6:22 am, January 7, 2026
Waitrose to create 550 jobs for new Bristol warehouse as it eyes expansion
Waitrose is planning to hire around 550 staff to work at its new warehouse in Bristol as the upmarket grocer eyes expansion in the region.
The company said the new site will make deliveries more efficient for the 50 existing shops in the south-west England region, and pave the way for expansion in the future.
The retailer has committed to investing £1bn over several years into growing the brand and improving its 317 shops across the country. Part of this investment has involved spending on artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, including to reduce the number of manual processes for work across the supply chain. Waitrose now has 4.7% of the UK grocery market, latest figures show.
Next delivers latest profit outlook hike after festive trading boost
Next has increased its full-year profit outlook once again after a better-than-expected festive performance, but remains cautious over the outlook amid a worsening UK jobs market.
The high street retail giant, which has about 900 stores, reported a 5.9% rise in UK full-price sales for the nine weeks to December 27, while overseas sales surged by 38.3%. It now expects pre-tax profits to rise by 13.7% to £1.15bn for the year to the end of January on full-price sales up 10.7%.
But Next forecast a slowdown in growth for the following 2026-27 financial year as it sees jobs market woes weighing on consumer spending, while it is also set to come up against tough trading comparatives and more moderate overseas sales.
New Volkswagen T-Roc will be priced from £31,620
The second-generation T-Roc will cost from £31,620 when order books open tomorrow (Jan 8), the German brand has said.
The latest version carries over the previous model’s coupe-like design with ‘hockey stick’ C pillars, but gets the brand’s latest stylish cues including an LED rear light bar, as well as a red illuminated Volkswagen logo.
At launch engine choices are limited to a 1.5-litre mild-hybrid with 114bhp and 148bhp. Two hybrids will be on their way, while VW has yet to confirm if the high-performance R model will return.
The markets
Blue chips continued their strong start to the year on Tuesday with the FTSE 100 hitting a new record led by gains in retailer Next and drug stocks GSK and AstraZeneca.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 118.16 points, 1.2%, at 10,122.73, a record closing peak. It had earlier set a new intra-day best of 10,158.41. The FTSE 250 index ended up 197.96 points, 0.9%, at 22,791.89, and the AIM All-Share index closed up 4.65 points, 0.6%, at 779.50.
The pound was quoted at 1.3500 dollars at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday, down from 1.3516 dollars on Monday. The euro was lower at 1.1689 dollars from 1.1713 dollars. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at 156.67 yen, up from 156.41 yen.
Starmer to face first PMQs of 2026 after pledging boots on the ground in Ukraine
Sir Keir Starmer is to face MPs for his first Prime Minister’s Questions of the year after pledging to put British boots on the ground in the Ukraine once the war is over.
British and French forces will be placed in ‘military hubs’ in Ukraine as part of peacekeeping efforts in the event a ceasefire is brokered, the Prime Minister said on Tuesday.
They would help to train Ukrainian troops and protect stocks of weaponry, aimed at deterring future Russian aggression, it was revealed following a meeting of the coalition of the willing in Paris.
Liz Kendall calls on Musk’s X to take urgent action over ‘appalling’ deepfakes
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said Elon Musk’s X must urgently deal with its artificial intelligence Grok being used to create sexualised deepfake images.
She backed regulator Ofcom, which is looking into X and xAI, the firm founded by Musk which created Grok, to take ‘any enforcement action’ deemed necessary.
Users of social media platform X appear to have prompted Grok to generate images of children ‘in minimal clothing’.
Tuesday on Car Dealer
New car market topped two million in 2025, but EV discounts can’t continue – SMMT
New car registrations topped two million last year for the first time this decade, but carmakers discounting new EV sales is ‘unsustainable’
Chinese brands drove growth as legacy carmakers lead 2025 new car market
Chinese car brands saw the biggest sales increases in 2025, but the legacy carmakers still dominated market share.
Mon Motors posts significant pre-tax loss as Heritage Automotive deal hits profits hard
Car dealer Mon Motors has announced a hefty pre-tax loss with bosses pointing the finger of blame at ‘challenging market conditions’ and a ‘significant mid-year acquisition’
Ford Puma retains crown as Britain’s best-selling car for third consecutive year
The Ford Puma has retained its crown as Britain’s best-selling new car after a major hike in registrations in 2025.
Family-run bodyshop ‘devastated’ after thieves smash window and steal bikes from Christmas display
It is supposed to be the the season of goodwill but that hasn’t stopped thieves breaking into a family-run bodyshop and stealing motorbikes that were being used in a Christmas display.
Volvo warns EX30 drivers about possible fire risk from overheating batteries
Drivers of certain Volvo EX30 models are being warned of the risk of fire from overheating batteries.
These are the cars we’re most looking forward to in 2026 – and only one is a petrol
2026 is set to be another year of EV development and exciting new machinery. Here are five (maybe…) cars we’re most exciting to see…
Weather
A largely dry day with sunny spells and variable cloud across much of the UK, reports BBC Weather. Lingering snow affects northern and eastern Scotland and north-east England, while the south-west and Northern Ireland turn cloudier and damp later.
Tonight brings widespread cloud, patchy rain in the west, snow in Scotland and some eastern clear spells.
