Coronavirus

Greggs wins initial ruling in £150m Covid insurance case

Greggs has reportedly won a landmark ruling in the high court that supports its case to claim more than £150m on an insurance policy that was triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic. According to The Times, a High Court judge has backed the majority of Greggs’ claims of business interruptions caused…

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Retailers record 12th month of consecutive sales growth

The retail sector has recorded its 12th consecutive month of positive trading with total like-for-like sales, combined in-store and online, increasing year-on-year by 49.6% in February from a base of -3.1% when the country was in full lockdown. According to BDO’s High Street Sales Tracker (HSST), total like-for-like sales saw…

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Lush to continue paying Covid-positive staff to self isolate

Lush has announced it will continue to financially support its retail employees in UK and Ireland customer-facing roles in a bid to encourage staff to self isolate when they test positive for Covid-19 for the foreseeable future. Additionally, the company is reportedly encouraging its retail staff who test positive to…

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Gov’s living with Covid strategy ‘first step to normality’, says CBI

The CBI has called the government’s ‘living with Covid’ plan the “first step to normality” but warned that businesses still need further guidance on issues such as sick pay and employer liability. The news comes after prime minister Boris Johnson announced yesterday (21 February) that the legal requirement for people…

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135,000 retail jobs lost amid pandemic

Almost 135,000 traditional retail jobs were lost during the course of the pandemic, according to an analysis of figures from trade union GMB. It found that in 2019, there were an estimated 1.2 million sales and retail assistants, retail cashiers and check-out operators in the UK.  By 2021, however, this…

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Study reveals areas hit hardest by Covid-induced retail insolvencies

Norwich has been revealed as the area hit hardest by Covid-induced retail insolvencies, according to a study by Wholesale Clearance. It revealed that between March 2020 and September 2021 Norwich experienced 8.27 businesses shutting down out of every 100 and a total of 49 insolvencies. It said that for Norwich,…

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December retail sales dented by Omicron

Retail sales across the UK were dampened by the impact of Omicron last month, as volumes of sales fell by 3.7% in December 2021, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.  While this was the largest monthly fall since January 2021, which saw a decline of…

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WH Smith sales remain below pre-Covid levels

WH Smith has announced that its revenue remains below pre-pandemic levels for the 20 week period ending 15 January 2022, with the total group revenues at 85% of 2019 levels for the same period. In travel UK, revenues came in 70% of 2019 levels for the 20 week period, with…

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Next cuts sick pay for isolating staff who are unvaccinated

Next has reportedly cut sick pay for staff who are unvaccinated and are forced to isolate due to contact with someone who has tested positive, according to the BBC. The BBC said that staff who are unvaccinated and test positive themselves will still get full sick pay. It added that…

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Consumer spending rises 12.2% in December

Consumer card spending increased 12.2% in December compared to the same period in 2019, as Brits finished their final preparations for Christmas, according to data from Barclaycard. Barclaycard revealed that spending on essential items grew 13.7%, driven by a 13.9% rise in supermarket shopping, as consumers stocked up on food…

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