Its looking like Poundworld is going into administration with another 5300+ jobs gone, talks are still ongoing but one company previously interested has dropped out. What a disaster for the workers. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44398352
Acquired by a SA entity just under 2 years ago for near enough £600m. Due diligence failure. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/13/poundland-agrees-steinhoff-takeover
It would be interesting to know how much the middle men and dealmakers made, how much the original owners and sellers made, and where the value was that attributed a £600m price tag for a business that was ailing. Given multipliers banks and co apply to simple SME punters, they must have made £300m net profit the year before...table suggest maybe not. You wonder why they expanded, 5x the revenue with net profits in the negative #PEswizz Year ending Turnover (£m) Profit Gross (£m) Operating (£m) Pre-tax (£m) Net (£m) 31 March 2016 1310.5 488.82 56.9 30.3 −12 31 March 2015 1111.5 412.36 59.4 32.8 13.9 31 March 2014 997.8 368.5 54.0 27.3 −4.7 31 March 2013 880.5 323.5 30.1 26.5 23.4 1 April 2012 780.1 287.8 32.0 23.5 17.5 27 March 2011 518.4 190.8 15.7 8.5 5.1 28 March 2010 509.8 192.6 21.5 19.8 13.0 29 March 2009 396.2 150.3 11.8 8.6 4.8 30 March 2008 329.7 123.5 8.0 4.2 1.9 1 April 2007 310.7 112.9 3.6 −0.38 −1.2 2 April 2006 281.2 100.4 1.9 −1.6 −2.1
It's a fairly obvious fix and one that needs addressing. Web sales aren't going to go away, but punishing high street retailers at the levels they are doing is just idiotic. Amazon admittedly are a different beast, but other ecom based businesses don't necessarily need to employ much in the way of staff, or spend with other people offering trade in regards to shopfitting etc It's just so short sighted to carry on how they are doing.
Like Nelly, I like to see and experience what I'm buying. And only buy big stuff if I can see it (with a few exceptions).
There is a relationship between business rates and business rents. Ostensibly the rent and the rates are in direct proportion, since rateable values are based on rental values. Look a little deeper though and in the long term the relationship in inverse proportion. Landowners offering business premises for rental charge as much as they can get somebody to pay, a rack rent. Businesses seeking premises to rent can pay no more than the profitability of their business in that location can support. So the more the occupiers have to pay in rates, the less they can afford to pay in rents. There are huge lags in the system, since business leases are often for 7 years, 14 years, or even 21 years, so it can take a long time for anomalies to work their way out. But work their way out they will, eventually.
You would think having your shops occupied and earning something is better than nothing Is the high street ear marked for living space rather than retail I wonder Even supermarkets are having a shake up sainsburys being one of them to the cost of loyal hardworking long standing staff
Funny thing is, I just had a group ad pop up, and one in same condition but way more mileage than mine up for 10k over what I paid...think Sheffield must have started selling cars
The reason high streets aren't as popular nowadays is likely a mixture of diversity of stores (charity shops, card shops and £1 shops aren't enticing) and prices when compared to online. If you reduce or remove the additional rates overheads from owning a high street shop then it's far more likely the diversity and value will return. I just think it's a very sad situation which needs tackling immediately.
The biggest turn off for high street shopping is ease of access (ie actually getting into town) and parking fees once you’re there.
Yeah that as well, admittedly though in our local town they've made the majority of car parking free for 2 hours. It's simply the fact barely anything is there nowadays, and what there is seems to be either charity based, pop up new business like vape shops or coffee shops.
But they are only there because traditional businesses have pulled out/closed because people can’t get into town and have to pay for the privilege when they do. Councils have killed their towns/cities by allowing out of town retail parks with good access and free parking to be built.
Is this the model for town centres in the future? Charity shops and cafés, where people can mooch around without getting in the way of people who have precisely one hour to get their weekly shop done and so cannot be doing with a lot of folk ambling aimlessly in and out of the way? Could work. The traditional model won't, not for much longer.
