Retailers have axed 85,000 jobs in the past year as weak consumer demand, rising costs and the switch to online shopping, exacerbated by Brexit uncertainty, have put businesses under increasing pressure. The job losses in the UK’s biggest private employment sector – with particular importance for women – are the latest sign of a crisis on the high street that has seen the closure of thousands of shops and the collapse of some well-known retail names. Bonmarché, the fashion chain for over-50s, went into administration last week, putting nearly 3,000 jobs at risk, just weeks after hundreds of jobs were lost at Karen Millen and Coast, which closed all their stores after falling into administration. Other retailers including Mothercare, New Look and Marks & Spencer and House of Fraser have also been closing stores, while Debenhams is set to close more than 20 in January.
Heathrow has accused British Airways of acting against “the consumer and national interest” by attempting to slow down expansion of the airport and depriving passengers of lower fares. BA’s parent company, International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG), has complained to the regulator about the approximately £3.3bn Heathrow will spend on preparations for the third runway, accusing the airport of covering up costs that will affect airlines. The airport’s chief executive hit back at IAG for keeping fares high and attempting to stave off competition. John Holland-Kaye said: “The affordability debate has been around the wrong thing, landing charges of £20 per passenger, rather than competition on fares. “We’re getting on with building the third runway. What IAG would prefer to do is not spend money until after we’ve got planning permission, and delay by two or three years. That’s not in the consumer interest or national interest. In two years’ time Charles de Gaulle [in Paris] will overtake Heathrow as the biggest airport in Europe.”
has appointed advisory group RSM as its auditor, more than a month after an acrimonious split with the accounting firm Grant Thornton. RSM is the UK’s seventh biggest audit firm and Sports Direct will be its biggest client. The advisory group has no other audit clients among the top 350 companies on the London Stock Exchange. According to ARL, a service that monitors corporate advisers and their clients, RSM signs off the accounts of Aim-listed firms including Quiz, Fulham Shore and Cake Box. Sports Direct is a FTSE250 firm with a valuation of almost £1.7bn. Shares in Sports Direct tumbled to their lowest level since 2011 in August after its then auditor, Grant Thornton, quit. Grant Thornton had monitored Sport Direct’s accounts since the retailers floatation in 2007.
Metro Bank (MTRO) founder has resigned as chairman with immediate effect weeks before he was expected to step down, leaving his successor to handle a regulatory investigation into an accounting error. The high street challenger said Vernon Hill, who founded the bank in 2010, would stay on as a non-executive director until 31 December. He has been granted the honorary position of emeritus chairman in recognition of his “extraordinary contribution to Metro Bank”, the lender said in a regulatory announcement. Sir Michael Snyder, a member of the board, will serve as interim chairman until a replacement is found. Hill will continue receiving his full chairman’s pay over the next two months, despite his scaled-down role, including a £10,000 monthly travel allowance.
