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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Apr- 2025 -16 April
WH Smith H1 high street profits fall to £15m ahead of sale
WH Smith has reported that high street trading profits fell, from £22m to £15m, in the six months ended 28 February 2025, while total travel trading profits saw an uplift of 12% to £56m during the same period. The group agreed the sale of its UK high street business on…
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15 April
B&M to open 45 new UK stores despite sales drop
B&M has revealed that it is aiming to open 45 new stores in the UK in 2025 despite the fact it saw its UK like-for-like sales drop 3.1% to £4.5bn in the year ended 29 March 2025. Alongside this, the discount retailer stated that its UK like-for-like sales fell 2.1%…
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15 April
Majestic completes acquisition of Enotria&Coe
Majestic, the wine specialist in retail, wholesale and hospitality, has completed the strategic acquisition of Enotria&Coe, a supplier of premium wines and spirits for an undisclosed sum. Majestic said the combination accelerates its ambition to become the “go-to” supplier of wines, beers and spirits in the UK on-trade, creating a…
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14 April
Hilco closes in on Lakeland deal
Family-owned homeware retailer Lakeland is close to being acquired by high-street investment firm Hilco Capital, according to reports from Sky News. Hilco, which has previously backed retailers including HMV and Superdry, could agree a deal in the coming days, according to insiders. If confirmed, the deal would follow months of…
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8 April
Clintons returns to FY profit following store closures
Clintons has returned to profit following a period of store closures and job losses, with pre-tax profits rising to £8.1m in the year ended 29 June 2024, up from a loss of £5.4m the prior year. Full-year sales fell from £96.5m to £82.6m over the period, which was a “satisfactory…
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4 April
Nearly half of all retail staff worked while unwell last year
Nearly half (46%) of retail staff worked while unwell at the end of last year, which is 5% higher than the end of 2023, as fears around job cuts following the autumn Budget’s tax rises took hold. According to the new Retail People Index, published by the Retail Trust and…
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4 April
Carphone Warehouse founder to invest £5m in Jigsaw
Carphone Warehouse co-founder, David Ross, is reportedly investing about £5m in Jigsaw, which will result in him becoming the fashion retailer’s majority shareholder, according to Sky News. The multi-million pound investment comes seven years after Ross’ first cash injection, and it is understood that this financing will see him replace…
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3 April
Co-op FY profits soar sixfold but warns of cost pressures ahead
Co-op has seen its full-year pre-tax profits rise by nearly sixfold, soaring by £133m to £161m, up from £28m the prior year, despite facing over £200m of new headwinds and investment costs across the group. The surge in profits was driven by increased operating profits, which rose by £34m to…
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Mar- 2025 -31 March
Majestic agrees to acquire Enotria&Coe
Majestic, the UK specialist wine retailer, has entered into a formal agreement to acquire the premium wines and spirits supplier, Enotria&Coe for an undisclosed sum. Majestic said the combination will accelerate its strategic ambition to become the UK’s pre-eminent supplier of wines, beers and spirits, and improve value, choice and…
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31 March
Pets at Home warns of profit drop in FY26
Pets at Home has revealed that it expects its retail profits to drop in FY26 to within a range of £115m to £125m, as a result of the uncertain economic backdrop for both demand and inflation. The retailer also stated that it expects increased costs of around £30m following changes…
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