U K
The information below comes from the
UK Activity Report.
B&Q is to set up a DIY warehouse-style store at the Euro Retail Park in Ipswich in 2002, with the creation of up to 250 jobs. 22-Dec-2000
T&S Stores is to close the Preston headquarters of its Day & Nite convenience stores business, and a number of the 50 jobs will be relocated to a distribution centre near Blackburn. 21-Dec-2000
Bargain Booze is planning to open 100 new off-licence stores and a distribution centre in 2001. 19-Dec-2000
Tesco is to invest £150m in a joint venture with Sime Darby to open 15 hypermarkets in Malaysia, with the first opening in 2002. 18-Dec-2000
Granada Media is planning to roll out its new Boxclever TV rental format, which will involve closing about 360 of its 900 outlets and converting the rest to Boxclever. 18-Dec-2000
Marks & Spencer is to trial a new convenience store format in Twickenham and Surbiton next May, and may roll it out to 50 locations later. 18-Dec-2000
Tesco is seeking permission for a £8m project to relocate its existing store in Antrim's Castle shopping centre to a new site nearby, which would involve 180 new jobs. 15-Dec-2000
Carpetright is to expand its new mobile carpet sales operation into Manchester and Northern Ireland, and has also announced plans to open 12 new stores, including six in Ireland. 13-Dec-2000
Littlewoods is to close 35 Index branches and relocate them into Littlewoods stores. 13-Dec-2000
Land Securities is planning to set up a £160m limited partnership with Berkeley Homes for the development of a discount shopping facility in Portsmouth town centre. 12-Dec-2000
Kingfisher has announced plans to open 58 B&Q stores in China over the next five years at a cost of £300m, as part of a strategy to create the first global DIY business. 11-Dec-2000
Asda is seeking planning permission for a new distribution centre at Marsh Leys in Bedford. 11-Dec-2000
Kingfisher is preparing plans for the national roll out of its new Woolworths General Store format, which will involve 100 new stores and the conversion of 300 existing stores over the next five years. 11-Dec-2000
Sainsbury is to relocate its London headquarters from Southwark to Holborn, in order to consolidate staff currently spread across 13 buildings. 11-Dec-2000
Fast Retailing of Japan is planning to set up a chain of 50 casual clothing stores in the UK over the next three years, with the first opening in London next autumn. 08-Dec-2000
Courts, the home furnishings and electricals retailer, is to open five more outlets in the UK next year, and has announced joint ventures to open stores in South Africa and Madagascar. 08-Dec-2000
Caudwell has announced plans to expand its chain of Phones4U mobile phone outlets from 95 to 300 next year at a cost of £50m, which will create more than 1,000 jobs. 07-Dec-2000
New Look is acquiring a 51% stake in New Min of France for £9.5m, and the two companies will merge their French discount fashion outlets into a new group. 07-Dec-2000
Time Computer Systems is to undergo a strategic review following a period of rapid expansion, which is expected to lead to greater investment in its new Time Talk mobile communications retail chain. 05-Dec-2000
Tesco is to close its supermarket in Newtownards town centre later this month with the loss of up to 50 jobs, and the site will be redeveloped by frozen food chain Iceland. 04-Dec-2000
Doncaster Council has unveiled proposals for the £220m redevelopment of the town centre, which would involve reducing the size of the market area in order to free up space for more shops. 04-Dec-2000
Asda is seeking 320 employees for a new store that is due to open in Dunstable in April. 01-Dec-2000
Neath Port Talbot Council is to consider plans from Pontardawe Coal & Metals for the development of a £10m retail park on a former drift mine site in Pontardawe. 01-Dec-2000
City of York Council has approved plans from Land Securities for the £60m Coopergate extension, which will involve the transformation of land surrounding Clifford's Tower into retail space, offices, flats and leisure facilities. 01-Dec-2000
Great Universal Stores has confirmed plans to float up to 25% of its Burberry luxury goods brand, which could raise up to £250m. 01-Dec-2000
Heal's is looking to spend up to £7m on acquisitions and is seeking opportunities to open new furnishing stores outside London. 30-Nov-2000
Sainsbury has awarded a £30m contract to Bowmer & Kirkland to build a distribution depot in Stoke-on-Trent. 30-Nov-2000
Carillion is forming a partnership with Richardson Developments and Chelverton to build edge-of-town shopping centres, including projects in Waterlooville, Blackwood in Wales and Crayford in Kent. 30-Nov-2000
Clan Douglas, the Hawick-based cashmere manufacturer, has made its first moves into direct retailing by opening outlets in Peebles and off London's Regent Street. 29-Nov-2000
KFC has announced plans to open more than 300 new restaurants over the next five years, with the creation of 10,000 jobs. 28-Nov-2000
Marks & Spencer has appointed Healey & Baker to carry out a review of its properties in continental Europe, which could lead to the sale and leaseback of stores. 28-Nov-2000
Allders is planning to expand its chain of department stores by increasing floor space by 40% over the next five years, which will involve adding about 1m sq ft. 28-Nov-2000
Securicor is investing £7m in a new internet retailing service that will enable consumers to shop online without giving their credit card details to web retailers, and the goods will then be delivered by Securicor Omega Express. 28-Nov-2000
Boondoogle, the online supplier of corporate gifts, has gone into voluntary liquidation. 27-Nov-2000
Fareham Borough Council has reached agreement with Miller-CTP for the £30m redevelopment of the Market Quay, which will involve a new shopping centre and the creation of 100 jobs. 27-Nov-2000
Hamleys, the toy retailer, has put itself up for sale and discussions are taking place with venture capital groups. 27-Nov-2000
Harvey Norman, the Australian furniture and electrical retailer, is planning to open a flagship stores in London next April, as part of a £190m overseas expansion programme. 27-Nov-2000
Asda has announced plans to create more than 500 jobs in Scotland, as a result of expansion of its stores and a new development at Dumbarton. 24-Nov-2000
Sugg Sport is to close its 11 sports stores in January with the loss of 118 jobs, unless a buyer can be found. 24-Nov-2000
Boots is to open a further 38 chiropody and foot care practices in stores across the country, at a cost of £6m. 24-Nov-2000
Safeway has announced plans to open 25 hypermarkets over the next two years by extending existing outlets, and a further 45 will be opened in following years. 24-Nov-2000
New Look is planning to open 77 fashion outlets over the next five years to take the total to 556, and the average size will increase by 75%. 24-Nov-2000
Kingfisher is seeking permission to build a Big W store in east Hull, as part of a £20m development that will create up to 400 jobs. 23-Nov-2000
Sainsbury has announced the acquisition of 18 US stores in Vermont and Connecticut for undisclosed terms, and is also planning a review of its lossmaking Egyptian business. 23-Nov-2000
Ballast has won a £14m contract to demolish and rebuild the Kingfisher Shopping Centre in Redditch. 22-Nov-2000
Upton & Southern is to close five stores in the County Durham area following its recent acquisition by Hilco. 22-Nov-2000
Coffee Republic is to expand its chain of 75 coffee bars by opening 40 outlets a year. 22-Nov-2000
Merchant Retail has announced plans to expand its chain of 65 Perfume Shops by adding up to 15 new outlets a year. 22-Nov-2000
Peveril Securities has bought a 40-acre site at junction 4 of the M65 motorway near Blackburn, which will be used for the development of a service station, shops, small hotel, car showroom and distribution centre. 21-Nov-2000
Tesco is considering plans to spend up to £60m on three schemes in Bradford with the creation of 1,200 jobs, including the possibility of a major new shopping centre at the Odsal stadium development. 21-Nov-2000
Harrods is launching an online casino in partnership with Gaming Internet, and is also planning to set up auction and travel sites. 21-Nov-2000
Speedo, the swimwear manufacturer, is moving into retailing, having opened stores in Nottingham and Bluewater, Kent. 20-Nov-2000
TJ Hughes is raising £9.7m in a share placing in order to fund the expansion of its chain of discount department stores from 30 to 40 by the end of 2002. 20-Nov-2000
Ready2shop.com is to reduce the size of its online fashion retailing business with the loss of 14 jobs, having failed to secure sufficient funding. 20-Nov-2000
Newcastle City Council is considering plans from Commercial Development Projects for a £25m retailing project on the site of the former Binns department store, which will create about 300 jobs. 17-Nov-2000
Safeway is closing its supermarket in Beckenham High Street this month, with the loss of 57 jobs. 16-Nov-2000
Great Universal Stores is considering plans for the partial flotation of its Burberry luxury fashion brand. 16-Nov-2000
Ikea has won permission to build a £20m furniture store at the Braehead shopping centre near Glasgow, which will create about 500 jobs. 15-Nov-2000
Domino's Pizza is to expand its number of outlets in Ireland from five to at least 30 with the creation of up to 1,000 jobs. 15-Nov-2000
B&Q is seeking up to 250 staff for a new DIY superstore that is due to open in St Helens in January. 14-Nov-2000
Safeway is to create 80 new jobs at its distribution depot near Cullompton, as part of an expansion of its national depot network that will result in more than 600 new jobs. 13-Nov-2000
TM Retail is to open McColls convenience stores at the three new motorway service stations being set up by Extra near Cambridge, Peterborough and Baldock. 13-Nov-2000
Alldays, the convenience store group, has received a number of approaches from potential purchasers. 10-Nov-2000
Aberness Foods has announced plans to treble the size of its independent franchise for the Mace group in Scotland over the next four years, expanding from 34 to 100 stores. 09-Nov-2000
Bradford Metropolitan District Council has approved plans for the £15m regeneration of the Cannon Mills shopping complex, including new retail units, a health club and the creation of 250 jobs. 08-Nov-2000
Marks & Spencer is to close six of its 287 stores, with all six being satellite outlets acquired from Littlewoods. 08-Nov-2000
Asda is planning to expand its home shopping service to cover 60% of the country within two years, which will involve setting up dedicated depots and creating up to 4,500 jobs. 06-Nov-2000
Grattan is planning to shed a further 200 jobs in its Bradford-based catalogue mail-order business, due to difficult trading conditions. 02-Nov-2000
Matalan, the discount retailer, is planning to maintain growth by diversifying into new areas, which will involve launching a credit card and becoming an internet service provider. 02-Nov-2000
Debenhams has confirmed plans for a £60m expansion at the Eastgate Shopping Centre in Inverness, which will create 500 jobs by 2003. 01-Nov-2000
BlackStar is to shed 22 jobs at its Belfast-based online video retailing business, in order to achieve profitability by next year. 01-Nov-2000
Dunelm has announced plans to open a soft furnishings store at the Skippingdale Industrial Estate in Scunthorpe next year, with the creation of 130 jobs. 01-Nov-2000
B&Q is planning to set up a new DIY superstore in Lincoln, with the creation of up to 185 new jobs. 30-Oct-2000
Portsmouth City Council is drawing up plans for the £100m redevelopment of the Tipner gateway to the city, including an Ikea furniture store, an office complex and waterfront flats. 30-Oct-2000
Costco is looking to open a further 20 warehouse clubs, and has identified sites in Oldham, north London, Cardiff, Reading and Birmingham. 30-Oct-2000
Harvey Nichols is to open its first boutique store at The Mailbox development in Birmingham at the end of 2001. 30-Oct-2000
Tesco is seeking permission to build a superstore on the site of the Dingwall auction mart in the Highlands. 26-Oct-2000
British Waterways and Miller Group have submitted plans for the £60m regeneration of the Union canal terminus in Edinburgh city centre, including shops, offices, apartments and the creation of about 650 jobs. 26-Oct-2000
Liverpool City Council is considering plans for the £800m redevelopment of the Bluecoat area of the city centre, in order to improve shopping and leisure facilities. 25-Oct-2000
B&Q has won permission to expand its DIY store at Aintree, with the creation of 200 extra jobs. 25-Oct-2000
Selfridges is linking up with other leading retailers and landlords to regenerate the Oxford Street shopping area in London through a new group called the New West End Company. 25-Oct-2000
Hartlepool Borough Council is to consider revised plans from Seymour Holdings for the development of a retail park on its town centre site. 24-Oct-2000
Boxman.com, the online music retailer, is seeking voluntary liquidation having failed to find a buyer. 24-Oct-2000
Tesco has announced plans to spend £150m on trebling the number of Metro stores over the next three years, including the conversion of 100 high street supermarkets and the acquisition of ten new city centre sites. 24-Oct-2000
Tesco is planning to invest £32m at two new stores in Stockport, with the creation of up to 900 jobs. 23-Oct-2000
Marks & Spencer is considering plans to move into Russia and is seeking potential franchise partners. 23-Oct-2000
Spar is linking up with BeeBeep.com to provide a local internet shopping and home delivery service, which will enable customers to order goods on the web site and collect them at their local store. 23-Oct-2000
Asda is seeking permission to build a superstore and 17 non-food retail units in the Haydon area of Swindon, and is also planning to refurbish its store in west Swindon. 23-Oct-2000
Allders has acquired four former C&A stores in York, Kingston, Leicester and Guildford. 23-Oct-2000
Peacocks is looking to expand its discount clothing business into the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and is in discussions with potential franchise partners. 23-Oct-2000
Arcadia, the fashion retailer, has identified a further 55 stores for closure, in addition to the 400 announced in April. 20-Oct-2000
Bristol City Council has selected an alliance of Land Securities and Hammerson as preferred developer for the £257m Broadmead centre project, which will involve a new department store, shops, homes and restaurants. 19-Oct-2000
Centre Design, the Christmas decoration contractor, has undergone a £3m management buy-out, and is looking to diversify into the mainstream retailing market. 19-Oct-2000
St Modwen is planning to develop a £50m designer clothing mall in Walsall town centre in partnership with landowners Norton & Proffitt Developments. 19-Oct-2000
Sainsbury has identified cost savings of £600m a year, including £300m from better purchasing and £300m from improvements to the supply chain and IT. 19-Oct-2000
Homestyle has announced plans to convert a further 56 of the recently-acquired Harveys shops into the Rosebys and Bensons for Beds formats. 19-Oct-2000
Blacks Leisure is planning to open about 20 more stores by the end of the year, with most using the Sport First format. 19-Oct-2000
Debenhams is to expand its chain of department stores from 94 to 103 by 2004, with new outlets opening in Milton Keynes, Carlisle, Uxbridge, Sunderland and Oxford over the next 12 months. 18-Oct-2000
Sainsbury is to launch a mobile phone service in partnership with BT Cellnet, which will be aimed at its Reward Card customers. 18-Oct-2000
North Cornwall District Council is considering plans from First and Last Cornwall for the development of a £5m service station on the A30 near Launceston. 17-Oct-2000
Clements is to relocate its Watford department store to the current C&A site in Charter Place next year. 17-Oct-2000
Swindon Borough Council has revealed a £350m vision to transform the town centre with new public squares, boulevards, cinemas, a science park and a tram system, and will now launch a public consultation process. 13-Oct-2000
Birmingham City Council is seeking developers and investors to launch a major regeneration of the city centre, which is expected to involve the construction of new shops and offices in the central library area. 13-Oct-2000
Barclaycard is forming a £30m joint venture with Nomura International to develop a new online shopping site that will enable customers to search for products offered by 50 retailers. 13-Oct-2000
DFS Furniture is looking to double the size of its chain of 51 furniture stores, and aims to cover the whole country. 13-Oct-2000
Body Shop International is planning a major expansion of its US cosmetics and toiletries business, which will involve new stores, an online operation and a network of commission-based agents. 13-Oct-2000
JJB Sports is planning to expand its chain of superstores from 214 to 500 over the next five years, and will open three more health clubs next year. 12-Oct-2000
Bowmer & Kirkland has won a £50m contract from Sainsbury to build a retail park at Selly Oak in Birmingham, including superstore, retail units and leisure centre, and planning permission is being sought. 12-Oct-2000
Boxman.com, the online music retailer, is facing the prospect of liquidation over the next few weeks, unless it can raise £20m of funding. 11-Oct-2000
North Tyneside Council is considering plans from Hilford Properties for the development of a £20m site in North Shields town centre, including food stores and offices. 10-Oct-2000
Sainsbury has won permission from Epping Forest Council to build a regional distribution centre in Waltham Abbey, with the creation of 800 jobs. 10-Oct-2000
BagsofTime.com, the supplier of delivery services to online shoppers, is seeking £3m of additional funding to enable it to continue trading. 10-Oct-2000
Asda is in discussions to open a new superstore at Peter Black Distribution's Bradford Street site in Keighley, with the creation of up to 400 jobs. 09-Oct-2000
Leicester City Council is to consider plans for the £300m expansion of the Shires shopping centre, which could create up to 4,000 jobs. 09-Oct-2000
Coventry City Council has approved plans for the introduction of Sunday markets in the city centre. 09-Oct-2000
Monsoon is planning to open 20 Accessorize and two Monsoon fashion stores in the US, and is in talks with a joint venture partner. 09-Oct-2000
London City Airport has selected Nuance Global Traders to set up shops in its departure lounge, while Hughes & Hughes of Ireland will operate a bookshop. 06-Oct-2000
Oasis, the fashion retailer, is planning to open six branches in the second half, including its largest outlet on London's Argyll Street. 06-Oct-2000
Ann Summers has appointed Proc Builders of Scunthorpe to build a £10m headquarters and warehouse at Whyteleafe in Surrey. 04-Oct-2000
Marks & Spencer is creating 100 jobs at its Sprucefield store near Lisburn, as part of a £4m development. 03-Oct-2000
Moss Bros has announced plans to convert 40 Savoy Taylors Guild, 50 Suit Company and 20 Blazer stores to the new Code brand, and is looking to sell a further 12 outlets. 03-Oct-2000
Asprey & Garrard, the upmarket jeweller, is to split into two separate trading companies, just two years after the two brands were brought together. 03-Oct-2000
Aberness Foods has bought three more independent stores in the north east of Scotland, which will take its chain of Mace outlets to 34. 02-Oct-2000
Railtrack is set to announce plans for the £300m redevelopment of London's Victoria railway station, which will involve adding new offices and reconfiguring the existing retail outlets. 02-Oct-2000
Hanningtons is considering plans to close its department store in Brighton next year, as the property has been bought by London-based Regina Estates. 28-Sep-2000
House of Fraser is buying the Bentalls department store in Bristol for £16m, and Bentalls will use the proceeds to redevelop its stores in the south-east. 28-Sep-2000
Grampian Holdings has put its Edinburgh Woollen Mill knitwear retailing business up for sale, in order to focus on warehousing, distribution and construction services. 28-Sep-2000
Kingfisher is to take over the C&A store in Doncaster in order to open a new Superdrug outlet. 27-Sep-2000
TJ Hughes is planning to expand its chain of 30 discount department stores into Scotland next year, and expects to have a presence in 200 towns across the UK eventually. 27-Sep-2000
Thorntons, the chocolate retailer, is to slow down its expansion programme by opening just five new shops this year, and the introduction of in-store cafes has been put on hold. 27-Sep-2000
House of Fraser is planning a £15m refurbishment programme that will include rebranding its DH Evans store in London's Oxford Street under the House of Fraser name. 25-Sep-2000
Boots is opening its first branch in Taiwan, as part of a £14m investment that will involve six new stores. 25-Sep-2000
Tchibo of Germany is planning to open about 200 coffee bars in the UK over the next few years. 25-Sep-2000
Connex is in talks with an unnamed retailer about setting up combined convenience stores and ticket offices at 100 railway stations. 25-Sep-2000
Arcadia is to launch a new website to advertise the sale of 400 stores, in order to speed up the disposal process. 25-Sep-2000
Matalan, the discount clothing retailer, is to step up its expansion programme, taking the chain from 106 to 121 stores this year. 25-Sep-2000
Asda has won planning permission to build a new superstore in Widnes town centre. 22-Sep-2000
Alpha Airports is planning to open a further 20 shops at motorway service stations next year, in order to reduce its reliance on duty-free sales at airports. 22-Sep-2000
Selfridges is looking to speed up the process of finding new sites, and plans to open six stores outside London. 22-Sep-2000
Morrisons is planning to expand its chain of supermarkets from 105 to 110 stores by the end of the year, with new sites in Ipswich, North Wales, Crewe and the East Midlands. 22-Sep-2000
Clinton Cards is planning to open 23 more greeting card franchises in Debenhams stores, as well as seven stand-alone shops and franchises in hospitals and garden centres. 22-Sep-2000
Matalan is to relocate its discount store in Wrexham to a new site at Eagles Meadow, with the creation of 40 jobs. 21-Sep-2000
Primark is to set up discount clothing stores at six former C&A sites, including Lewisham, Huddersfield, Sheffield, Woking, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Harrow. 21-Sep-2000
Budgens is to open a further 16 convenience stores this year, but its online home shopping service will be closed due to slow demand. 21-Sep-2000
Alliance UniChem is to sell its 48 in-store Moss pharmacies to Asda for £100m, but its chain of 700 stand-alone branches will be expanded with a further 85. 21-Sep-2000
Laura Ashley is planning to open seven home furnishings stores this year, and believes there is potential for up to 100. 21-Sep-2000
Salford Council has approved plans from Wilson Bowden and Richardson for the construction of a £40m retail park in Eccles. 21-Sep-2000
John Smedley, the Matlock-based knitwear manufacturer, is to open its first shop in London's Brook Street, as part of an expansion plan that will involve opening concessions in House of Fraser in London and Kendalls in Manchester. 20-Sep-2000
Dixons is planning to recruit a further 1,000 staff at its customer contact centre in Sheffield over the next year. 20-Sep-2000
French Connection is planning to open two fashion outlets in the UK this year and up to ten next year. 20-Sep-2000
Tesco has announced plans to set up 19 Metro stores this year, and is forming partnerships with nine councils to build stores in regeneration areas. 20-Sep-2000
Boxman.com is looking to raise £30m in a share offer in order to secure the future of its online music retailing business. 19-Sep-2000
Tibbett & Britten has won a contract from Tesco to manage a new food distribution centre at West Thurrock in Essex, and about 600 jobs will be created when it opens in October 2001. 19-Sep-2000
Farmfoods, the frozen food specialist with 240 branches, is planning to set up its first outlet in Lincoln. 18-Sep-2000
Asda is to set up a superstore in Dumbarton by 2001, with the creation of up to 300 jobs. 18-Sep-2000
Caffe Nero is planning to raise £10m in a flotation next month, in order to fund the opening of a further 55 Italian coffee shops. 18-Sep-2000
Tesco is planning to create 1,500 jobs across the North East, with new stores linked to regeneration schemes in places such as Durham City. 15-Sep-2000
Great Mills is planning to set up a 30,000 sq ft DIY store at the Reedswood Retail Park in Walsall. 14-Sep-2000
Kingfisher is to demerge Woolworths and Superdrug from the B&Q and Comet chains next spring, in order to facilitate international expansion for its DIY and electrical businesses. 14-Sep-2000
Benetton is planning to open 30 fashion stores in the UK over the next five years, and is expected to open the second of five regional megastores in Manchester's Market Street. 14-Sep-2000
Sainsbury is to take over the Scottish Co-op store at Berryden, Aberdeen, from November, which will secure more than 200 jobs. 12-Sep-2000
Sainsbury has announced plans to exploit its existing supermarket sites for companies in the leisure, residential and commercial sectors, in order to release value from its £4.5bn property portfolio. 12-Sep-2000
Ikea is considering plans to build separate warehouses and showrooms in order to reduce queues at its existing furniture outlets and to reach its target of adding 20 new stores over the next ten years. 11-Sep-2000
Amber Valley Borough Council is considering plans from Amco Tolent Developments of Leeds for the development of a new retail park in Heanor, including up to nine units. 07-Sep-2000
James Beattie has announced plans to invest £6.5m in a new department store at a former C&A site in Birmingham, creating 475 jobs. 07-Sep-2000
Co-operative Wholesale Society is planning to invest £200m refurbishing Co-op supermarkets around the country, expanding its "market town" format to 400 stores. 07-Sep-2000
Marks & Spencer is forming a number of e-commerce and interactive TV alliances, including deals with the BBC's Beeb.com, the Open shopping channel, Telewest and the Microsoft Network online shopping system. 06-Sep-2000
Littlewoods is planning to invest an additional £300m in the refurbishment of its 120 stores over the next three years. 06-Sep-2000
Wilson Connolly is planning to develop a site at Tally Ho Corner in Barnet, north London, including 25,000 sq ft of retail space, an arts centre and apartments. 05-Sep-2000
Jessops is planning to expand its chain of photographic stores from 192 to 450 over the next seven years, with the creation of 1,500 jobs, funded by a £100m flotation next month. 05-Sep-2000
Marks & Spencer has announced plans to set up its first discount outlets at retail parks in Ashford, Cheshire Oaks and Livingston. 05-Sep-2000
Tesco is to shed 200 jobs in Northern Ireland in a reorganisation of night-shift patterns at a number of its 36 stores. 04-Sep-2000
Kingfisher has agreed to take six former C&A stores to set up new Woolworths outlets. 01-Sep-2000
Stoke-on-Trent City Council is considering plans from Portfolio Holdings for the development of a £20m shopping centre at Royal Doulton's Minton House headquarters. 31-Aug-2000
Letsbuyit.com is to shed 80 jobs by centralising functions such as purchasing and finance, having raised less money than expected in its recent flotation. 31-Aug-2000
Morrisons is to build a new store in Eccles, Manchester, with the creation of 200 jobs, having bought a new town centre site from Safeway. 30-Aug-2000
Budgens has sold a 28% stake in its business to Musgrave of Ireland for £89m, as part of a long-term strategy by the Irish wholesaler to expand its presence in the UK convenience store market. 30-Aug-2000
Dunnes, the Irish clothing retailer, is planning to more than double its number of UK stores from the current ten, and is seeking suitable sites on the high street. 28-Aug-2000
The National Assembly for Wales is to award £6.4m towards the redevelopment of the former Dunlop Semtex factory at Brynmawr in the Gwent Valleys into a £35m retail and housing complex. 28-Aug-2000
Sainsbury is planning to build a £27m regional distribution centre at Hams Hall in North Warwickshire, which will provide 750 jobs. 24-Aug-2000
Kingfisher is to set up a 30,000 sq ft Comet electrical store at the Anglia Park development in Ipswich, which is due to open later this year. 24-Aug-2000
Sainsbury is considering a number of strategic options for its Homebase chain of 300 DIY stores, including a £1bn sale, an alliance or a joint venture. 24-Aug-2000
Brown & Jackson is planning to open 100 new discount stores a year for the next four years with the creation of 1,500 jobs. 23-Aug-2000
Marks & Spencer is to set up an intellectual property division in order to identify and protect the commercial value of its product innovations. 23-Aug-2000
Sainsbury is planning to outsource its IT functions to Andersen Consulting in order to modernise its computer systems and reduce costs, which will involve the transfer of 800 staff. 23-Aug-2000
JJB Sports has joined Beatties, TK Maxx and Next in agreeing to take space at Huddersfield's £50m Kingsgate shopping centre, which is due to open by the end of 2001. 21-Aug-2000
Tesco is to open a larger store at Bar Hill near Cambridge in November, with the creation of 300 jobs. 21-Aug-2000
Courts is planning to float its Malaysian furniture retailing business, which includes 51 stores, with a market valuation of about £116m. 21-Aug-2000
LVMH is planning to expand its chain of Sephora cosmetics shops across the UK, following a trial at the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent. 21-Aug-2000
Tesco is to close its store at the Kingfisher Centre in Redditch later this year, with the loss of up to 83 jobs. 18-Aug-2000
Peterborough City Council is to consider plans from Hawksworth Securities for the £100m redevelopment of the city centre, including a piazza between Westgate and Bright Street that will include shops, restaurants, cinema, and bowling alley. 18-Aug-2000
Unilever is to open a Lynx barber shop on London's Oxford Street next month, and the concept could be expanded across the country if successful. 18-Aug-2000
Birds, the Derby-based baker and confectioner, is planning to increase its stores from 44 to 50, following a rise in sales of takeaway hot snacks. 17-Aug-2000
Tesco is planning to build a superstore in Warrington on the site of a proposed £12m community sports stadium for Warrington Wolves Rugby League Club. 17-Aug-2000
Ikea is seeking a suitable site for a new furniture store in Sheffield, which will create up to 500 jobs. 17-Aug-2000
Tesco is introducing its online shopping service to three stores in Northern Ireland, with the creation of 60 jobs. 16-Aug-2000
N Brown has acquired a 60% stake in Eunite, the Manchester-based e-commerce company, for £6.8m, and more than 100 jobs will be created over the next three years. 16-Aug-2000
Tesco is planning to open up to 20 stores in Taiwan, with the first opening in Nankan in December. 14-Aug-2000
Photo-Me International is forming a joint venture with SanDisk of the US to install self-service photo-development booths in shops and theme parks. 10-Aug-2000
Yorkshire Mill Village is looking to recruit 350 new staff following the redevelopment of its retail village in Batley. 09-Aug-2000
Asda is to create 800 new jobs by opening 36 more stores for 24 hours a day, taking the total that operate round the clock to 86. 08-Aug-2000
Matalan is planning to open a clothing store in Morecambe later this year, with the creation of 45 jobs. 08-Aug-2000
Greggs is planning to open 60 new takeaway food shops by next year, as part of a strategy to expand its chain from 1,100 outlets to 1,400 by 2006. 07-Aug-2000
Wyevale Garden Centres and Country Gardens have dropped plans for a merger, having failed to agree on price. 07-Aug-2000
Minerva is planning to build a £700m shopping centre in Croydon, including 110 shops, an Allders department store and the creation of 2,000 jobs. 07-Aug-2000
Tesco is seeking permission to build a £12m superstore in Stockport, with the creation of 300 jobs. 07-Aug-2000
Church & Co, the upmarket shoe company owned by Prada of Italy, is looking to sell its chain of 83 Jones shops for about £20m. 04-Aug-2000
Chester City Council is to consider plans from Scottish Metropolitan Developments for the transformation of the former Manweb headquarters building into a garden centre and builders yard. 04-Aug-2000
Prudential has announced plans for the £100m redevelopment of the Arndale centre in Manchester, which will provide an additional 300,000 sq ft of retail space. 03-Aug-2000
Kingfisher is to open a £7m Big W superstore at the Victoria shopping centre in Bradford in November, with the creation of 200 jobs. 03-Aug-2000
Costco is planning to open a members-only retail warehouse in Derby in October, with the creation of 160 jobs. 03-Aug-2000
Capital Shopping Centres has won government approval for an extension to the MetroCentre in Gateshead, which will involve a car park, a new Debenhams department store, 27 other shops, and the creation of 1,000 jobs. 03-Aug-2000
Lincoln City Council is considering plans from London-based Metrobrook for the development of a new shopping centre and leisure complex in the city centre. 02-Aug-2000
Rayware is to create up to 60 jobs at its new houseware distribution centre in Speke. 02-Aug-2000
House of Fraser is seeking planning permission to set up a department store in the City of London. 01-Aug-2000
Carphone Warehouse is acquiring eight PVP mobile phone stores in Portugal for £3.1m, which will expand its Portuguese network to 30. 01-Aug-2000
Clickmango is to close down its internet-based natural health products business, with the loss of 20 jobs, unless a buyer can be found. 01-Aug-2000
Monsoon is planning to expand its chain of Accessorize accessories stores in both the UK and overseas. 01-Aug-2000
Somerfield is planning to develop a new distribution site in St Helens, and up to 780 employees will relocate from existing sites in nearby Sutton and Ashton. 01-Aug-2000
Co-operative Wholesale Society is to relaunch its travel business in a £20m programme that will involve a new £1m call centre and a new identity for its 300 Travelcare branches. 31-Jul-2000
South Oxfordshire District Council is to purchase land in the centre of Didcot for the development of a £30m shopping centre, which will include a superstore, more than 20 shops, a cinema, library and a theatre complex. 31-Jul-2000
MFI is planning to open 50 new furniture stores over the next three years, and has announced a deal with Dixons to sell Hygena kitchens at 40 concessions in Currys stores. 28-Jul-2000
North Devon District Council is considering plans for the development of a retail and leisure complex at the 26-acre Leaderflush Shapland site in Barnstaple. 28-Jul-2000
Safeway has awarded a £10m contract to Bovis Lend Lease to build a superstore in Woking. 27-Jul-2000
Gap is to open a new fashion store at Humberstone Gate in Leicester in October, with the creation of up to 50 jobs. 27-Jul-2000
Topps Tiles has announced plans to expand its chain of 127 tile stores to 350 over the next five years. 26-Jul-2000
Sainsbury has raised £226m from the sale and leaseback of a further 10 supermarkets, and the money will be used for store refurbishments. 26-Jul-2000
Texaco is to provide fuel for a new chain of motorway service stations being set up by Swayfields under the Extra brand, and the first three sites are at Peterborough, Cambridge and Baldock. 25-Jul-2000
Blacks Leisure is to sell its 40% stake in Fila UK, the sportswear distributor, to Fila International for £12m, in order to focus on retailing. 25-Jul-2000
Tesco is planning to build a £11m store in Alloa town centre, with the creation of 350 jobs. 25-Jul-2000
Habitat is seeking a new 50,000 sq ft headquarters building in London, and the site would also include a store to test new products. 24-Jul-2000
Boots is planning a £130m revamp for its chain of Halfords car accessory stores, starting with 33 outlets in the Midlands. 24-Jul-2000
Asda is running trials of its home shopping service outside its existing M25 territory, and is seeking a potential site in Farnborough for a distribution depot. 24-Jul-2000
Tesco and Safeway have both submitted plans to Erewash Borough Council for the construction of superstores in Ilkeston. 24-Jul-2000
Vodafone is to open 10 new mobile phone stores in Northern Ireland over the next 12 months, in a £15m investment that will create more than 50 jobs. 24-Jul-2000
Tesco is investing £12m in a joint venture with iVillage of the US to create a website targeted at women using the internet. 20-Jul-2000
Pentland, the sportswear group, has awarded a £12m contract to Mowlem for the construction of a new headquarters in Finchley, north London. 20-Jul-2000
Kier has won the first stage of a tender process to build the £55m out-of-town Hampshire Centre shopping complex in Bournemouth, which is being developed by Castlemore Securities. 20-Jul-2000
Tesco has won approval from Calderdale Council to build a new supermarket in Brighouse, which will involve the creation of 210 jobs and the transfer of 130 staff from its Briggate store. 20-Jul-2000
Ipswich Borough Council is to consider plans from Beazer Homes for a £50m development on the town's waterfront, including 500 homes and new commercial and retail space. 20-Jul-2000
Debenhams has confirmed plans to create 4,000 jobs by opening a further 11 department stores over the next four years, and will move outside its traditional territory. 19-Jul-2000
Tesco is to buy two CWS superstores at Westwood and Maryhill in Scotland for undisclosed terms. 17-Jul-2000
Portsmouth City Council has approved plans from CTP/Miller to build a £30m retail park in Fareham, including a health and fitness suite, 12 shops and a market square. 17-Jul-2000
Legal & General is planning a £300m shopping centre development in Northampton, including 50 new shops and a department store, and a planning application is expected to be submitted later this year. 17-Jul-2000
Deeley Properties is in discussions with a number of high street retailers that are interested in moving into a new £5m shopping centre in Derby's Normanton Road, which is due to open in October. 14-Jul-2000
The Crown Estate is planning a £500m redevelopment of London's Regent Street over the next ten years, in order to increase the amount of retail and office space inside the buildings. 13-Jul-2000
Marks & Spencer is planning to sell discounted clothes at three out-of-town factory outlet malls this autumn, in response to a change in buying that requires new ranges to be introduced more frequently. 13-Jul-2000
BAA McArthur Glen is planning a £10m refurbishment at its Normanton shopping village in Derbyshire, in order to convert the current open plan department store format into individual shop units. 12-Jul-2000
Safeway is to close its Cromwell Road store in Grimsby with the loss of up to 64 jobs, and another store in nearby Brigg will also close. 12-Jul-2000
Marks & Spencer is planning a £7m refurbishment at its Church Street store in Liverpool. 12-Jul-2000
Nottingham City Council is considering plans from Wilson Bowden for a £10m shops and luxury homes development on the edge of the city's Lace Market. 11-Jul-2000
Basilico is considering plans to open at least 20 new upmarket pizza delivery outlets over the next four years, funded by a stock market listing. 11-Jul-2000
Whittard of Chelsea is acquiring Thebestofbritish.com luxury goods website from Hollinger Telegraph New Media for £1.2m, in order to expand its online presence. 10-Jul-2000
Seagram is looking to sell its Oddbins chain of 300 off-licence stores in a separate deal from the rest of the drinks operations that are being sold off following its takeover by Vivendi. 10-Jul-2000
Granada is planning to shed 1,150 jobs in its Box Clever TV rentals business, by closing a number of stores and its Berkshire headquarters. 10-Jul-2000
Waitrose is to run trials of an internet home shopping service later this year, starting with a limited number of branches. 10-Jul-2000
Belfast City Council is to consider plans from Multi Development Corporation of the Netherlands for a £200m shopping and leisure complex in Belfast which would create about 6,000 jobs. 10-Jul-2000
Middlesbrough Borough Council is developing plans for the £100m regeneration of the town centre, in order to boost retail, commercial and leisure facilities. 07-Jul-2000
Swindon Borough Council is to consider plans from Royal & Sun Alliance Property Investments for a new retail development in the town centre, including the repositioning of the anchor store in The Parade and the creation of seven new units. 07-Jul-2000
Bestway has won planning permission to build a £5m cash and carry store in Plymouth, with the creation of up to 80 jobs. 05-Jul-2000
Era Group is to close 34 of its 60 Beatties toy shops, having decided to place the business into a company voluntary arrangement and raise £5m through a share issue to help pay creditors. 05-Jul-2000
Jacques Vert is planning to open a further 17 fashion concessions in Allders department stores this year. 04-Jul-2000
Food Ferry is planning to roll out its home delivery service across the country, in partnership with local operators in the major urban areas. 03-Jul-2000
CWS is looking to sell 16 of its superstores in order to focus on convenience stores and supermarkets, and has also announced plans to add 60 new outlets this year and roll out the new Welcome c-store format. 03-Jul-2000
Sainsbury is planning to open six Local convenience stores on Shell forecourts in the south by next February. 03-Jul-2000
Great Universal Stores is to buy the Spanish licensee of its Burberry upmarket fashion business for £130m, as part of a strategy to regain control of the brand. 03-Jul-2000
Budgens has announced plans to supply independent food retailers under the Budgens Local name, and expects to open up to 50 outlets under the new format within two years. 03-Jul-2000
South West Regional Development Agency is developing plans to convert part of Plymouth's historic Royal William Yard into shops, homes and a restaurant, in partnership with the Phoenix Trust. 03-Jul-2000
Hamleys, the toy retailer, has received a £40m takeover approach from Charterhouse Development Capital. 30-Jun-2000
Leeds City Council is to consider plans from Clugston for the £13m redevelopment of the historic Stonebridge Mills in Farnley into a supermarket, offices and homes. 30-Jun-2000
Safeway has won the go-ahead to build a £17m turf-roofed superstore in Aberdeen's West End, with the creation of 300 jobs. 30-Jun-2000
Primark is to open a discount fashion store in Wigan town centre in August, with the creation of up to 70 jobs. 30-Jun-2000
Asda is seeking 100 new employees for a £25m superstore that is due to open in Bradford in August, while the 254 staff at its existing store are expected to transfer to the new site. 29-Jun-2000
Lunn Poly is seeking 70 staff for a new holiday superstore that has just opened in Leicester. 29-Jun-2000
B&Q has won planning permission to build a new DIY superstore in Sheffield with the creation of about 200 jobs, which will enable Arnold Laver Timber World to build a new £7m national production centre on a 16-acre site at Mosborough. 29-Jun-2000
The Post Office is considering plans to transform its outlets into banks and centres for internet shopping, and hopes to raise government funding to equip them with computer facilities. 28-Jun-2000
Scottish Co-op is looking to sell three superstores in Aberdeen, Inverness and Glasgow, following a review of trading performance and potential. 28-Jun-2000
Pillar Property is planning a £100m expansion in out-of-town shopping centres through the acquisition of nine sites from Great Portland Estates. 26-Jun-2000
Marks & Spencer and Tesco have secured outline planning permission from North Down council for extensions to their stores at the Bloomfield Shopping Centre in Bangor. 26-Jun-2000
Asda has submitted plans for a £25m development in Poole, including superstore, offices, hotel and restaurant, and the creation of 400 jobs. 26-Jun-2000
Laura Ashley is to launch an online shopping service this autumn, and has dropped plans to close two Welsh factories, saving 321 jobs. 23-Jun-2000
Debenhams is to open a department store at the new £90m Centre West development in East Kilbride, with the creation of about 300 jobs. 23-Jun-2000
Asda has announced plans to open a £25m store at Fratton's Bridge Centre in Portsmouth, with the creation of 200 jobs by 2002. 23-Jun-2000
Tesco is in negotiations to build two new superstores at unnamed locations in Manchester, in order to support local regeneration projects and create 1,200 jobs. 23-Jun-2000
Harvey Nichols is planning to open about 10 high street boutiques selling clothing, cosmetics and food, once its two new department stores have been opened in Edinburgh and Manchester. 21-Jun-2000
Carpetright is launching a mobile sales force in London, in order to sell carpets from a fleet of 22 vans carrying 2,500 carpet samples. 21-Jun-2000
Goldshield is to announce a roll-out plan for its new chain of drop-in clinics over the next 12 months. 20-Jun-2000
Sephora is to open its second cosmetics outlet in the UK at Southampton's West Quay development in September. 19-Jun-2000
Modus Properties is planning to set up a network of online order distribution points in edge-of-town locations using the e-stop brand, which will enable internet-based retailers to deliver goods to a single site for collection by customers. 19-Jun-2000
Ikea is planning to build 20 new furniture stores in the UK over the next ten years at a cost of £800m, with the creation of up to 12,000 jobs. 19-Jun-2000
Courts is planning to expand its overseas furniture stores from 50 to 80 outlets, but has warned that about a third of its 38 UK stores may be closed. 16-Jun-2000
C&A is to close all its 109 stores and three distribution centres in the UK and Ireland with the loss of almost 4,800 jobs, due to competition on the high street. 16-Jun-2000
Swansea Council has announced that the £160m Castle Quays shopping scheme will go ahead with new developers, as Simons Estates has selected Centros Miller to replace MEPC as its development partner. 16-Jun-2000
Kingfisher is planning to build a 65,000 sq ft Big W superstore in Newark, with the creation of more than 230 jobs. 16-Jun-2000
Somerfield is planning to close its 24-7 home shopping business due to a lack of demand. 15-Jun-2000
John David Sports has announced plans to expand its chain of 133 outlets by adding 10 new stores this year and 10-15 in following years. 15-Jun-2000
Glasgow City Council is in discussions with three private developers about plans for a £24m shopping centre at Custom House Quay on the waterfront. 15-Jun-2000
Great Universal Stores is to create up to 700 new jobs in Preston and Widnes, as part of an expansion of its Reality call centre division. 15-Jun-2000
Kingfisher is to invest £55m in its electronic retailing activities this year, and is also interested in making further acquisitions to boost its e-commerce presence. 14-Jun-2000
Rosebys is in takeover talks with Harveys Furnishing, which could lead to the conversion of Harveys' 80 town centre stores into the Rosebys or Knightingales format. 13-Jun-2000
Aberness Foods, the Aberdeen-based Mace wholesaler, is to increase the number of stores it owns from 27 to 40 by 2002. 12-Jun-2000
Arcadia is looking to reduce costs at its 1,300 stores by renegotiating the leases with landlords, and plans to reduce space at some the country's leading shopping malls. 12-Jun-2000
Next is planning to set up a second Ventura customer service call centre at Wath-upon-Dearne, with the creation of at least 1,000 jobs. 12-Jun-2000
C&A is to close its store at the Bluewater retail park in Kent later this month, and Next is expected to take the 32,000 sq ft site. 09-Jun-2000
Dixons is acquiring a 20% stake in Amstrad's new e-mail telephone business, providing £12m in advertising and distribution support and £3m in cash. 09-Jun-2000
Great Universal Stores is to shed 800 jobs throughout the country by merging its home shopping division with its Argos retail chain. 09-Jun-2000
B&Q has won permission from East Staffordshire Borough Council to build a £15m DIY store, garden centre and restaurant near Burton, with the creation of 250 jobs. 08-Jun-2000
Carphone Warehouse is planning a flotation in order to raise funds for the expansion of its chain of 833 mobile phone shops across Europe. 08-Jun-2000
CWS is launching a home shopping catalogue in partnership with Fine Art Developments, offering houseware, clothing, gardening and electrical products. 07-Jun-2000
Boots has announced plans to transform its stores into "centres of expertise" in health, and will introduce new services such as dentistry, manicure bars and chiropody. 02-Jun-2000
Marks & Spencer has shed a further 101 head office jobs, which leaves a total staff of 3,720 at its offices Baker Street, London. 02-Jun-2000
Bright Station is planning to buy the key e-commerce assets of Boo.com, the collapsed online sportswear retailer, for about £0.25m, while Boo's website is being acquired by Fashionmall.com. 01-Jun-2000
Sainsbury is planning to invest £900m in distribution, systems and stores this year in order to reverse a fall in profits, and is also aiming to expand its internet home shopping service to 60% of the country by the end of the year. 01-Jun-2000
Tesco has won permission to build a new superstore in Braintree, with the creation of about 200 jobs. 01-Jun-2000
Dixons is to auction its 80% stake in Freeserve, the internet service provider. 31-May-2000
Moss Bros is planning to close or sell underperforming menswear stores, and has dropped plans to develop an internet-based wedding business. 30-May-2000
Giardino is planning a £25m flotation on Aim, in order to raise funds to expand its chain of sandwich bars and restaurants. 30-May-2000
Marks & Spencer is planning to sell off dozens of smaller properties this year, in order to raise up to £250m. 30-May-2000
Storehouse is to change its name to Mothercare, and is aiming to expand its chain of larger Mothercare World stores from 61 to 100. 26-May-2000
Tesco is searching for an alternative site in High Wycombe, as its Newlands store is to close with the loss of more than 200 jobs to make way for a new £75m shopping development. 26-May-2000
Dropzone1 is to launch a new service that will enable internet shoppers to collect goods from garage forecourts and local stores, and is running a trial in Reading with Jet, Spar and Londis. 25-May-2000
Peacocks is opening about 40 discount clothing stores a year, and is aiming to expand the existing chain of 288 outlets to more than 600. 25-May-2000
Merchant Retail is planning to expand its chain of 55 Perfume Shops with a further 10 this year. 24-May-2000
Portsmouth City Council is considering plans from Park Lane Estates for the development of a new DIY store in the centre of the city, on behalf of an unnamed retailer. 24-May-2000
C&A is to close its store in the Eastgate Centre, Inverness, with the loss of 27 jobs. 24-May-2000
Stylo is to sell its flagship Barratt shoe shop in London's Oxford Street for £11m, and the occupancy will be taken over by French Connection. 24-May-2000
Heal's is planning to open up to 12 smaller furnishings stores, and is searching for suitable sites on high streets. 24-May-2000
Carphone Warehouse is to open six new mobile phone stores and a repair centre in Northern Ireland. 23-May-2000
Wyevale Garden Centres is considering plans to merge with Country Gardens to create a combined chain of 117 garden centres with sales of about £160m. 22-May-2000
Mace is to introduce convenience stores at Little Chef roadside restaurants, which could lead to the development of a new nationwide Mace format. 22-May-2000
Edirectory is planning to raise £3m in a flotation on Ofex, in order to fund the development of its online shopping mall. 22-May-2000
John Lewis is to set up a warehouse outside Solihull to cater for the new store that is due to open in September 2001. 22-May-2000
Letsbuyit.com, the internet-based group that brings buyers together to obtain discounts on goods through bulk purchasing, is planning to raise up to £100m in a flotation next month. 19-May-2000
Wilkinson Hardware Stores is to start recruiting 300 staff for a new distribution centre being built at Magor in south Wales, and the site will be operational by September. 19-May-2000
Budget DIY is planning to create 100 new jobs at eight superstores throughout Northern Ireland. 19-May-2000
TK Maxx has announced plans to open a new store in Craigavon, with the creation of 50 jobs. 19-May-2000
Boo.com, the internet-based sportswear retailer, has gone into liquidation with the loss of 300 jobs, having been refused additional funds from its backers. 18-May-2000
Lothian Borders & Angus Co-operative Society is to close its main bakehouse and bakery shop in Forfar and reduce staffing levels at its food superstores in Forfar and Kirriemuir, with the loss of 48 jobs. 18-May-2000
Great Mills is planning to open a £4m DIY store in Nantwich later this year, with the creation of 30 jobs. 18-May-2000
Great Universal Stores is to create a new e-business services group called Reality, in order to provide customer service and delivery operations for internet-based companies. 17-May-2000
H&R Johnson is set to receive the final go-ahead from Stoke-on-Trent City Council for the development of a £100m shopping centre, factory and business park on the site of its tile factory. 17-May-2000
TJ Hughes has announced plans to open discount department stores in Doncaster, Maidstone and Coventry by the end of next year. 17-May-2000
Matalan is to open a clothing and household goods store in Perth in August, with the creation of 100 jobs. 17-May-2000
MEPC is to sell £190m worth of retail property as part of a drive to focus on business space. 17-May-2000
EasyEverything is planning to expand its chain of internet cafes to 20 sites this year and hopes to have 60 locations across the main cities of Europe by 2002. 16-May-2000
Streets Online, the internet-based retailer of books, music, games and videos, is planning to raise £20m in a flotation in June. 15-May-2000
Asda is planning to build a new superstore in Smethwick, as part of a £25m retail park that will include eight outlets and the creation of more than 700 jobs. 15-May-2000
House of Fraser has announced plans to create more than 300 new jobs with the opening of a new store at the Chapelfield development in Norwich, which is due to open in 2003. 12-May-2000
North East Lincolnshire Council is to consider plans for the £1.5m redevelopment of Grimsby's Riverhead into a complex of street bars and restaurants. 12-May-2000
TK Maxx is opening a new fashion outlet in St Albans this month with the creation of 50 jobs. 12-May-2000
New Look is planning to launch an internet-based fashion retailing business, and is expected to use N Brown's e-commerce fulfilment service. 11-May-2000
Lidl has submitted plans for a 350,000 sq ft warehouse and distribution centre in Bridgend, which will create 250 jobs, as part of a new industrial development being proposed by Bett Properties next to Ford's engine plant. 11-May-2000
Magical Solutions is planning to expand its corporate entertainment business by opening a magic shop in Stourbridge. 11-May-2000
Matalan is aiming to double the size of its discount clothing network from 102 to about 220 stores over the next seven years, and has also announced plans for a placing of 50m shares. 10-May-2000
Tesco is looking to expand its internet retailing operation outside the grocery sector by forming joint ventures with companies involved in products such as books and CDs. 10-May-2000
Tesco is to re-submit plans to Moray Council for a £4m supermarket development on the edge of Forres. 10-May-2000
Lichfield District Council has approved plans from St Martin's Property Investments for the development of a £3m shopping mall, with space for seven shops. 10-May-2000
Costco is planning to build a 155,000 sq ft distribution centre at Magna Park in Leicestershire. 09-May-2000
Samsonite is planning to open hundreds of luggage outlets throughout the world, including a European flagship store in London's New Bond Street. 09-May-2000
Co-operative Wholesale Society is planning to build or acquire at least 150 convenience stores over the next three years. 09-May-2000
William Baird has bought a 10% stake in 9feet.com, the internet retailer of equipment and technical clothing, for £1.2m. 09-May-2000
Speciality Retail Group, the owner of the Suits You and Woodhouse menswear stores, has been put up for sale for about £20m. 08-May-2000
Safeway is to scrap its ABC loyalty card in order to save £50m this year and focus on price cuts. 05-May-2000
Kirklees Council is to consider plans from WD Development for the construction of an extra floor at Huddersfield's £50m Kingsgate shopping centre, in order to house an unnamed major retailer. 05-May-2000
Warwick District Council is to consider plans from Morley Properties for the £10m expansion of Leamington's Royal Priors shopping mall. 05-May-2000
Brantano is planning to expand its chain of 58 shoe shops with a further 20 this year, and also expects to create new jobs at its Leicester head office. 04-May-2000
Morrisons is planning to build a new head office in Bradford by 2002, and about 500 staff will be relocated. 04-May-2000
Liverpool City Council is to consider plans from Rumford Developments for a £60m twin-tower skyscraper in the city centre, including shops, leisure facilities and apartments. 03-May-2000
John David Sports has bought the rights to the Cobra footwear brand, and may revive the name by setting up new stores in the London area. 03-May-2000
Sainsbury has revealed plans for the redevelopment of its store in Maidenhead town centre, involving a new car park, a larger store and an integrated development of offices and shops. 03-May-2000
Gap is planning to set up a national distribution centre in Rugby to service its nationwide chain of fashion stores. 02-May-2000
Day & Nite is to open six more convenience stores in the north of England before summer, taking its chain to 100 outlets. 02-May-2000
Safeway is planning to expand the range of accessory businesses at its superstores, including services such as photo labs, restaurants and dry cleaners. 02-May-2000
Sainsbury is considering plans to relocate its London headquarters, in order to release capital currently tied up in its Stanford Street property. 02-May-2000
Dunelm, the Leicestershire-based soft furnishing chain, is planning to open five new stores this year at sites in Thurmaston, Luton, Preston, Scunthorpe and Hull. 02-May-2000
B&Q is planning to build a DIY superstore in Elgin, with the creation of 70 jobs. 02-May-2000
DFS Furniture is to open new stores in Swansea, Romford, Liverpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh this year, and also has planning permission for a store in Belfast. 28-Apr-2000
Body Shop International is forming a joint venture with Softbank Venture Capital to develop a new online retailing site for cosmetics and toiletries. 27-Apr-2000
Banbridge District Council is supporting a £19m project to transform the derelict Gilford Mill in Northern Ireland into a retail and tourist attraction, with the creation of up to 400 jobs. 26-Apr-2000
Asda is to rebrand a hypermarket in Patchway, Bristol, as an Asda Wal-Mart supercentre, with half of the floor space dedicated to non-food products. 25-Apr-2000
Whittard of Chelsea, the tea and coffee retailer, is planning to spend £2m boosting its online sales this year. 25-Apr-2000
Castlemore Securities is to develop a 400,000 sq ft retail park at the Beckton Gasworks site in London. 25-Apr-2000
J&E Whitten and Newry Cash & Carry have announced plans for a merger to create one of Northern Ireland's largest independent wholesalers called Savage & Whitten Wholesale. 25-Apr-2000
Dixons has acquired a 15% stake in P Kotsovolos, the Greek electrical retailer, for £44m, and the two companies will prepare plans to expand into eastern Europe. 20-Apr-2000
Marks & Spencer has dropped plans to sell Kings, the US supermarket business, due to a recent decline in the valuations of US food retailers. 20-Apr-2000
Grampian Holdings is considering plans to separate its Edinburgh Woollen Mill knitwear retailing business from its Malcolm Group warehousing business, in order to maximise shareholder value. 20-Apr-2000
Greggs is to double its bakery shops in the South West to 30 over the next three years, in a £1.2m expansion programme that will create about 100 jobs. 20-Apr-2000
Asda has submitted plans for the £9m expansion of its Hartlepool store, with the creation of 90 jobs. 20-Apr-2000
Asda is to submit a £30m plan to redevelop a site in the centre of South Shields, which will involve a new superstore, a swimming pool, and the creation of at least 100 new jobs. 20-Apr-2000
Somerfield has dropped plans to sell its 305 Kwik Save stores, having failed to attract high enough bids from venture capitalists. 19-Apr-2000
Tesco is to close its Metro store in Leicester city centre in June with the loss of up to 100 jobs, and an unnamed non-food retailer is in talks to take over the lease. 19-Apr-2000
Tesco has been selected by Moray Council as preferred bidder to redevelop a site in Elgin, which could lead to the creation of a new supermarket and 140 jobs. 19-Apr-2000
Sunderland Council is to consider plans from Bride Hall for the development of three new stores for Currys, PC World and Halfords at Trimdon Street near the city centre, with the creation of up to 150 jobs. 19-Apr-2000
Shownet is planning to raise £10m in a flotation on Aim in order to develop a virtual high street of leading retailers on the internet. 17-Apr-2000
BT Cellnet has bought the remaining 60% of Mobile Phone Store in a £40m deal, and plans to add more outlets to the 129-strong chain. 17-Apr-2000
Home Place Holdings is planning to raise £5m in a flotation on Aim, in order to fund the expansion of its chain of London-based home furnishings stores. 17-Apr-2000
Jigsaw, the provider of high-quality childcare, has raised £4.5m of funding from 3i in order to fund the development of 40 new nurseries. 17-Apr-2000
WH Smith Online is setting up a new distribution centre in Cowley, Oxford, to deliver goods ordered through the internet, with the creation of up to 180 jobs. 17-Apr-2000
Race For Furniture of Middlesbrough is planning to expand its Pine Warehouse operation to other towns, and is starting a new company called Gift Box to benefit from rising sales of giftware. 17-Apr-2000
Matalan, the discount fashion retailer, is to launch a home shopping catalogue, and order fulfilment will be carried out by Fine Art Developments. 14-Apr-2000
Arcadia is to close 400 of its clothing stores with the loss of 3,500 jobs, in order to save £160m a year. 14-Apr-2000
Brighton & Hove Council has announced plans to develop a derelict site next to the station, including retail space, a hotel, offices and houses. 14-Apr-2000
Carphone Warehouse is to set up a new call centre in Wednesbury to support its network of 300 stores, with the creation of 85 jobs. 14-Apr-2000
Boots and Prudential are to launch the first combined credit and loyalty card, which will involve Boots taking commission on the sale of financial services to its customers and the creation of 200 new jobs at Prudential's Derby call centre. 13-Apr-2000
Ted Baker has announced a licensing agreement with EDL for the launch of its fashion brand in the US, and is seeking further agreements in other countries. 13-Apr-2000
Electronics Boutique is to set up a online store on Cable & Wireless Communications' digital TV service, selling computer software and peripheral products. 13-Apr-2000
JJB Sports is planning to open 40 superstores a year, but 100 smaller outlets are being closed. 13-Apr-2000
East Lindsey District Council is considering plans from Dransfield Properties for the development of a retail park with seven units in Skegness. 13-Apr-2000
Lend Lease has submitted plans to Norwich City Council for the £100m redevelopment of the old Nestle factory site, including retail units and housing. 13-Apr-2000
Asda is seeking permission to rebuild its Bridge of Don store in Aberdeen, with the creation of 100 new jobs. 13-Apr-2000
Domino's Pizza is to expand its home delivery service to include computer games, music and videos, as part of a strategy to offer a complete fulfilment service for online retailers. 12-Apr-2000
Laura Ashley is planning to refurbish its 217 stores in the UK and 63 stores in continental Europe. 12-Apr-2000
Debenhams is planning to increase its high street store space by 17% in a £140m capital expenditure programme, and believes there is potential to expand its chain from 91 to 130 stores. 12-Apr-2000
Tesco has announced plans to create 8,000 jobs in the UK and 20,000 worldwide this year, by building new stores, expanding existing stores, and developing its Tesco Direct home shopping service. 12-Apr-2000
Jean Scene, the Livingston-based clothes retailer, is expanding its chain of retail outlets into Northern Ireland. 12-Apr-2000
Boots is testing self-service kiosks at its Monument branch in London, enabling loyalty card customers to scan their own shopping and use a self pay point. 11-Apr-2000
Puccino's, the chain of 35 coffee bars, is planning to set up a further 30 outlets on railway platforms and high streets this year. 11-Apr-2000
Marks & Spencer is to acquire a 20% stake in Talkcast in order to develop new services for mobile phones, with the initial focus being on its charge card customers. 10-Apr-2000
Sainsbury is planning to set up a 695,000 sq ft regional distribution centre at Waltham Abbey. 10-Apr-2000
Tesco has announced plans to create 450 jobs at a new £15m store in Glasgow and 600 jobs at a £20m store in Batley. 10-Apr-2000
Dixons is planning to set up a PC World store at a new retail park built by Sainsbury's at Exe Bridges in Exeter. 10-Apr-2000
John Lewis Partnership is seeking 400 staff for its new store at Southampton's West Quay shopping complex, which is due to open in September. 10-Apr-2000
Asda is to launch a fixed line telephone service called Asda Calltime, in partnership with MCI Worldcom and Unitel. 07-Apr-2000
Cambridge City Council has approved plans for three retail developments - the new Grand Arcade with 50 shops, the addition of 17 shops to the Grafton Centre and a replacement supermarket at the Beehive Centre. 07-Apr-2000
Sainsbury is planning to build a Homebase DIY store in Barnsley, with the creation of about 200 jobs. 07-Apr-2000
Argos is to stop distributing products from its warehouse in Daventry with the loss of an unspecified number of jobs, and the site will be used for other purposes such as processing returned goods. 07-Apr-2000
James Beattie is to build two new department stores in Huddersfield and Gloucester as part of a strategy to increase selling space by 40% over the next three years. 06-Apr-2000
Morrisons has announced plans for a new development at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, which will involve a retail complex and a family entertainment centre. 06-Apr-2000
Virgin is to shift the focus of its 57%-owned Victory Corporation from clothing to cosmetics, although the clothing brand will continue to be sold abroad. 05-Apr-2000
Kingfisher is to open a 230,000 sq ft distribution warehouse for its Screwfix DIY mail order business at Braunstone in Leicestershire next month, with the creation of up to 300 jobs. 05-Apr-2000
Kitbag, the Long Eaton-based online sports merchandise company, is planning to double its workforce to 60, and is considering plans for a flotation later this year. 05-Apr-2000
Marks & Spencer is to open its first franchise store in Croatia in May. 05-Apr-2000
Ann Summers is to acquire Knickerbox, the underwear retailer, for undisclosed terms, including 33 stores in the UK and a number of franchises in Denmark, Iceland and Ireland. 04-Apr-2000
Holland & Barrett is to open two new health food stores in Rochdale and Aberdeen. 03-Apr-2000
Somerfield is to open distribution centres in London, Croydon, Manchester, Chelmsford and Basingstoke this year, as part of a nationwide expansion of its 24-7 home delivery service. 03-Apr-2000
Tesco is planning to separate its TescoDirect e-commerce operations from its main supermarket business, in order to improve its stock market valuation. 03-Apr-2000
Lambert Smith Hampton has announced plans to rebuild the Northcott shopping centre in Glengormley, Belfast, at a cost of £25m. 03-Apr-2000
Aberdeen City Council has approved plans for the £120m redevelopment of the city centre, including shopping mall, multiplex cinema, retail park, leisure centre, bus centre, and restaurants. 03-Apr-2000
Asda has won permission from Manchester City Council to build a new superstore in Burnage, creating around 350 jobs. 03-Apr-2000
Cadogan Estates has bought a 10-acre TA site in Chelsea, London, from the Ministry of Defence for £66m, and plans to build a shopping centre, offices and housing. 31-Mar-2000
Wickes, the DIY retailer, has received a £285m hostile takeover bid from FDIA Finance, owner of the Focus Do It All chain. 31-Mar-2000
Alpha Airports is planning to expand its chain of airport shops into other travel-related sites, such as railway stations and motorway service stations. 31-Mar-2000
Morrisons has won approval from West Norfolk Council to build a superstore in King's Lynn, with the creation of 350 jobs. 31-Mar-2000
Sainsbury is to set up a Homebase DIY store in the Dearne Valley, Yorkshire, next year, with the creation of up to 250 jobs. 31-Mar-2000
Manchester United is planning to open up to 45 retail outlets over the next few months, including 22 with the Allsports group and dedicated areas within Woolworths stores. 30-Mar-2000
Buy.com, the US internet shopping company, is setting up a call centre in Exeter with the creation of 80 jobs. 30-Mar-2000
Dobbies Garden Centres is planning to raise £10m in a share issue, and plans to open two new sites a year. 30-Mar-2000
TJ Hughes is planning to expand its chain of 27 discount stores with at least four openings this year, and has a target of 200 within 10-15 years. 29-Mar-2000
Signet has announced a long-term plan to expand its chain of Ernest Jones jewellery stores from 179 to more than 220. 29-Mar-2000
Asda has won permission from South Tyneside Council to extend its Boldon Colliery store with the creation of 45 jobs. 29-Mar-2000
T&S Stores is to pilot a service that enables customers to order goods from the Littlewoods Index catalogue via the internet, and then collect them from their local T&S store. 28-Mar-2000
Flying Flowers is planning a corporate restructuring that will involve the demerger of its Stanley Gibbons stamp dealing business. 28-Mar-2000
Tesco has awarded a £37m contract to Taylor Woodrow for the construction of a frozen food distribution centre in Daventry. 28-Mar-2000
Virgin is planning to convert its 230 Our Price music stores into mobile phone outlets, providing a range of high technology products and acting as service centres for its online operations. 27-Mar-2000
WH Smith is to introduce online shopping kiosks in its high street and travel outlets, enabling customers to purchase music, videos, games and stationery for home delivery. 27-Mar-2000
Liverpool City Council has chosen Grosvenor and Henderson Investors to develop a 1m sq ft shopping centre on Paradise Street. 27-Mar-2000
Chester City Council has selected London & Amsterdam for a £200m retailing development at Northgate. 27-Mar-2000
London Borough of Hounslow has selected Blenheim Norwest to carry out a £140m redevelopment of the town centre. 27-Mar-2000
Sainsbury is to invest about £30m in Global NetXchange, the global business exchange that will enable retailers to streamline their supply chains and trade goods and services over the internet. 24-Mar-2000
Kingfisher is to invest £60m in its internet retailing operations this year, and has also announced the formation of five e-commerce business units - electrical, DIY, health, home and investments in other internet businesses. 23-Mar-2000
Marks & Spencer has raised £220m from the sale of properties, including the Gyle Shopping Centre in Edinburgh for £186m. 23-Mar-2000
Allied London Properties is planning a £3.5m refurbishment at the St Mark's Place shopping area in Newark, in order to attract new fashion retailers. 23-Mar-2000
WH Smith and Carlton Communications are to link their e-commerce operations, with visitors to Carlton's web sites being directed to WH Smith's site and any resulting revenue shared between the two companies. 22-Mar-2000
Tesco is planning to set up 20 new hypermarket stores in Taiwan over the next five years. 22-Mar-2000
Dixons is setting up an e-commerce business in France, in order to sell products sold in its UK computer and electrical stores. 22-Mar-2000
Kingfisher is planning to open 300 Woolworths convenience stores over the next four years. 22-Mar-2000
Marks & Spencer is to close its Pentwyn distribution depot in Cardiff in August, with the loss of 190 jobs. 22-Mar-2000
French Connection is planning to open at least two more fashion outlets in continental Europe this year, and hopes to have about 25 within three years. 21-Mar-2000
MFI, the furniture retailer, is planning to expand its new smaller high street format, following the success of a trial in Chiswick. 21-Mar-2000
Tesco is planning to build a superstore at the proposed Fforestfach District Shopping Centre in Swansea, with the creation of 130 new jobs and the relocation of 400 jobs from its existing store nearby. 20-Mar-2000
Boots has appointed Parkes & Co to carry out a review of its £800m freehold properties. 20-Mar-2000
HMV Media is to review the options for its Waterstone's chain of bookshops, which could lead to the business being sold off or merged with another company. 20-Mar-2000
Morrisons is planning to create 5,000 jobs over the next two years, by expanding its chain of 101 supermarkets. 17-Mar-2000
Tesco is planning to sell 18 liquor outlets in the Belfast area to Wineflair, in a deal estimated at £9m. 17-Mar-2000
Matalan has announced plans to set up 18 discount superstores this year, with the creation of 2,000 jobs. 16-Mar-2000
Sir Robert McAlpine and Templar Properties have announced plans for a £30m 200,000 sq ft shopping and leisure scheme in Caerphilly. 16-Mar-2000
Dunloe Ewart has submitted a planning application for a £150m retail, residential and leisure development called Cathedral Way in the centre of Belfast. 15-Mar-2000
Somerfield is to use its delivery fleet to provide a food distribution service for small stores throughout the country, as part of a strategy to focus more on neighbourhood retailing. 14-Mar-2000
Caudwell, the Stoke-based mobile phone company, has launched a major expansion scheme to open 78 new shops and create 400 jobs. 14-Mar-2000
Kenneth Gardner has closed four electrical appliance shops in Carnforth, Morecambe, Lancaster and Kendal. 14-Mar-2000
Methven's is to relaunch itself as an internet retailer called Samedaybooks.co.uk, and its nine bookshops will be fitted with computer terminals. 13-Mar-2000
Marks & Spencer is planning to relaunch its brand in the autumn, which will include changes to staff uniforms, product packaging, labels and shop fronts. 13-Mar-2000
Tweedmill Factory Outlets is planning to expand its discount-clothing retail complex at St Asaph, with the creation of 40 jobs. 13-Mar-2000
John Lewis is to open six Waitrose supermarkets this year and transfer 11 recently-acquired Somerfield stores to the Waitrose format, while its Southampton department store will be relocated. 10-Mar-2000
Asda has launched a recruitment drive to find 200 staff for its first UK Supercentre, which is opening in Bristol in July. 10-Mar-2000
Sainsbury has started to phase out its Savacentre hypermarkets by converting its Colney store in North London into a standard Sainsbury supermarket and selling the excess space to other retailers. 10-Mar-2000
Henry Boot has submitted plans to South Tyneside Borough Council to build a £10m retail and leisure scheme in South Shields. 09-Mar-2000
Dunnes is to open a new clothing store in Kirkstall, Leeds, in May with the creation of 100 jobs. 09-Mar-2000
Bestway has appointed John Mowlem to build a £2.5m cash and carry warehouse in Hull. 09-Mar-2000
Morrisons is planning to open a new superstore in Birmingham, as part of the £30m St Andrews Retail Park that will create more than 500 jobs. 08-Mar-2000
Stepek is planning to double the size of its network of 21 electrical stores by July 2001, creating 60 jobs. 08-Mar-2000
Uno is considering plans to cut jobs at its World of Leather and Uno furniture stores, following a 40% fall in sales in the past two years. 08-Mar-2000
Somerfield, the food retailer, has received a takeover approach from an unnamed company. 07-Mar-2000
Makro is upgrading its 24 cash and carry depots by adding a number of new facilities, including a bakery and fresh fish counter. 07-Mar-2000
United Norwest Co-op is to invest £10m upgrading 100 of its 276 convenience stores this year, and is also looking for further acquisitions. 07-Mar-2000
Rosebys is to change its name to Homestyle Group, in order to reflect its emphasis on the retailing of furniture and household textiles. 07-Mar-2000
Waitrose is linking up with WapWorld to become the first retailer to sell goods over WAP mobile phones. 06-Mar-2000
Greggs is to open 61 new bakery stores this year and close 36, and the total is expected to rise from 1,084 to 1,400 by 2006. 06-Mar-2000
ScS is planning to open six new upholstery stores this year, taking the total to 28, and is also looking to set up a distribution centre near Reading. 06-Mar-2000
Morrisons is to double the size of its original store in Bradford with the creation of 150 jobs, and will refurbish its packing plant at nearby Cutler Heights. 06-Mar-2000
Tesco is to create 240 new jobs in the Bristol area for its new Tesco Direct home shopping service. 06-Mar-2000
Ikea is seeking permission to build a new furniture distribution centre at Armthorpe in South Yorkshire, with the creation of 200 jobs. 06-Mar-2000
Lumination of Bristol has acquired Dazzlers, the owner of three lighting shops in Taunton, Bath and Cardiff, taking its chain to 17 stores. 06-Mar-2000
Perth & Kinross Council has approved plans from GS Brown Construction for the development of a factory outlet shopping centre at Levenfields, Kinross. 03-Mar-2000
Carphone Warehouse is to close the former Tandy headquarters at Bloxwich in the West Midlands, and aims to find alternative employment for many of the 252 staff. 03-Mar-2000
Advantage West Midlands and Urban Splash have announced plans for the £42m redevelopment of the Fort Dunlop building in Birmingham, to create a retailing, leisure and residential complex and about 500 jobs. 02-Mar-2000
WH Smith is forming a joint venture with Axon, the e-business consultancy, that will enable shops to order newspapers and magazines over the internet. 02-Mar-2000
Asda has started work on the development of a new frozen food depot at Europort's Tuscany Park estate in Wakefield, which will create 500 jobs. 02-Mar-2000
Boosey & Hawkes is to close its flute-making shop in Edgware, London, with the loss of about 60 jobs. 01-Mar-2000
Tesco is to open a new store in Portadown with the creation of up to 150 jobs, as part of the £20m redevelopment of the Meadows shopping complex in the town centre. 01-Mar-2000
Austin Reed, the clothing retailer, has rejected a takeover approach from an unnamed company. 29-Feb-2000
Sainsbury has announced a sale and leaseback arrangement for 16 of its superstores, in order to raise £340m to redevelop the stores without having to seek permission from landlords. 28-Feb-2000
Storehouse has received a number of potential takeover approaches from unnamed companies. 28-Feb-2000
Booker is to close four cash and carry depots in Scotland - at Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Kirkcaldy - following the acquisition of Trademarket. 28-Feb-2000
T&S Stores is looking to sell off 40 of its 967 branches, including traditional CTNs in the southern half of the country. 28-Feb-2000
Thornfield is planning a £160m expansion of the Kingfisher Centre in Redditch, including a department store and 12 retail units. 28-Feb-2000
Kingfisher is planning to set up a B&Q store on two floors in Sutton, and the concept could be rolled out to other areas where land supply is short. 28-Feb-2000
Amec has won planning consent for a 40 acre business park and B&Q Warehouse at Lostock near Preston. 28-Feb-2000
Wilkinson Hardware Stores is to open a new store in Burnley town centre in June, with the creation of 88 jobs. 25-Feb-2000
Blooms of Bressingham has bought the Bicester Garden Centre in Oxfordshire for £3.2m. 25-Feb-2000
City Gourmets is changing its name to Madisons Coffee, and is looking for acquisitions to expand its chain of 42 coffee shops. 24-Feb-2000
McEwens, the Perth-based department store, has acquired FA Cameron of Inverness for undisclosed terms. 23-Feb-2000
Nottingham City Council is set to approve plans from Westfield of Australia and the Post office staff pension fund for a £400m shopping development in the city centre, which will double the size of the Broadmarsh Centre. 23-Feb-2000
Allders has sold its Croydon department store to property company Minerva for £50m, in preparation for the construction of a new store at the Park Place complex. 23-Feb-2000
Somerfield has invited all 1,800 staff at its Bristol head office to apply for voluntary redundancy, and aims to cut several hundred jobs as part of a sell-off of about 140 larger Somerfield and 370 Kwik Save stores. 22-Feb-2000
BAA McArthur Glen is planning to set up an e-commerce service called BMG On-Line, in order to offer discount designer merchandise on the internet. 22-Feb-2000
Sainsbury is to close its mini-supermarket store in Chelmsford with the loss of about 120 jobs. 21-Feb-2000
The Mander Shopping Centre in Wolverhampton is preparing plans for a multi-million pound refurbishment, in order to attract major new High Street retailers. 21-Feb-2000
Granada is planning to attach convenience stores to some of its Little Chef roadside restaurants. 21-Feb-2000
Merchant Retail is planning to add a further seven outlets to its chain of 52 Perfume Shops this year, and is also considering a £150m flotation for the division. 21-Feb-2000
Brown & Jackson is planning to open 100 new discount stores this year, and is also considering plans to launch into eastern Europe. 18-Feb-2000
Kangol has won approval to build a retail park in Cleator, specialising in sports and outdoor clothing and equipment and including a heritage centre and hat museum, with the creation of 150 jobs. 18-Feb-2000
Artigiano, the mail-order clothing company, is to set up a new warehouse and call centre at Calbourne on the Isle of Wight, with the creation of 30 jobs. 18-Feb-2000
TK Maxx is in negotiations to set up a discount clothes store in Hereford, with the creation of 50 jobs. 18-Feb-2000
Calderdale Council has approved plans for the development of a factory outlet shopping centre with 46 shops at the Gannex Mill in Elland. 17-Feb-2000
Selfridges has announced plans for the £500m redevelopment of space behind its Oxford Street store in London, and has also confirmed plans to set up a 260,000 sq ft store at the Bull Ring in Birmingham. 17-Feb-2000
WS Atkins is to conduct an urban design study for the Drake Street area of Rochdale, which will be included in a £25m regeneration programme. 17-Feb-2000
Asda has submitted plans to Blaby District Council for the £8m expansion of its Fosse Park superstore, with the creation of 80 jobs. 16-Feb-2000
Amazon.com is planning to create 500 UK jobs in its internet-based retailing business, which is expected to benefit its distribution centre in Milton Keynes and its corporate office in Slough. 16-Feb-2000
Freeport Leisure, the operator of factory outlet sites, has 14 planning applications pending, and expects to achieve approval for six by the end of the year. 16-Feb-2000
Boots is considering plans to build gyms in some of its retail outlets, and is in talks with health club operators. 14-Feb-2000
Costcutter is planning to open a further 30 outlets on Murco forecourts this year. 14-Feb-2000
Tesco is looking to sell 18 of its Stewarts off licence outlets in Northern Ireland, while 30 others will be integrated with supermarkets. 14-Feb-2000
Liberty, the Regent Street department store, is in talks with a number of unnamed bidders, but no firm proposals have yet been received. 14-Feb-2000
Tesco is seeking planning permission for a new food store and petrol station in Dumfries. 14-Feb-2000
Conrad Phoenix Properties is to open a £7m retail park in Watford's Lower High Street in April, including PC World, Furniture World, Allied Carpets, Hobbycraft, Comet, Curry's and Furniture Land. 14-Feb-2000
Dobbies Garden Centres is planning to expand its geographic coverage in Scotland, and is looking at potential sites in Aberdeen. 11-Feb-2000
Kingfisher is acquiring a 22.5% stake in Virtuelle Bau-Markt, the German internet retailer that specialises in DIY products, for undisclosed terms. 11-Feb-2000
Great Mills has expanded its DIY retailing business with the acquisition of the Octopus Home and Garden Centre in Cambridge from Ridgeons. 11-Feb-2000
Lastminute.com, the internet-based seller of travel and gifts, is planning to raise up to £100m in a flotation in order to fund marketing and geographical expansion. 11-Feb-2000
Lidl has applied for permission to build a new store in Swadlincote with the creation of 25 jobs, while Sainsbury is seeking to extend its store in nearby Robian Way generating 50 jobs. 10-Feb-2000
Land Securities is expected to shortlist three contractors for a £30m deal to build a retail and leisure complex called The Gate in Newcastle upon Tyne. 10-Feb-2000
Asprey & Garrard is to shed 50 jobs in order to reduce losses, and the business will focus on jewellery, silver, leather and corporate gifts. 10-Feb-2000
Grantchester has bought a former DIY warehouse in Cardiff for £9m, and plans to transform it into a shopping park. 09-Feb-2000
N Brown is forming a joint venture with GE Capital of the US to develop its Zendor.com internet shopping business, which will provide services such as warehousing, distribution, call centres and customer care. 08-Feb-2000
Mills, the North Tyneside-based chain of 45 newsagents, has moved its headquarters to a new office in Monkseaton. 07-Feb-2000
Country Gardens is to open a new garden centre in Havant in April, and is looking to recruit 50 staff. 07-Feb-2000
Sainsbury is seeking suitable sites for its Local convenience store chain in London and the south east, in order to achieve its target of opening 35 outlets by the end of the year. 07-Feb-2000
Next and Superdrug have both announced plans to set up flagship stores on London's Oxford Street. 07-Feb-2000
Tesco is considering plans to expand its chain of Tesco Express outlets to 150 Esso forecourts over the next three years, with the creation of up to 4,000 jobs. 07-Feb-2000
Marks & Spencer is to put an extra 4,000 staff on its shop floors over the next year in order to improve customer service, which will involve the creation of 1,000 new jobs. 07-Feb-2000
Sandwell Council has approved plans for a £20m shopping and cinema complex in the centre of Oldbury with the creation of 250 jobs, including a Big W discount store. 03-Feb-2000
Wates has won a £9.2m contract from Castlemore Securities for the construction of nine retail outlets at Crossley Park in Kidderminster. 03-Feb-2000
P&O Properties has won government approval to build a £150m shopping centre at Drake's Circus in Plymouth, including a flagship Allders store and the creation of 5,000 jobs. 01-Feb-2000
KFC is planning to open 50 new fried chicken outlets this year, taking the total to 530 and creating more than 2,000 jobs. 01-Feb-2000
Tesco has revived plans to build a £10m store in South Cheshire, and negotiations are taking place with Congleton Borough Council. 31-Jan-2000
Scottish Power is planning to open at least 12 electrical superstores this year. 31-Jan-2000
Wilson Bowden has been chosen as preferred developer for the £700m redevelopment of the Ravenscraig steelworks in Lanarkshire, which will involve the construction of a new town with up to 1m sq ft of retail space. 31-Jan-2000
Kingfisher is to test a new convenience store format in a partnership between its Woolworth and Superdrug divisions, and the first outlet will be in Palmers Green, North London. 31-Jan-2000
Hull City Council is conducting a feasibility study into revamping the city's Old Town Fruit Market. 28-Jan-2000
Hennes & Mauritz of Sweden is planning to increase its number of UK fashion stores from 34 to about 44 this year. 28-Jan-2000
Liverpool City Council has appointed international architects Skidmore Owings & Merrill to devise plans for the £500m redevelopment of the city centre. 28-Jan-2000
Somerfield has agreed the sale of 45 of its large stores for £305m, with Waitrose and the Co-operative Wholesale Society taking 11 each and the rest going to the other leading supermarket chains. 27-Jan-2000
WH Smith is forming an internet alliance with British Telecom in order to gain access to new customers through BT internet portals, as part of a strategy to gain 30% of the UK online book market within three years. 27-Jan-2000
Gloucester City Council is set to approve plans from Arrowcroft for a £70m retail and leisure redevelopment in the city centre, including 43 shops and a multiplex cinema. 26-Jan-2000
Sunderland Council has unveiled its vision for the future of the city centre, which involves a major redevelopment of the vacant Vaux brewery site to include retailing facilities, a ferry terminus and a hotel. 26-Jan-2000
Boots is to close eight of its regional head offices with the loss of up to 50 middle management jobs, in order to reduce costs. 26-Jan-2000
Virgin Megastores has threatened to withdraw from music retailing, due to concerns about the effect of downloading music from the internet and the rapid consolidation in the music industry. 26-Jan-2000
Games Workshop, the manufacturer and retailer of fantasy games, is planning a £5m restructuring programme in order to streamline its operations and strengthen central co-ordination. 26-Jan-2000
Roberts of Truro, the department store in Truro town centre, is to close with the loss of about 100 jobs. 25-Jan-2000
Charville Estates is planning a £2.4m retail development in Redruth town centre, including a shopping arcade and heritage centre. 25-Jan-2000
Claire's Accessories is seeking 70 staff for its new head office and jewellery distribution centre at the Bromford Gate industrial park in Birmingham. 24-Jan-2000
First Choice Holidays is to open six more outlets in its recently-acquired Holiday Hypermarkets chain by March. 24-Jan-2000
CTP is planning a retail development on a 16-acre site in Newton Aycliffe town centre. 24-Jan-2000
Arcadia is said to be looking to sell up to 300 shops, following a review of its properties. 24-Jan-2000
Budgens has reached agreement with Conoco to open food retail outlets on up to 40 Jet forecourts over the next year. 24-Jan-2000
Palmer & Harvey McLane is to accommodate Mace Marketing Services, the marketing division of the Mace group, at its head office in Hove. 24-Jan-2000
Blacks Leisure is looking to acquire sports retailers, in order to participate in the ongoing consolidation in the sector. 22-Jan-2000
Tesco is to open a new supermarket at Eaglescliffe on Teesside in June, with the creation of 200 jobs. 21-Jan-2000
Sainsbury is to set up a store in Birmingham city centre with the creation of 100 jobs, as part of a £200m investment by the group in the West Midlands. 21-Jan-2000
Aylesbury Council has approved a £1m plan to transform Jansel Square Shopping Centre, with new shops and leisure facilities. 21-Jan-2000
QVC, the TV and internet shopping company, is planning a £16m expansion at its distribution and call centre operation at the Knowsley Industrial Park on Merseyside, with the creation of 1,000 jobs. 21-Jan-2000
Kingfisher is in merger discussions with Metro of Germany, which could lead to the creation of a pan-European retailing group. 21-Jan-2000
Stylo, the Bradford-based shoe retailer, is looking for a potential purchaser following an increase in losses. 21-Jan-2000
Storehouse is to open food stores in up to 100 of its Bhs outlets in a joint venture with Iceland Group, with the creation of about 4,000 jobs. 21-Jan-2000
TK Maxx is to open a discount fashion store in York, with the creation of 50 jobs. 20-Jan-2000
Tesco is to increase the number of stores offering online home shopping from 100 to 300 by the end of the year, with the creation of 7,000 jobs. 20-Jan-2000
Henry Boot has been selected as preferred bidder for a £10m retail development in South Shields for South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council. 20-Jan-2000
John Menzies is looking to sell its chain of Early Learning Centre stores in the next 15 months, in order to focus on transport services. 19-Jan-2000
Photo-Me International, the photo booth operator, is seeking partnerships and acquisitions that will enable it to distribute internet-based products and services through its global network of 20,000 machines. 19-Jan-2000
Topps Tiles is planning to double its chain of 118 stores over the next five years. 19-Jan-2000
Buy.com, the US internet retailer of discounted computer products, is planning to launch a UK version of its web site. 17-Jan-2000
Great Universal Stores is to invest £8m in Mypoints Europe, a new loyalty scheme for the internet that will enable web sites to offer points that can be exchanged for products and services. 17-Jan-2000
Hamells is looking to sell all 65 of its womenswear shops, including prime units at Lakeside, Merry Hill and Peterborough. 17-Jan-2000
Taunton Council is looking to sell a town centre site that has been allocated for retail development, and the plan allows for up to 250,000 sq ft of space. 17-Jan-2000
Franchise Company of Darlington is planning to set up 100 Watch Repair Centres throughout the country, and is seeking franchisees. 14-Jan-2000
Blakes Clothing is to be transformed from a menswear retailer into an internet investment company called e-xentric, following a reverse takeover and a £1.6m share placing. 14-Jan-2000
Southend Council is to consider plans from Bourne End Properties for a £1.5m extension to Southend's Victoria Plaza. 13-Jan-2000
Wilkinson Hardware Stores is to open a new store at the Westgate park shopping complex in Basildon in March, with the creation of 80 jobs. 13-Jan-2000
Savers Health & Beauty is to create 800 jobs throughout the country following the acquisition of rival drugstore Supersave. 13-Jan-2000
Birmingham City Council has awarded a £5m contract to Tilbury Douglas to relocate Birmingham Rag Market Traders to St Martins. 13-Jan-2000
Stirling Council is planning a £90m redevelopment of the town's shopping centre, including a new hotel and multiplex cinema. 13-Jan-2000
Marks & Spencer is to step up its store refurbishment programme, and has also announced plans to sell nursery furniture and maternity wear. 13-Jan-2000
Dixons has announced plans for a corporate restructuring in order to separate its Freeserve internet business from its retail and property operations, but has denied speculation that Freeserve will be spun off completely. 13-Jan-2000
Grattan is to cut 250 jobs in its Bradford-based mail order business, in order to reduce costs following a downturn in orders. 12-Jan-2000
Aberdeenshire Council is to consider plans from Brodie Countryfare for the development of a retail complex on the Park Estate at Drumoak, which will include a number of outlets selling Scottish products. 12-Jan-2000
Kingfisher is to increase its investment in store openings, with capital expenditure expected to reach £1bn this year, while £50m will be spent on internet development. 12-Jan-2000
Madford Developments is planning to build a new shopping complex on a 4-acre site near Carlisle city centre, and has consent for 60,000sq ft of retail space. 11-Jan-2000
Pillar Property has announced plans to build a £100m retail and leisure complex at the east end of Princes Street in Edinburgh, including multiplex cinema, health clubs, restaurants and a hotel. 11-Jan-2000
Asda is planning to open 12 new stores and expand its internet-based home shopping business this year, with the creation of 6,000 jobs. 11-Jan-2000
Rotherham Council is considering plans from Sterling Capital for a 110,000 sq ft out-of-town store and restaurant development alongside the Parkway at Catcliffe. 08-Jan-2000
Peacocks is planning to open 40 discount clothing stores this year, with the creation of 1,500 jobs. 08-Jan-2000
Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council is to consider plans from Trinity Investments for a £100m retail-led project to revitalise the town centre, including a new department store and 30 shops in a covered street. 08-Jan-2000
B&Q has announced plans to build a DIY superstore in Colchester, with the creation of 250 jobs. 07-Jan-2000
Lincoln City Council has approved plans from Lincoln Corn Exchange & Markets to build a £10m shopping complex in Outer Circle Road, which will create 300 jobs. 07-Jan-2000
Tesco has submitted plans for a £6m expansion at its superstore in Aberdeen, which will create 140 jobs. 07-Jan-2000
B&Q is to create 200 jobs by opening a new DIY superstore in Eastbourne. 07-Jan-2000
Next has announced plans to open a 35,000 sq ft store at Birmingham's new Bull Ring. 07-Jan-2000
Preston Borough Council is to consider plans from EH Booth for the conversion of its Queen Street distribution centre into a superstore for a major food retailer. 06-Jan-2000
Swansea Council is considering plans from Miller Developments for the conversion of the former Living store in Oxford Street into three separate shops, and Miller is in talks with a number of potential occupants. 06-Jan-2000
Kingfisher is planning to open 15 more B&Q Warehouse DIY stores this year with the creation of up to 2,000 jobs, and about 200 new jobs will be created at its Screwfix mail order business. 04-Jan-2000
Lygon is considering plans to sell its direct mail and internet products business, which is valued at about £20m. 03-Jan-2000
The information below comes from the
UK Activity Report.
B U
S I N E S S
P A
R K
home page
Retailing 2000
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
Click here for further details
Click here for further details
Copyright UK Business Park 1995-2007