Former Staples chain Office Outlet to close stores in new CVA filing August 19, 2018 Stationery chain Office Outlet, formerly known as Staples, is set to launch a Company Voluntary Arrangement – an insolvency procedure to reduce stores and costs – tomorrow and close a selection of its 96 UK stores. Sources today told Sky News that the retailer, which was bought by restructuring fund Hilco in 2016, will request a [...]
Energy switching startup breaks record for lowest equity deal on Dragons Den August 19, 2018 Energy auto-switching service Look After My Bills (LAMB) has broken the record for the lowest equity deal ever secured on hit TV show Dragons Den, as the startup scored £120,000 in exchange for a three per cent stake. Investors Tej Lalvani and Jenny Campbell took on the startup after a three-hour deliberation, in which all [...]
Dorchester Group profits boosted by Trump’s tax reform August 19, 2018 Luxury hotel group Dorchester saw profits soar to £50.6m thanks to US President Donald Trump's tax rate reduction. Pre-tax profit was £24.6m for the year ending 31 December 2017 compared to a £39.5m Brexit-related loss the previous year. The group’s two US hotels -The Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles performed particularly [...]
Amazon eyes Homebase stores marked for closure August 19, 2018 Amazon is set to bid for a selection of Homebase stores in a move to improve its last mile delivery process. The online retailer could turn the stores into delivery warehouses when Homebase closes 42 of its 241 sites through a company voluntary arrangement this year. Amazon could use the sites, which are conveniently located in urban [...]
Will Smith launches sustainable bottled water brand August 19, 2018 Will Smith has launched a "sustainable" bottled water brand in the UK. Just Water, set up by the actor and his son Jaden, has 82 per cent renewable paper packaging and is recyclable in nine out of ten UK communities. The product will be stocked in 800 Boots stores and all Whole Foods Market shops across the country. [...]
House of Fraser owed millions to major brands before collapse August 18, 2018 House of Fraser racked up debts of almost £500m in the run-up to its collapse, owing major designer brands such as Gucci, Armani and Mulberry. Administrators Ernst & Young (EY) have reported that the chain’s creditors are owed sums totalling hundreds of millions of pounds, with more than 1,000 suppliers set to be out of [...]
Administration filings tumble despite major retail insolvencies August 18, 2018 The number of firms falling into administration fell dramatically in the second quarter of the year, despite a series of high profile insolvencies hitting the headlines in recent months. A total 302 companies entered administration in the three months from April to June, marking a 13 per cent fall from the previous quarter. However, the figure [...]
The Urbanologie app shows you how to live the high life like a globe-trotter August 17, 2018 Picture this. You’re on holiday in an exotic locale, travel guide in hand – probably one produced by a big brand like Lonely Planet or some other pocket guide. The pages are dog-eared from where you’ve bookmarked all of the things you want to see and do. But half the time, the recommendations made by [...]
House of Fraser could have been sold for £1, EY letter reveals August 17, 2018 Beleaguered department store House of Fraser could have been sold for just £1 ahead of its acquisition by billionaire Mike Ashley's Sports Direct brand, administrators EY revealed today. The retailer saw a £14.6m drop in profits in the 13 weeks to the end of April, four months before it entered administration. Turnover also declined 7.7 per cent [...]
MPs tell Hammond: Don’t even think about a vape tax August 16, 2018 An influential committee of MPs has urged the government to ease its rules on e-cigarettes in the wake of reports that the Treasury plans to slap vapers with a new sin tax. In a report which hits out at the government for “missing significant opportunities” to tackle smoking-related deaths, the Science and Technology Committee has called [...]