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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Mar- 2020 -16 March
Laura Ashley on the verge of collapse, reports reveal
Fashion retailer Laura Ashley could call in administrators by the end of March unless it receives a £15m funding lifeline from Hilco Capital, reports have revealed. According to Sky News, Hilco Capital is currently in “advanced” negotiations with the embattled retailer, but administrators could be put on standby in the…
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12 March
Crew Clothing to acquire Moss Bros
Fashion retailer Crew Clothing is to acquire Moss Bros in a £22.6m deal to take the company private. Under the terms of the acquisition, each Moss Bros Shareholder will be entitled to receive 22 pence in cash per Moss Bros Share, and the deal is expected to complete in Q2…
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12 March
Covid-19 could knock £130m from sales, says WH Smith
WH Smith expects that full-year results will see an ‘adverse impact’ from the effects of coronavirus, with up to £130m being wiped from its revenue. In its latest update, the stationary group predicted an impact between £100m and £130m on group revenue, while underlying profit before tax can expect a…
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11 March
Debenhams CVA now free from legal challenges
Embattled department store chain Debenhams has announced that its CVA proposals will be upheld, as the time period for any appeal to be lodged has now expired. The company confirmed that all relevant procedural matters dealt with at the CVA challenge hearing in February have been concluded “in its favour”.…
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11 March
B&M completes £11m disposal of German business
B&M European Value Retail has announced the completion of its German business disposal following a strategic review of the business. The group’s 80% controlling stake in the business was sold for €12.5m (£10.8 m) to a purchasing consortium led by AC Curtis Salta. The consortium also includes Wiebke Stern, Sebastian…
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10 March
Calls for ‘discretionary business rates relief’ amid Coronavirus outbreak
Colliers International has called on the UK Government to consider and to fund a system of “discretionary rate relief” for businesses impacted by the Coronavirus. The commercial real estate company said this is one of the measures that could “alleviate business pain” in this week’s Budget. It added that against…
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10 March
DFS sales slide amid ‘challenging’ conditions
DFS has announced that its group revenue fell by 5.7% to £488m in the half-year period ended 29 December 2019. The furniture retailer said that such results were “as expected” against a “strong” comparative period, however, which was bolstered by “latent demand” and a higher opening order book. Meanwhile, gross…
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9 March
18,000 retail jobs lost in last two months
Almost 18,248 retail jobs have been lost in the past two months, with 1,211 shops also shuttered since the turn of the decade, according to the Centre for Retail Research (CRR). The research firm said retail premises in England are also set be “denied” a further £100m in tax reductions…
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9 March
Reiss sales rise 21.9% in full-year results
Fashion retailer Reiss has reported a 21.9% increase in sales to £227.4m in 2019, compared with £186.5m in 2018. For the year ended 1 February 2020, Reiss reported a 51.6% increase in EBITDA to £29.3m compared with £19.3m in 2018, while full-year like-for-like sales increased by 21.6%. Meanwhile, like-for-like sales…
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9 March
Footfall slides in February
Hopes for a stronger footfall were “washed away” last month, according to the latest footfall monitor released by Springboard. The retail data group said that high street footfall fell by 7.8% in February, highlighting “the fragility of the high street”. Shopping centre footfall fell by 2.5%, while retail parks saw…
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