Hundreds of shops will close in 2018, Mirror's Express takeover to be investigated, and more trending news
Almost 650 shops and restaurants in the UK have either shut this year or are at risk of closure. Maplin and Toys R Us – which fell into administration in February – account for half the total, according to research by BBC 5 live's Wake Up to Money. Some of the failures have been attributed to the rise of online shopping and the fall in consumer visits to the high street, the BBC reports. Companies planning to close stores over the course of 2018 include Carpetright, New Look, Jamie's Italian, Prezzo, Byron Burger and Marks and Spencer.
The Daily Mirror publisher’s ￡200m takeover of the Express and Star titles is under threat as the government has announced it is considering an in-depth investigation into the deal. The authorities are concerned about the potential impact the takeover will have on editorial decision making – it wants to ensure that a range of views is presented across the UK press. The Competition and Markets Authority already decided earlier this month to open an investigation into the deal.
Government borrowing fell last year to the lowest level since 2007. New stats from the ONS show borrowing decreased by ￡3.5bn to ￡42.6bn in the past financial year. The figures surprised analysts, who had been expecting borrowing to be ￡2.6bn higher. The Office for Budget Responsibility, which produces official government forecasts, expects the public sector to borrow ￡37.1bn over the next year – around a quarter of the amount it borrowed at the peak of the financial crisis.
Capita, the company responsible for collecting the BBC licence fee, is in trouble, and seeking to raise ￡701m in an effort to revive the business. The firm, which also operates the London congestion charge, has reported a ￡513m annual loss. Despite this, the company has dismissed comparisons to collapsed construction firm Carillion. Capita CEO Jonathan Lewis said he gets “frustrated” by comparisons made between the two companies. The new CEO said Capita has “nothing like the risk profile” of Carillion, which went into liquidation in January.
The number of public sector workers turning to food banks is growing. Independent Food Aid Network UK said along with welfare recipients and the homeless, food banks are now often serving workers on zero-hour contracts. Research coordinator Sabine Goodwin said food banks in IFAN’s network are also serving “public sector staff who just can’t pay all their bills”. Research from Living Wage Foundation suggests one in six households referred to food banks are in work. While ONS data showed wages grew 2.8% in the three months to February, the pick up in wages has been slower than many economists anticipated.
Idea of the Day: Employee transparency helps minimise one team member’s overestimation of their own contributions, says VC Tomasz Tunguz. That makes for happier, more productive teams.
“The more visibility teammates have into each other’s work, the greater the sense of common sacrifice and camaraderie.”
This article was updated. From earlier: The number of people vaping in the UK has risen to 3 million, up more than 300% from 2012. Also: Britain and Detroit have signed a deal to develop a rulebook for self-driving cars.
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Student in Automotive World ?? at ??????Self-taught UNIVERSITY - ?? Enthusiast ??
6 年Unfortunately that's the truth!
Social Media Consultant/Manager at Sociaux
6 年I agree with the transparency issue in the workplace. Too often retail workers just look at their Managers as sitting in an office doing nothing. However having had been a Store Manager myself, I learned how much paperwork and dealing with Head Office I had to do, but also the importance of being on the floor with the staff and seeing how their day works. They will appreciate seeing you and it also helps you monitor staff and catch issues early.
Software Developer at Jisc
6 年The markets (including jobs) are led by consumers and going out of business an early indication many are not sustainable. People will naturally follow the path of least resistance and it will always be easier to click a button than take time and effort to travel to shops. The writing is on the wall
Facility / Operation / Project manager Transitioning from Defence seeking new opportunities.
6 年In today’s society online purchasing can be very appealing because it may seem cheaper and easily available. But there are disadvantages such as being able to try before buying. There are many choices no matter what we want to buy, thanks to the internet we have a greater ability of browsing a wider demand. Shops are closing because they cannot offer the customers the choices that they require, therefore they will look elsewhere. These empty shops does not look good in our high streets, but this may appeal to entrepreneur who might be able provide a service that customers would like. To summarise, there is always advantages and disadvantages to shops opening and closing. It is up to the retailers to provide a greater more diverse stock which is more appealing to the public, advertising, word of mouth and reputation is a great way of succeeding in business.
Currently full time mummy
6 年I knew about New Look but would.never guess that Marks and Spencer's would be at risk, my local one is always heaving.