High Street
The latest news, updates and analysis on the the British High Street and UK retail industry. Sign up to the Daily Briefing and let Retail Sector’s business journalists keep you in the picture.
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May- 2025 -27 May
Oxford Street vacancies drop below pre-pandemic levels
The rate of vacancies on Oxford Street in London has fallen to 0.5%, the first time it has fallen below 1% since before the pandemic, according to data from Savills. Savills attributed this to an undersupply of quality vacant space, noting that good quality retail space has become “increasingly constrained”.…
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27 May
Monsoon owner sees FY losses widen to £7.5m
Monsoon and Accessorize owner, Adena Brands Limited, has reported a £7.5m loss before tax and an EBITDA loss of £2.4m for the year to 31 August 2024, due to “significant” cost inflation which was driven by the UK National Minimum Wage rise. The loss also comes as group sales for…
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22 May
Poundland slashes guidance as H1 sales worsen
Pepco Group, the owner of Poundland, has slashed its full-year guidance for the discount chain as trading remained “challenging” in the first half of the year. Poundland is now expected to deliver underlying EBITDA of around €0m to €20m (£0 – £17m) in FY25, compared with previous guidance of €50m…
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20 May
Greggs sales surge 7.4% to £784m
Greggs has reported a 7.4% increase in total sales to £784m (2024: £730m) for the 20 weeks of 2025, driven by store expansion and product innovation. Its like-for-like (LFL) sales in company-managed shops also grew by 2.9%, with improved performance in the last 11 weeks supported by better trading conditions.…
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19 May
Poundland store closures ‘likely’ as sale nears completion
Poundland store closures are reportedly “likely” as Gordon Brothers, the former owner of Laura Ashley, has emerged as a frontrunner to take control of the group, according to The Times. Bids for the group, which is owned by Pepco and employs more than 16,000 people across the UK and Ireland,…
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16 May
Retail Trust to offer free training on how to deal with abuse at work
The Retail Trust is set to offer UK shop workers and delivery drivers free training on how to handle abuse and violence at work next month. The charity will be running three online sessions to help retail staff deal with the “soaring levels” of antisocial and threatening behaviour. Attendees will…
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15 May
B&M appoints ex-Tesco exec as new CEO
B&M has announced the appointment of Tjeerd Jegen as its new chief executive officer. The value retailer revealed that Jegen will take over from current interim CEO Mike Schmidt, on 16 June 2025. Jegen joins the company having worked in leadership roles at Ahold Delhaize, Metro, Tesco, Woolworths, HEMA and…
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15 May
MFI to make comeback after nearly two decades
Furniture retailer MFI is set to return to the high street almost 20 years after it fell into administration. Owner Victorian Plumbing is planning to relaunch the retailer in the first half of 2026 and pledged to invest £3m into people and property ahead of its return to the market.…
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13 May
M&S confirms customer data stolen in cyber attack
Marks and Spencer has told customers that some of their personal data has been stolen following a major cyber attack last month. However, it said the data does not include usable payment or card details, which are not held on its systems, and does not include any account passwords. It…
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12 May
Boots chair to hike stake to 50% following $10bn takeover deal
The chairman of Boots is reportedly set to hike his stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance to almost 50% as part of the group’s $10bn (£7.5bn) takeover deal, The Times has reported. While chair Stefano Pessina, who previously held a 17% stake in the Anglo-American group, will put in more money…
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