Greene King pubs boss pleads for reopening date as industry wrote off 2020 with £7.8bn sales hit February 10, 2021 The boss of FTSE-listed pubs giant Greene King is among brewers asking the UK government for reopening dates and a way out of restrictions that have left a £7.8bn hole in industry sales.
Arcadia staff gear up for legal action against Philip Green’s retail empire February 9, 2021 Dozens of ex-Arcadia staff have vowed to take legal action against the retail consortium, after it became clear their jobs would not be saved when the Arcadia brands were sold. Arcadia fell into administration in December, becoming the biggest high street casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic. Earlier this week online fashion giant Boohoo announced it [...]
Joules buys digital retailer for up to £12.5m in bid to expand in booming homeware market February 9, 2021 Joules has bought digital homeware retailer The Garden Trading Company for up to £12.5m, as it seeks to expand further into the thriving interiors market. Garden Trading sells its own home, garden and outdoor product designs through its direct-to-consumer platform and through 1,000 stockists across the UK. Joules said the acquisition will strengthen its position [...]
Back to basics: Three ‘Rs’ can revive the High Street February 9, 2021 The news this week that Asos has bought Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge from the failed Arcadia group is the latest evidence of the rapidly increasing dominance of younger online retailers over the traditional bricks-and-mortar fashion stores. The deal comes hot on the heels of Boohoo agreeing to pay £55m for the Debenhams brand last week. And [...]
Around 2,450 high street jobs lost as Boohoo buys Arcadia brands at ‘discount price’ February 8, 2021 The sale of Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton to Boohoo has put 2,450 jobs at risk, as all of the Arcadia brands’ physical stores are set to close. Deloitte, which was appointed as administrator to Sir Philip Green’s collapsed retail empire, announced today that Boohoo has bought the brands’ digital assets for £25.2m. All 214 [...]
The Week Ahead: Look out for GDP data, Ocado, AstraZ, Twitter and Ted Baker February 8, 2021 Start your week informed: here are the announcements and results to look out for this week. UK GDP: A double dip recession is looming After a fairly decent third quarter, and an expansion of 16 per cent, the UK economy has had a much more troubled fourth quarter, with the likelihood that we may well [...]
UK supermarket chiefs call for online sales tax on firms like Amazon February 8, 2021 Some of the UK’s largest retailers, including Tesco and Asda, have called for Rishi Sunak to “rebalance the tax base” between online and bricks and mortar retail in an apparent push for a new digital sales levy on firms like Amazon. In a letter to Sunak, 18 chief executives and union bosses said “online retailers [...]
Labour calls for UK tax cut extensions before 3 March Budget February 7, 2021 Labour is calling for an extension to tax cuts for some of the UK sectors worst affected by the Covid pandemic. Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds today urged Rishi Sunak to extend the current VAT cut, from 20 per cent to five per cent, for retail and hospitality for another six months past March or or [...]
Pandemic profiteers face tax hike on Covid winnings February 7, 2021 Companies that have cashed in a result of the coronavirus pandemic, including the likes of Amazon, will face a double tax raid under plans being draw up by the government. The government has summoned companies to discuss how an online sales tax would work, while plans are also being drawn up for a one-off “excessive profits tax,” the [...]
Central London retail investment doubles as fresh brands swoop on empty high street stores February 5, 2021 Less established brands swooped on discounted central London property in the final quarter of last year, as the collapse of former high street stalwarts has prime space up for grabs. Total central London retail investment in the fourth quarter of 2020 reached £475m, more than double the volume reported in the final three months of [...]