HSBC has announced plans to close 82 branches as the group focuses more on online banking.

The banking group has said that despite the closures, there will be minimal redundancies as staff will be redeployed to “suitable nearby locations”. It has not said how many jobs will be affected.

The number of branches in the UK will fall to 511 and the decision reflects “local market trends, customer behaviour and branch usage”.

Jackie Uhi, HSBC UK’s Head of Network, said: “In recent years we have introduced more digital options to make our customers’ lives easier and we know that customers are becoming more comfortable primarily using online and mobile banking to take control of their finances, turning to other channels for very particular interactions.”

The group said that even before the pandemic, the number of customers using bank branches fell by a third over the past five years.

Last year the group revealed a major restructuring plan, where it announced plans to cut 35,000 jobs globally.

The bank said that currently, 90% of all customer contact is over the phone, internet or smartphone.

TSB recently announced closure of 164 branches in the UK.

TSB chief executive Debbie Crosbie said: “Closing any of our branches is never an easy decision, but our customers are banking differently – with a marked shift to digital banking.

“We are reshaping our business to transform the customer experience and set us up for the future.

“This means having the right balance between branches on the high street and our digital platforms, enabling us to offer the very best experience for our personal and business customers across the UK.”

Deliveroo has appointed Lord Simon Wolfson to its board as a non-executive director.

Lord Wolfson is the Next chief executive and started on the board this week ahead of the delivery service’s stock market floatation.

Will Shu, founder and chief executive, said: “We are looking forward to working with him as we continue to innovate, developing new tech tools to support restaurants, to provide riders with more work and to extend choice for customers, bringing them the food they love from more restaurants than ever before.”

Wolfson said the company was an “exciting, innovative and fast-growing company that, like Next, relies on advanced technology to deliver a market-leading proposition”.

Deliveroo has been valued at more than $7b ahead of the floatation, after the group secured another $150m in funding from shareholders.

Shu commented on Deliveroo’s performance over the past year: “We’ve demonstrated our model is profitable. We also saw our existing customers looking to order more often, also ordering for the family more frequently, we saw average basket sizes increase, and also ordering a wider range of products.”

Last year, Amazon bought a 16% stake in the company. The money is being spent on “new tech tools to support restaurants, provide riders with more work and extend choice for customers.”

“We are really pleased our shareholders see the opportunity and growth potential ahead of us,” added Shu.

Superdry shares fell 11% on Tuesday after the group warned over its future amid the pandemic.

In the 11 weeks to 9 January, revenues fell 52% as stores closed amid new restrictions. In the six months to 24 October, the company posted a pre-tax loss of £18.9m, compared to the £4.2m loss a year previously.

Superdry co-founder said: “Covid-19 has brought substantial challenges to Superdry as with many other brands, and this has continued through the first half and into the second with renewed lockdowns in our key markets.

“While revenue and underlying profit have been impacted by the external conditions, the brand has continued to focus on the reset, however, with over 70% of stores currently closed and having to shut a significant number over peak, it will take time to see the benefits of all our hard work flow through to the results.”

In a statement, the retailer said: “The group directors noted that the risks set out … indicate that a material uncertainty exists and may cast significant doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern and, therefore, that it may be unable to realise its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of business.”

Net cash reserves remained strong over the year and stood at £54.8m as of 9 January.

“We continue to have a total of over £130m of available liquidity at hand. Our £70m asset-backed lending facility remains available, having not been used in the year to date, and is currently still undrawn,” said the retailer.

The board has not declared an interim dividend.

Superdry shares are trading -17.08% at 199,00 (1105GMT).

AO World reported a 67.2% surge in revenue after the group saw a strong demand in electrical sales over the Christmas period.

The online electrical retailer saw revenue in the third quarter jump to £457.3m. Sales in Germany alone surged by 77% to €73.6m.

AO World will invest in new staff and infrastructure to meet demand. The group hired 1,500 employees in 2020 and staff in warehouses, vehicles and drivers.

Founder and chief executive John Roberts said: “I believe we’ve seen ten years of change in ten months, and experienced our strongest ever peak trading period… We look forward to the last quarter and the next financial year with confidence as the structural shift to online is cemented in consumers’ minds.”

“Now that customers have experienced a better, digital-first way to shop for electricals, I believe the majority will never look back.”

Despite the positive trading update, shares were down 7% in early trading.

Analysts at Shore Capital commented: “This is an upbeat trading update, which shows the continued momentum given both the structural shift online and the benefit as other brands physical electrical stores remain closed, as they are not deemed essential retailers during lockdown 2.0 and now lockdown 3.0.”

“This is AO World’s moment to shine given that the online market has seen a structural shift that could be permanent by consumers… The big challenge will be whether the revenue momentum can continue during the first quarter in financial year 2022 given the tough comparatives that the business will start cycling.”

AO World shares are trading -5.30% at 357,50 (0929GMT).

European car sales fell to a record low in 2020.

Sales across the European Union fell 23.7%. Just 9.9m new vehicles were registered, which is down from the 13m new cars that were registered in 2019.

The biggest fall was in Spain, where sales dropped by 32.3%. In Italy, sales fell ‐27.9% whilst in France they were down by 25%.

Sales remained weak over the whole pandemic, however, were lowest in March and April amid the initial lockdowns.

“Containment measures – including full‐ scale lockdowns and other restrictions throughout the year – had an unprecedented impact on car sales across the European Union. 2020 saw the biggest yearly drop in car demand, said industry body ACEA.

In the UK, car sales slumped by over 29% last year to 1.63m, from 2.3m a year.

Mike Hawes, the chief executive of SMMT, said: “2020 will be seen as a ‘lost year’ for Automotive, with the sector under pandemic-enforced shutdown for much of the year and uncertainty over future trading conditions taking their toll.

“However, with the rollout of vaccines and clarity over our new relationship with the EU, we must make 2021 a year of recovery. With manufacturers bringing record numbers of electrified vehicles to market over the coming months, we will work with government to encourage drivers to make the switch, while promoting investment in our globally-renowned manufacturing base – recharging the market, industry and economy.”

Sales in electric cars almost trebled this year whilst sales of petrol and diesel cars have plunged.

The SMMT commented on the continuing demand for battery and hybrid vehicles: “Market share for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) continued to grow significantly, up 122.4% and 76.9% respectively.

“BEVs recorded their third highest ever monthly share of registrations at 9.1%, while PHEV share increased to 6.8% – a combined total of more than 18,000 new zero-emission capable cars joining Britain’s roads.”