Poundland on brink of collapse as it files notice to appoint administrators October 29, 2026 Poundland is teetering on the edge of collapse after its directors filed a notice of intent to appoint administrators, in a move that puts the future of its thousands of workers in doubt. The company made the filing to the High Court on Thursday, suggesting that AlixPartners, its administrators, could be formally called in to [...]
Jobs on the line as Poundland poised to appoint administrators October 28, 2026 Poundland’s directors are poised to appoint administrators as the beleaguered discount retailer staggers towards collapse. The company is preparing to make a filing to the High Court, which could come as soon as Wednesday evening, which would fire the starting gun on its race to find buyers for its assets and new homes for its [...]
Healey funds high street tax cuts with raid on gambling firms and online sellers October 28, 2026 The government will fund tax breaks for small high street shops by hiking taxes on gambling and cracking down on online sellers, John Healey said. In his first Budget, the Chancellor said he will slash taxes on the high street by raising the threshold at which small firms start paying business rates from £12,000 to [...]
Poundland owners push retailer towards insolvency October 27, 2026 Poundland’s owners are resisting a takeover bid from an Irish property firm and instead pushing the discount retailer close to collapse. The leading bidder to take over the struggling discount retailer, Martin Property Group (MPG), has failed to win the favour of Poundland’s owners because it has not offered to pay for a loan up [...]
Healey warned ‘the dam is breaking’ on shop price inflation October 27, 2026 The Chancellor has been warned that the “dam is starting to break” on surging shop price inflation, which retailers had kept at bay with heavy discounting. Shop prices rose by 2.1 per cent in the year to October, according to new data from the British Retail Consortium, ahead of September’s 1.4 per cent and the [...]
Supermarkets blindsided by ‘shambolic’ stockpiling warning October 23, 2026 Supermarkets have been caught off guard by the government’s “shambolic” campaign to urge Brits to stock up on supplies of food and water, industry sources told City AM. Retailers were not told the details of the government’s “Be Ready” campaign until days before it was announced and expected it to be a more “low key” [...]
Boohoo eyes £100m profit as online seller revives fortunes October 23, 2026 Fast fashion firm Boohoo has set its sights on a £100m profit after emerging from years of consecutive losses. The London-listed firm, which owns Debenhams, Karen Millen and Pretty Little Thing, said its turnaround plans are “significantly ahead” of schedule after producing its first pre-tax profit since 2021. Boohoo has endured a rocky few years, [...]
Supermarket giants welcome crackdown on Aldi and Lidl October 22, 2026 Supermarket giants, including Waitrose and Morrisons, have welcomed the competition watchdog’s decision to crack down on Aldi and Lidl. Lidl and Aldi are currently excluded from a law which bans the UK’s biggest supermarket chains from engaging in so-called ‘landblocking‘. Top grocers have already warned that the existing rules allowed the two German discounters to use a “problematic” [...]
Budget 2026: Sainsbury’s boss urges Labour to tackle Neets crisis October 22, 2026 The boss of Sainsbury’s has urged the government to tackle the UK’s youth unemployment crisis, as he hit out at previous hikes to the cost of hiring workers. Simon Roberts, chief executive of the UK’s second-largest grocer, said John Healey must “focus on doing the right thing for young people” at next week’s Budget. In [...]
Budget 2026: Consumer confidence tumbles as Healey urged to slow ‘tsunami of costs’ October 22, 2026 John Healey has been urged to tackle the “tsunami of costs” facing firms as consumer confidence tumbled ahead of the crucial Budget next week. Brits’ confidence in the state of the economy worsened from -32 to -40 in October, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)’s index, marking the third consecutive month of deteriorating sentiment. [...]