Khan: Tourist tax-free shopping u-turn bad for London’s businesses October 18, 2022 Sadiq Khan has slammed the government’s decision to u-turn on a plan to give tourists tax-free shopping. The Mayor of London said he “absolutely” shared the concerns of West End businesses, who have expressed disappointment that the capital will lag behind other cities’ in efforts to welcome high-spending foreign visitors. “VAT-free shopping for international tourists [...]
Asda to open Express convenience stores in bid to gain market share October 18, 2022 Asda will open its first convenience stores this winter, as the supermarket hopes to appeal to more shoppers on the go. The first Asda Express store will open in Sutton Coldfield next month, followed by a store in Tottenham Hale in December. Some 30 more stores will be rolled out across 2023, in a scheme [...]
Uber Eats launch quick commerce partnership with Iceland October 18, 2022 Uber Eats has launched a new quick commerce offering this morning, trialling a new partnership with Iceland to deliver groceries across London. Following the success of rapid delivery start-ups like Gopuff, ‘Uber Eats Market’ will use Uber’s technology and Iceland’s in-store infrastructure to deliver goods in as little as 20 minutes. Over 1000 branded and [...]
Pubs and brewers disappointed by alcohol duty reversal ahead of ‘toughest winter in history’ October 17, 2022 Pubs will be “hit extremely hard” this winter after the government scrapped an upcoming alcohol duty freeze, industry chiefs said. The duty freeze was one of many policies consigned to a bonfire of tax cuts from newly-appointed Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on Monday. Announced just a few weeks ago by Hunt’s predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng, the move would [...]
Matalan secures deadline extension for £350m debt payment October 17, 2022 Matalan has announced that its debt payments have been kicked back several months, buying the high street retailer more time to find cash. The discount clothes retailer said that a January deadline to refinance £350m of debt has been pushed back to July. Matalan described the update as “an important milestone” in its recapitalisation plan [...]
VAT free shopping U-turn ‘major blow’ for West End as tourists shun London for Paris and Milan October 17, 2022 Scrapping VAT free shopping for tourists is a “major blow” for London and the country’s economy, a group representing luxury stores in the West End and other retail hotspots has said. Paul Barnes, chief executive of the Association of International Retail (AIR) – whose members range from Bicester Village to Heathrow Airport – told CityA.M. the [...]
Made.com receives non-binding proposals in rescue sale talks October 17, 2022 Made has said it has recieved “a number of” non-binding indicative proposals, as the online homeware retailer searches for a buyer amid tumbling sales. After reviewing the proposals, the board has invited” a select number of parties” to progress towards firm offers by the end of October, following a due diligence process, Made said on [...]
Audioboom rakes in £50m in third quarter as advertising revenue perks up October 17, 2022 Podcast giant Audioboom has announced it took in £50m up until September, a 44 per cent increase on last year. The firm said quarterly revenue was however down from £15m to £14.3m as a tough economic climate continued to impact its intake. A boost in advertising revenue of £68m in 2022 so far has helped [...]
‘Heartbreaking’: Eve Sleep calls in administrators after unsuccessful sales talks October 17, 2022 Mattress seller Eve Sleep has been forced to call in administrators after bosses said the scale of the company had struggled to withstand an “economic tsunami” this year. The AIM-listed sleep wellness brand had been searching for a buyer or equity fundraising but said talks had not been successful. Shoppers had shunned big ticket items [...]
Dealmaker’s Spotlight: Evercore October 17, 2022 | City Talk Datasite recently spoke with Alexander Asher, Vice President, Consumer-Retail Team at Evercore, to hear his thoughts and insights on market conditions, trends, and technology. Evercore is a premier global independent investment advisory firm. Founded in 1995, the firm has advised on over US$4.7 trn M&A and restructuring transactions. Headquartered in New York, it has 17 advisory [...]