Select has fallen into administration, placing 1,800 jobs under threat. The retailer has 169 stores across the UK. The fashion chain has been struggling in recent years amid dwindling sales and an increasingly tough trading environment for UK retailers. Select is owned by Turkish businessman Cafer Mahiroğlu, who bought the chain out of administration back in 2008. Quantuma have been appointed as the administrators to oversee the company’s wind down. Andrew Andronikou, joint administrator at Quantuma commented: “We will continue to trade Select whilst we assess all options available to the business, with the aim of achieving the optimum outcome for all stakeholders,” “Options include a sale of the business, in addition to entering into discussions with those parties who have already expressed interest in acquiring the business.” Select, which caters to women ages 18-35, entered a company voluntary arrangement to reduce rents only a year ago, before succumbing to administration this week. It is just one of many retailers who have been feeling the adverse impact of falling footfall, lower discretionary spending and rising rent costs. Earlier last month high-end fashion chain LK Bennett also collapsed into administration, eventually to be bought out by its Chinese franchise partner, Rebecca Feng. Similarly, café chain Patisserie Valerie went into administration back in January, amid a series of accounting errors and difficulty paying back loans. Traditional brick and mortar retailers have been ultimately struggling to compete as shoppers turn to the ease of online, with companies such as Amazon coming out on top. Select in particular has struggled to carve out a name for itself amid the rise of online fashion brands such as Pretty Little Thing and Boohoo.  

London’s iconic toy store Hamleys has been sold to Reliance Brands Limited in a deal of almost £70 million. Hamleys was originally founded in 1760, making it the world’s oldest toy retailer. Its iconic store in the heart of London attracts adults and children alike, both tourists and Londoners. The flagship store on Regent Street boasts seven floors of toys and games, moving to the location in 1881. Hamleys currently has 167 stores in 18 countries. Reliance Brands Limited is owned by Mukesh Ambani, India’s wealthiest man, and it currently operates a chain of 88 Hamleys stores. Hamleys had “pioneered the concept of experiential retailing,” said Reliance Brands’ Chief Executive, Darshan Mehta, according to the Guardian. “The worldwide acquisition of the iconic Hamleys brand and business places Reliance into the frontline of global retail,” Darshan Mehta continued. “Over the last few years, we have built a very significant and profitable business in toy retailing under the Hamleys brand in India.” In the UK, retail sales rose 1.1% in March as milder weather encouraged shoppers to hit the high street, according to latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. This increase is despite the gloomy trading environment to veil the high street over the past few months. In fashion retail, JD Sports also beat the retail gloom as it posted an increase in its annual pre-tax profit, confirming its confidence amid Brexit uncertainty. Many, however, have released warnings surrounding the current trading environment, with Primark warning of the “challenging” retail landscape. Mike Ashley told MPs at the end of last year that the internet was to blame for killing the high street, appearing in front of parliament in December to discuss its future.

International Consolidation Airlines Group (LON:IAG) posted its first quarter results on Friday, revealing that its operating profit will not grow during the current year. The owner of British Airways said that, given current fuel prices and exchange rates, its 2019 operating profit before exceptional items will be in line with that of 2018. It did, however, say that it expects passenger unit revenue at constant currency to improve for the remainder of the year. For the quarter, profit after tax before exceptional items amounted to €70 million, down 62.6%. “In a quarter when European airlines were significantly affected by fuel and foreign exchange headwinds, market capacity impacting yield and the timing of Easter, we remained profitable and are reporting an operating profit of €135 million,” Willie Walsh, IAG Chief Executive Officer, commented on the results. “At constant currency, non-fuel unit costs were down 0.6 per cent while passenger unit revenue decreased by 1.4 per cent,” the Chief Executive Officer continued. For the first quarter, IAG’s operating profit amounted to €135 million before exceptional items. Passenger unit revenue for the quarter was down 0.8%, and down 1.4% at constant currency. IAG said that fuel unit costs for the quarter were up 15.8%, 11.1% at constant currency. Elsewhere in aviation, several airlines have been struggling lately, with Cobalt airline suspending all operations and WOW air suspending all flights amid financial difficulties. Ryanair (LON:RYA) began the year posting a loss for the third quarter, joining the list of airlines facing increasing costs and overcapacity. Hungarian airline Wizz Air (LON:WIZZ) profits plummeted in the third quarter, as rising fuel and staff costs hit its earnings. Airlines have also revealed the damage caused by the global grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, with American Airlines revealing a $350 million blow.

National Express enjoyed growth across all markets in the UK, US, Germany and Spain for the first quarter of 2019. The multinational transport operator said that group revenue increased by 8.3% on a constant currency basis, and 11.3% on a reported basis. National Express said that ALSA, its Spanish subsidiary, proved particularly strong, with revenue increasing up 11.8% in constant currency, and 7.8% on a like-for-like basis. Alongside a strong performance in Spain, Morocco and Switzerland also grew across the period. Easter trading period also proved encouraging, with revenue increasing 9.1% and passengers up by 5.5%, year-on-year. Meanwhile in North America revenue jumped 8.3% in part due to favourable currency fluctuations and in spite of poor weather conditions and school closures. Like-for-like revenue was up 3.2%. In the UK, revenue also increased 4.4%. This was driven by a strong performance at its UK coach business, with revenue up 7%. Its core coach business enjoyed growth of 5.3% in the period, boosted by a promising Easter period. National Express also confirmed that it has renewed its largest Spanish urban bus franchise, with a 10 year contract in Bilbao. It also retained its airside and car park shuttle services at Stansted Airport for a minimum of 5 years.

Dean Finch, the group’s Chief Executive, commented on the latest figures:

“I am pleased all of our divisions have started 2019 in a positive manner and we have seen strong trading over the important Easter period. Organic revenue growth has been secured across all of our increasingly diversified international portfolio. As our acquisition of a majority stake in WeDriveU demonstrates, this diversified international portfolio also continues to present new opportunities for further expansion, which we pursue when they meet our strict financial criteria.

“We will continue to focus on operational excellence to drive shareholder value, by both delivering high quality services for our customers and generating cash to invest in technological modernisation and future expansion. We remain on track to meet our full year profit and cash flow expectations.”

Shares in National Express (LON:NEX) are currently down +0.87% as of 12:59PM (GMT).

Barratt Developments, one of the UK’s largest residential property development businesses, announced that its full year outlook is modestly above its previous expectations. From 01 January to 05 May, total forward sales amounted to £3.37 billion, up 2.4% compared to the £3.29 billion figure from last year. Barratt Developments, who has been awarded the Home Builder Federation’s maximum 5 Star customer satisfaction rating for ten consecutive years, said that it has made good progress on medium term targets. The business delivered a strong performance since the beginning of the current calendar year, driven by a good customer demand and a stable market backdrop. “This has been another strong period for the Group. As Britain’s largest housebuilder we remain firmly committed to delivering industry-leading build quality and customer service and we are proud to have been awarded 5 stars for customer satisfaction for ten years in a row,” David Thomas, Chief Executive, commented on the results. “Trading since the beginning of the year has been strong, the outlook for the year is modestly ahead of our previous expectations and we are encouraged by our continued progress in driving operating efficiencies through the business,” David Thomas continued. “Whilst we continue to monitor the market closely, we are confident of delivering a good financial and operational performance in FY19.” As for the company’s outlook, Barratt Developments expects to grow volume towards the lower end of its medium term target range. Despite the political and economic uncertainty surrounding the UK’s departure from the European union, Barratt Developments believes it is in a strong position to cope with the consequences of Brexit. At the end of last year, a report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said that UK property was at its weakest since 2012, with Brexit concerns continuing to prevail across the market into 2019. In March, house prices fell 1.6% according to latest Halifax figures. At 08:28 BST Thursday, shares in Barratt Developments plc (LON:BDEV) were trading at +0.68%.

Morrisons (LON:MRW) posted a first quarter trading statement on Thursday in which it cited the political and economic uncertainty that continued to impact consumer confidence. For the 13 weeks to 5 May, like-for-like sales excluding fuel were up 2.3% – 0.2% from retail and 2.1% from wholesale. Including fuel, the figure amounted to 2.7%. Total sales excluding fuel came to 2.4%. During the key Easter period, like-for-like sales were up 1.7% compares to the same period a year prior. Morrisons noted the political and economic uncertainty to hit the UK, but insisted its retail sales performance was “robust”. The additional extension of the UK’s departure from the European Union has only prolonged the political uncertainty that hit the nation. “We are improving the shopping trip and becoming more competitive for customers, and are pleased with another quarter of positive like-for-like sales,” David Potts, Chief Executive, commented on the results. “We will continue this important work, including on those favourite items we know our customers want to buy at Morrisons,” David Potts continued. Morrisons said that it expects the market to remain competitive and challenging during the year ahead. It said that its second quarter results will have to compete against last year’s favourable summer weather and England’s World Cup success. Elsewhere in the industry, data from Kantar revealed that Asda has overtaken Sainsbury’s (LON:SBRY) in main store sells. Sainsbury’s £7.3 billion takeover of Walmart owned Asda (NYSE:WMT) was recently blocked by the Competition and Markets Authority because it risked creating a “poorer overall shopping experience.” The CMA said that consumers would not benefit from the merger due to an expected increase in prices, reductions in the quality and range of products on offer and a poorer shopping experience for UK consumers. At 08:04 BST Thursday, shares in WM Morrison Supermarkets plc (LON:MRW) were trading at -1.36%. Shares in Sainsbury’s (LON:SBRY) were last trading at -0.062%.