U K
The information below comes from the
UK Activity Report.
Wilkinson is looking to recruit 100 staff for a new discount store due to open in Bedminster next year. 31-Dec-2004
Argos is to set up a 500,000 sq ft distribution centre at Max Park in Corby in the spring, with the creation of 400 jobs, and the site will be operated by Wincanton. 30-Dec-2004
Food Weighouse of Catterick has gone into liquidation with the closure of 13 stores. 27-Dec-2004
Ocado, the online retailer of Waitrose food, is planning to float within 18 months with a valuation of about £350m. 27-Dec-2004
Harry Winston of the US is to set up its first UK store on London's New Bond Street in 2007. 20-Dec-2004
Whole Foods Market is planning to open about six organic food megastores in the London area over the next few years. 20-Dec-2004
Faith Shoes is planning to open more than 30 outlets over the next four years, to add to the existing 67 stores and 120 concessions. 20-Dec-2004
Computer Shop is planning to shift the emphasis of its chain of 104 computer shops from the high street to out-of-town sites over the next 12 months. 20-Dec-2004
Levi's is looking to expand its chain of 21 jeans stores with up to 60 new sites. 20-Dec-2004
Focus has outlined plans to invest about £150m in the development of 50 new DIY stores. 20-Dec-2004
KPMG is to close 74 Courts furniture stores and sell the entire stock out of administration to private equity firm SB Capital, and SB also has an option to buy the remaining 14 stores. 14-Dec-2004
Ceredigion County Council is to consider plans from Eatonfield Holdings for a £15m regeneration project in Cardigan, including a new shopping centre. 13-Dec-2004
Macmillan Distribution is to expand its book distribution facility in Pontarddulais by 35% over the next two years, with the creation of up to 40 jobs. 13-Dec-2004
Tesco is seeking permission to rebuild its supermarket in Wragby Road, Lincoln, with the creation of at least 150 new jobs. 13-Dec-2004
United Co-operatives is looking to sell off its remaining seven department stores, including its largest site in Bradford. 13-Dec-2004
Dunelm is planning to expand its chain of 68 home furnishings stores with about 20 new outlets a year. 13-Dec-2004
Hugo Boss, the fashion company, is to relocate its London headquarters to a 35,000 sq ft office and showroom in Camden in June. 13-Dec-2004
Durham Tees Valley Airport is planning to build a number of new retail outlets, and talks are already under way with some potential operators. 10-Dec-2004
Carmarthenshire County Council and Simons Developments have announced plans for a £50m market site regeneration scheme in Carmarthen, including a Debenhams store, 21 two-storey retail units and the creation of about 300 jobs. 09-Dec-2004
Horsham District Council has awarded a £20m contract to Miller to build a retail and leisure village at Southwater in West Sussex. 09-Dec-2004
Jessops is planning to expand its chain of 268 camera shops with 20 new sites a year, eventually taking the total to 450. 09-Dec-2004
Barnsley Council has appointed the 1249 Regeneration Partnership to undertake the £180m redevelopment of Barnsley town centre, including new indoor and outdoors markets as well as a cinema and amphitheatre. 08-Dec-2004
Allders, the chain of 45 department stores, has been put up for sale by Minerva. 08-Dec-2004
Sheffield City Council has approved plans from Deutsche Bank Real Estates for the multi-million pound refurbishment of The Moor shopping centre. 08-Dec-2004
Aston Villa is seeking permission from Birmingham City Council to build a £8m shopping and housing development in Witton. 06-Dec-2004
Floors 2 Go is planning to expand its chain of 120 stores with up to 25 new sites by the end of next year, and is particularly interested in East Anglia, the South and Northern Ireland. 06-Dec-2004
Cooltrader is planning to expand its chain of frozen food stores from 23 to 33 next year. 06-Dec-2004
Topps Tiles is planning to expand its chain of 220 tile stores with 24 new outlets next year. 06-Dec-2004
MFI, the furniture retailer, is to shed 80 head office jobs and reduce the number of store refurbishments. 03-Dec-2004
Marks & Spencer is planning to open a further six Simply Food stores at Moto motorway service areas over the next 18 months. 01-Dec-2004
Aldi is planning to expand its chain of 278 discount grocery stores with up to 200 new sites over the next seven years, at a cost of more than £500m. 29-Nov-2004
Wolverhampton Council is to consider plans from Simon Developments for the £50m transformation of the 14-acre Springfield Brewery site into a new village with shops, apartments and offices. 29-Nov-2004
Solution Footwear is planning to expand its chain of six shoe shops with ten new sites, having secured new investment. 29-Nov-2004
Stefanel of Italy is planning to open ten knitwear stores in the UK over the next two years, and is seeking a master franchisee. 29-Nov-2004
Wakefield Council is considering plans for a £50m redevelopment of the town centre, including an extension to the Carlton Lanes shopping centre. 29-Nov-2004
GUS is planning to open 45 Homebase DIY stores over the next three years. 29-Nov-2004
Wilson Bowden has won planning consent for the £70m redevelopment of Bishop's Stortford town centre, which will double the size of the 100,000 sq ft Jackson Square shopping centre. 29-Nov-2004
Krispy Kreme is planning to open a further 21 doughnut stores across the country. 29-Nov-2004
Focus Wickes, the chain of 420 DIY stores, has appointed Goldman Sachs to consider its strategic options, which could lead to the business being put up for sale. 29-Nov-2004
Meteor Electrical is to create 100 new jobs at its Cookstown-based electrical wholesaling business over the next 18 months, with vacancies in warehouse management, distribution and telesales. 24-Nov-2004
ScS Upholstery is planning to expand its chain of 65 sofa stores with up to six new sites over the next 12 months. 24-Nov-2004
Little Chef is expected to be put up for sale early next year for up to £50m, but private equity owner Permira will retain the 115 restaurants next to Travelodge hotels. 24-Nov-2004
Merchant Retail Group is planning to expand its Perfume Shop chain with about 12 new stores next year. 23-Nov-2004
Dainese of Italy is planning to open its first sportswear stores in the UK, and has appointed Cushman Wakefield Healey & Baker to find suitable sites. 23-Nov-2004
Blackwell's is considering plans to sell some of its 61 shops, having commissioned BDO Stoy Hayward to conduct a strategic review. 22-Nov-2004
Mothercare is to invest £6m in setting up a new 300,000 sq ft warehouse in Daventry next year, and the site will be managed by Exel. 22-Nov-2004
CocoBeach is planning to launch a nationwide chain of up to 40 tanning salons, following the success of a trial at Kingston Park's Tesco store in Newcastle. 19-Nov-2004
Sainsbury is to close 12 underperforming stores, including its 4,600 sq ft Oxford Street store in London. 18-Nov-2004
Williams Music Group is opening three new musical instrument stores in Nottingham, Harrogate and London this month, taking the total to 15. 18-Nov-2004
Majestic Wine is planning to expand its chain of 120 wine stores with up to eight new sites a year. 16-Nov-2004
House of Fraser is to open a department store at the Northgate Centre development in Chester in 2008. 16-Nov-2004
Macdonald Estates has won planning permission for a £25m retail, office and residential scheme on Dunfermline high street. 15-Nov-2004
John Lewis is to set up a 220,000 sq ft department store at the £250m Tricorn development in Portsmouth, and is also planning to open a store in Crawley. 15-Nov-2004
Esquires Coffee Houses is planning to expand its chain of 15 coffee shops with 12 new sites over the next 12 months. 15-Nov-2004
New Heights is planning to expand its chain of 11 hardwood furniture stores to 20 by 2008, having received a £1.7m investment from the owner of Wilkinson's. 15-Nov-2004
Sainsbury has sold its former headquarters in London's Stamford Street to the Beetham Organization for £48m, and Beetham will submit redevelopment plans. 15-Nov-2004
Tesco has unveiled revised plans for the £150m redevelopment of the former Vaux site in Sunderland, including a superstore, a mall, apartments and a 90-room four-star hotel. 15-Nov-2004
West Coast Capital is to help finance the £40m expansion of the Qube shoe retailing business, which is expected to grow from ten to 150 stores over the next five years. 15-Nov-2004
Peacocks is opening 100 new clothing stores this year, with the creation of 1,300 jobs. 11-Nov-2004
Debenhams is to spend £6m refurbishing its Oxford Street department store in London, which will involve the addition of a new sales floor and the relocation of its buying department to the nearby headquarters. 09-Nov-2004
Asda is planning to open about eight more standalone George fashion stores next year, and 50 potential sites are being considered. 09-Nov-2004
Stockport Council has announced plans for the £500m regeneration of its town centre, including an additional 900,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space. 08-Nov-2004
Aldi, the food retailer, is planning to set up a distribution centre and regional headquarters on a 28-acre site at the Capital Business Park in Cardiff, with the creation of 300 jobs. 08-Nov-2004
Etam is planning to replace its Etam Plus fashion stores with a chain of up to 170 Amelie May outlets by the end of next year. 08-Nov-2004
Past Times, the historical gifts retailer, is planning to set up 50 concessions in department stores over the next three years. 08-Nov-2004
B&Q is planning to shed 70 of the 1,400 jobs at its headquarters in Chandler's Ford. 05-Nov-2004
Morrisons is to sell the Safeway store in Dewsbury to Lidl, but staff will not transfer as Lidl plans to redevelop the site. 02-Nov-2004
Ikea is seeking permission to build a furniture superstore on the site of the former Peerless Edible oils factory on Merseyside, with the creation of 500 jobs. 02-Nov-2004
Ikea has announced plans to build a furniture distribution warehouse in Walsall, with the creation of 50 jobs. 01-Nov-2004
Booths is planning to expand its chain of 26 supermarkets to 40 over the next few years. 01-Nov-2004
Early Learning Centre is planning to open about 15 toy shops a year, and is currently improving the lighting and flooring at its 215 sites. 01-Nov-2004
Royal Mail is said to be planning to close or sell off about 250 of its main Crown post offices, reducing the network to less than 400. 01-Nov-2004
Jimmy Choo, the luxury goods company, has been put up for sale with a valuation of about £100m. 01-Nov-2004
Bright Futures, the mobility retailer, has raised £0.9m in a share placing to fund its store roll-out programme. 26-Oct-2004
Officers Club is looking to double the square footage at its chain of 185 menswear stores, with the creation of 400 jobs over the next five years, and is also seeking a suitable site for a new head office and warehouse in Cramlington. 26-Oct-2004
Laura Ashley is to close its fabrics factory at Carno in mid Wales, in order to transfer 220 jobs to its site in nearby Newtown. 26-Oct-2004
Tesco has submitted plans to Forest of Dean District Council to build a new superstore in Cinderford. 25-Oct-2004
Slater Menswear is planning to expand its chain of 17 stores to 100, including new sites in Dundee, Inverness, Crawley, Preston and Bolton. 25-Oct-2004
Kingdom of Leather is to refurbish six shops and reopen them under the Natuzzi format, and a further four sites will be sold off. 25-Oct-2004
Asda is to open a buying office for its George fashion business in Switzerland, which could lead to the international expansion of the brand. 25-Oct-2004
John Lewis is to shed up to 150 personnel jobs as part of a strategy to centralise some administrative functions at the Waitrose head office in Bracknell. 25-Oct-2004
Cambridge City Council has approved plans from Ravenseft Properties to build 21 new shops and 15 apartments at Bradwell's Court. 22-Oct-2004
B&Q is to open a new DIY superstore in Halifax next year, with the creation of 130 jobs. 21-Oct-2004
Benjys is planning to open 150 new sandwich bars by 2006, with the creation of 2,000 jobs. 21-Oct-2004
Sainsbury is to create 3,000 new jobs in its supermarkets, in order to improve the availability of stock on the shelves, but a further 700 head office jobs are expected to be lost. 19-Oct-2004
Morrisons is planning to sell up to 120 smaller Safeway stores to Somerfield for about £250m. 18-Oct-2004
Peacocks is planning to expand its chain of Perfume Shops from 36 to more than 50 over the next 12 months. 15-Oct-2004
Tesco has won planning permission to build a 480,000 sq ft distribution centre at Parnell Way in Peterborough by next August, and the site will be developed by Raven Group. 14-Oct-2004
Debenhams is said to be considering plans to relocate its Derby department store to the planned new Eagle Centre extension, making way for a new £20m library. 13-Oct-2004
Matalan is in discussions with an unnamed company about plans to sell its Lee Cooper jeans business, which has an estimated value of up to £30m. 13-Oct-2004
Eastbourne Borough Council is to consider proposals for the multi-million pound expansion of the Arndale shopping centre. 11-Oct-2004
Jessops, the chain of 262 camera stores, has announced plans for a flotation with an estimated valuation of up to £180m. 11-Oct-2004
Zannier of France is planning to open 30 children's wear stores in the UK over the next three years, and is in talks with potential franchise partners. 11-Oct-2004
Hardy Amies is to raise £2m in a share issue to fund expansion into fragrances, shoes and homewares. 07-Oct-2004
Poundland, the discount retailer, is seeking permission to set up a distribution centre at the disused Metabrasives site in Springvale, Bilston, with the creation of up to 500 jobs. 06-Oct-2004
Doughty Hanson has acquired Tumi, the US-based luggage brand with 23 stores, for £155m. 06-Oct-2004
Asda is planning to open a new £25m superstore in Walsall next year, with the creation of up to 500 jobs. 04-Oct-2004
JJB Sports, the chain of more than 450 sports stores, has received a takeover approach from private equity firm Cinven. 04-Oct-2004
Hennes & Mauritz is planning to open a further five fashion stores this year, taking the total to 91. 04-Oct-2004
Kingfisher is planning to open more than 100 Castorama warehouse stores in Poland over the next five years. 04-Oct-2004
Co-operative Group is to invest £8m in the development of a 300,000 sq ft distribution centre in Coventry by next June. 04-Oct-2004
Liverpool City Council is considering plans from St Modwen to relocate Great Homer Street market to a purpose-built market hall nearby. 01-Oct-2004
Salvation Army is planning to expand its chain of 49 charity shops to about 200 sites, and aims to create a more professional retailing operation by targeting shopping centres. 30-Sep-2004
Clinton Cards is planning to open a further 40 greetings card stores over the next few months, and expects the chain to reach 1,000 by 2010. 29-Sep-2004
DFS, the furniture retailer, is to return to private ownership in a £507m deal with its founder. 28-Sep-2004
Winchester City Council is close to finalising an agreement with Thornfield Properties for the £100m Friarsgate/Broadway development in the city centre, including a new retail centre with 41 shops. 27-Sep-2004
Arcadia's owner is planning to set up a £10m retail academy, in order to train school leavers in all aspects of the retail sector. 27-Sep-2004
Unwins, the off-licence chain, has received takeover approaches from eight unnamed companies. 27-Sep-2004
Marks & Spencer is interested in developing up to 50 out-of-town stores, and is also considering plans to close its only remaining Lifestyle store in Kingston-upon-Thames. 27-Sep-2004
AF Blakemore has expanded its chain of Tates grocery stores with the acquisition of four central London outlets from Lords Food & Wine, taking the total to 193. 27-Sep-2004
Gamestation is planning to open about 70 computer games stores by the end of next year. 27-Sep-2004
Morrisons is to sell the Safeway store at Norwood, Beverley, to Netto, but the staff will not be transferred as Netto plans to redevelop the site. 23-Sep-2004
Capital & Regional and Morley Fund Management are planning to invest £20m in improvements to the Cleveland shopping centre in Middlesbrough over the next three years. 23-Sep-2004
Thornfield Properties has won planning permission for the £20m regeneration of Thornaby town centre on Teesside, including new shops and offices. 22-Sep-2004
Budda Group is planning to open about five coffee houses over the next 12 months, having just revamped its flagship bar in Glasgow's St Vincent Street. 22-Sep-2004
Tesco is to buy ten former Safeway stores from Morrisons for up to £120m. 21-Sep-2004
Zushi is planning to set up a nationwide chain of about 50 sushi conveyor restaurants, having just opened the first in Cardiff. 20-Sep-2004
Capital & Regional is planning to double its portfolio of 21 covered shopping centres over the next three years. 20-Sep-2004
Index is planning to open 100 catalogue stores on retail parks over the next few years. 20-Sep-2004
Courts, the furniture retailer, is planning to relocate its Wimbledon head office to an existing site in Morden. 20-Sep-2004
Furniture Village is planning to expand its chain of 29 stores with about ten more sites over the next two years. 20-Sep-2004
Ikea has submitted plans to build a furniture store in Doncaster, creating up to 500 jobs. 17-Sep-2004
Laura Ashley, the clothing and furnishings retailer, has announced plans to shed up to 130 jobs at factories in Newtown and Carno in mid Wales and at its London head office. 15-Sep-2004
Ernst & Young is to close 70 of the 180 Your More Store discount shops, which will mainly affect sites in northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. 15-Sep-2004
Morrisons has agreed to sell four Safeway stores to Asda, including sites in Shrewsbury, Coventry, Burton on Trent and Northampton. 14-Sep-2004
Preston Council has approved plans from Warner Estates to expand the Fishergate Centre with 12 new shops and a department store, creating 300 jobs. 13-Sep-2004
Mappin & Webb is looking to sell its TM Sutton pawnbroking division, which includes three outlets in London. 13-Sep-2004
Fech, the Winchester-based retailer of gourmet ready meals, is seeking franchisees to establish a chain of outlets. 13-Sep-2004
Co-operative Group has awarded a multi-million pound contract to Manhattan Associates to overhaul its supply chain systems. 13-Sep-2004
Marks & Spencer is in discussions to outsource its online retailing division to Amazon. 13-Sep-2004
Culpeper has raised £1m to fund the expansion of its herbal products retailing business, and up to six new outlets will open next year. 13-Sep-2004
Bhs is investing £20m in the refurbishment of 50 department stores by the end of October, and plans to open five new stores next year. 13-Sep-2004
Tesco has identified a suitable site for a new superstore in Berwick, close to a site that Asda is interested in. 10-Sep-2004
Capital Shopping Centres has unveiled revised plans for the £220m revamp of the Westgate shopping centre in Oxford, including 50 new shops and a John Lewis department store. 10-Sep-2004
Woolworths is to convert a further 75 of its 806 stores to the 10/10 concept next year, at a cost of £40m. 09-Sep-2004
Little Chef has put 38 of its roadside cafes up for sale, with a price tag of about £10m. 09-Sep-2004
Azendi is planning to expand its chain of four jewellery stores by opening three or four new sites next year. 08-Sep-2004
Vom Fass of Germany is planning to open up to 50 off-licence stores in the UK by 2007, to add to the existing six. 08-Sep-2004
Argos is seeking permission to set up a flagship store at the £100m Cattle Market development in Gloucester. 07-Sep-2004
Wagamama has raised £13m to double the size of its chain of noodle bars to 50. 07-Sep-2004
Comet is to create more than 300 jobs at its newly-opened distribution centre in Skelmersdale over the next two years, and the site will be operated by Exel. 06-Sep-2004
Arcadia has identified 60 potential sites to set up new Topshop fashion stores. 06-Sep-2004
Dobbies Garden Centres has sold a site at Emstrey near Shrewsbury for £0.9m for alternative development purposes, in order to integrate the business with its other garden centre nearby. 02-Sep-2004
Dundees is setting up a chain of 13 sandwich shops on Tyneside following the acquisition of sites from Milligans and Nichol & Laidlow, and about 25 staff will be added to its 60-strong workforce. 01-Sep-2004
Lancashire Homes & Gardens is planning to close its garden centre in Haslingden, Lancashire, with the loss of 180 jobs, and the site is expected to be acquired by Tesco. 01-Sep-2004
WH Smith is to trial mobile phone kiosks in eight of its high street stores, in a joint venture with Virgin Mobile. 01-Sep-2004
Royal Mail is looking to sell about 50 of its large High Street branches to convenience store groups as part of a cost reduction programme, but smaller Post Office franchises could be offered at some of the sites. 31-Aug-2004
Littlewoods is creating 250 temporary jobs at its home shopping call centre in Crosby. 31-Aug-2004
Orange is to expand its chain of 250 mobile phone stores with 20 new sites by the end of the year. 30-Aug-2004
Dreams is to open ten new bed superstores over the next ten weeks, and aims to reach 200 sites eventually. 30-Aug-2004
Denbighshire County Council has approved plans for the expansion of the Tweedmill retail centre in St Asaph, with the creation of up to 50 jobs. 27-Aug-2004
Walsall Council has announced plans for the development of a £50m shopping centre next to the Shannons Mill designer outlet, with the creation of about 800 jobs. 25-Aug-2004
Tesco is seeking permission to build a "store on stilts" in Whitehaven, with the creation of 150 jobs. 23-Aug-2004
Sainsbury is considering plans to vacate its headquarters in Holborn, three years after moving there, in order to relocate outside London. 23-Aug-2004
Osim of Singapore has opened its third health food store in Solihull, as part of plans to open a 50-strong nationwide chain over the next five years. 23-Aug-2004
Bolton Council is considering plans from Agora Shopping Centres to extend the Market Place centre with an additional 100,000 sq ft of retail space. 23-Aug-2004
Toys R Us, the operator of 65 toy shops in the UK, is considering plans for a management buy-out from its US parent. 23-Aug-2004
Gymboree of the US is to close its 17 children's clothing stores in the UK and five stores in Ireland. 20-Aug-2004
The Department of Health is planning to introduce legislation that will allow supermarkets to open 24-hour pharmacies. 16-Aug-2004
Linens Direct is planning to expand its chain of 28 soft furnishing stores with four new sites in the Midlands and the south this year. 16-Aug-2004
Mothercare has appointed Exel to handle its reverse logistics operation, which will involve managing the return of products from the 233 stores to the Coventry distribution centre. 16-Aug-2004
Murphy & Nye is seeking franchise partners to expand its nautical fashion brand across the country, and believes there is potential for about ten stores. 16-Aug-2004
Turkington is planning to set up the first four motorway service stations in Northern Ireland, and discussions with potential store operators will start next month. 13-Aug-2004
Homestyle, the furniture retailer, is looking to sell its Bensons Beds business for up to £130m. 12-Aug-2004
Bibby Distribution has won a £5m contract to handle discount clothing chain Ethel Austin's nationwide haulage operation. 09-Aug-2004
Wine Cellar, the chain of 250 off-licences, is relocating its head office and 65 staff from Warrington to The Heath Business & Technical Park in Runcorn. 09-Aug-2004
Greggs is to increase capital expenditure from £32m to £50m in 2005, in order to invest in new bakery stores and production facilities. 09-Aug-2004
Halfords is to accelerate plans to add 35 mezzanine floors into its car parts stores over the next year, due to concerns about a possible planning clampdown. 09-Aug-2004
Littlewoods is closing its store in Oxford with immediate effect, with the loss of 26 jobs. 04-Aug-2004
Jacksons Landing, the Hartlepool-based retail centre, has closed with the loss of up to 60 jobs, and Hartlepool Borough Council is seeking an alternative use for the site. 04-Aug-2004
Courtney Airsavers is planning to expand its Newcastle-based chain of four travel agents across the north of England, including acquisitions and new branches in Leeds, Sheffield, Hull and Liverpool. 03-Aug-2004
National Schoolwear Centres is planning to expand its chain of 37 schoolwear stores to 50 by the end of the year and 90 within the next three years. 03-Aug-2004
Matalan is to open a £1m clothing superstore at the Merry Hill Centre in the West Midlands in November, with the creation of more than 100 jobs. 02-Aug-2004
Games Workshop is to create up to 100 jobs over the next year with a £10m investment in new offices and a warehouse in Nottingham. 02-Aug-2004
New Look is to close its fashion distribution centre in Weymouth in September 2005 with the loss of 580 jobs, in order to set up a new site in Newcastle-under-Lyme. 02-Aug-2004
Exel has won a £150m contract to provide a distribution service to Nisa-Today's 3,500 stores across southern England and manage a new 80,000 sq ft distribution centre in Harlow. 02-Aug-2004
David Morgan, the Cardiff-based department store due to cease trading next year, is to be acquired by Legal & General for £29m. 02-Aug-2004
TK Maxx is looking to expand its chain of 154 discount fashion stores to about 300, and 30 sites will be refurbished this year. 30-Jul-2004
Monsoon is planning to set up a chain of childrenswear stores, following the success of a trial at Brent Cross, London. 30-Jul-2004
Gamestation is planning to expand its chain of 180 computer games stores to about 200 by the end of the year. 30-Jul-2004
Body Shop International has acquired its Canadian franchisee, which operates 111 stores, for £11m. 26-Jul-2004
Tesco is to shed 420 jobs at offices in Cardiff, Dundee and Welwyn Garden City, in order to transfer IT support and invoice processing work to India. 23-Jul-2004
Tesco is to pay £140m for a 50% stake in Hymall, the Chinese chain of 25 hypermarkets. 15-Jul-2004
Merchant Retail Group is looking to sell its Joplings department stores in Hexham, Sunderland and Leamington Spa, with the loss of more than 600 jobs, while its Tynedale Park store is being sold to Tesco. 13-Jul-2004
Tesco has won approval from Flintshire County Council to build a superstore in Holywell town centre. 12-Jul-2004
DP Furniture Express is planning to open at least ten more stores and a distribution centre in Liverpool this year, and is also considering acquisitions and a flotation. 12-Jul-2004
Luton Borough Council has announced proposals to redevelop Luton town centre, including improvements at the Arndale shopping centre. 12-Jul-2004
HMV is to spend £10m refurbishing stores this year, and up to 25 new outlets will be opened. 12-Jul-2004
HobbyCraft is planning to expand its chain of 19 hobby supermarkets to about 60. 12-Jul-2004
Ben Sherman is planning to open two new standalone fashion stores and 20 concessions over the next 12 months. 12-Jul-2004
Asda is planning to open its first stand-alone general merchandise store in Walsall in October. 06-Jul-2004
Hobbs, the fashion retailer with more than 50 stores, has appointed Hawkpoint Partners to consider options for a sale or flotation. 05-Jul-2004
Cotton Traders is considering plans to open leisurewear stores at motorway service stations, depending on the success of a trial on the M5. 05-Jul-2004
Cotswold Outdoor is planning to double its chain of 15 camping and outdoor sports stores over the next five years. 05-Jul-2004
John Lewis is to create 25 jobs at a new 161,000 sq ft furniture distribution warehouse at Grange Park in Northamptonshire. 01-Jul-2004
Monsoon, the fashion retailer, has acquired 21 high street stores from Dixons and capital expenditure will rise from £13m to £33m this year. 01-Jul-2004
La Tasca Restaurants is planning to expand its chain of 39 tapas bars with up to ten new outlets this year. 01-Jul-2004
Morrisons is said to be looking to sell off up to 120 small Safeway stores, in addition to the 52 sites that must be sold to meet the requirements of the Competition Commission. 30-Jun-2004
Carpetright is planning to expand its chain of 364 carpet stores in the UK and Ireland to 450 by 2009. 30-Jun-2004
John Lewis is to build a department store in Lisburn with the creation of almost 1,000 jobs, and construction work is expected to start next year. 30-Jun-2004
Nisa-Today is planning to build a £30m distribution centre at the Normanby Enterprise Park in North Lincolnshire, with the creation of up to 300 jobs. 30-Jun-2004
Gresham, the private equity firm, is to help finance a multi-million pound expansion by Wirral-based Cooltrader, which will involve opening 40 discount frozen food stores over the next four years. 29-Jun-2004
Build-a-Bear Workshop of the US is to expand its chain of two teddy bear stores in the UK with a £4m investment from Wittington Investments. 28-Jun-2004
Barclays Ventures has awarded £5m of funding to 99p Stores to expand its chain of 20 discount stores to 70 over the next three years. 28-Jun-2004
Mulberry is planning to open a limited number of luxury goods stores and concessions in the UK, and is also looking to expand in the US and Asia. 28-Jun-2004
Body Shop International is paying £11m for a 75% stake in its Mighty Ocean franchise in Hong Kong, in preparation for its expansion into China. 28-Jun-2004
Tiffinbites is planning to open 50 Indian-style fast food shops over the next three years. 28-Jun-2004
Bathstore is planning to expand its chain of 63 bathroom shops with 30 more outlets this year. 28-Jun-2004
Music Zone is to invest £10m in the expansion of its chain of 53 music stores to about 100 over the next three years. 28-Jun-2004
Castle Morpeth Council is to consider plans from Trinity Development Company for a £35m retail, housing and leisure development in Morpeth town centre. 25-Jun-2004
Scotmid has acquired 13 grocery stores in Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife from Sokolowski of Haddington for undisclosed terms. 25-Jun-2004
Coffee 1 is planning to open 16 more coffee shops in South Wales and the West Country over the next three years. 24-Jun-2004
Dixons is planning to create 2,000 jobs across Europe and 1,000 in the UK this financial year, by expanding its chain of electrical goods stores. 24-Jun-2004
Wagamama, the chain of 24 noodle bars, is in talks with Hutton Collins about the possibility of a £60m secondary buy-out. 23-Jun-2004
Marks & Spencer has announced plans to set up a 90,000 sq ft superstore at the Broughton Shopping Park near Chester, with the creation of 850 jobs. 21-Jun-2004
Morrisons has acquired a 14-acre fruit packing site at Thrapston, Northamptonshire, from The Greenery, and will create 300 new jobs. 21-Jun-2004
Costco is planning to expand its chain of 15 warehouse club stores, and is in negotiations for a further 40 sites. 21-Jun-2004
Crest Nicholson has submitted plans for a £100m mixed-use development in Camberley, including 120,000 sq ft of retail space, a cinema and bowling. 21-Jun-2004
Price-drop.tv is planning to open a chain of 10 shops this year, and a further 10 in 2005, following a successful trial in Hatfield. 21-Jun-2004
Asda has submitted plans to build a £15m superstore in Whitehaven by 2006, with the creation of up to 350 jobs. 18-Jun-2004
Flintshire County Council is to consider plans from Hercules Unit Trust and Development Securities to extend a retail park in Broughton, including a two-storey Marks & Spencer store and up to 850 new jobs. 16-Jun-2004
Littlewoods is to close its Shop Direct call centres in Widnes and Leeds with the loss of 600 jobs, in order to transfer the work to its sites in Bolton, Burnley and Preston. 16-Jun-2004
Asda is to create 250 new jobs with the £18m expansion of its Boldon Colliery store on Wearside by July 2005. 15-Jun-2004
Signet, the jewellery retailer, is to relocate 85 jobs in its finance, IT and human resources departments from London to Birmingham. 14-Jun-2004
Waitrose is recruiting 50 staff for a new store due to open in Newmarket in October, while 200 staff will transfer from its existing site. 14-Jun-2004
Blueheath is planning to raise up to £15m in a flotation on Aim to fund the expansion of its distribution service for small retailers. 14-Jun-2004
Rituals of the Netherlands is planning to open 30 cosmetics and homewares stores a year in the UK, starting with a five-store trial. 14-Jun-2004
Caffe Nero has acquired eight stores in the south of England from Coffee Republic for £0.7m, taking its chain to 171 sites. 11-Jun-2004
Video Island has secured £6m of private equity to fund the expansion of its online DVD rental service. 11-Jun-2004
Styles & Wood has won a £10m contract to refit stores for Waitrose, and has also announced a multi-million pound package of debt and working capital from Royal Bank of Scotland to fund acquisitions. 10-Jun-2004
EasyGroup is expected to close its internet cafe on London's Oxford Street in order to focus on smaller concessions. 07-Jun-2004
Big Food Group is to close its Booker distribution depot in Didcot with the loss of 145 jobs, but 100 jobs will be created at depots in Wellingborough, Hatfield, Haydock and Livingstone. 04-Jun-2004
Welcome Break is to sell nine motorway service stations to Rotch Property, in a £270m sale and leaseback arrangement. 03-Jun-2004
Marks & Spencer has won planning permission for the £125m redevelopment of its Baker Street headquarters in London, including seven floors of office space, a health club and 32 new homes. 03-Jun-2004
Tesco is seeking permission to build a 726,000 sq ft distribution centre in Peterborough, with the creation of up to 1,000 jobs. 02-Jun-2004
Homestyle has completed the sale of home furnishings retailer Rosebys to management, and plans have been announced to close 60 of the stores over the next two years. 02-Jun-2004
Tomo is to open two new mobile phone stores in Glasgow with the creation of 50 jobs. 01-Jun-2004
Co-operative Group Pharmacy has acquired five stores in Norfolk from Typharm for undisclosed terms. 31-May-2004
Cargo HomeShop, the chain of 36 furniture stores, is expected to be acquired by Freedom Group of Australia. 31-May-2004
Marks & Spencer is expected to receive a takeover approach of up to £9bn from the owner of Bhs and Arcadia. 31-May-2004
Burger King is planning to expand its chain of 700 fast food restaurants with at least 25 new sites this year, with the creation of 800 jobs. 31-May-2004
Boots is planning to shed a further 700 jobs at its Nottingham headquarters over the next two years. 28-May-2004
BHK is to expand its chain of 13 flooring stores to 30 by the end of next year, with the creation of 70 jobs, and is considering sites in Hull, Bristol, Teesside and Scotland. 27-May-2004
Ethel Austin is to open 40 discount clothing stores a year until 2009, and is currently in exclusive takeover talks with ABN Amro Capital. 27-May-2004
Woodwards is to close its department store in Leamington Spa in July, with the loss of 66 jobs. 26-May-2004
Virgin Megastores is planning to close or sell some of the less-profitable music stores from its 167-strong chain, but larger stores will continue to open as part of a £90m investment programme. 26-May-2004
GUS has announced plans for a strategic review, which could lead to the demerger of its Experian financial information business and acquisitions to boost its Argos and Homebase operations. 26-May-2004
Tesco is to seek planning permission to build a new superstore in Ballymena. 24-May-2004
Ilva of Denmark has selected Piccadilly Basin in Manchester as the location for its first furniture superstore in the UK, with the creation of 250 jobs. 24-May-2004
Hays Logistics has won a £35m contract to distribute products to 170 Virgin Retail stores, using a 75,000 sq ft distribution centre in Banbury. 24-May-2004
Borders is planning to expand its chain of 53 bookstores by about 25% by the end of next year. 24-May-2004
Network Rail is planning to outsource the property management of the 957 shops at 16 of its largest mainline stations, and tenders will be invited in the autumn. 24-May-2004
David Sands, the chain of 17 convenience stores, is to relocate to a new £1.5m head office and 27,000 sq ft warehouse in Kinross, Perthshire, next spring. 24-May-2004
Abrakebabra, the Irish chain of 70 kebab outlets, is to open five franchised sites in the UK, starting with Banbury, Bedford and Northampton. 24-May-2004
Mothercare is planning to open up to ten baby goods stores a year, and has identified 40 potential high street locations and 20 out-of-town sites. 24-May-2004
Amazon, the online retailer, is to set up a 300,000 sq ft distribution centre at Gourock in Renfrewshire with the creation of 300 jobs. 21-May-2004
Culpeper, the chain of herbalists, is to close its Cambridge-based headquarters in August and relocate its warehouse operations to Braintree and its administrative operations to London. 21-May-2004
Hennes & Mauritz, the fashion retailer, is planning to open a distribution centre in Winsford later this year, with the creation of about 100 jobs. 20-May-2004
Fortnum & Mason, the upmarket grocery retailer, is planning to open its first overseas outlets, starting with two stores in Japan. 20-May-2004
Tesco is to create 400 jobs at a new superstore being built at Clay Cross in Derbyshire. 19-May-2004
Halfords, the chain of 387 car parts and bicycle stores, is to proceed with plans to raise up to £350m in a flotation in June. 19-May-2004
Poundstretcher, the discount retailer, is to relocate its head office from Leeds to Huddersfield in August with the creation of about 400 jobs, and a distribution centre will open at the new site early next year. 18-May-2004
Morrisons is to sell 14 stores with a book value of £110m to Sainsbury, including 13 former Safeway sites. 17-May-2004
Marks & Spencer is planning to overhaul its distribution network and change its supply base so that more products are sourced from overseas. 17-May-2004
Blooms of Bressingham has raised £2.5m in a share placing, in order to develop garden centres in Gloucester and Rugby. 17-May-2004
Music Zone is considering plans to open a chain of book shops, and is seeking sites in Scotland and the north of England. 17-May-2004
Oxfam is planning to set up a chain of 20 fair trade coffee shops called Progreso by 2007. 14-May-2004
Falkirk Council has awarded the contract for the £100m development of Falkirk Gateway to Macdonald Estates and Hammerson, which will involve a retail park, hotel, leisure centre and casino. 14-May-2004
Asda has announced plans to create 4,300 jobs this year, as part of a £400m investment that will include relocations, 21 store extensions and new sites in Dorset, Somerset, London and Merseyside. 14-May-2004
Tesco is to expand its distribution centre in Middlewich, with the creation of 30 jobs. 13-May-2004
David McLean is planning a £75m mixed-use scheme at Chester Racecourse, including retail space, restaurants, homes and offices. 13-May-2004
John David Group is planning to close up to 35 sports stores and may put itself up for sale. 12-May-2004
Musgrave is planning to open 25 SuperValu and Centra food stores in Northern Ireland this year, taking the total to 130. 12-May-2004
Tesco has secured planning permission to build a £10m superstore in south Belfast, with the creation of up to 500 jobs. 10-May-2004
Waitrose is to set up a 210,000 sq ft distribution centre at Bardon in Leicestershire by April 2005, which will be operated by Hays Logistics. 10-May-2004
Debenhams is to relocate its Exeter department store to the £175m Princesshay development. 10-May-2004
Unwins, the chain of 388 off-licences, is to seek outside investors and the owners could even sell off the whole business. 10-May-2004
Blacks Leisure is planning to open 30 stores this year, and is interested in sites being vacated by Dixons. 10-May-2004
Morrisons is planning to recruit 700 additional staff for its new headquarters in Bradford over the next 12 months, while only a few of its recently-acquired Safeway staff are expected to relocate from Hayes. 06-May-2004
Tesco is to build a new superstore at Cheetham Hill in Manchester, with the creation of 400 jobs. 06-May-2004
Somerfield is to close 22 Kwik Save stores in Scotland and a depot in East Kilbride with the loss of up to 650 jobs, and a further 29 will be converted to the Somerfield format. 06-May-2004
Matalan, the discount clothing and home furnishings retailer, is planning to add 350,000 sq ft of selling space this year, while 38 stores will be modernised. 06-May-2004
Birmingham City Council is to consider plans from Standard Life for the development of a £60m retail park on the site of Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College, and the college will move to nearby Haden Circus. 04-May-2004
Klondyke Garden Centres has won permission to set up a garden centre and visitor attraction on a 24-acre site at Houghton Hall near Carlisle. 04-May-2004
Limavady Borough Council is considering plans from Oakmore Developments for the £8m transformation of the former cattle market into a retail centre, with the creation of 200 jobs. 04-May-2004
Virgin is planning to spend £90m modernising its chain of 174 Megastores over the next two years. 03-May-2004
Body Shop International is planning to open more than 300 stores around the world over the next three years, and is particularly interested in the US, Europe and South America. 03-May-2004
Dixons is to close 106 high street electrical stores over the next three months, with the loss of up to 1,000 jobs. 29-Apr-2004
Argos is seeking permission to build a 730,000 sq ft home delivery distribution centre on the Faverdale Industrial Estate in Darlington, with the creation of 700 jobs. 28-Apr-2004
Debenhams is to recruit 700 staff for a new department store due to open at the MetroCentre in Gateshead this autumn. 27-Apr-2004
TK Maxx, the clothing retailer, is said to be planning to transfer its warehousing and distribution operation to Walsall's Green Lane, with the creation of 850 jobs. 27-Apr-2004
Dreams, the bed retailer, is to set up a 50,000 sq ft head office for 120 staff in Loudwater. 26-Apr-2004
Jimmy Choo is planning to expand its chain of 22 luxury goods stores in eight countries to 50 over the next five years. 26-Apr-2004
Mexx is planning to expand its chain of eight fashion stores and 120 concessions, and its largest site will open at the Bullring in Birmingham in September. 26-Apr-2004
Brown & Jackson is to raise £25m in a share issue to fund the conversion of Poundstretcher discount stores into the Instore format. 26-Apr-2004
Laura Ashley is planning to relocate 30 of its 200 stores from high street location to out-of-town sites over the next two years. 26-Apr-2004
Spark Response is to create 150 jobs at its call centre in Gateshead, having won a number of new outsourcing contracts. 22-Apr-2004
Jessops, the camera retailer, is to relocate its distribution activities from sites in Leicestershire to a Unipart site in Weedon, Northamptonshire, with the transfer of up to 155 staff. 22-Apr-2004
Specsavers is planning to open 40 optician outlets throughout the country this year, with the creation of 400 jobs. 20-Apr-2004
Oil & Vinegar, the Dutch food retailer, is to expand its chain of 14 UK-based stores to 30 by the end of the year. 20-Apr-2004
BP Retail is planning to convert a further 70 of its 600 company-owned forecourt convenience stores to the Connect format this year. 20-Apr-2004
WH Smith has received a £937m takeover approach from private equity group Permira, while plans have been announced to shed 300 jobs at offices in Swindon and London. 19-Apr-2004
Morrisons is expected to shed a further 200 to 300 jobs at the Safeway head office in Hayes, in preparation for the relocation of its corporate functions to a new office in Bradford in the next 18 months. 19-Apr-2004
Costcutter and Numark are planning to open a chain of about 20 combined pharmacy and convenience stores. 19-Apr-2004
Julian Graves is to open 15 kiosks selling specialist ingredients at hospitals, stations and shopping malls over the next 12 months, and 50 new stores are also planned. 19-Apr-2004
Asda is in discussions to acquire a number of the 24 Big W sites from Woolworths, in order to establish out-of-town stores for its George fashion range. 19-Apr-2004
Big Food Group is to accelerate the programme to refurbish its Iceland food stores from three to six sites a week. 19-Apr-2004
Ilva of Denmark is planning to open 20 furniture superstores in the UK over the next ten years, and is expected to sign a number of leases over the next few weeks. 19-Apr-2004
Glasgow City Council has approved plans from Alba Town for a £30m shops and housing development at Glasgow Cross. 15-Apr-2004
Keep Able is to expand its West Midlands-based mobility aids business by opening more shops, with the creation of more than 100 jobs. 14-Apr-2004
Pets at Home, the Cheshire-based chain of 150 stores, is planning to open a further 100 superstores and 100 high street outlets over the next five years, and 300 jobs will be created at 20 new stores this year. 14-Apr-2004
WH Smith is looking to sell its Asia-Pacific operations, which include two book retailing chains in Australia and New Zealand. 13-Apr-2004
Mappin & Webb is to set up a flagship jewellery store on New Bond Street in London. 13-Apr-2004
Dixons has outsourced its Sheffield-based customer service centre to Capita Group, with the transfer of 800 staff. 13-Apr-2004
Budgens is planning to convert its 172 grocery stores to a franchise ownership structure by 2007, according to an announcement by parent company Musgrave. 13-Apr-2004
Merv's Franchising is planning to roll out a chain of sandwich outlets, and is currently seeking franchises in Liverpool. 08-Apr-2004
Westfield is to create up to 2,000 construction jobs during the £200m refurbishment of the Eagle shopping centre in Derby. 08-Apr-2004
George Wimpey is considering plans to set up a nationwide chain of home improvement outlets, and is currently running trials in Edinburgh and Cannock. 05-Apr-2004
Hennes & Mauritz is planning to expand its chain of 80 H&M fashion stores to about 100 by 2005. 05-Apr-2004
The Retail Practice is seeking funding of £2m to open up to five Venus & Mars gift shops, following a trial in Leamington Spa. 05-Apr-2004
Netto is to expand its chain of 134 discount stores by opening 20 new sites a year, and believes there is scope for up to 1,000. 05-Apr-2004
Delcor is looking to expand its chain of 12 upmarket furniture stores into new parts of the country, having just opened outlets in Manchester and Edinburgh. 05-Apr-2004
Marks & Spencer is to shed 1,000 jobs from its administration and financial services operations, which will affect sites in London, Heathrow, Manchester and Chester. 05-Apr-2004
Floors 2 Go is planning to expand its chain of about 100 laminate flooring stores to 300, and has just undergone a £70m flotation on Aim. 02-Apr-2004
Carphone Warehouse is to accelerate its UK and international expansion programme by opening 200 mobile phone stores over the next 12 months, taking its European total to more than 1,400. 02-Apr-2004
Steel River is looking to sell its chain of three designer retail stores in Yarm, Harrogate and Leeds, in order to focus on shoe stores and other activities. 01-Apr-2004
House of Fraser is to close its David Evans department store in Swansea next January, with the loss of 245 jobs. 01-Apr-2004
Moss Bros is to refurbish 30 of its 100 Moss menswear stores this year at a cost of £2m, while £3m will be spent on two new Boss stores, a new design for Cecil Gee and new IT systems. 01-Apr-2004
Pret a Manger is planning to open 50 Pret Cafes over the next two years, mainly outside London. 31-Mar-2004
Birthdays, the greetings card retailer, is considering plans to relocate its head office and up to 200 jobs from Bury to Glasgow. 30-Mar-2004
Interflora is to attempt to gain control of the business from its 1,850 florist shop members, in order to compete more strongly with large retailers. 30-Mar-2004
United Co-operatives is planning to spend at least £50m on the acquisition of convenience stores this year. 30-Mar-2004
Boots is to spend £250m opening 40 edge-of-town and 20 convenience stores this year, and about 3,000 new jobs will be created. 29-Mar-2004
Debenhams is to open a department store in Craigavon in the autumn, with the creation of 230 jobs. 29-Mar-2004
Somerfield is planning to covert more than 40 stores to its new Essentials and Market Fresh formats. 29-Mar-2004
Fat Face is planning to open 25 fashion stores a year over the next three years, to add to the existing 70. 29-Mar-2004
Bedeck has acquired the UK licence for the Sanderson bed linen brand, which includes 40 department store concessions. 29-Mar-2004
Hobbs is looking to double its 50-strong chain of womenswear stores, and will also open franchised outlets in continental Europe. 29-Mar-2004
Specsavers has acquired Blic, the Swedish spectacles retailer, and plans to expand the chain from 34 to 70 sites. 29-Mar-2004
Morrisons is to sell 19 stores to Waitrose, including 18 Safeway stores and a Morrisons store in Southport. 26-Mar-2004
Dellstone Fireplaces of Leicestershire is planning to open a further five retail outlets over the next five years, following a recent management buy-in. 25-Mar-2004
Woolworths is to invest £25m in a refurbishment programme for its main high street stores this year, while its Big W stores will be rebranded as Woolworths and some of the larger sites will offer sub-lets to other retailers. 25-Mar-2004
Courts, the chain of 103 furniture stores, is expected to receive a proposal for a £80m management buy-out. 25-Mar-2004
MFI is planning to open up to 40 out-of-town furniture stores over the next year, taking its total number of outlets to 254. 24-Mar-2004
Tesco is seeking permission to build a superstore in Castle Douglas, with the creation of 200 jobs. 23-Mar-2004
Tesco is raising £650m in a 25-year property deal with Topland, which will involve setting up a joint venture company to issue bonds and using the rent from the stores to cover the interest. 23-Mar-2004
JA Magson is to relocate its York-based stationery and toys distribution business to a larger site at Clifton Moor, with the creation of 30 jobs. 22-Mar-2004
Morrisons is said to be planning to close the leaflet distribution operation of its recently-acquired Safeway supermarkets business, which will affect thousands of jobs throughout the country. 22-Mar-2004
Starbucks Coffee Company UK is to start opening coffee bars in Northern Ireland, with the first opening in Belfast in June. 22-Mar-2004
Ocado, the Waitrose-owned online grocery distributor, has secured a £12m equity investment from US-based Goldman Sachs. 22-Mar-2004
Peacocks is looking to expand its chain of 400 discount fashion stores to 700 in the long-term. 22-Mar-2004
Uniqlo is to revive plans for the expansion of its chain of fashion stores, and believes there is potential for at least 100 outlets nationwide. 22-Mar-2004
British Land and Land Securities are forming a £500m joint venture to merge their Scottish shopping centre holdings in Aberdeen and East Kilbride, which will enable them to better manage the sites by moving shops around. 19-Mar-2004
Otto Group UK is to create 300 extra jobs at its Grattan mail order business in Bradford, but 500 jobs will be lost at its Freemans warehouse in Peterborough. 19-Mar-2004
Marks & Spencer is to open a £2.6m store in Omagh next summer, with the creation of 50 jobs. 18-Mar-2004
Wyevale Garden Centres is planning an acquisitions and refurbishment programme to expand its chain of 122 sites. 17-Mar-2004
Sainsbury is to close its High Street store in Walsall in June, with the loss of most of the 125 jobs. 16-Mar-2004
Johnson Service is planning to open up to 25 dry cleaning outlets in London over the next 12 months. 15-Mar-2004
Elmbridge Borough Council is considering plans from O&H Properties for the £100m redevelopment of Walton-on-Thames town centre, including the reconfiguration of 154,000 sq ft of retail space. 15-Mar-2004
Cargo HomeShop is planning to expand its chain of 36 furniture stores with up to three new sites a year. 15-Mar-2004
VV Rouleaux is planning to open ribbons and trimmings stores in Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle. 15-Mar-2004
Johnson Service is to trial dry cleaning outlets in Tesco stores, involving an on-site cleaning system at the Pitsea store in Essex. 12-Mar-2004
John Lewis is planning to open a department store at the Shires shopping centre in Leicester in 2007, and one in Cardiff in 2008. 12-Mar-2004
Christian Vision has acquired the Guildhall shopping centre in Exeter from Axa Sun Life for £44m, and is planning a £1m refurbishment project. 10-Mar-2004
French Connection is looking to expand its fashion retailing business by spending up to £40m on the acquisition of new brands. 10-Mar-2004
Dunelm, the home furnishings retailer with about 60 stores and 1,200 staff, is considering plans for a £300m flotation. 08-Mar-2004
B&Q has announced plans to open 20 DIY stores this year, with the creation of 3,500 jobs. 08-Mar-2004
Margram is planning to develop ten convenience stores on forecourt sites this year. 08-Mar-2004
T-Mobile Retail is planning to double its chain of 124 mobile phone stores over the next two years. 08-Mar-2004
Crabtree & Evelyn is planning to expand its chain of 41 toiletries stores with up to five new outlets. 08-Mar-2004
Homestyle is looking into the possibility of a management buy-out at its Rosebys chain of textiles stores. 08-Mar-2004
Ben Sherman is planning to set up a chain of 27 fashion stores over the next four years, having opened the first in London's Carnaby Street 18 months ago. 08-Mar-2004
Debenhams is looking to expand its franchised department stores business abroad, and is particularly interested in India, China and Indonesia. 08-Mar-2004
Asda is planning to open standalone George clothing stores in Northampton and Preston in May, as part of a trial. 08-Mar-2004
Londis, the chain of 1,956 convenience stores, has put itself up for sale following a strategic review by KPMG Corporate Finance. 05-Mar-2004
Fireplace Store is considering plans to set up a chain of 50 fireplace stores, and is due to open its second outlet in Bristol next month. 05-Mar-2004
Tesco is in negotiations to acquire a 50% stake in Ting Hsin International, the Chinese chain of 25 hypermarkets, for more than £100m. 04-Mar-2004
Unwins Seeds is to close its seed packing operation in Histon over the next six months with the loss of up to 50 jobs, in order to transfer the work to its Chester site. 02-Mar-2004
Marks & Spencer is to create more than 100 jobs at a new store due to open at Parc Fforestfach in Llanelli in the early summer. 02-Mar-2004
Argos is creating 160 customer service jobs at its Argos Direct office and warehouse centre in Stafford. 01-Mar-2004
Perth & Kinross Council is considering plans from Ridale Developments to develop a retail park on a 65-acre site on the outskirts of Perth. 01-Mar-2004
Marks & Spencer is looking to spend up to £50m on the acquisition of sites for its Lifestore homewares format, although only two more stores are due to open by summer 2005. 01-Mar-2004
Dignity, the chain of 507 funeral parlours, is planning to float with an estimated value of more than £200m, and hopes to make up to 100 acquisitions over the next ten years. 01-Mar-2004
Shop Direct is to close its home shopping warehouse in Leeds with the loss of up to 550 jobs, while a further 250 jobs will be lost in Worcester. 27-Feb-2004
Royal Mail has announced plans to close 29 post offices in south Birmingham, as part of a nationwide plan to close 3,000 out its 9,000 urban sites. 26-Feb-2004
Chemicare Health of St Helens is planning to expand its chain of 14 pharmacies in the north west with a £10m acquisition programme. 26-Feb-2004
Austin Reed, the clothing retailer, is seeking a suitable 10,000 sq ft site in the London area for a new head office for 80 staff. 26-Feb-2004
JJB Sports is to create up to 60 jobs at a new sports store and leisure centre due to open on Kidderminster's Weavers Wharf development next month. 25-Feb-2004
East Riding Council is considering revised plans from Key Growing to build a £1m flower and plant packing facility at Plaxton Bridge, Woodmansey, with the creation of up to 150 jobs. 25-Feb-2004
Alliance UniChem is planning to expand its chain of 800 Moss chemists with up to 80 new stores this year, and is also seeking acquisitions for its wholesaling business. 25-Feb-2004
Primark is planning to open a further six discount clothing stores over the next six months. 24-Feb-2004
Apax Partners is to provide £20m of private equity to Silverscreen, to fund the development of a chain of up to 180 DVD stores over the next four years. 23-Feb-2004
Home Bargains is planning to expand its chain of 100 homeware stores to 120 this year, and is seeking sites in the north. 23-Feb-2004
Extreme Group, the supplier of branded sporting goods, is seeking acquisitions to establish a chain of high street stores. 23-Feb-2004
Adnams is planning to set up a chain of specialist food and wine stores across East Anglia, and has also announced plans to build a distribution depot near Southwold. 23-Feb-2004
Wagamama is considering plans for a £50m flotation in order to help fund the expansion of its chain of 22 noodle bars. 19-Feb-2004
Republic has secured a £20m investment, partly from venture capital company 3i, to fund the expansion of its chain of 40 fashion stores. 18-Feb-2004
Morrisons is said to be seeking a suitable site in the Corby area for a 500,000 sq ft food distribution centre. 16-Feb-2004
John Lewis is said to be seeking a 700,000 sq ft distribution centre somewhere on the M1 between London and Leeds. 16-Feb-2004
Subway is planning to open sandwich concessions in convenience stores, and is currently expanding its chain of 231 standalone stores with 20 new sites a month. 16-Feb-2004
Urban Outfitters of the US is looking to open fashion stores in a number of major UK cities, to add to existing sites in London and Glasgow. 16-Feb-2004
Green Baby, the supplier of environmentally-friendly clothing and accessories, is planning to expand its chain of two stores to six by 2007. 16-Feb-2004
Game is planning to open up to 110 new computer game stores across Europe this year, including 50 in the UK. 16-Feb-2004
Apple Computer is planning to open a 20,000 sq ft flagship store on London's Regent Street later this year, selling its entire range of electronic products. 13-Feb-2004
Stationery Box is looking to expand its 160-strong chain of stores by about 25%, and Lambert Smith Hampton is seeking sites in the north and the Midlands. 13-Feb-2004
City of York Council is to consider plans from Gregory Group for a 14-acre retail development in the Foss Islands Road area, including a Morrisons supermarket. 13-Feb-2004
Centrale is to create 2,200 jobs when its new £100m shopping centre opens in Croydon, with retailers such as Mango, Elle and Allsports already recruiting staff. 12-Feb-2004
Welcome Break is planning a £248m sale and leaseback deal for eight of its service stations with Rotch Property Group, as part of a rescue proposal announced by parent company Investcorp. 12-Feb-2004
Halfords, the operator of about 400 car parts stores with 7,000 staff, is considering plans for a share offer later this year. 12-Feb-2004
Waitrose has awarded a £5m contract to Moss Construction to build a supermarket in Droitwich by March 2005. 11-Feb-2004
Dobbies is considering 19 potential sites for new garden centres, and is also looking to open farm shops at some of its existing sites. 11-Feb-2004
B&Q is to create 300 jobs at a new DIY superstore due to open at Trafford Park in July. 09-Feb-2004
Budgens is planning to open a further 30 franchised stores over the next few months. 09-Feb-2004
Cotton Traders is to open three leisurewear shops in airports this year, and hopes to have 14 airport sites in three years time. 09-Feb-2004
GlynWebb is looking to double the size of its chain of 25 DIY stores over the next five years, and will spend £1.5m refurbishing five stores this year. 09-Feb-2004
Whisky Shop is planning to double its chain of six whisky stores, and will seek high street locations across the UK. 09-Feb-2004
Snow & Rock, the operator of nine skiwear stores with 400 staff, is in discussions to sell the business to Barclays Private Equity for up to £25m. 06-Feb-2004
Caffe Nero is planning to expand its chain of coffee bars from 145 to 400, having increased its target from 300 because of lower high street rents and reduced competition. 04-Feb-2004
Early Learning Centre, the operator of 215 toy shops, has appointed Close Brothers to conduct a strategic review of the business, which could lead to a £80m sale. 03-Feb-2004
Asprey & Garrard has secured an undisclosed equity investment from Morgan Stanley to fund the international expansion of its jewellery retailing business. 03-Feb-2004
Debenhams is to shed about 200 head office jobs in London and Taunton, and further cuts are expected among the 23,000 staff at its 104 department stores. 03-Feb-2004
Littlewoods is to close its Business Express home shopping distribution depot in Middlesbrough next month, but most of the 56 staff will be transferred to other sites. 02-Feb-2004
Whittard of Chelsea is planning to expand its chain of 109 tea and coffee stores with about ten new outlets a year. 02-Feb-2004
Vision Express is planning to expand its chain of 203 opticians by opening 100 franchised outlets over the next five years. 02-Feb-2004
CJ Lang is planning to acquire 17 Spar stores in Scotland from AJ Gillespie, taking its chain to 70. 02-Feb-2004
Bargain Booze, the off licence chain, is seeking a suitable location to open a third distribution depot by the end of next year, to add to existing sites in Crewe and Stoke. 02-Feb-2004
Sainsbury has announced a £550m deal to acquire Swan Infrastructure, the company set up by Accenture to operate its tills and IT systems, in order to save £25m a year. 30-Jan-2004
Tesco is said to be in negotiations with property firm Topland for the £600m sale and leaseback of about 30 stores. 30-Jan-2004
Marks & Spencer is considering plans to set up a separate chain of stores for its per una fashion brand, with the first expected to open in Chelsea in June. 30-Jan-2004
Boots is to outsource its Nottingham-based D82 Warehouse and 600 jobs to Unipart, while 300 new jobs will be created across the Boots logistics operation to cope with extended working hours and more frequent deliveries. 30-Jan-2004
Shop Direct is to close a call centre in India and transfer the 250 jobs back to sites in Worcester, Burnley, Bolton, Widnes, Preston and Newtown in South Wales, following the company's acquisition by March UK. 26-Jan-2004
Hammerson has won government approval to build an 80,000 sq ft retail park at Thanet, Kent, which will include a Homebase store. 26-Jan-2004
Blackburn with Darwen Council is to consider plans for a £15m extension at the Blackburn Shopping Centre, including an additional 160,000 sq ft of retail space. 26-Jan-2004
B&Q is planning to open a further 60 DIY stores in China by 2008, and is also considering moves into India and Thailand. 26-Jan-2004
Music Zone is planning to expand its chain of 47 music stores with eight new outlets this year. 26-Jan-2004
Monsoon is considering plans to open two more fashion superstores this year, and is also seeking acquisitions abroad. 26-Jan-2004
Tesco is planning to recruit 400 departmental managers at stores across London and the south by the end of March. 26-Jan-2004
Sainsbury is close to reaching agreement to establish a 690,000 sq ft distribution centre at Dartford Park in Kent. 26-Jan-2004
Morrisons is considering plans to set up a 500,000 sq ft distribution centre at Swan Valley in Rugby. 26-Jan-2004
Storey Carpets is planning to open franchised flooring stores across the country over the next three years, while 150 jobs are currently being created at ten new outlets in the north. 22-Jan-2004
Somerfield is considering plans to create a network of franchised supermarkets, in order to accelerate expansion and reduce costs. 22-Jan-2004
Bovis Lend Lease has won a £100m contract from Grosvenor to build the Grand Arcade shopping centre in Cambridge city centre by the end of 2007. 22-Jan-2004
Asda is seeking permission to expand its superstore in Wolverhampton, with the creation of 150 jobs. 21-Jan-2004
Darlington Borough Council is to consider plans from Investream for the development of a multi-million pound shopping centre in Crown Street. 19-Jan-2004
Jessops is looking to expand its chain of 255 camera shops to about 450. 19-Jan-2004
Faith Shoes, the operator of 52 shoe shops with 2,500 staff, has been put up for sale and is attracting interest from a number of private equity groups. 19-Jan-2004
Donaldsons, the property consultant, is seeking up to 25 suitable locations for the Eat chain of premium sandwich bars. 19-Jan-2004
KFC is planning to open 60 fast food restaurants this year, and is targeting the south-east. 19-Jan-2004
White Stuff is planning to open at least three outdoor clothing stores every year for the next five years. 19-Jan-2004
BDO Stoy Hayward is to close 31 of the 106 Sanity music shops currently in administration, with the loss of about 160 former Our Price jobs. 19-Jan-2004
Dixons is to open six new stores in the north-east this year, under the Dixons, Curry's and PC World brands, with the creation of 240 jobs. 16-Jan-2004
Asda is to submit plans to Solihull Council to build a 42,000 sq ft superstore in Chelmsley Wood town centre, which would create 350 jobs. 15-Jan-2004
Tesco has announced plans to invest a further £1.7bn in the expansion of its hypermarkets, convenience stores and financial services, partly funded by a £773m share placing. 14-Jan-2004
Boots is to shed a further 900 jobs at its head office in Nottingham, as part of an ongoing cost reduction programme. 12-Jan-2004
Goldsmiths is planning to expand its chain of 166 jewellery stores with up to ten new sites. 12-Jan-2004
Majestic Wine is planning to open eight new stores this year, and believes there is potential to almost double the chain to 200. 12-Jan-2004
Durham Pine is planning to expand its chain of furniture stores from 79 to 100 this year. 12-Jan-2004
Asda Wal-Mart is planning to build the country's largest supermarket in Milton Keynes, a 150,000 sq ft store at the Wimbledon football stadium project. 12-Jan-2004
Marks & Spencer has announced plans to more than double the size of its store in Ballymena, with the creation of 70 jobs by September. 09-Jan-2004
Signet is planning to refit 80 of its 600 H Samuel and Ernest Jones jewellery stores this year. 09-Jan-2004
Brown & Jackson is planning to relocate up to 100 of its 338 discount stores, while about 20 will be closed over the next two years. 08-Jan-2004
Time Group is planning to expand its chain of 140 computer shops to 160 by September, and GVA Grimley is to advise on up to 90 property acquisitions and disposals. 07-Jan-2004
Highland Council is considering plans from Fairways Developments to build a £3m shopping centre at the Culduthel Farm development in Inverness. 07-Jan-2004
Asda is to create 150 new jobs at its Taunton store by the end of next year, having won permission for an extension. 02-Jan-2004
Marks & Spencer is to recruit 120 staff for a new clothing store due to open in Speke in the spring. 01-Jan-2004
Dobbies has submitted revised plans for the expansion of its garden centre at Ponteland in Northumberland, which would create 80 new jobs. 01-Jan-2004
Stafford Borough Council is considering plans from Oswin Developments for a £3m retail park on the site of the former Burgess business park at The Green in Stafford. 01-Jan-2004
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UK Activity Report.
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