Retail sales fell in June as households continue to be squeezed by higher inflation and rising unemployment. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)/KPMG retail sales monitor, sales fell by 0.6% on an underlying basis last month, while total sales (including VAT) rose 1.5%. Food sales growth eased a little last month but a strong [...]
WH Smith, which sells newspapers, books, stationery and confectionery, today announced like-for-like sales fell 4% in the 18 weeks to 2 July compared with the same period a year ago. However, the company, which operates on the High Street and at travel-based outlets such as airports, train stations and motorway service stations, said it “remained [...]
According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), shop price inflation rose in June on the back of growing food prices. The BRC said shop price inflation surged to its highest rate since October 2008 in June. Higher petrol and commodity costs lifted shop prices to 2.9% in June from 2.3% in May while food inflation [...]
Fashion chain Jane Norman has gone into administration after failing to find a buyer. The retailer was forced to close its 90 UK stores this weekend and the news comes just a few days after it emerged that furniture chain Habitat is to be put into administration. Jane Norman is understood to have appointed American [...]
Furniture chain Habitat is to be put into administration but three of its stores are to be bought by Home Retail Group (owner of Argos and Homebase). Home Retail Group is acquiring the rights to the Habitat brand in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Administrators have been appointed for 30 of the outlets, [...]
The Norwich and Peterborough Building Society (N&P) is to repay £57 million in compensation to customers who were sold its Keydata product. N&P sold Keydata products from 2005 but it was placed into administration in 2009, with 30,000 UK investors facing the loss of £450 million. The collapse of Keydata represents the largest investment failure [...]
Auto Windscreens, which is the UK’s second largest windscreen repair and replacement company, has been placed into administration, putting more than 1,000 jobs at risk. Deloitte, which has been appointed as administrator for the Chesterfield-based company, said there were no funds with which it could continue trading. According to Deloitte, the company has suffered trading [...]
Telecoms company Talk Talk has today announced plans to axe 580 administration jobs as part of a major restructure. The job losses, which represent 13% of its UK workforce of 4,500, are due to overlap within the company after acquiring three separate businesses via acquisitions, which includes Tiscali last year. “This has created a level [...]
Crown Currency Exchange has today been placed into administration. Its collapse has been attributed to the downturn in the travel industry. MCR has been appointed as administrator and said it believes 13,000 consumers will be directly affected by the collapse. Paul Clark, of MCR, said that Crown had been affected by the downturn in the [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has today revealed the High Street continued its recovery in March with UK retail sales rising at their fastest rate in almost four years. According to the BRC, the rise was boosted by Easter shopping as consumers stocked up on chocolate, food and drink for the Easter weekend. The BRC [...]
Administrators at Jarvis, the railway maintenance company which entered administration last week, have announced they will shed 1,100 jobs at the ailing company. Deloitte said the job losses will affect workers at the head office in York, as well as in Doncaster, Glasgow, Leeds, Newcastle and Peterborough. Last week, Deloitte was called in to the [...]
Scottish airline, Highland Airways, has gone into voluntary administration putting 100 jobs at risk. The company, which is based in Inverness and also has routes to Wales, called in administrators last night, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), to take over the running of the business. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said operations had been suspended “with immediate effect”. [...]
Jarvis, the railway maintenance company, has entered administration after being refused further support by its lenders. The company, which has is based in York, said the future of the firm depended on the ongoing support of its lenders but said after negotiations, it was evident “that sufficient support will not be extended to the company [...]
Portsmouth Football Club is to enter administration today as the Premier League side struggles under a mountain of debt totalling £60 million – including more than £12 million owed in tax to HM Revenue and Customs. The club has failed to attract a buyer and the process of administration means it will immediately be docked [...]
Fashion retailer Ethel Austin has been forced to close its doors after failing to attract a buyer. Earlier this month, the Liverpool-based discount clothing retailer, together with its sister company Au Naturale, entered administration for the second time in two years. The group was bought out of administration in 2008 by Elaine McPherson – former [...]
Having studied the latest figures from the Insolvency Service, Grant Thornton is predicting a glut of company failures in England and Wales during 2010. Last year saw a record 4,161 companies placed in administration (up 1.7% on 2008) and the accountancy firm warns: “There is no light at the end of the tunnel for troubled [...]
Discount clothing retailer Ethel Austin has entered administration for the second time in two years. The Liverpool-based retailer, which has 300 stores, will trade as normal while administrators MCR seek a new buyer. However, MCR could not rule out closures or job losses since there were “no guarantees” that a buyer could be sought in [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
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