Good morning.
More than 17% of chain stores were still boarded up from the first lockdown as England entered a second national lockdown(£).
Meanwhile Britain’s independent stores are warning of catastrophe, as the lockdown threatens to wipe out Christmas trade.
They are also livid that some chains will stay open and sell ‘non-essential’ goods.
On the other side of the equation, some of the UK’s biggest landlords were among Friday’s sharpest fallers on the FTSE as all non-essential shops shut their doors.
Landlords have accused Clarks(£) of abusing insolvency processes by pushing through its CVA after paying dividends to family shareholders.
Meanwhile, Westfield’s owners have threatened retailers(£) with with legal action(£) over unpaid rent.
Only 7% of Brits want to return to the office(£) full-time after Covid-19 restrictions are lifted. And most of those are people with three kids or more. Go figure.
Business confidence(£) has fallen for the first time since April.
The City is preparing for a second wave of fundraisings(£) before a relaxation of rules on pre-emption rights ends in three weeks.
Capital markets veteran Philip Cropper has left CBRE, after 35 years at the agency.
Savile Row has told the government that an end to VAT-free shopping(£) would not suit, sir.
Housebuilders are still producing homes with the same fire safety defects(£) as high-rise flats.
But its a shame that the housing market is allowed to stay open for lockdown, says The Times (£), because it could do with a break.
The ‘Beverly Hills of Britain’ has blocked plans for a retirement village(£), saying it would drain the town’s “vitality”.
And finally, just when you thought it was safe to go back into the office… The FT (£) says business leaders need to apply lessons learnt from Jaws 2 to Lockdown 2. Apparently this has more to do with managing teams remotely – don’t remember that being a major plot point? – and less to do with electrocuting a giant fish to death.
