John Lewis submits £500m London planning bid for 800 homes – but questions remain about affordability June 30, 2023 John Lewis is pressing on with its shift away from the high street and into residential property by submitting initial planning applications for new ‘build to rent’ homes in the capital The hard-hit retailer submitted proposals for nearly 800 rental homes on London sites in West Ealing and Bromley, with plans for a site in [...]
WH Smith has no plans to grow ‘healthy’ high street presence as it eyes airports instead June 30, 2023 WH Smith boss said the retailer has no plans to open any additional high street stores but is focusing on growing its transport hub and international presence. “We’ve got a very healthy High Street business in the UK”, Carl Cowling told the BBC, “but we’ve got no ambitions to grow that”. “When you look at [...]
Revolution Beauty defends counter-revolution after Boohoo’s shareholder revolt June 30, 2023 Revolution Beauty defended the unusual actions it took at its AGM this week, after it reinstated three members of its executive team who had been voted out by shareholders. The beauty company said its actions had been “firmly validated” by the stock market response, with its shares rising yesterday. Without taking the action it did, [...]
H&M shares jump 17 per cent despite dip in profits June 29, 2023 H&M investors today welcomed news of strong summer sales, with shares in the brand soaring despite the retailer posting a dip in profits. Operating profit at the global fashion brand for the second quarter came in at SEK 4.74bn (£3.46bn), down year on year from SEK 4.98bn (£3.64bn) but above forecasts of SEK 4.07bn, with [...]
Boohoo slams Revolution for ‘lack of transparency’ and demands it publishes share options after heated AGM June 29, 2023 Boohoo slammed Revolution Beauty for “a lack of transparency” this morning, while demanding the troubled makeup brand publishes full details of its share options. It claimed Revolution was burying details of its free share awards – a scheme which gives shares to employees of a listed company – as it laid out a set of demands [...]
B&M: Bargain hunting Brits help budget chain’s revenues top £1bn June 29, 2023 Brits seeking out bargains have continued to drive earnings at value retailer B&M as it reported a 13.5 per cent rise in group revenue in the first leg of the year. The news, however, failed to impress investors as its share price slumped over 6 per cent when markets opened this morning. The homeware to [...]
Revolution v Boohoo: A dummy’s guide to the beauty bust-up June 29, 2023 Why is Boohoo causing tears? Boohoo, which holds a 26.6 per cent stake in Revolution, wanted to boot out Revolution’s chief executive Bob Holt, chairman Derek Zissman and chief financial officer Elizabeth Lake. Boohoo wanted to replace them with three new people – New Look executive chairman Alistair McGeorge, Boohoo executive director Neil Catto and [...]
Hunt unveils measures to ensure customers get fair pricing June 28, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has drafted an action plan with authorities to ensure customers are being facing fair prices during the cost of living crisis. Hunt sat down with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), and the regulators for the energy, water and communications sectors, early on Wednesday 28 June at 11 Downing Street. He was [...]
Clearpay jobs at risk as BNPL firm winds down EU business June 28, 2023 Buy-now pay-later giant Clearpay is shutting down its EU operations and could lay off all its European staff, Morning Wire can reveal.
Brands in London “suffering”: Fresh calls to scrap ‘tourist tax’ amid Mulberry losses June 28, 2023 Fresh calls have been made to reinstate VAT-free shopping for international tourists, after the chief of Mulberry warned its profits have been hit hard by it as they ditch London for Paris and Milan. Pre-tax profit at the British handbag maker fell to £13.2m in the year to April, down from £21.3m the prior year. [...]