Tesco and M&S sound alarm over rising costs: Retail giants face hit from Budget after bumper Christmas trading Retail giants Marks & Spencer and Tesco have sounded the alarm over Britain’s ‘uncertain’ economic outlook and tax hikes even as they revealed strong Christmas trading.
Retailers are fearful that Rachel Reeves’s tax grab will damage the sector and that seemed to tarnish even the sparkling figures of M&S and Tesco.
Brand deal: M&S, led by boss Stuart Machin (pictured with Sienna Miller) reported £4.06bn in sales for the three months to 28 December.
Both retailers have been clobbered by the Chancellor’s raid on National Insurance contributions, which will cost M&S £60million a year and add £250million to Tesco’s tax bill.
Marks’ sales were driven by food halls, with 1.2 fresh turkeys sold every second in the run-up to Christmas and 600,000 packs of pigs in blankets gobbled up.
