Profit falls at Yorkshire Building Society but lender has record demand for savings products February 29, 2024 A number of lenders have been the beneficiaries of poor savings rates on offer at the high street banks and Yorkshire Building Society reported that a record 693,000 savings accounts were opened last year, up from 537,000 in 2022.
Retirement villages may offer high streets their needed post-pandemic revival May 24, 2021 Retirement village provider Audley Group and BlackRock Real Assets have embarked on a £500m joint venture into the retirement living sector in the UK, which could bring high streets the much-needed footfall for post-pandemic revival. The joint venture, confirmed yesterday, will fund the development of at least three retirement communities, which will be ready for [...]
A post-pandemic high street must be experience-led, says Geek Retreat CEO June 2, 2021 In a post-pandemic world, the high street needs to offer customers something more experiential – something online giants like Amazon can’t offer – the CEO of ‘geek culture’ store Geek Retreat has said. Geek Retreat, the retailer that sells everything from comics and graphic novels to action figures, and also offers customers access to gaming [...]
YO! food chain to partner with WH Smith as high streets reopen April 12, 2021 Asian food chain YO! is set to trial a partnership with WH Smith this month, bringing to-go food to stores as high streets begin to reopen today. The move signals the food group’s expansion into on-the-go food and away from sit-in dining, as it also has similar partnerships with Sainsbury’s, Co-op, Tesco’s and David Lloyd Leisure [...]
UK economy grew by 2.3 per cent in April as high street and hospitality reopened June 11, 2021 Britain’s economy grew by 2.3 per cent in April as government restrictions affecting economic activity continued to ease. It was the fastest monthly growth of gross domestic product (GDP) since July last year and exceeded economists’ forecast of a 2.2 per cent jump. In comparison with April 2020, monthly GDP in April 2021 is estimated [...]
French Connection revenue plummets as Covid closures hit high street sales April 28, 2021 High street retailer French Connection saw group revenue fall by more than 40 per cent for the year ended 31 January as store closures battered trading. The firm reported an underlying loss of £11.7m, compared to a £2.9m loss in 2020, driven by a significant decline in sales. Retail revenues fell by more than 51 [...]
Pimlico Plumbers boss eyes high street ‘renaissance’ after record year April 26, 2021 Pimlico Plumbers boss Charlie Mullins has predicted a “renaissance” for the British high street after bumper lockdown trading put his company on track for a record year. The outspoken chief executive said that while the pandemic had sparked major challenges for businesses, the “death” of the traditional UK economy was being “greatly exaggerated”. “A year [...]
Rain rain go away: Wettest May on record dampens footfall hopes for high streets June 3, 2021 The reopening of indoor dining and socialising did not serve up the hoped for rise in footfall in May, as shoppers were put off by rain and ‘rule of six’ limitations. The wettest May on record saw footfall on high streets, in shopping centres and in retail parks fall versus the same period in 2019. [...]
Rain dampens high street recovery as footfall drops 4.1 per cent May 10, 2021 Footfall in UK retail destinations fell 4.1 per cent last week from the week before, as wind and rain persuaded shoppers to stay home for another week. The number of high street shoppers fell 6.6 per cent last week, according to the latest data from retail insight company Springboard, while footfall in shopping centres and [...]
Debenhams announces final store closures after 240 years on the UK high street May 5, 2021 Debenhams has announced that its remaining shops will close for good next week, meaning the department store chain will disappear from the high street after more than 200 years in business. It announced its final 49 stores will be open to customers for the last time on either 12 or 15 May. The retailer previously [...]