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Laurence and Stephen discuss Booths' Christmas trading,  the acquisition of a raw dog food business and a major mixed-use development in Oxford.

Transcript

00:00A new owner for a premium dog food business, the latest phase of a redevelopment of a former

00:05department store in Cardiff, and the Christmas results for booths.

00:10That's all coming up in today's Business Briefing, sponsored by Shawbrook.

00:20My name's Laurence Corganan.

00:21I'm Stephen Powell.

00:22Well, morning, Stephen.

00:24And it's an interesting time for sort of the retail industry, particularly, because we're

00:29getting all their results from the Christmas period and Black Friday and what have you.

00:34And actually, there's a bit of economic gloom at the moment, but that doesn't seem to have

00:38passed through to retailers, often the first people to sort of complain that things are

00:42tough because we had Tesco with some good results last week, M&S at the sort of higher

00:47end.

00:48Today, we had booths.

00:49So perhaps you could tell us a bit about how are they doing?

00:53Yeah.

00:54So, well, similar picture there, too, to those you mentioned, really strong sales over the

00:58Christmas period.

00:59They've put out a trading update for the three weeks to the 4th of January.

01:04Within that, they reported a 9.3% rise in sales.

01:09That was boosted by the Christmas week itself, where sales grew by 6.7% across its stores.

01:17And that also included its biggest ever sales day on the 23rd of December, with people getting

01:22their last minute Christmas shopping.

01:24Right.

01:25OK.

01:26Yes.

01:27So that's a big part of the market, isn't it?

01:28Yeah, yeah.

01:29Where are they located?

01:30So 26 stores they've got across the north of England, yeah, places like the Lake District,

01:37Yorkshire.

01:38Yeah, lots of market locations.

01:42OK.

01:43OK.

01:44And what did well for them?

01:45Presumably, it was your traditional Christmas fair, was it?

01:48It was, yeah.

01:49So they've highlighted Christmas cheese sales being particularly strong, pigs in blankets

01:53as well.

01:54Right.

01:55Our favourite at Christmas.

01:56And single malt whiskeys did well for them this year.

01:58OK.

01:59Interesting.

02:00Well, getting the latest retailer to be doing well.

02:01So that was good.

02:02Because we also had the Very Group reporting a strong Christmas.

02:06They said that games, consoles, perfume, and air fryers were driving their success.

02:11So while sticking with the sort of premium side of things, we've got news that the Dog's

02:18Butcher, they're a raw dog food business.

02:24They've been acquired by a European business, the Nutriment Company.

02:27They're sort of based in Germany and Sweden.

02:31And the Dog's Butcher, well, they sort of make their dog food using the ingredients

02:37specially sourced in Devon, Cornwall, and the wider southwest.

02:41It's an interesting area.

02:43We've covered other stories about sort of premium pet products.

02:47And clearly, despite there being a bit of a squeeze on living standards, people still

02:51find they go the extra mile for their pets.

02:53Yeah, people want them through welfare, don't they, in their best shape?

02:57No, absolutely.

02:58And the acquisition is going to mean that the Dog's Butcher is able to sort of expand

03:02across the UK and get its products to more pet lovers.

03:05So we shall wait and see.

03:07Now, you've got some news about a development in Oxford, I understand.

03:10Yeah, that's right.

03:11So there's a really big, mixed-use development on the agenda for the planning committee meeting

03:14next week being brought forward by OxWED, which is a joint venture between Oxford City

03:19Council and Nuffield College.

03:21So the plans are for a site on Oxpens Road, which is currently wasteland.

03:27The plans there include 234 houses and a new student accommodation block, which would provide

03:33space for more than 250 students.

03:36Alongside that, there are plans for a hotel and new commercial space.

03:40So it's been estimated that altogether, thousands of jobs could be created by that particular

03:45development.

03:46So a really big scheme for the area.

03:49Excellent.

03:50It's on the agenda for the meeting on the 21st of January and is recommended for approval.

03:55So all being well, should see some progress there fairly soon.

03:58Well, I suppose they need plenty of space for students in Oxford.

04:01Yes.

04:02A lovely city as well, briefly, in the mists of time.

04:06Well, sticking with development, we've got news of the latest phase of the redevelopment

04:11of the Howells Building in Cardiff.

04:14That's a former department store, which is getting repurposed into, you know, this phase

04:19includes a hotel and residential accommodation.

04:22We're seeing that more and more, aren't we?

04:24The old, historic, huge department stores, which perhaps the market's been really condensed,

04:29getting repurposed.

04:31In Manchester itself, the Debenhams Building is undergoing something similar at the moment.

04:36So those plans have been submitted and they form part of a £100 million investment.

04:41So crucial to get one because the buildings are always really beautiful.

04:45So it's a Grade II listed building, the Howells Building.

04:48So I'm sure that'll be a great benefit and asset to the Cardiff sort of offer.

04:53Well, to find out more about the stories we've been discussing, go to insidermedia.com.

04:59There you can subscribe to our newsletters, you can subscribe to our magazines,

05:03and you can also find out about upcoming events.

05:06That's everything from us.

05:07See you next time.

05:11Insider Media

Watch: Insider's Business Briefing - 15th January 2025

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