Signs of rising unemployment already apparent, says BoE’s Haskel July 1, 2020 Bank of England interest rate-setter Jonathan Haskel said that indicators of rising unemployment in the UK caused by the coronavirus crisis “are already revealing themselves.” In a speech given today, Haskel said there was a risk that Britain’s economy would be harder hit by the pandemic than the central bank has predicted. “I believe the [...]
B&M maintains strong growth as sales pass £1bn during lockdown July 1, 2020 B&M European Value Retail hailed a “strong” first quarter as sales passed £1bn amid the coronavirus lockdown. The figures In the period between 29 March and 27 June, B&M reported 27.7 per cent growth in group revenue from £904.6m to £1.15bn. B&M UK revenue for the period jumped 33.7 per cent to £987.8m, with like-for-like [...]
Sainsbury’s sales up 8.5 per cent as grocer ‘feeds the nation’ during lockdown July 1, 2020 Grocer Sainsbury’s today said that total first quarter sales increased by 8.5 per cent as the supermarket beat expectations despite the coronavirus pandemic. It said that although it was forecasting a £500m profit hit due to the crisis, stronger grocery sales and business rates relief would offset the shortfall. Shares in the grocer jumped initially [...]
British Land boosted by reopening of retail stores July 1, 2020 Real estate firm British Land has reported strong sales as lockdown restrictions on non-essential retail started to ease earlier this month. The pandemic seems to have had little effect on consumer confidence. In the week commencing 14 June, when restrictions started to ease, British Land reported footfall at its English assets was 64 per cent [...]
UK coronavirus death toll nears 55,000 June 30, 2020 The United Kingdom’s coronavirus death toll has hit 54,872, according to a tally of official data that shows the UK is one of the world’s worst hit geographies. England and Wales have now recorded 49,371 coronavirus deaths from the start of the pandemic to 19 June, Office for National Statistics data has showed. England saw 47,127 [...]
Intu falls into administration after lender talks fall through June 26, 2020 Retail landlord Intu has fallen into administration after lenders failed to agree to last-minute relief on the company’s debt obligations today. Intu’s failure to raise new capital means KPMG will now step in to handle its administration. Adminstrators James Tucker, Michael Pink and David PIke will lead the process. Intu’s shares have now been suspended [...]
Microsoft to permanently close all retail stores June 26, 2020 Microsoft has said it intends to keep all of its retail locations closed permanently, as it reorganises its sales offering towards online shopping. It said its retail team members will “continue to serve customers from Microsoft corporate facilities”, remotely providing sales, training, and support. No job losses were mentioned. It added that it will reimagine some of its [...]
Aston Martin seeks to raise £152m to bolster finances June 26, 2020 Aston Martin today said it will ask investors to snap up £152m of new shares to help it become roadworthy once more amid sinking sales and the coronavirus pandemic. Britain’s luxury car manufacturer said the equity raise, planned for the end of June, would be equivalent to around 20 per cent of its existing issued [...]
Card Factory chief Karen Hubbard steps down after four years June 26, 2020 Card Factory has announced its chief executive Karen Hubbard will step down at the end of the month after four years at the helm. The retailer said non-executive chairman Paul Moody would take on an executive chair role until it names a new boss. Card Factory said that as it looks forward to the execution [...]
H&M losses worsen as pandemic hurts sales June 26, 2020 Losses at H&M were slightly worse than expected in the second quarter as shopper activity slumped amid the coronavirus pandemic. The world’s second biggest fashion retailer said its loss before tax in the three months to May was 6.48bn Swedish crowns (£559.4m), against a profit of 5.93bn crowns a year earlier. Analysts had on average [...]