Number of UK retailers on brink of collapse soars by 25%
The number of UK retailers on the brink of collapse has risen by a quarter in the final three months of the year, driven by a combination of rising business costs and weak consumer confidence, according to a report.The proportion of retail businesses classed as being in “critical” financial distress increased by 25% to 2,124 in the fourth quarter compared with the previous three months, the insolvency specialists Begbies Traynor said.The general retail sector is under most pressure, with a 29% quarterly increase in businesses in critical financial distress, rising to 1,457 from 1,127 in the third quarter.In the food and drug retail sector there was a 17.2% quarterly increase, with the number of businesses facing collapse rising from 569 in the third quarter to 667 by the end of the 11th week of the final quarter of this year.
Overall, a total of 28,747 retail businesses in the UK are facing “significant” financial distress, down on the 34,494 in the same quarter last year, the report found.“This year has highlighted the resilience and adaptability of some UK retailers, but the sector remains under significant strain,” said Julie Palmer, a partner at Begbies Traynor.“Clearly, some retailers have found ways to manage financial pressures effectively, but others, particularly in general retail, are struggling under the weight of rising operational costs and squeezed consumer spending.”Fewer consumers ventured out to high streets and shopping centres to take advantage of the Boxing Day sales this year.Footfall across UK retailers was down 4.
9% year on year on Thursday, according to data from MRI Software.High street destinations had the biggest decrease in shoppers, down 6.2% year on year.Footfall to shopping centres declined 4.2%, compared with Boxing Day last year, while retail parks fared a little better, down 2.
9% year on year.Many shoppers focused on pre-Christmas shopping, with footfall levels up 18% on Christmas Eve, compared with last year.Shares in some UK retailers fell on Friday, as traders digested the drop in Boxing Day footfall.Shares in Next were down 2% on Friday, making the clothing and homewares retailer the top faller on the FTSE 100.Meanwhile, the online electrical retailer AO World was one of the biggest fallers on the FTSE 250, down more than 4%.
Last year, Boxing Day footfall grew 4%, compared with 2022, fuelled by booming high street shopping up 8.6% year on year.Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionMany under-pressure retailers kicked off their Boxing Day sales early this year, giving shoppers the opportunity to grab bargains online without making the trip to the shops.MRI Software’s consumer pulse report found 53% of shoppers planned to complete at least half of their Christmas shopping online.“After a sluggish start in December, retailers have been playing catchup ever since as they’ve chased critical Christmas trade,” said Andy Sumpter, a retail consultant at Sensormatic Solutions.
“And this tail-chasing prompted many to launch Boxing Day sales much earlier than usual in a bid to drive pre-Christmas revenues, with some retailers even offering discounts that would traditionally have been held for Boxing Day as early as mid-December,”However, there was an 8% increase in footfall across all retail destinations as of 12pm on Friday, compared with the same date last year, MRI Software figures showed,It coincided with the reopening after Boxing Day of big retailers such as John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Next and Aldi,Despite the quarterly increase in retailers on the brink of collapse, the number of UK retailers in critical financial distress has fallen slightly on an annual basis, from 2,142 in the fourth quarter last year,Palmer said there was an expectation of “elevated” insolvency levels next year as the measures announced in the autumn budget – including planned increases to employers’ national insurance contributions, the increase in the minimum wage and adjustments to capital gains tax – affect businesses.
“Even for more resilient businesses the pressures remain relentless and many will likely face financial challenges next year as they navigate these compounded difficulties,” Palmer said.“With mounting challenges on the horizon, weaker businesses are likely to find little joy as we enter the new year.”
Which sport won 2024? Australia audiences feast on free-to-air despite streaming boom | Jack Snape
The Matildas may have offered the nation a historic ratings bonanza last year, but in 2024 the list of Australia’s most-watched sporting broadcasts returned to orthodoxy despite a shift from the old idiot box towards smart TVs and gadgets.Free-to-air live sports dominate the list of most watched programmes. So dominant are sporting events only The Sign episode of Bluey (audience of 2.28m) and the announcement of the winner of The Block (2.19m) muscled into the overall top 10
Galopin Des Champs ready for Gold Cup hat-trick after Leopardstown cruise
The mood music around the Willie Mullins stable was unusually downbeat on Saturday morning, with three winners from 47 starters over the first two days of the Christmas programme. It was significantly more up-tempo by the end of the afternoon after a Grade One double that included a deeply impressive return to winning form by the stable’s star steeplechaser, Galopin Des Champs.Galopin Des Champs lined up for the Savills Chase at Leopardstown, the feature event of the track’s four-day Christmas meeting, as the 5-2 joint-favourite for the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March, a race he has won for the past two seasons. Alongside him in the ante-post market and Saturday’s race was Fact To File, a stable companion at the Mullins yard and the apparent leader of the second-season chasers.The two-time Gold Cup winner had also failed to add to his Cheltenham victory in two subsequent starts – a near-facsimile of his record before the Savills Chase last season and had finished behind Fact To File over two and a half miles at Punchestown in November
Kabaddi fever hits Melbourne as part of two nations’ sporting symbiosis
The blue swarm knew not of contested possessions as it closed in on the former AFL midfielder Josh Kennedy. His crew of recently retired colleagues, dubbed the Aussie Raiders, were struggling to stay in touch with the Pro Kabaddi All Stars. So when the opposing mass grabbed, gripped and grappled the greying former Swan late in the match on Saturday night in Melbourne, the crowd knew the contest was over.But this exhibition at John Cain Arena, of a discipline behind only cricket among India’s most popular sports, was an occasion at which the scoreboard didn’t matter. The few thousand fans who showed up had no attachment to the Raiders or All Stars, nor the Mavericks and Masters who played the curtain-raiser
Will Muir grabs hat-trick as Bath pour on style in demolition of sloppy Saracens
It looks increasingly likely that when the fog of winter lifts, Bath will emerge top of the pile, perfectly placed to launch an assault on the Premiership playoffs. Saracens travelled west aiming to make it four wins from four in December but were dismissed with contemptuous ease by Johann van Graan’s finely tuned side.The visitors’ cause was not helped by a pair of early cards, one yellow and one red, but Bath were dominant throughout in achieving their biggest Premiership win against Saracens, Will Muir scoring a hat-trick among 10 tries.Bath are clear at the top halfway through the season and it would be a major shock if they do not visit Twickenham again next June. Liam Williams, the visiting full-back, was sent to the sin-bin after four minutes and Toby Knight, Saracens’ openside, was dismissed for a high tackle on Ollie Lawrence 10 minutes later
Puerto Rican boxer Paul Bamba dies aged 35, six days after last fight
The Puerto Rican boxer Paul Bamba has died at the age of 35, his manager, the R&B singer Shaffer “Ne-Yo” Smith, announced Friday. The news comes less than a week after Bamba claimed the WBA’s secondary “gold” cruiserweight title with a sixth-round knockout of Rogelio Medina in New Jersey.Bamba’s death was confirmed in a joint statement from Ne-Yo and Bamba’s family. “It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of beloved son, brother, friend, and boxing champion Paul Bamba, whose light and love touched countless lives,” the statement read. It also described Bamba as a fierce competitor with an unrelenting drive for greatness
Nitish Kumar Reddy blossoms to give India hope as century stalls Australia
As India’s tour of Australia has worn on, the coverage has become preoccupied with fading veterans - Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli – and speculation about whether somebody’s decent score is a last hurrah, or if a lack of one is a terminal sign. A preoccupation with whether body language or temper tantrums or patterns of dismissal mean one thing or another, whether any of these interpretations can tell us how much longer they can push on, or how close to the end they might be.Sport obsesses about retirements, about endings. Will a player will finish on their terms or carry on too long? God forbid they are forced out too soon. Perhaps these are symbolic little deaths, a way to come to grips with the idea in life
You need more than Nobbies and Stobbies for a motorway grand slam | Letters
More UK retailers in critical financial distress; fashion brand Quiz needs more funding soon – as it happened
Number of UK retailers on brink of collapse soars by 25%
Nissan shares tumble by most since August amid Honda deal worries
‘It’s not just a dancefloor’: the precipitous decline of UK nightclubs
London-listed miner pauses Mozambique operation amid political unrest