Morning refresh: What you need to know to start the day
Good morning from the City desk of the Evening Standard.
The demise of Wilko ramped up a gear yesterday after administrators said another 1,332 jobs would be cut and 52 more stores close next week. Bargain retailer B&M said it had struck a £13 million deal to save 51 Wilko stores, but it won’t be keeping the branding in signs the name is set to leave the British high street for good.
Across the pond, it turns out it won’t cost you an arm and a leg to get a stake in Arm when its new York IPO comes around. The British chipmaker said will sell its shares for between $47 and $51 in a bid to raise a little under $5 billion which would value it at around $52 billion, significantly lower than some analyst predictions of as much as $70 billion.
Here’s a summary of our other top headlines from yesterday:
- Blue Light makers STV sees profits down a third as ad revenue slumps
- Two year copper switch off starts today as BT stops selling contracts for services on old network
- Qantas boss quits after airline sold thousands of tickets for non-existent flights
- UK services sector shrinks for first time since January as demand wanes
- Ashtead equipment rentals giants cuts forecasts for the UK as the market there “softens”. but US helps power a record quarter
- British newspapers are braced for a multi-million pound knock as social media giant Meta said it would end its news content deals with publishers across Europe.
And…a huge 30,000 sq ft “Pocket Planet” attraction is to open on Oxford Street in a former New look store
This morning we’re expecting results from cybersecurity firm Darktrace, investment manager Ashmore and property business Barratt Developments.