Latest news with #Queensgate
The Sun
4 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Major fashion retailer with 180 UK stores confirms it will shut ‘favourite' shop in just DAYS
A MAJOR fashion retailer with 180 UK stores has confirmed it will shut one of its 'favourite' shops in just days. The store creates product ranges across women's, men's, kids, footwear and accessories. 2 2 The outdoor-inspired clothing retailer FatFace has revealed that its store in Queensgate Shopping Centre will close permanently on June 15. A notice in the shop window states: 'Thank you for shopping in our Peterborough store. "Our last day here is 15 June 2025.' The closure comes 20 months after FatFace, which was founded in 1988, was acquired by the leading clothing retailer Next, headquartered in Leicester. FatFace announced a pre-tax loss of £3.2 million last October, which was in part attributed to costs related to the acquisition. Sharing the news on the We Love Peterborough Facebook group, shoppers reacted to the closure. The post said: "I have to say it's shame to see that Fat Face will be closing down in Queensgate. "After speaking with someone in the store for confirmation, I'm afraid that they are not moving to an alternative location either, they are closing permanently for us. "Is this a shop that you shopped in? If you want anything, you'll need to get it quick as it closed in a couple of week's time." Members of the group were quick to comment and one replied: "Another decent store closing, might as well knock Queensgate down, just not worth going into town these days." Popular retailer to RETURN 13 years after collapsing into administration and shutting 236 stores Another disappointed shopper added: "Queensgate is doomed. "First John Lewis then M&S, there's nothing left there now. "They should have left flagship stores alone. It used to be a good place. "The whole city feels tawdry and dirty. I don't go there anymore." Why are retailers closing stores? RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis. High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going. However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector. The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025." It comes after almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024. End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker. It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date. This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023. It is the highest annual reading since more than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns. The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker. Around a third of all retail job losses in 2024, 33% or 55,914 in total, resulted from administrations. Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes. Professor Bamfield has warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector. "By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020." Another added: "I absolutely love this shop! I'll be sad to see it go, a real shame and another loss for Peterborough shipping centre." "I only go into Queensgate to get my nails done and pop in Fatface. I'm really sad it's closing. Nowhere to get clothes for my age now," said another. "Another one bites the dust sadly. Love fatface," said a fifth dissapointed shopper. While another poster wrote: "Fat Face have also closed in various locations from Aberdeen to Sheffield to Gloucester this year. "Anyone thinking retail clothes stores closing is just a Peterborough thing is sadly mistaken. Same happened with John Lewis and Marks and Spencer on a bigger scale. "We have a new occupant imminently for the old John Lewis store, and new shops like Sostrene Greene that people can't find it in themselves to be positive about, it's easier to moan I guess." The news comesafter IKEA revealed yesterday that it is shutting another UK store in just a fortnight's time after 'lessons learned' amid a customer backlash. And that a major high street name is pulling the plug on one of its stores in just two weeks. It's already
Business Mayor
15-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Brookfield nears €800mn deal for European hostel chain Generator Group
Unlock the Editor's Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Brookfield Asset Management is nearing an almost €800mn deal to buy the European arm of hostel chain Generator Group, according to people familiar with the matter, in the private equity giant's latest bet on the hospitality sector. A deal would mark the biggest exit yet for Generator's owner Queensgate Investments, a real estate-focused private equity group with £3bn under management, at a time when market turmoil and slower-than-expected interest rate cuts have weighed on mergers and acquisitions activity. Generator's European arm, which manages 15 hostels in European cities including London, Barcelona and Berlin, would have an enterprise value of €780mn, of which about a third was equity and the remainder was debt, two people said. Queensgate bought Generator for €440mn in 2017. It has since grown it through a US and European expansion, increasing adjusted earnings from the European business from €20mn in 2017 to €65mn this year. Queensgate planned to retain the US arm of Generator, which runs six hostels in the country, the people added. Brookfield, which manages about $1tn in assets, has been among a host of US private equity groups to invest heavily in the European travel sector in recent years, betting that a surge in tourism after the Covid-19 pandemic will fuel demand. Last year, private equity-backed hotel deals in Europe totalled €17.4bn, the highest level since 2019, according to consultancy HVS. Brookfield has expanded its apartment hotel business Edyn across the continent in recent years, and in 2021 bought Spain-based hospitality group Selenta for €440mn. It also owns UK lodging group Center Parcs. Recommended A deal was likely to be announced in the coming days provided no last-minute issues emerge, the people said. Brookfield, Queensgate and Morgan Stanley, which is advising on the sale, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Queensgate also owns the luxury Freehand Hotels chain and London's Grange Hotels chain, among several hospitality and real estate investments. The fund, which was launched in 2012, is run by Jason Kow, an investor who previously worked for LJ Investment Group, a real estate-focused family office.
BBC News
14-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
What will rail station quarter regeneration do for Peterborough?
A £65m project to regenerate an area around a railway station has been welcomed by local people. The station quarter can expect a new entrance, pedestrianised square and multi-storey car park. Business people have been giving their reaction to the news. The project will be opposite the Bourges Boulevard entrance to the Queensgate shopping Bhattarai of the Toast'd Sandwich on Cowgate welcomed the said "we are happy" and now had big plans to turn her business into "more of a restaurant".Her husband Basan described the investment as "brilliant". "I'm going to have more footfall. I'm excited, looking forward to it, hopefully they'll start really soon." Neil Treliving, owner of the Blind Tiger bar on Cowgate, said the area had a lot of issues as it was the "gateway to the city and it has been forgotten about"."We're hoping the regeneration changes that. We've still got bins on the road and they're using this as a car park even though this is a restricted area," he said."We're three years in the making trying to get this sorted."We're hoping the station quarter sorts this out but I'm not optimistic if they can't give us the cafe culture environment that they promised us years ago."It should be pedestrianised. I know that's going to mean problems with deliveries but they've done it on Cathedral Square where you have your deliveries before 10. We'll cope with it."He added the area also had an issue with homelessness which needed to be supported. "We hope the regeneration works; it's a lot of money," he added. Annaliosa Phillips of the Well Skin Clinic said the news was "very positive"."The commuter traffic is very important for us as a business," she said. "The walkway from the station at the moment isn't particularly attractive. I think anything that brings new people into the city is really positive."The plans include a new junction from the station to Thorpe Road at the western end of the Crescent Bridge, with a new pedestrian-cycle route across the Queensgate Roundabout to Phillips said transport links into the city were being improved but it was a question of "whether or not when people come into the city they find what they're expecting"."There's a problem with aggressive beggars, there's a problem with people consuming alcohol in the city centre and I feel the local government really needs to address those issues so that this investment really benefits local businesses," she Phillips said as a destination business she did not rely on footfall to generate trade, but understood others did."Originally this street was lovely. We've been there for quite a long time... they used to do the planters and it would feel like it was well-maintained," she said."But the whole city centre in general needs more maintenance."Things like the litter, making sure the place is attractive and welcoming." Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'You will be missed': Island School's tribute to departing head
AN ISLE of Wight Primary School is waving a huge goodbye to its headteacher of 15 years – as she leaves to take on a new role. Queensgate Primary School, in East Cowes, is wishing headteacher Samantha Sillito all the best in her new position at the Isle of Wight Council. In a touching tribute, the school, which opened in 2015, wrote: 'As we celebrate another amazingly successful term at Queensgate, we also are saying a huge goodbye and good luck to our headteacher Mrs Sillito as she leaves us for her new job. 'For 15 years, you have guided, supported and lead us all, from official Ofted and Royal visits, to fayres and Queensgate runs. Read more: Queensgate Primary School celebrates good Ofsted rating Queensgate Fun Run through Osborne House raises £1,200 Departing Queensgate Primary School headteacher Samantha Sillito. (Image: Queensgate Primary School) 'You have been there through it all and we thank you. 'Our Queensgate community wishes you luck in your new position at the Isle of Wight Council. 'You will be missed.' Reacting to the news, parents and community members have praised Mrs Sillito for her work over the years. Linda Richter said: 'Good luck Sam. 'What an amazing job you have done! You'll be a tough act to follow.' 'Wishing you all the best in your new job, my daughter had a fantastic seven years under your leadership,' wrote Beth Anderson. 'Your hard work and dedication will be a hard act to follow.' Lucy Morgan said: 'Good luck, Sam! 'You've been an amazing driving force at Queensgate, and its success is a testament to your hard work!'
