Retail bosses have lashed out at Treasury “inaction” on business rates, branding its long-awaited report into the taxation “a huge disappointment”. Industry chiefs said it fell short of setting out a definitive position on whether there will be a substantial cut in business rates in the autumn when the Treasury will publish its final review. (The Telegraph)
More than 11,000 outlets permanently disappeared from high streets, shopping centres and retail parks in Great Britain last year, with independent retailers and villages faring far better than chain stores and city centres. (The Guardian)
Retailers have called on the government to take “all necessary precautions” to prevent a fourth lockdown after 67,000 retail jobs were lost in the past year (The Guardian). The number of people in payrolled employment has risen for a third consecutive month despite further lockdown misery for the economy, according to official figures (Sky News).
European grocery group Carrefour has unveiled the €1.1bn acquisition of a competitor in Brazil, Grupo BIG, in a move aimed at growth in its second-biggest country by sales after its home market of France. (The Financial Times £)
US delivery app goPuff has announced it has raised $1.15bn in new funding, more than doubling its valuation to $8.9bn, as investors continue to pile into the booming last-mile delivery sector. (The Financial Times £)
Time Out lost nearly a fifth of its value after its bosses made a late decision to abandon the planned opening of a street food market under the old Eurostar platforms at Waterloo station in London. (The Times £)
Three of Britain’s biggest wholesale food markets are set to move to a riverside site in Dagenham after the City of London Corporation received planning approval to relocate them. Billingsgate, Smithfield and New Spitalfields markets are poised to merge. (The Times £)
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