Footfall collapses on Boxing Day as retailers count the cost of restrictions December 27, 2020 Retailers across the country saw one of their busiest days of the year end with a whimper rather than a bang as Covid-19 restrictions saw High Street footfall collapse. Across the country, retail footfall fell by 60 per cent, according to market watcher Springboard. Read more: Retailers hope for a digital boost but the end [...]
Brits to splash out £2.7bn across Britain as virtual sales kick off December 26, 2020 Retailers are expected to enjoy a bumper Boxing Day as Brits head to online and physical sales. New data from Barclaycard suggests Brits could spend as much as £2.7bn across the January sales. Read more: Free ports and smart investment are the Brexit prize, says Gove But data from the West End’s leading retailers paints [...]
Premier Inn owner Whitbread asks landlords for 50 per cent rent cut December 23, 2020 Premier Inn owner Whitbread has asked its landlords for a rent cut of 50 per cent, as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic restrictions continue to affect trade. Whitbread sent a letter to its landlords, urging them to “share some of the pain of lockdown,” according to reports. Whitbread, which also owns Beefeater and Brewers Fayre brands, [...]
The Frankfurt Airlift: Lufthansa exploring additional fresh food flights to UK December 23, 2020 Lufthansa have offered special cargo flights for fresh fruit and vegetables into the UK as firms try to beat the chaos at Dover. Up to 3,000 lorries remain stuck at the Kent port despite an agreement being struck to allow hauliers with negative Covid-19 tests to cross the channel. Supply chains across the continent have [...]
Brains pubs saved as Marston’s sign deal to operate Welsh outlets December 23, 2020 Pub group Marston’s will operate 156 Brains pubs in Wales, saving the Cardiff-based brand amid Covid-19 difficulties. A statement this morning from Brains’ chairman John Rhys said the decision had not been taken “lightly” but that the deal would secure 1300 jobs. Read more: November redundancies fall to lowest level since lockdown 1 The 141 [...]
Property developer British Land agrees £401m sale of West End offices December 23, 2020 British Land has agreed the £401m sale of a 75 per cent stake in three buildings in the West End to Allianz Real Estate. The portfolio includes three buildings; 10 Portman Square, Marble Arch House and York House, all of which are in Marylebone. As a result of the sale British Land will form a [...]
Corona Impact Series: A North London stationery brand forced to go digital December 22, 2020 In this series, City PM looks at the financial and economic impact of the ongoing pandemic on a range of small and medium-sized businesses across London. Today: how a small paper goods chain was forced to accelerate its digital transformation. “At the start of the first lockdown we had to close our five brick-and-mortar stores pretty much overnight,” sighs [...]
Making it in the City as a woman in 2020: a rising private equity star explains December 22, 2020 City PM‘s Michiel Willems sat down with Sunaina Sinha Haldea, founder and CEO of Cebile Capital, a London-based placement agent and secondaries advisor in private equity and infrastructure. The Harvard graduate is also an angel investor and serves as chair of the board of Barrecore, one of Europe’s largest luxury fitness boutiques, while she is [...]
Applegreen goes private as founders and Blackstone tie up £653m deal December 22, 2020 Irish petrol station and roadside convenience operator Applegreen has agreed to a bid from a consortium led by investment company Blackstone. The deal values the firm at 718.1m euro, a premium of around 48 per cent on the firm’s share price on the day of the bid. The buyout will see the firm go private. [...]
Sofa so good at DFS with sales up 19 per cent in six months December 22, 2020 Gross sales at DFS Furniture increased 19 per cent against the comparable 24-week period ending 15 December 2019, despite disruption caused by Covid-19. The furniture business’s online channel in particular grew in the 24 weeks to 13 December, with gross sales up 76 per cent on the same period last year. DFS believes it has [...]
