Patisserie Valerie keeps shareholders in the dark on future as last ditch talks with banks continue January 21, 2019 Patisserie Valerie’s holding company has failed to shed further light on the future of the troubled bakery chain after announcing this morning talks were still ongoing with its creditors to save the company. The firm was expected to provide an update this morning, after speculation the last week of talks with its banks could spell [...]
Retail property value set to plunge as owners battle online shopping rise January 21, 2019 The value of retail property is set to fall by 15.9 per cent this year as owners and investors battle to tempt online shoppers back to the high street. A total of 62 per cent of major UK property owners and investors said e-commerce businesses such as Amazon are disrupting the commercial real estate industry [...]
Mike Ashley enters talks to buy struggling music store chain HMV and eyes new PR team January 20, 2019 Mike Ashley is looking to strengthen his grip on the high street by entering talks to buy struggling music store HMV while searching for a new communications firm to oversee his expanding retail empire. The ambitious business tycoon, who has bought House of Fraser and Evans Cycles in the past six months, is bidding to [...]
Former Superdry boss could call shareholder meeting to force return January 20, 2019 Former Superdry boss Julian Dunkerton has said he will call an extraordinary general meeting of the company’s shareholders in the next four weeks in a bid to return to the company. Dunkerton, who co-founded the business, has been campaigning to return to the company, after a string of profit warnings and a calamitous drop in [...]
Philip Green closes 210 Arcadia stores over two years January 20, 2019 Arcadia boss Philip Green has closed 210 stores over the last two years, representing around a fifth of his UK retail empire. The tycoon allowed the leases to run out on individual stores instead of renewing them during an ongoing battle with falling sales and increasing property costs, the Sunday Telegraph reported. A total of 62 [...]
Profit warnings by UK retailers at the highest level since Global Financial Crisis January 20, 2019 The number of UK retailers issuing profit warnings reached a ten year high last year as the sector endured a torrid twelve months, according to data from accounting giant EY. Data showed that 38 per cent of FTSE general retailers issued profit warnings in 2018, a 50 per cent increase on the previous year and [...]
Poor trading over Christmas period dulls Tiffany and Co’s outlook January 18, 2019 Luxury US jeweller Tiffany and Co has become the latest retailer to suffer in a global downturn as it reported a decline in sales over the Christmas period. Worldwide net sales declined one per cent to $1.04bn and like for like sales were down two per cent for the two months ending 31 December. Read [...]
Godiva shortlists bidders ahead of $1.5bn Asia-Pacific sell off January 18, 2019 Premium chocolatier Godiva has selected Baring Private Equity Asia and CVC Capital Partners as two of the suitors to make final bids for the company's Asia-Pacific assets. Other firms that have been shortlisted include buyout company North Asian MBK Partners and Marunouchi Capital, an investment arm of Mitsubishi. The companies are set to go head [...]
Shopping centre put up for auction for £1 as retail sector looks to a challenging 2019 January 18, 2019 Worries on the high street were compounded this morning as a Scottish shopping centre was put up for sale for a solitary pound. The Postings Shopping Centre in Fife boasts a pharmacy, a bakery and a cafe over 80,618 sq ft. Read more: Retail sales fall as 'suffocating' Brexit uncertainty envelopes UK high streets However it [...]
Toy retailer The Entertainer posts bumper sales growth in Christmas trading January 18, 2019 The Entertainer toy group has reported strong sales growth over the Christmas period despite retailers facing the most challenging festive trading season in a decade. The family-owned retailer, which sells online and through its stores, said sales for the five weeks to 29 December were up 22.4 per cent on the same period in the [...]