Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group withdraws income guidance on Tier 4 news
Frasers Group has withdrawn its published guidance of a 20 per cent to 30 per cent underling improvement in EBITDA in the wake of the latest coronavirus restrictions.
Due to the closure of almost all stores in London and the southeast during the year’s peak retail trading period, Frasers Group said it was withdrawing the previously published guidance.
On Sunday morning millions of people living in London and the southeast were put into Tier 4 coronavirus restrictions, following a sharp rise in Covid cases due to a new, more infectious strain of the virus.
Tier 4 restrictions mean all non-essential retail stores must close for the foreseeable future. Yesterday Matt Hancock suggested the restrictions could go on for months, until the elderly and most vulnerable have been vaccinated.
Over the weekend the British Retail Consortium warned Tier 4 restrictions could put thousands of jobs at risk.
It criticised the government’s “stop-start approach” as “deeply unhelpful” and joined other groups in calling for an extension of a business rates holiday to help struggling firms.
The retail sector has already been devastated by the coronavirus, with the likes of Debenhams and Arcadia entering administration, leaving thousands of jobs at risk.