The high street crisis spread on Friday as Mothercare said it was in talks with its banks, and Sports Direct increased its stake in another struggling retailer, Debenhams. Mark Newton-Jones, the Mothercare chief executive, said it was in talks to raise the funds needed to for a turnaround programme that involves the closure of almost half of its 152 UK stores as sales move online. With its shares in freefall the company, which has an £80m hole in its pension pot, is now worth just £37m. In January, Mothercare issued a profit warning in the wake of poor Christmas sales with Newton-Jones blaming a softening of demand with fewer visitors to its stores and website. “Importantly, there is scope for greater collaboration in the UK in order to roll out an elevated offering to consumers.”

Source: The Guardian March 02, 2018 15:32 UTC