Hill street blues as shops close
LOCAL LOCKDOWN WOES FOR BOOKIE
GAMBLING giant William Hill has warned local lockdowns will hit its profits as bookies are forced to shut.
The firm said around 10% of its 1,414 branches were in areas suffering “very high” levels of Covid-19.
Closures will wipe £2million off profits for every 100 shops that remain shut for four weeks, it warned.
The setback came as the company said a “rapid recovery” had ad seen customer numbers in its betting ng shops return to pre- crisis levels s in the three months to the end of September.
Group sales fell 9%, but that masked a continuing g rise in online gambling, up 4% in n the UK and 6% overseas for the quarter.
Sky is to defy the gloom on the high street by opening permanent shops for the first time in its 30-year history.
The satellite
TV giant, known for shows such as Riviera, will open five stores this year, starting with Liverpool on Monday. More will follow in 2021. Stores will showcase Sky products and staff will be on hand to answer customer queries. Some stores will also house iSmash gadget repair outlets.
Meanwhile, bosses confirmed plans to hand back £24.5m to the Government that it received for furloughing staff via the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
There was no announcement about whether it would take money on offer to cover 66% of workers’ wages through the latest local lockdown scheme.
It is understood nearly 1,000 William Hill sh shop staff are affected by the current coronavirus navirus closures. closure
The update was the first since the £2.9billion £2.9bi takeover of William Hill was w announced by the owner of Las Vegas casino Caesars last la month.
Waitrose has slashed prices on mo more than 200 every everyday items – incl including meat, fru fruit and v vegetables, a and cleaning p products – by a an average of 15% in a bid to take on rivals. H Half are in its Ess Essential dis discount range. The deals fo follow a s shake-up announced l last week.