Ebay calls for government funding to help charities innovate during pandemic June 26, 2020 Ebay’s UK arm has put pressure on the government to do more to help charities during the coronavirus pandemic by establishing an innovation fund to support online retail and services. The e-commerce giant is part of a coalition behind the initiative, which also includes Barnardo’s, the Charity Retail Association and New Philanthropy Capital. The fund [...]
Retailers pay less than 15 per cent of rent for June quarter as property crisis deepens June 25, 2020 Britain’s retailers paid just 13.8 per cent of their rent for the last quarter, in a sign of how hard the coronavirus pandemic has hit the sector. Rent receipts on 24 June, the day commercial tenants’ payments were due for the quarter, were even lower than those three months ago, according to commercial property management [...]
Young’s pub chain taps investors for £88m ahead of pubs reopening June 25, 2020 Young’s pub chain has raised more than £88m from its investors via a share placing ahead of the reopening of pubs from next week. The firm said it had placed a total of 4,263,453 placing shares at 1,160p per share and 4.9m non-voting shares at 735p per share to raise £85.5m. Young’s also raised a [...]
N Brown shares drop as profit falls on ‘year of restructuring’ June 25, 2020 Fashion retailer N Brown has today posted falls in both profit and revenue for the last financial year, blaming the drop on a lengthy period of “restructuring” the business. In the 12 months to 29 February 2020, the owner of the Simply Be and Jacamo brands said adjusted profit before tax fell 28.8 per cent [...]
CMA clears Amazon’s £442m Deliveroo stake despite delivery firm’s coronavirus turnaround June 24, 2020 Britain’s competition watchdog has provisionally cleared Amazon’s £442m investment in Deliveroo, saying that it is “not likely to result in a substantial lessening of competition”. The Competition and Markets Authority has been looking into whether the deal would damage competition in either restaurant delivery or online convenience grocery delivery. The decision to let the investment [...]
Data breach fears raised over test and trace pubs register June 24, 2020 Cyber security experts have raised privacy fears over the potential for data breaches in the government’s plan to make pubs and restaurants keep a register of all visitors. Under new rules laid out yesterday, all hospitality venues must keep a guest register to record the contact details of visitors for 21 days to help track [...]
Rent day: Landlords braced for as little as one-sixth of quarterly payments June 24, 2020 Commercial property owners are braced to receive as little as 15 per cent of the rent they are owed today, with quarterly payments due by the end of today. Experts have warned of an impending crisis on both the landlord and tenant side without further government support, with businesses across the spectrum unable to pay [...]
Guinness owner Diageo launches $100m fund to help pubs reopen June 24, 2020 Guinness owner Diageo has today announced a recovery fund to help pubs and bars reopen following the coronavirus lockdown. The drinks maker will provide $100m in funding through its “Raising the Bar” scheme to major hospitality centres, including London, Edinburgh, Dublin and Belfast. Hospitality has been one of the hardest-hit sectors as the pandemic forced [...]
Naked Wines sales skyrocket as online orders boom during pandemic June 24, 2020 Revenue for the first two months of Naked Wines’ current financial year has soared, thanks to an increase in online orders for home delivery as Brits get through lockdown. Naked Wines said revenue in the two months to the end of May rose 81 per cent, but stopped short of providing full financial guidance due [...]
Premier Foods sales surge during coronavirus lockdown June 24, 2020 Mr Kipling cakes maker Premier Foods has swung to a full-year profit, after a jump in sales due to the coronavirus lockdown. The figures Premier Foods revenue for the full year edged up 2.8 per cent to £847.1m, while revenue for the fourth quarter increased 3.6 per cent. Trading profit rose 3.2 per cent to [...]