Alarm bells as retail sales suffer largest fall in 18 months June 20, 2025 UK high streets suffered from post-Easter fatigue among shoppers as official data showed retail sales dropped by 2.7 per cent in May. The Office for National Statistics said a fall in sales in May represented the largest month-on-month drop since December 2023. A Bloomberg poll of economists expected retail sales to drop by 0.5 per [...]
Holly Tucker: I was lost after leaving Not On The High Street June 19, 2025 Holly Tucker, founder of retail behemoth Not On The High Street, tells us about leaving her business and setting up anew in this week's Square Mile and Me.
Poundland to close 68 stores in restructuring plan June 17, 2025 Poundland has announced the closure of just under 10 per cent of its estate as its restructuring plan takes shape under new ownership. The discount retailer, previously owned by Pepco, was acquired by investment giant Gordon Brothers for just £1 after a prolonged period of declining sales. The chain has struggled with “challenging trading conditions”, [...]
Retail shrinks by over 360,000 jobs in a decade June 10, 2025 The number of retail jobs in the UK has shrunk by more than a tenth since 2015, according to new data. There were 2.76m jobs in retail in March 2025, 360,000 fewer than in 2015, according to the latest report by the ONS. The number of full-time jobs has fallen by 117,000 since 2015, while the number [...]
Boots: Profit jumps after closing hundreds of stores June 5, 2025 Profit at Boots has surged as the high street pharmacy chain closed hundreds of stores during its latest financial year as its owners abandoned plans for an initial public offering (IPO). The Nottingham-headquartered business shuttered 334 locations in the year to the end of August 2024, new accounts filed with Companies House have revealed. Instead [...]
How EV charging points could be used to help the high street May 25, 2025 EVs could help revive our high streets – if we put charging points where people actually go, writes Robin Heap.
SSP: Upper Crust owner’s shares surge after profit soars May 20, 2025 Owner of Upper Crust bakery chain SSP Group grew across a number of business lines in its half-year report as revenue soared, despite some headwinds in Europe. The FTSE 250 firm recorded £45m in operating profit – up 20 per cent growth from the first six months of 2024. Shares soared nearly four per cent [...]
Pret A Manger: Why prices rises are ‘inevitable’ after surviving ‘near-death crisis’ May 19, 2025 The boss of Pret A Manger in the UK has revealed the tough economic reality the country is currently facing means it is “inevitable” that some prices will have to be increased. Clare Clough admitted recent years have been “challenging” for the high street staple but that the brand’s number one priority is to find [...]
Government urged to prioritise high streets or risk losing seats to Reform May 19, 2025 A retail lobby group has warned that job losses in the sector could overwhelmingly affect areas at risk of turning from Labour to Reform. The Retail Jobs Alliance (RJA), made up big names like ASDA, Primark, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, found that retail is a major driver of local employment in areas where Reform made significant [...]
Brent Cross shopping centre taken over in £200m deal May 12, 2025 London’s Brent Cross shopping centre is to come under the full control of Hammerson after a £200m deal to buy out Aberdeen was confirmed. Hammerson, which currently owns 41 per cent of the landmark shopping centre, will raise its stake to over 90 per cent by acquiring units from the Aberdeen UK Shopping Centre Trust. [...]