John Lewis scraps land sell-off after villagers’ displeasure November 7, 2021 John Lewis has been forced to ditch plans to sell off land for homes after Hampshire residents rebelled against the plans. The department store retailer had planned to sell off land for 12 new homes in Longstock, near Andover. However, it ditched the plans, citing “a significant level of opposition to the scheme,” to the [...]
Shoppers are flocking back to UK high streets faster than EU rivals, footfall data shows November 5, 2021 UK retail destinations have reported footfall recovering to near-pre-Covid levels faster than those in major EU economies. Total UK footfall was down 13.7 per cent in October compared to 2019, the pre-Covid comparative. There was a 3.2 percentage point improvement from September. This was ahead of Spain (-19.8 per cent), Germany (-26.1 per cent), Italy [...]
Criminal gangs stole £350m from Covid support schemes November 5, 2021 Fraudsters taking from Covid support schemes have cost the taxpayer almost £5bn, new analysis has revealed. Organised crime gangs took £350m from schemes including the furlough Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, and the subsidised meals initiative Eat Out to Help Out. A remaining £4.6bn was taken opportunistic fraudsters, according to figures [...]
Fulham Shore shares rise as pizza chain plots Greek expansion November 4, 2021 Franco Manca’s owner saw shares jump after it declared the pizza chain was eying Greece in its expansion plans. Fulham Shore’s share price shot up more than seven per cent on Thursday morning, following an update from the group. Franco Manca will launch in Greece with a local franchisee planning to open at least six [...]
Ten entertainment expects to return to profit after record half-term November 4, 2021 Family entertainment provider Ten Entertainment expects to end the year with profits following soaring demand during half-term, and as the group prepares for Christmas. The news, announced by the entertainment group today, marked a turnaround from earlier forecasts of a loss. Although closed for the first 20 weeks of the year due to lockdown restrictions, [...]
Boohoo close to settlement agreement over fraudulent pricing action November 4, 2021 Online fashion retailer Boohoo has said it is close to a settlement agreement over a class action about misleading customers on pricing. A case filed in California alleged that the Manchester based company offered heavy discounts to US customers based on inflated original prices, which allegedly it had never asked customers to pay in the [...]
Sainsbury’s boss: We’ll avoid worst of Christmas supply issues November 4, 2021 Supermarket Sainsbury’s said it experienced a boost to profit in its half-year results, thanks to higher grocery sales – and its CEO said it was well-placed for Christmas despite supply chain uncertainty. For the 28 weeks ended 18 September, the grocer reported underlying profit before tax of £371m, up 23 per cent versus the first [...]
Superdry ‘recovering well’ from pandemic disruption November 4, 2021 Fashion firm Superdry said it is “recovering well” from the side effects of the coronavirus pandemic. In a trading update for the eight weeks to October 23, it said trading had improved. It attributed most of its recent improvement to e-commerce sales, which were up 6.6 per cent compared to 2019, pre-Covid. It also saw [...]
JD Sports instructed to sell Footasylum after competition concerns November 4, 2021 The competition watchdog has instructed JD Sports to sell Footasylum. The Competition and Markets Authority said that the takeover could lead to a worse deal for Footasylum’s customers. As Footasylum would no longer face competition from JD Sports, customers would have fewer options and could face higher prices, fewer discounts, and less choice of products [...]
Asda’s Issa brothers close to $300m US convenience store takeover November 3, 2021 The billionaire brothers behind EG Group and Asda are almost at the finish line for a deal to acquire Sprint Food Stores, a US convenience store chain, for $300m. The move would mean the tycoons would extend their presence in the US to 33 states, according to Sky News, who first reported news of the [...]