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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Dec- 2024 -24 December
Footfall rises ahead of Christmas but remains lower than 2023 levels
Footfall rose for the second consecutive week last week across all UK retail destinations with retail parks and shopping centres paving the way, according to MRI Software’s new data. However, levels were still considerably lower than the same week last year. For the week to 22 December, footfall rose by…
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23 December
BRC warns of ‘spending squeeze’ in January
The British Retail Consortium has warned of a January spending squeeze, as BRC-Opinium data between 10 and 13 December showed that people’s spending intentions dropped 6pts. It comes as public confidence in the state of the economy “took a nosedive”, falling 8pts to -27, creating a widening gap between expectations…
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18 December
Shoe Zone halves profit guidance and warns of store closures
Shoe Zone has halved its profit expectations for the year to 27 September 2025, downgrading it to “no less than” £5m, down from the previous guidance of £10m. It comes as the high street shoe retailer experienced “very challenging trading conditions” for the first two months of FY25 and the…
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11 December
Walgreens takeover bid could trigger Boots auction
A $10bn plus takeover bid for Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) from private equity firm Sycamore Partners could lead to an auction of Boots, according to reports from Sky News. Should Sycamore be successful in taking over the pharmacy chain it will reportedly look to separate ownership of Boots. The Wall…
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10 December
Pepco Group suffers £675m Poundland hit
Pepco Group has reported a £675m impairment charge on its UK subsidiary Poundland, as a result of “a significant decline in performance in FY24 and weaker outlook for profitability amid increasing competition and cost challenges”. The charge primarily reflects the goodwill from Pepco Group in relation to the Poundland acquisition.…
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5 December
Frasers lowers profit guidance as H1 sales fall 8.4%
Frasers Group has lowered its profit guidance for FY25 to between £550m to £600m, having seen its sales fall by 8.4% to £2.45bn in the first half to 27 October. This downgrade is from an earlier boundary of £575m to £625m, as Frasers noted that recent trading conditions have been…
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4 December
Chancellor admits NI rise won’t be ‘easy’ for businesses
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has admitted that it will not be “easy” for businesses to “absorb” the rise in employers’ national insurance contributions. The change, which was announced in the autumn budget, will see employers’ NI contributions rise to 15% from April 2025. Speaking at The Yorkshire Post’s Great Northern Conference…
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2 December
Black Friday helps boost retail footfall
The week of Black Friday combined with the recovery from Storm Bert provided UK retail destinations with a welcome boost in footfall, according to the latest data from MRI Software. Footfall rose by +13.6% in all UK retail destinations last week compared to the week before. This was driven by…
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Nov- 2024 -27 November
High street should ‘look beyond retail’, says new Lords report
The high street has been advised to “look beyond retail” in order to reverse its decline, according to a new report from the House of Lords. This is one of the conclusions of a new report, ‘High Streets: Life beyond retail?’, published today (27 November) by the cross-party House of…
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27 November
Pets at Home HY PBT up 14% to £54.5m
Pets at Home has revealed that its underlying profit-before-tax rose 14.1% to £54.5m for the half year ended 10 October 2024. The retailer stated that this was supported by the strong growth in its vet group, with retail impacted by the slower sales growth. Alongside this, its total group revenue…
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