Tax
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Aug- 2025 -21 AugustHigh Street
WHSmith lowers US profit forecast after £30m accounting overstatement
WHSmith has cut its profit forecast for its North American business after uncovering an accounting overstatement of around £30m. As a result, it now expects headline trading profit from North America to be about £25m for the year ending 31 August 2025, compared with previous market expectations of around £55m.…
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15 AugustClothing & Shoes
Shein’s UK arm sees profits surge as revenues hit £2bn
Shein’s UK arm saw revenues jump 32% to £2.05bn for the full year ended 31 December 2024, according to its latest accounts filed with Companies House. Ahead of a potential float on the Hong Kong stock exchange, Shein also saw its UK profit-before-tax hit £38.25m in 2024, up from £24.43m…
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14 AugustEconomy
UK quarterly GDP beats expectations despite slowdown
UK GDP grew 0.3% in the three months to June, behind the 0.7% it grew in the first quarter, as a result of US tariffs and higher business costs, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). However, it is better than expected growth as economists polled by…
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14 AugustSupermarkets
Business rates rise could see more than 100 supermarkets at risk
More than 100 large UK supermarkets could reportedly face closure under government plans to raise business rates for the most valuable retail properties, according to the Financial Times. It learnt that the proposed changes, due to be announced in the autumn Budget, could increase rates for premises with a rateable…
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13 AugustComment
It’s time we had a system that stopped taxing retailers as if it were 1599
Our high streets have had a tough time in recent years – battered by a global pandemic, war, energy shocks and soaring inflation. Yet despite it all, shops have kept going – serving their communities, creating jobs, and showing remarkable resilience. But resilience isn’t a plan for growth, and nostalgia…
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13 AugustHigh Street
Shoe Zone halves profit forecast amid weak consumer confidence
Shoe Zone expects annual profits to fall by half after seeing a drop in footfall and revenues during June and July, as higher interest rates and weak consumer confidence continue to weigh on spending. The footwear retailer now forecasts adjusted profit before tax of about £2.5m for the year ending…
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12 AugustPeople Moves
AO World appoints Sophie Tomkins as non-executive director
AO World has announced that Sophie Tomkins has been appointed as an independent non-executive director of the Company with effect from 1 September 2025. AO World said Tomkins brings “extensive” board-level experience, currently serving as a non-executive director at Wilmington PLC, Virgin Wines UK PLC, and System1 Group PLC and…
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11 AugustHigh Street
The Entertainer to become an Employee Owned Trust
TEAL Group Holdings, owner of The Entertainer, Early Learning Centre and Addo Play Ltd, has announced that the Grant family are transferring their 100% ownership to an Employee Ownership Trust. Due to complete in September 2025, The Entertainer said this decision is the culmination of a long-term succession plan and…
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11 AugustClothing & Shoes
River Island’s restructuring plan greenlit by High Court
A High Court judge has approved River Island’s plans to shutter 33 stores, cut rents on a further 71 shops and write off a series of debts in a bid to save the retailer from collapse. It comes as River Island warned it would run out of money by the…
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11 AugustSupermarkets
Iceland links food price rises to Reeves’ budget measures
Iceland has warned that food prices will rise as suppliers pass on higher costs linked to last autumn’s budget measures, The Telegraph has reported. The supermarket said the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions and the National Living Wage was pushing up its suppliers’ labour costs, which in turn were…
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