UK high streets risk becoming ‘wastelands’ with 15,000 shops to shutter by 2025 August 16, 2023 Up to 15,000 shops could disappear from the UK’s high streets by the end of 2025, a new report has warned, as more and more consumers choose to online over in-store shopping. Data from the Local Data Company showed that between 2018 and 2022, over 41,000 stores opened and 79,000 stores closed, resulting in 37,700 [...]
London nightclub fined after serving caustic soda with tequilas, instead of salt December 19, 2023 A nightclub has been fined after one of its bartenders mistakenly gave customers caustic soda instead of salt with their tequila shots. Four customers were taken to hospital after ingesting the cleaning chemical at the Tiger Tiger nightclub in Haymarket, central London, Westminster City Council said. The venue was fined £120,000 having pleaded guilty to [...]
Westminster street renamed ‘Kyiv Road’ to mark anniversary of invasion February 24, 2023 A central London street has been renamed ‘Kyiv Road’ to mark the first anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine by Putin’s Russia. Westminster City Council announced the move to mark the landmark date today. Council leader Adam Hug said: “Westminster is home to Ukrainians displaced by the war, and our residents have opened their hearts [...]
TfL and Westminster join forces with business to lure shoppers back to The Strand October 19, 2023 A new taskforce will be set up to boost footfall to London's historic Strand district after home working trends hit retailers.
HomeServe founder pours £110m in crusade to revive flailing British high street August 20, 2023 HomeServe founder Richard Harpin is injecting £110m of his own cash into medium-sized businesses, aiming to breathe life back into the UK’s beleaguered high streets. After cashing in on the sale of insurance company HomeServe to Brookfield last year for a cool £4.1bn, the home repairs mogul Harpin said he is trying to “help others [...]
IKEA pushes back opening of Oxford Street site August 24, 2023 IKEA is pushing back the date to open its flagship store on Oxford Street, with shoppers forced to hold out an extra 12 months to buy flat pack goods on the iconic London street. Two years ago the Swedish retailer inked a £378m deal to takeover the former Topshop site, after its parent company Arcadia collapsed [...]
M&S launches legal challenge after Gove blocks Oxford Street store revamp August 31, 2023 Marks and Spencer has launched a legal challenge against the government’s decision to reject the supermarket’s plan to revamp its Marble Arch store. The high street stalwart has accused Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, of unfairly applying planning policy to block the redesign of its flagship store. “We [...]
Thirty American candy shops on Oxford Street probed over tax dodging claims June 13, 2022 Dozens of American-candy shops on Oxford Street are being probed over claims they failed to pay £7.9m in business rates. Westminster City Council said on Monday that it had seized counterfeit and illegal goods amounting to a £474,000 sum over the past six months. The council told the BBC that the 30 shops under investigation [...]
M&S given go ahead to take Gove to court over Marble Arch store revamp November 20, 2023 M&S has been given the green light to challenge Micheal Gove over his decision to reject the store's plans to revamp its flagship shop in Marble Arch.
Greggs fights for its right to sell late night sausage rolls at flagship London Leicester Square store April 18, 2023 Greggs is gearing up for a court battle against its ban on selling late night sausage rolls and steak bakes at its flagship site in Leicester Square. As first reported in the Evening Standard, Greggs was prohibited from serving its baked goods 24hrs a day after the police feared the extended opening times could lead [...]