BUSINESS LIVE: Metro Bank to slash workforce; Dr Martens sales slump; Mulberry suffers luxury slowdown

Dr Martens expects to post a sharp profit slump for the year after a slow start to the autumn-winter season impacted by warm weather across its three key regions and staggered demand overall.

The boot maker expects revenue to decline by high single-digit percentage year on year, on a constant currency basis.

Full-year core profit is also expected to be ‘moderately below the bottom end of the range’ of market expectations of £223.7million to £240million.

The British company has been struggling with waning demand, especially in the US – its second-largest market by revenue – as wholesalers turn cautious amid a gloomy economic outlook.

‘We expect that it will take longer to see a material improvement in U.S. performance than initially anticipated,’ Dr Martens said in a statement.

‘Wholesale customers have low in-market inventory levels of our products, and therefore, we can expect them to re-order, however the timing and level of these re-orders are unpredictable, reducing visibility in our wholesale business.’

Charlie Munger was Warren Buffett’s sidekick for more than four decades as they went about transforming Berkshire Hathaway from a failed textile maker into a spectacularly successful investment empire.

Munger died, aged 99, on Tuesday, leading to an outpouring of tributes from businessmen, financiers and politicians.

While Buffett was the star of the show, Munger had far more influence on Berkshire than his vice-chairman title suggested.

Metro Bank will slash 20 per cent of its workforce as part of a £50million cost-cutting drive, which the embattled lender expects to complete early next year.

The bank, which earlier this week received shareholder approval for a refinancing and recapitalisation plan, expects to take a one-off restructuring charge of between £10million and £15million in 2023.

Three Metro board members will also step down at the end of the year, leaving the board with five non-executive and two executive directors.

‘The support shown from our investors through this transaction will allow Metro Bank to accelerate its growth plans, with the new capital allowing us to unlock the potential in the business and deliver sustainable profitable returns as we strive to be the number one community bank.

‘We remain committed to stores and the high street but will transition to a more cost-efficient business model while remaining focussed on customer service. These actions alongside other initiatives to reduce costs are expected to deliver savings of up to £50 million per year on an annualised basis.’