City Comment: The collapse of Wilko casts a pall over the High Street
It is a bleak start to the week for Britain’s High Streets.
The collapse of a rescue bid for about half of the Wilko estate from HMV’s Doug Putman appears to have sadly sealed the fate of thousands of jobs.
It also means that the much-loved Wilko brand looks certain to disappear — the 52 sites that do have a future are likely to be rebranded as B&M.
Retailers will be looking for help from the Chancellor in November with a freezing of business rates top of the wish list for the Autumn Statement.
Has ‘Barbenheimer’ helped keep the UK economy growing?
As the late-summer sunshine keeps the heat on London, a run of closely watched numbers this week will shed light on whether wages and the economy are cooling down after 14 consecutive interest rate rises.
And an unlikely pair of early summer blockbusters just might have kept the UK growing as wet weather might otherwise have kept people at home in July, according to City experts.
First up on Tuesday are average earnings, which will be seized on at the Bank of England after its long and hard-fought fight against inflation.
BMW in Mini deal
A MOVE to safeguard 4000 jobs at BMW’s Cowley plant near Oxford was unveiled today as the car maker moves to become all electric by 2030.
BMW is spending £600 million in all on the factory and on another in Swindon. There will also be a taxpayer funded subsidy worth tens of millions to build new electric Mini’s.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of UK industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said: "Not only does it secure the long-term future of the home of one of the world’s most iconic brands, it also demonstrates once again our capabilities in electric vehicle production.”
It is one of a series of electric vehicle projects that will get government funding.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt called it a “huge vote of confidence” in the UK.
While critics say Britain is still playing catch-up on electric vehicles there have been several big moves lately.
The Oxford plant is to build two new all-electric Mini models from 2026, the 3-door Mini Coooper and the compact crossover Mini Aceman.
BMW says by 2030 it will have spent over £3 billion in its Swindon, Hams Hall and Oxford plants since 2000.
In July Tata said it will build a gigafactory in Somerset for Jaguar Land Rover car batteries. Last week Vauxhaul started producing electric vans at its factory in Ellesmere Port.
Jaguar says it will be all-electric by 2025.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “BMW Group’s investment is another shining example of how the UK is the best place to build the cars of the future. By backing out car manufacturing industry we are securing thousands of jobs and growing our economy right across the country.”
All remaining Wilko stores to close and thousands of jobs to be lost after HMV owner’s rescue deal fails
All 300 remaining Wilko stores are set to close, after HMV owner Doug Putnam’s attempt to rescue hundreds of the collapsed retailers’ shops from administration fell apart.
Putnam, who led the turnaround of HMV, had reportedly been in talks about saving around 200 of Wilko’s 400 shops, having initially hoped to buy as many as 300. However, he has now said that he would not participate in the bidding.
Payment of suppliers, who were owed money when Wilko entered administration, had reportedly been a major challenge in getting Putnam’s deal over the line.
Putnam said: “It is with great disappointment that we can no longer continue in the purchase process for Wilko having worked with administrators and suppliers over several weeks to seek a viable way to rescue it as a going concern.”
London planning approvals lowest since 2008 as red tape and interest rates suppress housebuilding
The planning pipeline for new London homes is at its quietest since 2010 according to research out today, with soaring costs, interest rates and red tape all suppressing housebuilding activity.
Property consultancy CBRE UK, using data from analysts Molior and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said new home applications submitted and granted, as well as construction starts, totalled just 21,918 in the first half of 2023 — the lowest figure seen in 13 years. It also found applications for newbuild homes lodged in the second quarter were just 2061 — the lowest quarterly figure recorded since 2010 when the data was first available.
The firm warned that if the second half of 2023 continues at the same rate as the first the market will end the year with applications for approximately 11,800 homes, 47% below the previous trough recorded in the wake of the global financial crisis in 2010.
Last-gasp rescue deal for Wilko collapses as HMV owner pulls out
Hopes for a last-minute rescue deal for failed high street homewares chain Wilko have been dashed, leaving thousands of jobs at risk.
A chance that the billionaire retail guru and HMV entrepreneur Doug Putnam might snap up around 100 shops in the chain has floundered, due to costs spiking higher.
Putnam, who was once been linked with a bigger bid for 300 of Wilko’s outlets, said today that “a stable foundation could not be secured to ensure long-term success for the business and its people in the way we would have wanted .”
The discount chain B&M is buying up to 51 of Wilko’s shops, which are often located in town centres. Poundland has also been linked with interest in parts of the estate.
Market snapshot as FTSE climbs
Take a look at all our key market data as the FTSE 100 gets off to a strong start this morning.
Loading....
Bargain hunters move in for housebuilders
Housebuilders are in demand on the London stock market, helped by demand from bargain hunters after a run lower for the sector, and well-received news of a strategy change and capital return from developer Vistry.
The company –formerly known as Boris Homes –pledged to send £1 billion back to investors over the next three years. It will start with a £55 million share buyback in November. Vistry will focus on its “Partnership Housing” operations, which works with housing associations and local government, helping to offer social housing.
Greg Fitzgerald, chief executive, said: “The scale of the social need for affordable mixed tenure housing across the country continues to increase and it is clear that Vistry is uniquely positioned as the leader in partnerships housing.”
FTSE 250 constituent Vistry’s shares rose 108p to 908p.
Amid wider bargain hunting in the sector on the FTSE 100, Barratt Developments reclaimed 16p to 451p. Berkeley Group was up 76p to 4048p.
SoftBank looks to raise Arm IPO share price
The owner of British chip designer Arm is mulling increasing its IPO price range ahead of its flotation in New York on Wednesday after a surge in investor interest in the company.
Japan-based SoftBank, which took the firm private in 2016, had been eyeing a valuation of $60-70 billion for it earlier this year, before setting Arm’s IPO price at $47-51 a share, giving it a significantly lower market value of $54.5 billion.
But it now looks set to get closer to its original valuation hopes after the share sale was subscribed six times over, according to Bloomberg. No final decision is understood to have been made.
Arm is seeking to raise as much as $4.9 billion from the stock market listing, and has tempted investors with the promise of 11% revenue growth this financial year, rising to the mid-20% range in 2025 amid an expected boom in demand for chips used in data and AI.
The attractive projections have roused the interest of tech giants Apple, Alphabet and Nvidia, who are all considering buying a stake in the Cambridge-based company, according to Arm, alongside chip foundry operators Intel, Samsung and TSMC.
Hundreds more Wilko stores could close as HMV owner’s rescue deal collapses
Thousands more jobs at Wilko could be lost and hundreds more shops could close as HMV owner Doug Putnam’s attempt to rescue hundreds of the collapsed retailers’ shops from administration fell apart.
Putnam, who led the turnaround of HMV, had reportedly been in talks about saving around 200 of Wilko’s 400 shops, having initially hoped to buy as many as 300. However, he has now said that he would not participate in the bidding.
Payment of suppliers, who were owed money when Wilko entered administration, had reportedly been a major challenge in getting Putnam’s deal over the line.
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMijwFodHRwczovL3d3dy5zdGFuZGFyZC5jby51ay9idXNpbmVzcy9mdHNlLTEwMC1saXZlLTExLXNlcHRlbWJlci1wb3VuZC1kb2xsYXItc3RvY2tzLXNoYXJlcy1pbmZsYXRpb24taW50ZXJlc3QtcmF0ZS1iYW5rLW9mLWVuZ2xhbmQtYjExMDYwODkuaHRtbNIBAA?oc=5
2023-09-11 11:10:44Z
CBMijwFodHRwczovL3d3dy5zdGFuZGFyZC5jby51ay9idXNpbmVzcy9mdHNlLTEwMC1saXZlLTExLXNlcHRlbWJlci1wb3VuZC1kb2xsYXItc3RvY2tzLXNoYXJlcy1pbmZsYXRpb24taW50ZXJlc3QtcmF0ZS1iYW5rLW9mLWVuZ2xhbmQtYjExMDYwODkuaHRtbNIBAA
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar