High street jobs lost as no buyer found for Oasis and Warehouse stores April 30, 2020 Oasis and Warehouse have become the latest high street casualties of the coronavirus crisis after administrators were unable to find a buyer for the stores, resulting in 1,803 redundancies. The retailer’s intellectual property assets and certain stock have been sold to Hilco Capital. The group, which includes the Oasis, Warehouse and The Idle Man brands, [...]
JD Wetherspoon raises £141m as pub chain plans for June reopening April 30, 2020 JD Wetherspoon has raised £141m through a share placing to shore up its finances during the coronavirus crisis, as the pub chain gears up for a June reopening. The equity raise completed this morning will help the company cope with the low sales levels expected when it reopens after the coronavirus lockdown is lifted, it [...]
Sainsbury’s delays dividend as coronavirus costs expected to reach £500m April 30, 2020 Sainsbury’s has delayed a decision on its dividend and warned that it will take a £500m hit due to costs associated with coronavirus, but that soaring grocery sales and business rates relief will largely offset the impact. The supermarket said this morning that it faces costs associated with protecting customers and staff, weaker fuel, general [...]
Shoppers wary about life after lockdown as restrictions cost UK retailers £2.7bn a week April 30, 2020 Most shoppers are wary about hitting the high street when the coronavirus lockdown is relaxed, the latest research indicated, as it was revealed that UK retailers have lost out on £2.7bn in sales each week. The lockdown, which forced all non-essential UK retailers to close from 23 March, has cost the industry £2.7bn in lost [...]
London retail rents to drop as occupier demand falls April 30, 2020 London retail rents are expected to dive this year as occupier demand has plummeted due to the coronavirus crisis, according to the latest research. In the first quarter of the year, occupier demand for retail fell to a net balance of minus 75 per cent, while office space demand declined to minus 18 per cent. [...]
Tory MP calls on government to extend job retention scheme April 29, 2020 A Conservative London MP has called on the government to extend the job retention scheme that pays “furloughed” workers’ wages to help businesses hit by a plunge in international visitors. Nickie Aiken, MP for Cities of London and Westminster, and the Association of International Retail have written to chancellor Rishi Sunak to say that businesses [...]
Hospitality class action group launches to bring business interruption insurance claims April 29, 2020 A group action for the hospitality sector launched today with the aim of bringing claims against insurers which have failed to pay coronavirus-related business interruption claims. The hospitality insurance group action (HIGA) is open to businesses such as pubs, restaurants, hotels and nightclubs which have been forced to close because of the lockdown and are [...]
Restaurant bosses to beg ministers to extend UK coronavirus lockdown April 29, 2020 Restaurant industry bosses are set to urge the government not to end the UK coronavirus lockdown too soon, warning the move would cause permanent closures. Celebrity chefs Rick Stein and Tom Kerridge are among the restaurateurs to sign a letter to business secretary Alok Sharma and Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove, which will be sent [...]
Waitrose hires ex-Sainsbury’s director as new boss April 29, 2020 Waitrose has appointed former Sainsbury’s buying director James Bailey as its new boss to steer the supermarket through the coronavirus crisis. Bailey, who worked for Sainsbury’s for 18 years, will join the John Lewis Partnership as an executive director today and will be responsible for managing the supermarket’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. He will [...]
Next warns sales could drop 40 per cent this year after steeper decline than expected April 29, 2020 High street retailer Next warned this morning that full-year sales could dive as much as 40 per cent after the impact of coronavirus on trading was “faster and steeper” than expected. Next’s share price dropped as much as four per cent after the retailer said total full price sales including interest income were down 38 [...]
