Pandora heads for growth this year as online sales boom February 4, 2021 Jewellery maker Pandora anticipates its first sales growth in three years this year despite many high street shops enduring a harsh pandemic sales dip. 2021 looks to be a year of growth for Pandora, the company said this morning, with thanks to a boost in online sales pushing a strong final quarter in 2020. The [...]
JD Sports raises £464m to fund future expansion plans February 4, 2021 Sportswear brand JD Sports this morning announced it had raised £464.2m which it will use to fund its expansion plans as it eyes acquisition opportunities in new markets. The retailer said that it had placed 58.4m new shares at 795 pence a share, representing about 6.0 per cent of its share capital. The successful raise [...]
New year, same lockdown: UK shopping trips fall 27 per cent in first week of January January 11, 2021 New year, same lockdown: UK shopper numbers fall 27 per cent in first week of January
Oxford Street: This is what the UK’s shopping destination could look like after lockdown March 11, 2021 Oxford Street – the world famous shopping destination that attracts millions of Londoners and tourists every year – is set to look drastically different when the city emerges from the latest coronavirus lockdown. An arts centre, 25 metre artificial hill and play areas in bus lanes are among the ideas that have been floated to [...]
City watchdog to crack down on ‘buy now pay later’ firms February 1, 2021 The City watchdog is preparing to move in on so-called buy now pay later firms such as Klarna following a review of the unsecured credit market. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will this morning publish a report by interim chief executive Chris Woolard recommending that the sector be brought under the regulator’s remit, Sky News [...]
John Lewis repays government loan after strong festive period January 22, 2021 John Lewis has announced it will pay back its £300m government loan almost two months early after a better-than-expected festive period. The John Lewis Partnership announced it would pay back £300m of the government’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility which was due to be repaid in March of this year. Under the CCFF, the Bank of [...]
Thorntons to close all UK stores putting 600 jobs at risk March 15, 2021 Thorntons has announced it will close all of its stores, putting around 600 jobs at risk. The chocolatier said this afternoon that it will permanently shutter its 61 branches due to the restrictions on trading during the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement the Sheffield-founded brand said lockdown restrictions over the Easter and Christmas period and [...]
As accounting firms prep for busy period, non-Big Four players spot new opportunities May 26, 2021 The majority of 2020 was a slow year for the UK’s deals market, with mergers and acquisitions depressed by the Coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent lockdown restrictions. This trend, however, now seems to be in reverse with a number a big deal in the private sector, including Virgin Media and O2’s £31bn mega merger, and [...]
Marks & Spencer unveils plans to replace retail space with offices at Marble Arch store March 9, 2021 Marks & Spencer (M&S) has unveiled plans to redevelop its Marble Arch store, with some retail space set to be replaced by offices. Under proposals announced this afternoon, M&S said the lower levels of the West End store would remain as retail space offering its food and clothing and home ranges. However, the upper floors [...]
Secondary fundraising by retailers nears £2bn as firms eye M&A opportunities May 10, 2021 Listed retail companies have raised nearly £2bn in the past year as they sought to strengthen their balance sheets amid the pandemic. Now, they are starting to eye M&A opportunities. In recent years, listed firms in the UK have relied less on the public markets with private equity firms often considered a more attractive option. [...]