Coronavirus: Supermarkets urge customers to stop stockpiling March 15, 2020 UK supermarkets have called on the UK public to stop stockpiling in response to coronavirus as fears mount that some people could be left without essential products. In an open letter to customers, the country’s biggest food retailers, including Sainsbury’s, Tesco Asda and Morrisons, called on consumers to “be considerate in the way they shop” [...]
Moss Bros to be taken private in £22.6m deal March 12, 2020 Suit retailer Moss Bros is on the brink of being taken private after the owners of Crew Clothing offered to buy it in a deal worth £22.6m. Brigadier Acquisition Company offered to buy the high street chain for 22p per share, a premium of 60 per cent on yesterday’s closing price. Crew Clothing owner Menoshi [...]
WH Smith shares plunge on £40m coronavirus profit warning March 12, 2020 Shares in WH Smith fell more than 15 per cent this morning after the retailer warned that it could take a £40m profit hit due to the coronavirus outbreak. The newsagent chain said it expects profit to be down between £30m to £40m in the financial year ending 31 August against previous expectations, while revenue [...]
Debenhams appoints headhunters for new chief executive March 11, 2020 Struggling department store Debenhams has reportedly launched a search for a new chief executive as restructuring expert Stefaan Vansteenkiste prepares to step down after less than a year. Vansteenkiste is set to leave the role within months, after taking over in August, and headhunter Spencer Stuart has been brought in to find a replacement, Sky [...]
Puma scraps coronavirus guidance as outbreak spreads March 11, 2020 German sportswear giant Puma scrapped previous coronavirus guidance this morning, saying that its business will not return to normal in the short term. Puma had previously said it expected sales and profits to decline in the first quarter after it was forced to temporarily close stores in China, where the outbreak began. However, today the [...]
The Westbury Hotel owner seeks £1bn sale of Mayfair portfolio March 10, 2020 Cola Holdings, the owner of the The Westbury Hotel, is seeking a £1bn offer for its Mayfair property estate, which also includes Bond Street’s Burberry store and a private members club. Kurdish-born millionaire Bakir Cola owns the group, which has recently received planning permission to redevelop the five-star hotel in Conduit Street to attract “top [...]
Your road map to the Isa universe: Make the most of your tax-free allowance March 10, 2020 There are just 27 days to go before the tax year ends on 5 April. For savers and investors, that means there are only a few weeks left to make use of their Individual Savings Account (Isa) allowance. Introduced in 1999, Isas allow people to invest up to £20,000 into savings each tax year, and [...]
French Connection in the red after ‘worse than expected’ trading March 10, 2020 French Connection reported a loss last year after trading in the second half was “considerably worse than expected”. The figures The high street retailer this morning said it fell to a loss of £2.9m last year compared to profit of £800,000 in the comparative period. Group revenue fell 11.4 per cent to £119.9m due to [...]
Coronavirus: DFS warns of footfall drop as profit slumps March 10, 2020 Sofa retailer DFS warned that coronavirus has caused a slump in footfall at its showrooms as it reported a dive in profit at the end of last year. The figures Gross sales fell 5.8 per cent to £629.7m, and revenue fell 5.7 per cent to £488m in the 26 weeks ended 29 December. Profit before [...]
Bad weather and coronavirus fears hurt high street sales March 10, 2020 Bad weather and coronavirus fears kept UK shoppers away from the high street last month, while streaming services and takeaway firms benefited from Brits staying at home. Consumer spending was up 2.2 per cent year-on-year last month, driven by digital subscriptions and takeaways as Brits stayed home to avoid storms and coronavirus risks. More than [...]