JD Sports-owned Go Outdoors on brink of administration, with 2,400 jobs on the line June 21, 2020 Go Outdoors is said to be teetering on the brink of collapse, after the JD Sports-owned retailer was reported to be calling in administrators. JD Sports has lined up Deloitte as administrator to the company, which employs about 2,400 people across 67 stores, according to reports. Go Outdoors, which sells bikes, tents and waterproof clothes, [...]
How do you solve a problem like Wirecard? June 19, 2020 It’s been a wild ride for Wirecard. When the German payments firm premiered on the prestigious blue-chip Dax index just two years ago, shares were priced at €200 apiece. Today, prices hit as low as €20 per share, forcing out chief executive Markus Braun and leaving the future of the digital payments firm in question. [...]
Boohoo set to swoop for bankrupt Oasis and Warehouse June 16, 2020 Online fashion giant Boohoo is set to announce the purchase of high street brands Oasis and Warehouse, which went bankrupt at the end of April. Sky News reported that the deal could be announced tomorrow when Boohoo releases its first quarter results. When the two brands collapsed into administration on 30 April, with 1,803 redundancies, [...]
Travelex set for restructuring after auction process halted June 12, 2020 Debt investors in embattled foreign exchange provider Travelex are pushing the firm’s banks to negotiate a restructuring deal. Sky News reported that after an auction process stalled, bondholders represented by investment bank PJT Partners are pushing banks including Barclays and Goldman Sachs to enter negotiations. Travelex’s banks are owed about £90m by the company, while [...]
Premier Inn owner scoops up almost £1bn to bolster against pandemic June 10, 2020 Whitbread investors have agreed to supply more than 90 per cent of its £1bn cash call, the Premier Inn owner announced today, as it attempts to beef up its balance sheet amid the coronavirus crisis. Existing investors scooped up 91 per cent of the discounted 1-2 fundraiser issued by the hotel group in a bid [...]
EU must boost capital markets due to coronavirus and Brexit, say finance chiefs June 10, 2020 The European Union needs to deregulate its capital markets to help the economy recover from coronavirus and reduce its reliance on the City of London, according to a panel of industry executives. With huge amounts of debt being sold to counter the economic hit caused by Covid-19 and the bloc set to lose its major [...]
Restaurant Group to close 125 sites as it looks to cut costs June 10, 2020 The Restaurant Group has announced plans to close 125 of its sites, as the company seeks to push down rents to weather the financial storm of the coronavirus crisis. The closure, which puts around 3,000 jobs at risk, will mainly impact its Italian-American-themed Frankie & Benny’s chain. It marks a significant cut to the size [...]
Retail landlord Intu puts KPMG on standby to act as administrator June 7, 2020 Embattled retail landlord Intu Properties has reportedly lined up KPMG to handle its insolvency process ahead of a testing fortnight. Intu has placed the Big Four accountancy firm on standby in the event that lenders refuse to grant a standstill on its debt obligations, according to Sky News. The landlord, which owns Manchester’s Trafford Centre, [...]
UK government announces £10bn trade credit insurance scheme June 4, 2020 The UK government has said it will guarantee up to £10bn of trade credit insurance transactions as it seeks to relieve some pressure on British manufacturers and construction firms amid the coronavirus pandemic. The new scheme will be temporary, backdated to 1 April and run until 31 December this year, the Department for Business, Energy [...]
Losses at UK’s top restaurants jump to £151m June 1, 2020 Losses at the UK’s top 100 restaurants increased to £151m last year, a figure that will only worsen as the industry grapples with the impact of the coronavirus. Figures from accountancy group UHY Hacker Young show a 94 per cent increase in losses, from £78m the year before. The government has tentatively set out plans [...]