Headlines
• UK to begin vaccinations on Tuesday
• Denmark to impose a partial lockdown in the main cities
• 85% of California’s residents go into lockdown
• Greece’s lockdown extended until 7 January
• Kingfisher to pay back £130m in rates relief
Company news
Food, Drinks & Household
• Games Workshop# – “Following the update in early November 2020, the Company announces that our preliminary estimates for the six months to 29 November 2020 indicate sales of c. £185m (2019: £148m) and profit before tax of not less than £90m (2019: £59m).
We are delighted with the global team’s performance in the first half given the backdrop of major projects and some government restrictions. Further updates on performance will be given as appropriate.”
• Kingfisher – “The board of Kingfisher announces today its intention to return in full the UK and Republic of Ireland business rates relief received as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. Earlier this year the company repaid in full the amount received of £23m under the UK Government’s Job Retention Scheme.”
Retail
• Ted Baker – “We are behind where we want to be on revenue. A slow recovery in consumer demand due to Covid, the latest round of government lockdown measures and the well-publicised heavy discounting online across global markets by many of our peers have led to many of our shops closing for a second time, severely impacted footfall into city centres and a heightened level of promotional activity. This has also impacted our margins and we have taken additional inventory provisions at the half to reflect the impact of Covid. We have worked hard to offset these shortfalls through cost savings and here we are ahead of our plans. Higher cost savings and the ongoing tight control of cash have resulted in a far stronger balance sheet than we envisaged this early in the plan, with significant cash balances and liquidity to see us through the Covid crisis and beyond. Despite reporting material operating losses as expected this year, underlying free cash flow will be positive for the year.”
Other
• Britain is set to administer the first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday, with the NHS giving top priority to vaccinating the over-80s, frontline healthcare workers and care home staff and residents.
• In Australia, the city of Melbourne has received its first international passenger flight in five months. The passengers will test the state of Victoria’s revamped hotel quarantine system.
• UK High Street footfall on the first weekend in December was down 30% compared to the same December weekend last year, according to market research firm Springboard.
• California’s new restrictions have come in to force. Many businesses will be closed, and people will be banned from meeting anyone outside their household. Around 85% of the state’s 40 million residents will be affected by the new rules, which will be in place for at least three weeks and cover the Christmas holiday.
• Schools, restaurants and courts in Greece will not reopen until 7 January, the government’s spokesman Stelios Petsas has said.
• Denmark will implement further lockdown measures in parts of the country Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said. Bars, restaurants, museums and cinemas will have to close on 9 December in 38 municipalities, including Copenhagen, and students in upper primary school, high schools and universities will be sent home. The new restrictions will be in place until 3 January.
• Paris Airshow 2021 has been cancelled, a spokesman for the French organisers said today.
#Corporate client of Peel Hunt
