BRITISH health tech firm Zoe, championed by celebrities including Davina McCall, has launched a second round of layoffs in six months.
Last year Zoe was deemed one of the fastest-growing firms in the country as health fans signed up to wear its bright yellow blood sugar sensors on their arms.
However, in April the firm admitted that it had overexpanded its workforce and had to cut costs by 20 per cent.
The Sun can reveal it is now making further job cuts while insiders claim sales are faltering.
Sources said staff had been told via a video call there had to be further changes and redundancies were required.
A consultation with staff is now ongoing, a legal requirement for companies making cuts of more than 20 people. It has refused to confirm the scale of the job cuts.
One worker said: “There is a terrible atmosphere.
“Everyone is scared and we don’t know whether we will have jobs at the end of this four-week window. It’s just looming over us.”
Co-founder Professor Tim Spector, who started the firm seven years ago, has been credited for pushing public awareness about “gut health”.
Zoe’s cheapest starter package costs £299 and charges users a further £25 a month for recipe guides and diet tips.
The brand has a deal with Marks & Spencer to produce mini “gut shots” of fermented milk for £2 and also a cereal range with Waitrose.
The business raised £11.5million in July to fund its expansion.
The firm said: “We are restructuring our teams to continue on our ambitious mission of transforming the health of millions.
“We are dedicated to keeping our employees engaged and informed in the coming weeks.”
A RECORD HIGH FOR UK MUSIC
RAYE, Dua Lipa and Ed Sheeran helped push the value of British music exports to a record high of £775million last year.
However, intense competition from artists from Latin America and South Korea is biting into business, figures from British music industry body the BPI show.
Last year’s 7.6 per cent rise in exports was just half the 2022 rate of growth, it said.
Britain accounts for about 10 per cent of global music streaming, with timeless tunes from the likes of Elton John, The Beatles and Queen still proving popular.
BPI chief executive Jo Twist said: “It is encouraging — but we can and must do even better in the face of fierce global competition.”
CELEBS’ AD QUIZ
TWENTY social media influencers are being quizzed under caution by the City watchdog about their illegal promotion of financial products.
The Financial Conduct Authority said there had been a rise in so-called “finfluencers”, who promote foreign currency exchanges, crypto and complex trading to users.
The FCA says they are not authorised or qualified to give financial advice.
It charged nine stars this year, including Love Island’s Eva Zapico and Towie’s Lauren Goodger, for plugging dodgy investments on social media.
TEN-PIN’S A WIN
HOLLYWOOD BOWL is striking record levels of cash after tempting ten-pin fans to spend more on its snacks, drinks, and arcade games.
The bowling alley chain, which has 72 locations in the UK and 13 in Canada, saw a 7.2 per cent rise in annual revenues to £230.4million.
UK sales rose by 4 per cent to £200million, but were flat once new openings were stripped out.
The firm has benefited from families looking for low-cost indoor entertainment in the unpredictable weather.
RATES CAUTION
ONE of the Bank of England’s rate-setters says she favours a “cautious” approach to lowering interest rates, despite some economists’ predictions of hefty rate cuts next year.
Megan Greene wrote in the Financial Times yesterday she was concerned about rushing into a rate-cutting cycle and cautioned a consumer recovery “could take much longer”.
It comes as many still have to refinance their mortgages at higher rates than before.
Goldman Sachs yesterday said rates could fall to 2.75 per cent by next November.
V.W. £27M TAB FOR CAR HELL
VOLKSWAGEN has been fined £5.4million for its unfair treatment of vulnerable customers, and told to pay £21.5million in compensation.
The Financial Conduct Authority found nearly 110,000 customers who suffered due to “serious failings” by the German car giant’s finance arm over six years.
A probe by the watchdog revealed VW took cars away from vulnerable customers who were struggling to keep up with payments, without considering other options.
It also charged them the extra costs of repossessing their car, even when customers said they had no means to pay.
In one case, the firm took back the vehicle from someone with depression and who had previously attempted suicide, despite telling VW they needed the car for work.
The watchdog’s Therese Chambers said: “Volkswagen Finance made tough personal situations worse.
“The fine and redress should send clear signals to lenders they need to properly support those in financial difficulty.”
AXE SHOP TAX PLEA
MORE than 300 business leaders have called the UK’s tourist tax a “spectacular own goal” and urged the Chancellor to scrap it in the Budget.
Bosses at Mulberry, John Lewis and Shakespeare’s Globe wrote to Rachel Reeves to argue the UK is at a “global disadvantage” as the only country in Europe not to offer tax-free shopping to overseas visitors.
The tax is costing the economy £11.1billion, analysis by the Centre for Economics and Business Research says.