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. [...]
WH Smith shareholders eye growth plans after sale of high street stores April 13, 2025 Investors in WH Smith will be keen for more details on its strategy after agreeing to sell its UK high street stores and the potential impact of US tariffs when the retail firm updates the market next week. It has been a busy start to 2025 for the historic retailer as it has pivoted to [...]
Clintons back in profit after closing stores and cutting over 300 jobs April 7, 2025 Clintons has surged back into the black after closing more stores and cutting over 300 jobs. The gift card giant has posted a pre-tax profit of £8m for the year to 29 June, 2024, according to new accounts filed with Companies House. The total comes after Clintons made a pre-tax loss of £5.3m in the [...]
UK retailers respond to Trump tariffs: ‘The timing couldn’t be worse’ April 4, 2025 Retail bodies and tax advisers have warned that Trump’s tariffs come at a dire time for UK retail, saying price rises are “inevitable”. US President Donald Trump announced a 10 per cent tariff on goods from the UK on 2 April, and a range of higher tariffs on many of the countries retailers manufacture goods [...]
Shop prices fall again but ‘inflation is coming’ April 1, 2025 Shop prices fell again in March but a retail body has warned higher business taxes mean inflation is on the horizon. Retail prices have been in deflation since August 2024, primarily driven by deep discounting by non-food retailers. Shop price deflation was 0.4 per cent year on year in March, against a decline of 0.7 [...]