Phone repair shop breaks the mould

PHONE repair chain iSmash is planning to snap up empty shops on the High Street as struggling retailers are forced to close hundreds of stores.

The firm, which offers cut-price services with an iPhone repair costing around 40pc less than at Apple, plans to open 70 shops by the end of 2020.

iSmash has 26 stores in the UK and is set to make £19.2m in sales this year, compared with £11.5m a year earlier.

It was founded by 26-year-old Julian Shovlin who dreamt up the company just after he left university.