London developer swaps hotel plans for student housing in £173m forward fund May 23, 2022 London developer Dominvs has completed the country’s largest forward fund in the purpose built student accommodation sector for £173m, with Scape. Comprising 713-beds, the scheme will be one of the capital’s largest student accommodation developments, Dominvs exclusively told CityA.M. The university housing deal came after Dominvs had secured consent for two hotels on the Hammersmith [...]
Shops’ tax bill 755 per cent higher than online rivals amid war of words over sales tax May 23, 2022 Traditional brick and mortar retailers pay 755 per cent more – almost eight times – than their online rivals in business rates tax. The figures come after Sainsbury’s and Marks and Spencer execs have voiced differing opinions over the prospect of an online sales tax. Fresh analysis by real estate advisor Altus Group has found [...]
Gymshark nets £45m profit as founder Ben Francis climbs up Sunday Times Rich List May 22, 2022 Sportswear brand Gymshark has pocketed a £45.4m pre-tax profit – a further jolt of good news for its young founder, who has risen in the Sunday Times Rich List. The e-commerce fashion retailer saw profit rocket in the year to July 2021, compared to 2020’s sum of £30.4m, according to accounts filed to Companies House [...]
Fat Face eyes hunt for new buyer after recruiting bankers May 22, 2022 Clothing and accessories retailer FatFace has recruited bankers to mull a sale of the company, it has been reported. The British retailer has hired Rothschild to explore the brand’s options, The Sunday Times reported. It comes two years after its private equity owner relinquished it to lenders after suffering unbearable debts during the pandemic. After [...]
Online sales boom: Barclay family resuscitate plans for Very Group £4bn public listing May 22, 2022 The family behind the Telegraph newspapers is thought to be reviving plans for a blockbuster IPO of online retail giant Very Group. The Barclay family are keen to get sidelined plans for a £4bn float back on track, according to a report in The Times. Very Group owns e-commerce brands including fashion retailer Very and [...]
Shares fly for THG as bidding war pushes online retailer’s value to £1.8bn May 20, 2022 Shares in the online retailer THG surge as much 25 per cent this afternoon as investors back the bidding war taking hold of the ecommerce firm. The online health and beauty retailer said that it had batted away a £2.07bn bid from two investment companies, Belerion Capital and King Street Capital Management last night. It [...]
April retail volumes continue on downward trend amid cost of living crisis May 20, 2022 Retail sales volumes continue to go downward amid the cost of living crisis. According to the Office for National Statistics, volumes rose 1.4 per cent in April following a 1.2 per fall in March, while values went up by 1.9 per cent. But looking more broadly, in the three months to April, sales volumes fell [...]
Over 60? Supermarket giant Iceland to fight cost-of-living crisis by giving older shoppers 10 per cent discount May 20, 2022 Frozen food chain Iceland is set to introduce a discount for seniors as Britons struggle with soaring prices. The supermarket chain has announced that, from May 24, customers aged over 60 will receive a 10 per cent discount on their groceries every Tuesday with no minimum spend. In order to redeem the discount, senior shoppers [...]
Exclusive: Logistics warehouses expanded by 200 football pitches worth of space last year May 20, 2022 Distribution warehouses expanded to the tune of more than 200 football pitches last year, as pandemic momentum for e-commerce firms continues to swell. An additional 1.5 mm² space has been snapped up by e-commerce firms, according to an analysis of official data by law firm RPC, exclusively shared with CityA.M. E-commerce sales were worth £28bn [...]
Coca Cola launches music content platform featuring international artists May 19, 2022 Coca Cola is launching a music platform with content from emerging music stars from across the globe, including Ari Lennox and Griff.