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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Feb- 2020 -19 February
Beales to shutter 11 remaining stores
The administrators of Beales have announced the plans to close the department store chain’s remaining 11 stores and associated stock liquidation. The company entered administration in January, and joint administrators Will Wright and Steve Absolom from KPMG, said no “deliverable offers have been received for the business to date”. In…
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19 February
Sports Direct ‘partially allowed’ to withhold private documents from FRC
The Court of Appeal has ruled to partially allow Sports Direct’s appeal to overturn a High Court ruling from 2018 which ordered it to submit 40 company documents to the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). It comes after the FRC attempted to gain access to the documents in relation to its…
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17 February
M&S warns landlords it may close loss-making stores
Marks and Spencer has reportedly warned landlords that it will shutter loss-making stores, in a move that may see the department store close more sites than the previously announced. According to the Sunday Times, the warning came at a dinner hosted by M&S chairman Archie Norman and chief executive Steve…
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17 February
West country vacancy rates hits double-digits in 2020
The west country has seen the largest increase in retail vacancy rates in the UK, rising from 9.6% in 2016 to 11.2% in 2020, according to new data from Usdaw. The trade union said in the past decade the number of people visiting high streets in the west country dropped…
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14 February
M&S to shutter two distribution centres putting almost 700 jobs at risk
Marks and Spencer has announced plans to shutter two of its distribution centres in spring 2021, putting nearly 700 jobs at risk. The affected sites are the Thorncliffe and Long Eaton distribution centres, which are operated by XPO and DHL respectively, and each employed around 330 staff. It comes amid…
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14 February
Frasers Group backs BRC’s calls for government review of business taxes
Frasers Group has backed the campaign by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and 52 other retailers calling for the government to take urgent action on business rates. In a letter to now former chancellor Sajid Javid, which was signed by retailers including Debenhams, Harrods, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, Primark…
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13 February
Forever 21 rescued by landlords in £62m deal
Two of Forever 21’s largest landlords have reportedly been given the go-ahead to acquire the company out of bankruptcy in a $80m (£62m) deal. According to The Times, a bankruptcy judge has approved the deal which will see Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners link up with Sports Illustrated…
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13 February
Retail footfall bounces back in January after quiet December
Footfall in non-food stores in the UK fell by just 0.5% year-on-year in January according to Ipsos Retail Performance’s latest Retail Traffic Index (RTI). The retail insights company had originally forecast a footfall decline of 1.9% for the month, and said that after such a “disappointing” December, January’s footfall comes…
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12 February
Dunelm profits surge in half-year results
Homeware retailer Dunelm has reported a 19.4% increase in profits before tax to £83.6m for the half-year period ended 28 December 2019. Operating profit for the period was £87.6m, an increase of 23.9%, and reflected higher sales and improved gross margin delivery, as well as a “£1.3m benefit from the…
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11 February
Administrations up 5% in 2019
The number of companies falling into administration across England and Wales increased by just under 5% in 2019, according to new analysis from KPMG. A study of notices in the London Gazette showed that a total of 1,403 companies went into administration during 2019, compared with 1,341 in the previous…
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