Wealthy UK cities showing resilience to retail downturn October 28, 2019 A group of wealthy cities such as London and Cambridge are faring relatively well during the UK retail sector’s downturn while shops in poorer and more rural areas suffer, a new report has said. Read more: Retailers brace for tough Christmas as confidence slumps Shopping parks have also shown resilience as the bricks-and-mortar retail sector [...]
Mike Ashley urges MPs to look into Debenhams collapse October 27, 2019 Mike Ashley has redoubled his efforts to have the collapse of Debenhams investigated and lambasted MPs for not being more interested in the failure of the high-street department store. Read more: Mike Ashley kicks off £4m takeover for Goals Soccer Centres In a letter to business select committee chair MP Rachel Reeves, seen by the [...]
Just Eat gatecrasher vows to take on Deliveroo with major cash boost October 27, 2019 The South African firm hoping to derail Just Eat’s merger with rival Takeaway.com is planning to invest hundreds of millions of pounds into the delivery firm in a bid to take on Deliveroo. Prosus, the Dutch division of tech conglomerate Naspers, last week tabled an audacious £4.9bn takeover bid for Just Eat, sparking a furious [...]
Asda rejects request to remove sack threat for thousands over compulsory contracts October 26, 2019 Asda has rejected a last-minute request from trade unions to remove the threat of dismal for thousands of staff if they fail to sign a compulsory contract by the end of next week. The GMB union has predicted that up to 12,000 of the more than 100,000 employee affected could lose their jobs because they [...]
TK Maxx defies retail gloom as sales top £3bn October 25, 2019 Budget retailer TK Maxx topped £3bn in sales in the last year, shrugging off high street woes with a rise in profit. US group TJX US, which is the parent owner of the fashion group, has reported a 6.4 per cent rise in sales to £3.1bn in the 12 months to February 2019. Read more: [...]
Supercuts owner Regis UK calls in administrators October 24, 2019 Supercuts owner Regis UK has appointed administrators as the hair salon chain becomes the latest victim of a challenging retail environment. Regis UK, which trades under the Regis and Supercuts brands, entered insolvency yesterday and appointed Deloitte as administrator, Sky News reported. Read more: Supercuts owner Regis UK asks landlords to slash rents The move [...]
Magners owner C&C toasts premium drinks sales October 24, 2019 C&C Group, the owner of Magners and Bulmers cider, toasted a surge in sales in the first half, boosted by customer demand for premium drinks. Revenue increased 13.5 per cent to €874.8m in the six months to the end of August, and operating profit was up 9.2 per cent to €63.8m. Read more: Magners owner [...]
‘Bake Off’ winner and publican calls on Downing Street to cut beer tax October 24, 2019 Former Great British Bake Off Winner Candice Brown today delivered a petition signed by more than 200,000 Brits to 10 Downing Street calling for a cut in beer duty in the next Budget. Brown, who now runs The Green Man pub in Eversholt, Bedfordshire, was joined by publicans from across the country to deliver the [...]
Shoe Zone shares jump after revenue rise October 24, 2019 Shoe Zone, the UK’s largest value footwear retailer, hit the ground running this morning as a rise revenue boosted its share price. The group, which suffered a sharp drop in its share price this summer after issuing a profit warning, said today that revenue for the full-year had risen despite “challenging” trading conditions. Read more: [...]
Aberdeen Standard Investment calls for Just Eat to consider Prosus and Takeaway.com offers October 23, 2019 Takeaway delivery platform Just Eat could be the focus of a bidding war after an investor urged the board to engage with multiple interested parties. Aberdeen Standard Investment called for the Just Eat board to “explore all available options” and engage with Takeaway.com and Prosus, which have both tabled bids for the firm. Read more: [...]