Harry Holmes

Brighton, London

Contributor at Freelance

Freelance journalist

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Articles

Fever Tree’s US expansion undeterred by Trump’s tariffs

2 days ago | thegrocer.co.uk | Harry Holmes

Fever Tree’s US expansion plans will not be affected by US tariffs as the impact will eventually be mitigated by the onshoring of production inside the country, the business has said Fever Tree sold an 8.5% stake to Molson Coors in January as part of a strategic partnership to allow the brewer to produce, distribute, and sell its drinks across the US.
B&M admits it must do better as profits slump

3 days ago | thegrocer.co.uk | Harry Holmes

B&M conceded its performance “could have been better” last year as both profits and like-for-like sales took a hit. In B&M’s UK stores, like-for-like sales fell 3.1% in the year to 29 March, although the opening of new stores helped offset the group’s total revenue to rise 3.7% to £5.6bn. Its pre-tax profit fell 13.2% to £431m, due to a depreciation in assets and higher interest and finance costs, the company said.
Northern Monk surge continues but cash remains tight

3 days ago | thegrocer.co.uk | Harry Holmes

Northern Monk’s sales jumped 18% last year as it sought to kickstart ambitions to become Europe’s biggest craft brewery by 2035. The company’s revenue hit £16.3m in the year to 31 August, up from £13.9m the year before, boosted by strong growth in supermarkets. A new pub in Leeds added over £750k with more openings to come in London, York, and Edinburgh this year. However, inflation and a rise in staff numbers meant pre-tax losses narrowed only slightly to £2m.
WH Smith to complete sale of high street stores within weeks

3 days ago | thegrocer.co.uk | Harry Holmes

WH Smith has confirmed it is on track to sell its high street division to the private equity owner of Hobbycraft by the end of the month. The deal will see the WH Smith name disappear from British high streets and be replaced by the TG Jones brand following a £76m deal agreed with Modella Capital in March. In a trading update on Tuesday, WH Smith gave a picture of what the slimmed-down company would look like in the future.
Isle of Barra Distillers crowdfunds £800k to fuel first whisky launch

3 days ago | thegrocer.co.uk | Harry Holmes

Isle of Barra Distillers has broken its crowdfunding target to raise £800k to help build a distillery for its first whisky. The Scottish distillery started in 2017 and sells gin, vodka, and rum into supermarkets like Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Lidl. In January, it started building a new £12m single malt distillery on the island of Barra. The site will be Scotland’s most westerly distillery and is due to open in October 2026.
British American Tobacco raises guidance after new product launches

4 days ago | thegrocer.co.uk | Harry Holmes

British American Tobacco (BAT) has raised its guidance for the year after the success of new product launches in key markets like the US and Serbia. It now expects revenue to grow between 1% and 2%, according to a half year update, up from 1% at the start of the year. The company’s share price is currently at a two-year high as it moves on from its withdrawal from Russia, a £27bn write-down of its American assets, and an $8bn fine in Canada last year.
MicroSalt hails ‘transformational year’ as fmcg giant signs up

4 days ago | thegrocer.co.uk | Harry Holmes

Low-sodium salt pioneer MicroSalt has hailed the end of a “transformational” year after it began receiving bulk orders from a global fmcg giant. The company said it started receiving “regular and repeating” orders at the end of 2024 from “one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies”. This has continued into the new year, meaning its total revenue for the first three months of 2025 more than doubled the $750k earnt through all of 2024, according to its annual accounts.
Griddle raises £500k to help accelerate frozen waffle growth

4 days ago | thegrocer.co.uk | Harry Holmes

Frozen waffle brand Griddle has secured almost £500k to help it undergo a rebrand and launch several new products. Its new investors include former CEO of St Pierre Bakery David Wagstaff, who will become non-exec chairman. Former St Pierre marketing director Megan Harrison will also join the board as a non-exec director. The pair will join co-founders Ella Harland and Sophie McGregor, who set up the business in 2019 as a premium brand in frozen bakery.
Eagle Eye shares down 40% after US grocer cuts contract

4 days ago | thegrocer.co.uk | Harry Holmes

Eagle Eye’s shares have tumbled more than 40% this week after the technology company lost a major contract with a US supermarket chain. Eagle Eye, which powers loyalty programmes for supermarkets including Tesco, Asda and Morrisons, said the US deal was worth between $9m and $10m a year and would now end in August. The contract was high-margin and a key contributor of the company’s US growth, the company said in an update to the London Stock Exchange.
My Fabulosa eyes global growth with major factory expansion

5 days ago | thegrocer.co.uk | Harry Holmes

Cleaning brand My Fabulosa is to undergo a major factory expansion to help boost its international presence across Europe. The company’s European turnover grew from £2.2m to £12.7m in the year to 31 August, offsetting a drop in the UK from £33.0m to £21.8m, its latest accounts show. It plans to now use an eight-figure package from HSBC to fund a factory expansion, which will see it install a third fully automated line to increase production by up to four times its current capacity.