Mike Ashley in talks over rescue bid for struggling HMV. boss could link film and music retailer to other parts of his high street empire. Mike Ashley is considering a rescue bid for HMV, the music and film retailer that collapsed into administration last month. The Sports Direct boss is understood to have held talks with suppliers to the ailing business about a rescue deal, which could see him link the HMV brand to other parts of his high street empire including House of Fraser, Sports Direct or potentially Game Digital (GMD), in which Sports Direct owns a 25% stake. A successful deal for HMV’s 125 stores would see Ashley grab another major slice of the high street following Sports Direct’s acquisition of the bike specialist Evans Cycles in October and department store chain House of Fraser in August, both of which were bought out of administration. While Ashley takes a look at many potential retail deals, and Sports Direct holds stakes in multiple high street chains including the struggling French Connection Group (FCCN) and Debenhams (DEB), sources told Sky News – which first reported Ashley’s interest in HMV – that he was serious about buying the music retailer. Ashley has also made clear his interest in Debenhams, which is seeking to refinance its debts by the end of this month after a torrid 2018. Ashley has offered to bail the department store chain out with a £40m loan on terms that would give him the whip hand over the company, in which Sports Direct already owns a near 30% stake.
Over 23,000 shops and 175,000 high street jobs predicted to go in 2019. Value of retail property will slump as shift to online giants continues, says report. A further 175,000 jobs will be shed from struggling UK high streets this year and the value of retail property will slump as the boom in online shopping and rise of giants such as Amazon continue to take their toll, research warns. More than 23,000 shops are forecast to close in 2019, according to the findings published on Monday in an annual report from the real estate adviser Altus Group. The figures suggest this year will be even worse than 2018, when a series of high-profile company failures and store-closure programmes claimed nearly 20,000 stores and 150,000 jobs. They include both multiples or chains as well as independent stores and – in the hospitality sector – restaurants and casual dining outlets.
Record numbers switched energy provider last year amid price hikes. About 5.8m households moved to another electricity supplier, up 6% from 2017. A record number of people switched energy supplier last year as consumers were hit with the highest number of price hikes in recent history. However, the energy industry warned that progress risked being undermined by fewer people shifting because of the government’s price cap. A total of 5.8m households moved to another electricity supplier in 2018, up 6% on 2017, according to Energy UK. The trade body hailed the figures as a sign consumers are highly engaged in the market, but the high is likely to simply reflect people moving in response to a record 57 price increases as wholesale costs rose. About 11m households on default tariffs have seen their bills capped since 1 January, narrowing the gap between the best and worst deals to £150-£200, compared with more than £250 previously, according to switching site MoneySuperMarket. The smaller savings had led the energy regulator to admit that switches may reduce by as much as 40%, which would wipe out the growth in recent years. Lawrence Slade, chief executive of Energy UK, said: “My hope remains that, with the recent introduction of the price cap, we don’t see this element of competition undermined and switching levels fall, as is predicted in Ofgem’s impact assessment.”
Patisserie Holdings (CAKE) could collapse this week if last-ditch talks fail. Chairman Luke Johnson is trying to extend standstill agreement on bank facilities. The troubled cafe chain Patisserie Valerie could collapse on Monday if last-ditch talks with its banks fail. Luke Johnson, Patisserie Valerie’s leading shareholder, has been seeking to extend a standstill agreement on its bank facilities – protecting the chain from action to recover debts – which officially expired at midnight on Friday. Without an agreement, the company’s lenders, HSBC and Barclays, could demand repayment of debts that may amount to nearly £10m, potentially forcing Patisserie Valerie to call in administrators. Other options include a second bailout by Johnson, the multimillionaire chairman of the business, who pumped £20m of his money into Patisserie Valerie to keep it afloat after the company uncovered “potentially fraudulent” accounting irregularities and a financial black hole in October. Johnson was paid back £10m after other shareholders later put up £15m in new funds.
