Arcadia taking ‘appropriate steps’ amid second lockdown but denies administration November 16, 2020 Sir Philip Green’s retail empire Arcadia has said it is taking “all appropriate steps” to mitigate the impact of a second lockdown and hit back at claims it is about to enter into administration. The second lockdown in England comes at a precarious time as retailers prepared for the Christmas period hoping to salvage the [...]
Greggs to cut 820 jobs as Covid-19 impact bites November 13, 2020 Greggs will cut 820 shop staff jobs as it expects trading to remain below normal for the foreseeable future due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a company spokeswoman confirmed this evening. In September Greggs launched a consultation with union and employee representatives and was aiming to minimise job losses by negotiating reduced staff hours. The company [...]
Majority of Brits sceptical of Black Friday offers, survey shows November 13, 2020 A huge majority of Brits are sceptical about Black Friday offers, believing many of the discounts are too good to be true, the latest research showed in the run up to the annual sales day. Black Friday has become one of the biggest shopping days of the year, and will be of particular importance to [...]
Deliveroo adds ex-Worldpay CFO to board November 13, 2020 Former Worldpay chief financial officer Rick Medlock has joined Deliveroo’s non-executive board. The move comes as the takeaway delivery app prepares to pursue a public listing in the coming months, Sky News reported. Sources told Sky News that Deliveroo had also been approaching candidates for its chairmanship. Deliveroo is said to have appointed bankers at [...]
JD Sports’ merger with Footasylum edges nearer after appeal November 13, 2020 The competition watchdog’s decision to block a merger between JD Sports and Footasylum has been overturned following an appeal. The Competition Appeals Tribunal said today that the Competition and Markets Authority had acted “irrationally” when it ruled in May that the tie-up would lead to a “substantially” lessening of competition nationally. The tribunal ruled that [...]
Caffe Nero seeks rescue deal due to second coronavirus lockdown November 13, 2020 Caffe Nero has launched a restructuring plan to reduce costs due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the coffee chain’s branches in city centre and transport hub locations. The high street cafe chain has appointed KPMG to advise on a Company Voluntary Arrangement following the introduction of a second coronavirus lockdown. City A.M. [...]
Tesco apologises to customers over Christmas delivery booking delays November 13, 2020 Tesco has been forced to apologise to customers facing delays trying to book a delivery slot for Christmas shopping following a surge in demand. The supermarket said this morning that it had placed shoppers in a “virtual waiting room” to help it manage the influx of customers trying to secure a home delivery for the [...]
Edinburgh Woollen Mill administrators hail ‘strong performance’ November 13, 2020 The firm managing the administration of Edinburgh Woollen Mill today hailed a “strong performance” for the first half of the year. FRP Advisory said that revenue had risen 14 per cent year-on-year to £35.4m, while earnings had increased seven per cent to £9.7m. It said that it had achieved the growth even though the number [...]
Parthe-nope: Travel corridors opened to eight countries but Greece removed November 12, 2020 A raft of new countries have been added to the UK’s travel corridor list, meaning people will not have to self isolate upon returning from them. Iceland, Chile, Cambodia, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, Laos, and Turks and Caicos have all been added to the quarantine free travel list. Those arriving from the countries from Saturday [...]
First lockdown cost food and drink industry £751m a week in lost sales, research shows November 12, 2020 The first UK-wide national lockdown cost the food and drink industry £751m a week in lost revenue, according to the latest research. Out-of-home food consumption fell 36 per cent in the first half of 2020, as the closure of restaurants and cafes and the shift to remote working forced Brits to eat more meals at [...]