Major UK retailers urge chancellor for immediate business rates suspension March 17, 2020 Major British retailers have called on the chancellor to go further with measures to protect the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors from the dramatic economic impact of coronavirus. Primark, Arcadia and New Look are among the firms to sign a letter this afternoon urging Rishi Sunak to immediately suspend business rates bills until normal trading [...]
Carphone Warehouse to axe 3,000 jobs as it shuts all standalone stores March 17, 2020 Carphone Warehouse today said it will axe 2,900 jobs under plans to close all 531 of its standalone stores. Parent company Dixons Carphone said the radical move was caused by changes in the mobile market, rather than the coronavirus outbreak. The firm said 40 per cent of impacted colleagues were expected to take new roles [...]
Coronavirus: Major cinema chains close all sites March 17, 2020 The UK’s major cinema chains have announced they will close immediately after the government yesterday ramped up the fight back against coronavirus. Odeon, Vue, Picturehouse and Cineworld have all announced the closure of all their sites across the UK, while London’s BFI Southbank has also temporarily shut after the public were told to avoid public [...]
London brewers launch ‘Pub in a Box’ for self-isolation March 17, 2020 East London-based Signature Brew has launched a “Pub in a Box” for those self-isolating amid the coronavirus outbreak. It comes just a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Brits to avoid the pub as part of measures designed to encourage “social distancing” amid the global pandemic. Founder Sam McGregor said the Pub in a [...]
Coronavirus: Selfridges and Harrods cut opening hours March 17, 2020 Luxury department stores Harrods and Selfridges have scaled back their opening hours in a bid to slow the spread of coronavirus. Selfridges said it will be open between 11am and 7pm Monday to Saturday at its London, Birmingham and Manchester stores. Sunday trading hours will remain the same. Meanwhile Harrods announced that from today it [...]
Laura Ashley collapses after coronavirus hits trading March 17, 2020 High street retailer Laura Ashley has collapsed into administration due to the outbreak of coronavirus. The company announced this morning that the outbreak had “an immediate and significant impact on trading”, and the retailer was unable to secure third party backing or additional financial support from main shareholder Mui Asia. Laura Ashley said it has [...]
Coronavirus: Pub stocks plunge on ‘stay home’ advice March 17, 2020 Pub stocks plummeted this morning following government advice for the public to avoid pubs and restaurants to slow the spread of coronavirus. The hospitality sector yesterday branded the government’s decision to urge people to stop going to venues without offering any additional help for businesses “catastrophic”. Pub operator Marston’s share price dropped more than 28 [...]
Compass Group’s shares slump as coronavirus closures dent profits March 17, 2020 Compass Group is the FTSE 100’s biggest faller as it warned interim profits will be lower than expected because of closures in its sport, leisure and education businesses. The catering company said the acceleration of containment measures adopted by governments and clients in Europe and North America, notably the closure of schools and cancellation of [...]
Ferguson shares tumble on coronavirus impact warning March 17, 2020 Shares in plumbing group Ferguson slumped over 13 per cent in morning trading after it warned it could not confirm its full-year outlook due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company also reported a 5.7 per cent drop in pre-tax profit for the six months ending 31 January, which fell to $640m (£522m). Revenue rose 1.1 [...]
City Pub Group to slash jobs as coronavirus threat looms March 17, 2020 City Pub Group today said it will lay off staff across the company as it braces for a decline in footfall caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The upmarket pub chain said it will reduce employee numbers in its head office and at site level, while opening hours will be reviewed to cut out “non-productive” times. [...]