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The Treasury has been criticised for saying it will legislate to "rule out" Covid-related business rates appeals. Experts said the legal change on appeals would be a "catastrophic blow" for many firms hit by the property tax. Retail, hospitality and leisure have benefitted from a rates "holiday", which was announced at the...

Convenience retailer McColl’s has seen its full year revenue edge up 3.2% to £1.26 billion after it benefited from strong demand generated by the Covid-19 pandemic. In the 53 weeks to 29 November, like-for-like sales climbed by 12% driven by a strong performance in the alcohol, fresh food and tobacco categories. The...

The John Lewis department store has confirmed that eight of its shops will not reopen when lockdown restrictions end next month. The news follows a previous announcement of eight store closures last year. The stores identified for shuttering in this latest round include four ‘At Home’ shops in Ashford, Basingstoke, Chester and...

Marks & Spencer has bought upmarket fashion brand Jaeger out of administration, saving it from collapse. However, M&S is expected to only buy Jaeger’s intellectual property, allowing it to sell Jaeger-branded goods on its website as a third-party brand. The deal means no store staff from Jaeger are expected to keep their...

Takeaway company Deliveroo has confirmed its intention to float, saying that it will sell £1bn ($1.4bn) in new shares in its initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange. The company said that any additional details of the offering would be disclosed in its forthcoming prospectus. Despite that, some details of...

Royal Mail is to trial Sunday parcel deliveries for major retailers amid an online shopping boom. Internet sales were already on the up before the coronavirus crisis, but the pandemic caused huge growth in 2020. Royal Mail said the trial would open the door to parcel deliveries seven days a week. The postal...

New figures have shown that over 17,500 chain stores disappeared from the UK’s retail locations in 2020. According to research compiled for PwC by the Local Data Company, an average of 48 stores closed every day. The figures reveal that high streets were the worst hit with 4,690 closures in the...

Rolls-Royce posted a huge loss last year due to the collapse in air travel. Boss Warren East said 2020 had been "unprecedented", with the company making a loss of almost £4bn, after a £583m profit the year before. Rolls-Royce makes most of its money servicing engines, and the Covid-driven fall in...

The John Lewis Partnership has recorded a pre-tax loss of £517 million for the year to 30 January after it incurred exceptional costs of £648 million. The loss compares to a profit of £146 million in the previous 12-month period. The partnership said the costs were mainly the result of a write...

Fashion retailer Ted Baker is to launch a live video shopping feature for customers this month. The company said the new technology will enable it to connect with thousands of consumers through interactive, shoppable live broadcasts on its website. Users will be able to engage with the shopping experience in real-time...