High street suffers worst December retail sales on record as online growth slumps January 8, 2021 December retail sales were negative for the first time on record in 2020, with online purchases slumping to the lowest level since the pandemic began, in the latest blow to the beleaguered UK high street. Online sales were at their lowest level since March, increasing by 62 per cent on the previous year, and were [...]
Louis Vuitton owner LVMH completes $16bn takeover of Tiffany & Co January 7, 2021 Louis Vuitton owner LVMH has completed its $16bn takeover of US jewellery brand Tiffany, the companies announced this afternoon. The deal was almost derailed last year when LVMH attempted to abandon the acquisition, prompting Tiffany to take legal action against the luxury goods conglomerate. Following the completion of the transaction, Louis Vuitton executive vice president [...]
Boots sales slump as shoppers prioritise supermarkets during pandemic January 7, 2021 Boots suffered a sharp drop in sales in the first quarter as consumers shifted towards “one-stop” supermarket shopping during the pandemic, the high street pharmacy’s US owner announced today. Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), the parent company of the UK chemist chain, said its retail pharmacy division’s sales fell 6.2 per cent to $2.6bn, driven by [...]
Fashion retailer Joules forecasts £18m revenue hit due to new lockdown restrictions January 7, 2021 British fashion retailer Joules has forecast a revenue hit of up to £18m due to the current Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in the UK, the firm said as it announced a sharp drop in store sales over the winter. Joules said total store sales declined 58 per cent in the seven weeks to 3 January due [...]
Toby Carvery owner Mitchells & Butlers explores equity raise due to third lockdown January 7, 2021 Mitchells & Butlers, which owns Toby Carvery, All Bar One and Nicholson’s, is exploring a potential equity raise due to the potential for further disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The pub chain, which last year axed 1,300 jobs due to the pandemic, said it is not possible to estimate the impact of further Covid-19 [...]
Snakes and Ladders: Who is moving jobs in the City this week? January 6, 2021 Snakes and Ladders provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Aberdeen Asset Management co-founder joins investment consultancy board Former Aberdeen Asset Management chief executive and co-founder Martin Gilbert has been appointed as deputy chairman of investment consultancy firm River and Mercantile Group. [...]
Wework unsure over long-term liquidity due to how Covid-19 changed the way we work January 6, 2021 Flexible office space giant Wework has raised concerns over its long-term future after the Covid-19 pandemic sparked a dramatic shift to remote-working. The company said today that it has sufficient liquidity to “mitigate the near-term uncertainty associated with Covid-19”. However it said the key judgements in relation to approving the company’s accounts as a going [...]
FRC: Deloitte allowed Autonomy to ‘present misleading financial position’ January 6, 2021 Deloitte’s audit of scandal-hit UK software firm Autonomy allowed the company to “present a misleading picture of its financial position”, the City watchdog said this morning. The Financial Reporting Council investigated the actions of Deloitte and former partners Richard Knights and Nigel Mercer in relation to their audits of the disgraced tech company’s accounts. Autonomy [...]
Greggs expects £15m full-year loss as coronavirus restrictions bite January 6, 2021 Greggs will swing to a full-year loss of up to £15m due to the impact of coronavirus lockdowns on trading, the high street bakery chain announced this morning. The company, which has cut 820 jobs due to the crisis, said the drop in demand means it expects to report a loss before tax for 2020 [...]
Retailers slash prices in December to tempt shoppers after bruising year January 6, 2021 Retailers slashed prices in December to tempt shoppers to spend in the run-up to Christmas following a challenging year for the beleaguered UK high street. Shop prices fell 1.8 per cent last month – the same rate of decline as in November – driven by discounting among the firms hit hardest by the pandemic, such [...]
