-for-like sales in the 14 weeks to 6 November were 9. 6% higher than in the same period last year, and 0. 4% higher than pre-pandemic levels.

In the last five weeks, sales were up 8. 9% year-on-year, but 1. 1% lower than the same period in 2019.

The company, run by Tim Martin, said: . css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1. 5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} Trading has been broadly in line with expectations, although October has been a slightly slower month.

The company wants to sell 39 pubs that are close to other Wetherspoons and has sold five other outlets. Martin said: . css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.

5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} In my comments on the full year results released on 7 October 2022, I set out various threats to the hospitality industry and these continue to apply. Those caveats aside, in the absence of further lockdowns or restrictions, the company remains cautiously optimistic about future prospects. A JD Wetherspoon pub.

Photograph: Tim Ireland/PA 21m ago 08. 31 GMT Here are our full stories on Marks & Spencer and Made. com: Marks & Spencer has said it faces a “gathering storm”, with next year likely to be more challenging than this after reporting a near 24% fall in profits.

The clothing, food and homewares retailer said sales rose 8. 8% to £5. 6bn in the six months to 1 October but underlying pre-tax profits sank 23.

7% to £205. 5m as its Ocado online grocery joint venture fell into the red and it pulled out of Russia. M&S faces ‘gathering storm’ as joint venture with Ocado makes loss Read more The online furniture retailer Made.

com has collapsed into administration after weeks of speculation, putting about 500 jobs at risk and leaving customers disappointed. The company’s brand, domain names and intellectual property were immediately bought by the fashion and homeware retailer Next . Made.

com enters administration, putting about 500 jobs at risk Read more Updated at 08. 44 GMT 31m ago 08. 20 GMT Made.

com’s remaining 500 employees will be told the sad news by administrators at PwC between 9am and 10am this morning, reports my colleague Joanna Partridge. The failed furniture chain’s shares, which were suspended on 1 November, will be cancelled, any residual value will be distributed to shareholders and the company will be wound up. It stopped taking orders in September, and thousands of customers are anxiously waiting to see if they will get any refunds for items they have ordered.

Susanne Given, chair of Made. com, said: . css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.

5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} Having run an extensive process to secure the future of the business, we are deeply disappointed that we have reached this point and how it will affect all our stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers and shareholders. We appreciate and deeply regret the frustration that MDL going into administration will have caused for everyone. I want to sincerely thank all our employees, customers, suppliers and partners for your support throughout the past 12 years and especially during this difficult time where we have tried so hard to find a workable solution for the company and all its stakeholders.

Just last year, Made. com was valued at almost £800m when it listed on the stock exchange in June, and was heralded as the future of furniture retail. One of its founders wanted to turn it into an alternative to Ikea, leading a similar revolution in stylish and affordable furniture.

Li said in 2017 that Made. com wanted to be the new Ikea, “the pioneer of the next trend of how people shop for their home”. But while the business enjoyed booming orders during the pandemic when people were stuck at home, sales fell away when Covid restrictions came to an end.

The company has also been caught up in the global supply chain crisis, and customers complained about long waits and delayed deliveries of their made-to-order velvet sofas and armchairs. The Made. com store in Charing Cross Road, London.

Photograph: Yui Mok/PA Updated at 08. 24 GMT 43m ago 08. 08 GMT To help struggling consumers, M&S relaunched its ‘Remarksable’ value range at the start of the year.

The range includes ‘bigger packs, better value’ on 40 lines offering 5% savings per unit volume and this month it locked the prices of 100 family favourites through to 2023. The dine-in programme has been expanded to include the Gastro range in an ‘always on’ family meal deal for four, for £12. Updated at 08.

25 GMT 1h ago 07. 53 GMT Taylor Wimpey reports slower sales, cancellation rate up sharply More evidence that the housing market is entering a downturn: After Persimmon yesterday , Taylor Wimpey , one of the UK’s largest housebuilders, has also reported slower sales for its new-build homes and a sharp rise in the cancellation rate, to 24% in the last six months (its second half) from 14% a year earlier. Its net sales rate for private homes fell to 0.

51 from 0. 91 a year earlier, “reflecting customer response to heightened levels of economic uncertainty”. It expects sales over the year as a whole to be flat compared with the previous year, but says it remains on track to deliver a full-year operating profit of £922m.

Taylor Wimpey’s total order book excluding joint ventures has shrunk to £2. 6bn from £2. 8bn at this stage last year, and is comprised of 9,153 homes versus 10,643 in 2021, of which 79% is exchanged.

Jennie Daly , the chief executive, said: . css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1. 5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} We have further increased cost control, increased management controls and focused our sales teams for selling in a tougher market.

Customer visits to our website continue to be at good levels, albeit with conversions taking longer. Where customers have locked in mortgage rates, they remain keen to complete their purchase. With resilient pricing in the order book and a focus on cost discipline, we expect to deliver operating profit in line with our expectations.

We expect group volumes to be at broadly similar levels to 2021, given the uncertainty in the market. Higher mortgage rates will contribute to the wider cost of living challenges affecting our customers. Veteran property journalist Peter Bill tweets: Taylor Wimpey report a 10% y-o-y jump in the cancellation rate to 24% over last six months.

Order book down to 9,153 homes from 10,643 last year. Sales per outlet per week nearly halved from 0. 91 to 0.

51. But profit will be ‘in line with expectations’ of £922m. — Peter Bill (@peterproperty) November 9, 2022 Updated at 08.

03 GMT 1h ago 07. 37 GMT Introduction: M&S warns of ‘more challenging 2024’; markets await US midterm election results Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. Marks & Spencer has reiterated that full-year profits will be below last year’s because of higher costs and pressure on household budgets, and warned that the following year will be even more challenging as it faces a “gathering storm”.

The retailer reported a 24% decline in profit before tax and adjusting items to £205m for the six months to 1 October. Food sales rose 5. 6% while clothing & home sales were up 14%.

Stuart Machin, the chief executive, said: . css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1. 5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} Across all M&S markets it is highly likely that conditions will become more challenging in the financial year 2024.

As we enter what is traditionally our strongest quarter the business continues to trade well. In the last four weeks, trading has been in line with forecasts, with clothing & home sales up 4. 2%, food sales up 3.

0% and international up 4. 1%. In other retail news, the furniture chain Made.

com has appointed PwC as administrators after failing to find a buyer, and entered into an agreement with Next to acquire the brand, domain names and intellectual property. On 1 November, it announced that it had lined up administrators and its shares were suspended from trading. The business employed about 700 people then but was in the process of making a third of them redundant.

Made. com plans to call in administrators after failing to find buyer Read more In China , factory gate prices fell last month for the first time since December 2020, and consumer inflation slowed, as strict Covid curbs, a property slump and global recession risks hammered the economy. The producer price index fell 1.

3% year-on-year, following a 0. 9% gain in September, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Consumer price inflation slowed to 2.

1% from a 29-month high of 2. 8% in September, mainly driven by falling food prices. Asian stock markets are mixed, as investors await the results of the US mid-term elections, and US inflation data later this week.

Japan’s Nikkei fell 0. 56% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined nearly 1. 9% and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.

5%. The Australian market gained 06%. Our politics live blog says: .

css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1. 5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} Only one word is fit to sum up the results from the Senate, House and governorship races that have come in thus far: surprise. The 8 November midterm elections were expected to be rough for Joe Biden ’s allies, potentially costing them control of one or both chambers of Congress.

Instead, Democrats are showing surprising strength, holding on to Senate seats and beating back Republican challengers in several crucial House races. Full results are not in yet, and when the dust settles, the GOP may well have eked out the majorities they were expected to have. But it’s plain tonight has not gone as expected for many Republicans across the country – and may end up defying the historical trend of voters using the midterm elections to punish the party in the White House.

Midterm elections 2022: Democrats beating expectations as John Fetterman wins crucial US Senate race – live Read more The Agenda 8am GMT: European Central Bank Non-monetary policy meeting Noon: Mexico inflation for October (forecast: 8. 46%, previous: 8. 7%) 4pm GMT: Russia inflation for October (previous 13.

7%) Updated at 07. 54 GMT Topics Business Business live Currencies Stock markets Bonds Retail industry Reuse this content.