Business Confidence
This coverage explores trends and indicators of business confidence within the UK retail industry, providing analysis on how sentiment among retailers, brand managers, and executives shapes investment decisions, store expansions, hiring plans, and strategic priorities. Reporting includes survey findings, market commentary, and expert insights to help retail professionals assess risks, anticipate shifts in consumer demand, and plan effectively in response to economic and political developments.
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Jul- 2025 -21 JulyHigh Street
UK profit warnings jump 20% in Q2 as retailers feel the strain
Profit warnings issued by UK-listed companies rose by 20% in the second quarter of 2025, as policy and geopolitical uncertainty weighed on business confidence, according to new figures from consultancy EY-Parthenon. Companies issued 59 warnings between April and June, up from 49 in the same period last year. Nearly half…
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Apr- 2025 -11 AprilEconomy
Footfall sees sharp 5.4% drop in March due to late Easter
Total year-on-year footfall in the UK dropped sharply by 5.4% in March, up from a 0.2% fall in February, according to BRC-Sensormatic data, which has been attributed to the timing of Easter later this April. Due to last year’s Easter falling in March, the calendar change has distorted the year-on-year…
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Feb- 2024 -2 FebruaryEconomy
Two in five FTSE retailers issued profit warnings last year
The percentage of UK-listed companies issuing profit warnings last year hit 18.2%, exceeding the levels seen at the peak of the financial crisis in 2008, according to new findings from EY. In particular, the rate of profit warnings remained high for FTSE retailers, with two in every five FTSE retailers…
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Nov- 2023 -23 NovemberGovernment
BRC accuses Hunt of ‘selling out’ retailers and customers
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has accused the chancellor of selling out retailers and customers in his Autumn Statement delivered yesterday (22 November). In the budget Hunt froze the business rates multiplier for small businesses but offered nothing to larger ones. He also increased the National Living Wage to £11.44…
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Oct- 2023 -2 OctoberNews
Iceland boss quits plan to become Tory MP
Iceland boss, Richard Walker, has reportedly quit plans to become a Conservative MP as he accused the party of having “drifted badly out of touch” with the needs of the British people. Walker, whose father founded the supermarket chain Iceland, announced his plans to stand as a Tory MP last…
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Sep- 2023 -13 SeptemberPeople Moves
UK GDP falls by ‘worse than expected’ 0.5% in July
The UK economy shrunk by a “worse than expected” 0.5% in July as poor weather and industrial strikes impacted production, according to the latest statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ONS revealed that all of the main sectors fell in July 2023, with output in the services…
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Apr- 2023 -24 AprilEconomy
Retail profit warnings fall to lowest level since 2020
UK-listed retailers issued five profit warnings in Q1 2023, marking a decrease from the nine issued in both Q4 2022 and Q1 2022, according to the latest data from EY. Despite representing the sector’s lowest quarterly total since Q4 2020, it said “persistent inflation, high interest rates and tightening consumer…
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Jan- 2023 -31 JanuaryEconomy
Nearly half of FTSE retailers issued profit warnings in 2022
Profit warnings from UK-listed retailers increased by 48% in 2022 as rising costs prompted record levels of warnings, according to EY-Parthenon’s latest Profit Warnings report. The total profit warnings issued in 2022 increased by 50%, from 203 the previous year to 305 this year. The report discovered that over a…
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Jun- 2021 -4 JuneCoronavirus
End commercial rents stalemate, urges CBI
The CBI has urged occupiers and landlords of commercial properties to collectively take “decisive” action to address commercial rent challenges on the path towards a full economic reopening. Whilst it believes most tenants should resume paying rents as normal when emergency legislation protecting from evictions and statutory demands ends on…
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Nov- 2020 -25 NovemberCoronavirus
Retail to stabilise as restrictions ease, says CBI
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has suggested that retail sales are set to stabilise as lockdown restrictions begin to ease. Although retail sales volumes fell in the year to November, overall retail sales volumes fell at a similar pace to the previous month, according to the latest CBI quarterly…
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