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]
RMC is to sell its Great Mills chain of 98 DIY stores to Focus Do It All for £285m, in order to focus on cement, concrete and aggregates. [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]
Peter Black, the footwear and cosmetics group, has agreed terms for a £223m management buy-out. [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]
Kingfisher has bought an 85% stake in Streets Online, the internet-based music retailer, for £16m. [01-Nov-2000]
Kleeneze is to acquire Dealerfield of Nottingham for £27m and Colour Library Direct of Oxfordshire for £4m, in order to gain access to hundreds of display marketing sales staff that sell books, CDs and gifts directly to offices. [31-Oct-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]
Oliver Group, the shoe retailer with 260 outlets, has accepted a £6.1m takeover offer from Benson Shoe. [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]
Savers Health & Beauty has been acquired by Hutchison Whampoa for undisclosed terms, but will continue with its opening programme of between 20 and 30 new outlets every year. [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]
Wyevale Garden Centres has agreed to acquire Country Gardens for £108m, creating a chain of 119 garden centres. [26-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]
Upton & Southern, the Middlesbrough-based department store group, is being sold to a consortium under the name of Hilco UK for a nominal sum. [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]
Bonhams is to merge with Brooks to create a combined auction house called Bonhams & Brooks, and the London-based business will employ 200 staff. [13-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]
Austin Reed, the clothing retailer, has sold its Chester Barrie manufacturing business to Thompson Holdings for £3.7m. [12-Sep-2000]
Nomura is to buy the First Quench off-licence chain from Whitbread and Punch for £225m, and plans to invest in training and technology at the 2,500 branches. [11-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]
Great Universal Stores has acquired Jungle.com, the online retailer, for £37m, which will enable it to sell a wide range of office products through a number of channels. [01-Sep-2000]
Wickes has accepted a £289m takeover offer from Focus Do It All, creating a combined group with a 10.7% market share in DIY retailing. [01-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]
Boots is to transfer its 17 Dutch stores to Royal Ahold, in a change in strategy that will see it focus on retailing in Asia and the distribution of own-brand products through other retailers in continental Europe. [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]
John Menzies has sold its book, video and music wholesaling business to management for £2.5m, as part of a strategy to focus on logistics. [14-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]
ECI Ventures is to acquire Benjy's, the chain of 34 London-based sandwich bars, for undisclosed terms. [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]
Carphone Warehouse has bought 27 French stores from Multiples for £8.7m, and they will be rebranded as The Phone House. [28-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]
Homestyle is to acquire Harveys Furnishings for £136m, and the Harveys' high street stores will be converted to the Rosebys and Knightingales formats. [17-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]
Premier Direct has acquired Books UK for £2.4m, in order to expand its book distribution network. [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]
Asprey & Garrard, the upmarket jeweller, has been acquired by the co-chairmen of US fashion group Tommy Hilfiger for undisclosed terms, and they plan to open more stores. [06-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]
United Norwest Co-op has bought 12 AM/PM convenience stores from CG Paletta of Wrexham for undisclosed terms. [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]
One-2-One has acquired the Pocket Phone Shop, which includes a network of 167 shops, for £73m. [22-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]
Fads has bought Crest Decor, the Scottish DIY retailer with 13 stores, for undisclosed terms. [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]
PNC Telecom is to acquire KJC, the mobile phone retailer, for up to £62m, and plans to add 20 more stores and create separate areas to sell internet services. [12-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]
Pall Mall Support Services has acquired Compass Cleaning for £23m, in order to create the country's largest retail cleaning business. [05-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]
Signet has acquired Marks & Morgan, the US jewellery retailer, for £77m, which will expand its US outlets to 969 stores. [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]
West Midlands Co-op has acquired Morris Foods, the Shropshire-based chain of seven supermarkets, for undisclosed terms. [31-May-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]
Iceland is to acquire Booker, the cash and carry group, in a £326m all-share deal, and the combined group will aim to achieve cost savings of £50m within two years. [26-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]
T&S Stores is to acquire Day & Nite, the Preston-based chain of 98 convenience stores, for £25m. [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]
Liberty, the London department store, has been acquired by Marylebone Warwick Balfour for £72m, and the main Regent Street building will be refurbished at a cost of £9m. [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]
SSL International is to sell its 57-strong Scholl footcare stores business to Alliance UniChem in a £3m deal. [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]
Scotmid has acquired the Options chain of 27 discount toiletry stores in Northern Ireland, in a deal worth about £3m. [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]
Dobbies Garden Centres has acquired Lancashire-based Clifton Garden Centre for £1.7m. [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]
WH Smith is acquiring The Benjamin Company, the seller of books and gifts at nine US airports, for £12m. [18-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]
Joseph Dunn Group has sold Dunn Interiors, the Glasgow-based restaurant design and refurbishment business with more than 100 staff, to management. [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]
Software Warehouse, the mail order and high street computer retailer, is to be acquired by Jungle.com for up to £100m. [31-Mar-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]
Storehouse has agreed to sell its chain of 161 Bhs stores to retail entrepreneur Philip Green for £200m, and about £20m of the proceeds will be invested in its Mothercare 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]
AR Daunt of Nottingham is to acquire GT News, the chain of 80 newsagents and convenience stores in South Yorkshire and the East Midlands. [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]
Balfour, the operator of 120 convenience stores and newsagents, has been acquired by a management buy-in team with the backing of 3i, for undisclosed terms. [08-Mar-2000]
Dobbies Garden Centres has acquired Findlay Clark, the owner of four Scottish garden centres, for £8.7m. [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]
Carphone Warehouse is planning to buy 50 Viva Voce mobile phone stores in Spain for about £15m, as part of a strategy to build up a pan-European digital communications business. [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]
Batleys has acquired Seddons Seedfeeds, the petfood wholesaler, for undisclosed terms. [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]
Brown & Jackson has acquired North Shoe, the footwear and sportswear retailer with 32 stores, for £23m. [02-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]
WH Smith has acquired Hazelwood Enterprises, the US company that operates stores in 70 hotels, for about £12m. [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]
Peter Black is acquiring Hexel International, the supplier of own-label toiletries and other products to retailers, for £19m. [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]
Johnson Service, the dry-cleaning company, is planning to acquire Semara for £95m, as part of a strategy to expand its textile rental business. [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]
Dixons has acquired Ei System Computer, the Spanish computer retailer with 12 stores, for £16m. [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]
Co-operative Wholesale Society is to merge with the Co-operative Retail Society in April, creating a combined group with more than 1,000 stores and 50,000 employees. [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]
Fuller Smith & Turner is to sell its chain of 61 wine shops to Unwins Wine Group for £7.5m. [20-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]