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Wickes saw a quadrupling of click-and-collect orders last year, the company revealed as it progressed plans to split from parent Travis Perkins and list on the London Stock Exchange. The DIY and home improvement retailer said it saw a doubling in digital customers last year, with click-and-collect orders rising 450% and deliveries to customers’ doors jumping 120%. Owner Travis Perkins on...
The UK’s rate of inflation unexpectedly eased last month amid falls in the prices of clothes, second-hand cars and toys, according to new official data. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 0.4% in the 12 months to February this year. It was down from the 0.7% measurement in January and 0.6% in December. ONS...
Tui is planning to close 48 more retail stores in the UK. The UK’s biggest tour operator said the travel industry and the high street “are both facing unprecedented pressure” due to the coronavirus pandemic. All 273 employees affected by the decision will be offered new roles in other locations, it added. This comes after Tui announced in July last year that...
McColl’s has said its losses narrowed over the past year as more people shopped at their local convenience store during the pandemic. The retailer told investors on Tuesday that it delivered a £2.7 million pre-tax loss in the year to November, improving from a £95.9 million loss in the previous year. This was driven by cost improvements and an increase in...
An H&T pawnbrokers shop
Profits at the UK’s biggest pawnbroker, H&T, slumped by 22% in 2020 as the pandemic saw fewer customers needing to sell their assets, the company said. With large swathes of the economy shuttered, bosses said the demand for cash fell as Covid-19 restrictions in the hospitality and travel sectors saw households becoming savers rather than spenders. H&T added that its pledge...
Labour is urging ministers to create a “level playing field” between high street retailers and online sales giants such as Amazon. Campaigning in Birmingham ahead of the local elections in May, shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said the Government needed to put a stop to online firms paying “little to no tax” and allowing them to “undercut” rate-paying shops. Ms Dodds warned...
Deliveroo extension plans
Takeaway company Deliveroo is expected to be valued at up to £8.8 billion when it starts selling its shares on the stock exchange in London. The business aims to sell shares for around 390p to 460p each, it revealed on Monday, in what is expected to be one of the biggest public listings of the year. The share price will value...
A B&Q store
The owner of B&Q has cashed in on a DIY boom as millions of people stuck at home tried to improve their living conditions. Kingfisher said it had seen pre-tax profits balloon 634% from £103 million to £756 million in the 12 months to the end of January. Sales increased by 7.2% during the same period to £12.3 billion, the company...
The Covid-19 crisis saw some obvious business winners emerge from the pandemic as workers were forced to stay at home as high streets and the hospitality sector shut down. Online retailers and supermarkets were the big winners, alongside takeaway firms and delivery apps including Deliveroo and Just Eat. But the PA news agency takes a look at some of the other,...
Halfords has paid £15 million to buy a motor services company in the South East of England which specialises in changing tyres on cars and tractors. The firm said it is buying Kent-based Universal Tyre and Autocentres, which has 20 sites across the region and runs 89 response vans. Around £9 million of the price tag that Halfords paid was to...

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