Oak Furnitureland to cut 160 jobs amid store closures July 27, 2020 Oak Furnitureland is preparing to permanently close 27 showrooms, putting 163 employees at risk of redundancy in the latest blow for the UK retail industry. The furniture retailer, which was bought by investment firm Davidson Kempner Capital Management last month, said adverse trading conditions after the coronavirus lockdown had forced it to close stores. All [...]
Boohoo to open ‘model garment factory’ in Leicester July 27, 2020 Boohoo, the fast fashion retailer facing allegations of poor working practices at its factory in Leicester, is setting up its own clothing manufacturing facility in the city. The e-commerce giant purchased a former car showroom site in Leicester about six weeks ago to develop a model garment factory in a joint venture with a supplier. [...]
Sainsbury’s trials queuing app for local lockdowns July 27, 2020 Sainsbury’s has launched a virtual queuing app to prepare for potential local lockdowns, with trials beginning at five UK stores today. Customers will be able to use the Ufirst app to queue at stores in Pimlico and Uxbridge in London from today. The supermarket will also test the app at stores in Newham Royal Wharf, [...]
Rishi Sunak mulls online sales tax for e-commerce retailers July 27, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is mulling a new tax on online retail sales to ease pressure on the struggling UK high street. In a call for evidence published last week the Treasury sought industry views on a potential online sales tax for e-commerce retailers to help physical stores compete. The tax, which would exist alongside business [...]
City Pub Group toasts return to profitability after reopening July 27, 2020 City Pub Group this morning toasted a return to profitability since reopening after the coronavirus lockdown. The pub chain, which has so far reopened 32 of its 48 pubs, said total sales for the three weeks since reopening on 4 July were £1.8m. On a like-for-like basis sales have reached 63 per cent of pre-pandemic [...]
Green King’s Cross development receives £69m boost July 24, 2020 A new sustainable development in the heart of King’s Cross has received a boost with a £69m green loan facility from HSBC and Natwest. Property developer Argent secured the loan to complete the Cadence project, which will offer 163 flats, including 60 “intermediate affordable” rent apartments. The deal follows a similar £400m green loan for [...]
Pub and restaurant sales jump in second week of trading July 24, 2020 Pub, bar and restaurant sales started to improve in the second week after lockdown was lifted as more sites reopened, the latest research showed. Hospitality businesses in England were allowed to reopen from 4 July as the coronavirus lockdown was eased, but sales jumped in the week beginning 13 July as more venues opened and [...]
The City View: Imran Gulamhuseinwala on Britain’s open banking future July 23, 2020 Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Today Andy is joined by Imran Gulamhuseinwala, the Implementation Trustee of Open Banking Ltd and the man tasked by the Government with driving forward the UK’s adoption of this potentially revolutionary technology. They discuss the journey so far, the challenges along the way, and the burgeoning industry of third-party [...]
Countryside Properties taps investors for £250m after lockdown July 23, 2020 UK housebuilder Countryside Properties has tapped investors for £250m to strengthen its balance sheet following the coronavirus lockdown. The developer said the funds will pay its revolving credit facility, which will then be used to invest £150m in its partnerships division as well as £100m to strengthen its current balance sheet position. “The fundraising is [...]
Twitter suffers advertising revenue slump amid pandemic and US protests July 23, 2020 Twitter suffered a 23 per cent slump in advertising revenue in the second quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest in the US. The social media giant said today that advertising revenue was $562m, down 23 per cent year-on-year. The company said it had seen a “gradual, moderate recovery” compared to March, however [...]
