Over 150 London pubs, bars and restaurants closed permanently in 2020.

As the pandemic has led to huge impacts in the sector, the number of venues dropped from 3,460 venues to 3,303 – a 4.5% drop.

Closures over 2020 were approximately three times higher than closures in 2019. In addition to London, Birmingham and Leeds also saw a large number of closures in the sector with a drop of 8.5% and 5.6% respectively.

Across the whole of the UK, 10,000 pubs and restaurants closed in 2020.

Mark Lynch, Partner at corporate finance house, Oghma Partners, commented on the number of closures for pubs and restaurants in 2020: “This is sadly not the last time we will see this type of data for pubs, restaurants and casual dining as thousands more will close throughout 2021, impacting directly and indirectly on huge sections of the UK population. Lockdown restrictions have essentially frozen Food to Go and food service providers that are unable to service clients as per normal. Pubs, restaurants and food service manufacturers and, to a lesser extent, Food to Go capacity are disappearing from the market. However, we are seeing positive sales growth for direct to consumer and supermarket companies. Indeed, we have already seen a significant shift in consumer behaviour which has boosted growth for those companies in 2020 and could be set to increase as they acquire more market share.

“Unsurprisingly, both overall deal volume and value for 2020 are the lowest recorded since we began this review back in 2009. Despite all the market uncertainties surrounding Covid-19 and Brexit, the appetite from overseas and financial investors has remained relatively positive throughout 2020, accounting for 27.1% and 20.3% of total deal volume, respectively. In 2021 we expect distressed deals to be a continued feature of activity, but our expectation remains that it won’t be until Q2 2021 that we will see year on year increases in M&A activity,” he added.

John Lewis has announced plans to repay £300m in government loans following strong Christmas trading.

The department store will be paying the loan two months earlier than it was due to be repaid thanks to stronger than expected sales over the Christmas period.

John Lewis said in a statement: “Despite the headwinds of the last year when John Lewis stores were closed for several months, and future trading volatility, the partnership believes it has sufficient liquidity [to repay the loan early],”

“Trading during the peak, which includes Black Friday and the Christmas period, held up better than anticipated. As a result, we expect our full-year profits to be ahead of profit guidance provided at our half-year results last September, where we said the most likely outcome would be for a small loss or a small profit for 2020-21.”

Whilst the department store has said it will be repaying the loan, it has still refused to repay the business rates relief received.

In November, the group revealed plans for a £300m cost-cutting drive, which involved cutting 1,500 head office jobs.

Sharon White, the chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, said: “Our partnership plan sets a course to create a thriving and sustainable business for the future. To achieve this we must be agile and able to adapt quickly to the changing needs of our customers.

“Losing partners is incredibly hard as an employee-owned business. Wherever possible, we will seek to find new roles in the partnership and we’ll provide the best support and retraining opportunities for partners who leave us.”

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The $20bn RTD (ready to drink) cocktail market witnessed substantial growth this year at 43%, even more impressive given the collective decline of 8% in global alcohol sales, largely due to government restrictions placed on events and hospitality during the pandemic. Moreover, in the first 2 quarters of 2020, the UK market grew 86% alone, whilst the EU & US Markets are expected to be worth £7.1bn and £6bn respectively by 2026, with the global market for RTD cocktails predicted to hit £146bn by 2030.

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Next has pulled out of plans to buy Arcadia’s Topshop.

In a statement, the retailer said it had “withdrawn from the process to acquire any or all of the Arcadia Group from the administrator”, adding “our consortium has been unable to meet the price expectations of the vendor”.

“Next wishes the administrator and future owners well in their endeavours to preserve an important part of the UK retail sector,” it added.

Other retailers that are in the race to purchase Topshop include Chinese online fashion retailer, Shein, and Authentic Brands. It is also thought that Asos and Boohoo are involved in the conversation.

Shein put an offer of £300m for Topshop and Topman, whilst it is running another process for some other of Arcadia’s brands.

Arcadia’s brands include Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, Miss Selfridge and Burton. Evans has already been sold to City Chic Collective in a £23m deal.

Sir Philip Green bought Arcadia for £850m in 2002, Its collapse was one of the high streets biggest casualties, putting 13,000 jobs at risk.

Ian Grabiner, the chief executive of Arcadia, said in November when the group fell into administration: “This is an incredibly sad day for all of our colleagues as well as our suppliers and our many other stakeholders.

“The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, including the forced closure of our stores for prolonged periods, has severely impacted on trading across all of our brands. Throughout this immensely challenging time, our priority has been to protect jobs and preserve the financial stability of the group in the hope that we could ride out the pandemic and come out fighting on the other side. Ultimately, however, in the face of the most difficult trading conditions we have ever experienced, the obstacles we encountered were far too severe.”

UK retail sales increased by 0.3% in December – much lower than the 1.2% rise expected by economists.

New figures from the Office for National Statistics also showed that despite an online boom, retail sales fell 0.4% in the fourth quarter.

Looking at 2020 as a whole, online sales boomed and hit record highs, however, retail sales in total fell 1.9% compared to 2019. This is the biggest yearly drop on record.

Over 2020, clothing sales were down 25.1%, petrol stations were down 22.2% and department stores fell 5.2%. Online sales and mail order sales saw a record increase of 32% over 2020.

Internet sales at food stores shot up 79.3%, department stores were up 65.9% and household goods stores up 73.4%.

“December’s retail sales increased slightly, driven by an improved month for clothing sales, as the easing of some lockdown measures for parts of the month meant more stores were able to open,” said Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician for Economic Statistics. “Food store sales this month were subdued as retailers reported lockdowns and restrictions on the sale of non-essential items impacted on footfall. “

“Retail sales for 2020 saw their largest annual fall in history as the impact of the pandemic took its toll. Clothing retailers fared particularly badly, with a record annual fall of over 25%, while movement restrictions led to a record year-on-year decline for fuel sales.

“Some sectors were able to buck the trend in 2020. The increased popularity of click and collect and people buying more items from home led to a strong year for overall internet sales, with record highs for food and household goods sales online,” he added.

In separate news, government borrowing continues at a record pace. In December, the government borrowed £34.1bn.

Paul Craig, portfolio manager at Quilter Investors, commented: “With Brexit concluded, albeit rather weakly, and the vaccine rollout well underway, Rishi Sunak may be receiving the message from the backbenchers that the time is right to bring the borrowing under control.”