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- 2021 -10 May
UK retail footfall drops 4.1% amid poor weather
Footfall across UK retail destinations declined by 4.1% last week from the week prior, which was attributed to the impact of poor weather, according to the latest data from Springboard. Activity in high streets also dropped to 6.6%, whilst in retail parks and shopping centres footfall declined by just 1.3%…
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10 May
Ikea eyes Topshop’s former Oxford Street flagship
Ikea has reportedly held advanced talks to take over the former Topshop flagship store Oxford Street as part of a strategy to expand into city centres, This is Money has reported. According to reports, the furniture giant previously considered moving into other buildings on Oxford Street, including the former BHS,…
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10 May
Greggs sales recover to near pre-pandemic levels
Greggs saw its two-year like-for-like (LFL) sales close the gap to just a 3.9% decline for the eight weeks to 8 May. It follows a 13.5% fall in LFL sales for the 18 weeks to 8 May when compared to FY19, as the group also showed signs of recovery following…
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7 May
Fashion and lifestyle sales see record surge amid reopening
Retailers reported record results across fashion, lifestyle and homeware and sustained growth of online sales in April, as consumer confidence was boosted by the easing of lockdown and progress with the COVID-19 vaccination programme, according to BDO. BDO’s High Street Sales Tracker (HSST) found that non-store like for like sales…
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5 May
Pepco valued at £5bn ahead of Warsaw listing
Pepco Group, the owner of brands such as Poundland, Pep&Co and the Dealz brands, has been valued at between €4.8bn (£4.1bn) and €5.8bn (£5bn) ahead of its listing on the Warsaw stock exchange. In a publication of its prospectus for the offering, Pepco revealed the listing will consist of up…
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5 May
UK retail footfall hit by bad weather
New data from Springboard has revealed that footfall at UK retail destinations dropped by 2% last week from the previous seven-day period, despite the reopening of non-essential retail stores across the country. The footfall decrease was primarily due to a considerable drop of 6.1% in high street footfall, despite footfall…
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4 May
WH Smith mulls takeover of Dixons Carphone’s airport stores
WH Smith is reportedly eyeing up a takeover of Dixons Carphone’s airport stores, after the electronics business closed 35 of its travel shops following the effects of the pandemic. According to The Telegraph, Carl Cowling, WH Smith’s chief CEO, said the exit was “another opportunity” to roll out its own…
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4 May
Frasers Group to launch £60m share buyback scheme
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has announced that it is set to commence a £60m shares buyback scheme commencing today (4 May 2021). Lasting until the end of the group’s financial year on 25 April 2021, the programme will see up to 10 million ordinary shares purchased at an aggregate price…
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Apr- 2021 -30 April
Card Factory trading performance ‘exceeds expectations’
Card Factory has announced that its performance following the reopening of stores in England and Wales “exceeded its expectations”. The company has also revealed that it has agreed headline terms for refinancing of the group with its current syndicate of commercial lending banks, with a further update due in the…
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29 April
WH Smith launches fundraise to open 100 new travel stores
WH Smith has unveiled plans to open around 100 new travel stores after launching a £325 bond offering in convertible bonds, despite reporting losses in its half-year results. The group, which also secured a £250m revolving credit facility with an extended maturity to 2025, said the funds will aid the…
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