Next sales up as shoppers flock back to high street but firm warns of slowdown as inflation hits August 4, 2022 Next has shared elevated quarterly sales, suggesting that warm weather and the closure of high street rivals has driven shoppers into stores. In a trading update on Thursday, second quarter full price sales were boosted five per cent versus last year, some £50m ahead of the clothing firm’s previous guidance. Next attributed this to a [...]
New Look to warn landlords it could collapse without further rent cuts September 12, 2020 New Look will warn landlords next week that it could go bust if it isn’t granted further rent cuts. The high street brand has almost 500 stores across the UK and employs more than 12,000 people. It is set to propose its second company voluntary arrangement (CVA) within two years after its sales suffered as [...]
Business rates from the 16th century are ruining the high-street and an online sales tax isn’t enough February 23, 2021 The pandemic is in many ways not a break from the past but a rapid accelerator, and nowhere has the world sped up as much as in our shopping habits. In the last year, more retail sales shifted onto the internet than had done so in the previous decade. UK consumers spent £24 in every [...]
FTSE 100 close: ASOS shares nosedive 22 per cent after posting dim results May 10, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 slipped in the City today as online fashion retailer ASOS was pummelled after a dim set of results. The capital’s premier index shed 0.29 per cent to close at 7,741.32 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, lost 0.15 per [...]
Londonmetric mulls takeover of Alton Towers owner could ‘create one of the UK’s largest listed landlords’ December 19, 2023 Logistics landlord Londonmetric is understood to be in talks to buy LXI the owner of Alton Towers and Warwick Castle.
Wilko on brink of collapse with 12,000 jobs at risk August 3, 2023 Troubled homeware and garden retailer Wilko reportedly intends to call in administrators, placing 12,000 jobs at risk. The high street chain has filed its notice to appoint administrators at the High Court, Bloomeberg first reported, after it spent the summer hunting for a rescue deal. Wilko, which has 400 sites across the UK, has struggled [...]
Fast fashion: Mike Ashley’s retail behemoth Frasers Group eyes I Saw It First July 17, 2022 Mike Ashley’s retail empire may make a swoop for I Saw It First, an online fast-fashion brand owned by Boohoo founder Jalal Kamani. According to a report in The Telegraph, Frasers Group could add I Saw It First to its list of retail takeovers within a matter of weeks. The Telegraph’s sources told the newspaper [...]
Topps Tiles’ commercial business to climb into profitability next year July 6, 2022 The UK’s largest tile retailer, Topps Tiles, has said its historically loss-making commercial business will climb into profitability next year, as it continues to navigate falling consumer confidence, supply chain challenges and historic levels of inflation. “We remain confident that the business will break even in the second half of the year and then move [...]
Hunt looks at business rates ‘cliff edge’ ahead of fiscal statement November 8, 2022 Jeremy Hunt will make a tough decision on planned business rates hikes next week as business groups warn of “an existential threat” coming in April. British firms are facing a near £3bn annual hike in business rates next year if inflation stays above 10 per cent, according to Altus Group. Commercial properties will have their [...]
Planet Organic calls in advisers as it views sale to fund £30m growth plans February 20, 2023 Last September, the organic grocer said that it was looking to raise £30m over the next two years to help with the roll out of over 100 stores across the UK.