AGENDA WEST BUSINESS NEWS: The shockingly long list of trade shows cancelled this year due to Covid 19, plus WHSmith cuts jobs and fashion store’s CVA crisis

WHSmith sheds staff

Ian Carrotte of ICSM Credit said the news that WHSmith were to cut 1,500 jobs was proof of how the pandemic had thrown the printing and stationery industries into a recession. A number of printers had gone to wall during the covid-19 crisis and one of the largest stationers known as Spicers had collapsed already.

He said: “WHSmith has been hit in the high street by low levels of footfall but they are also a feature of airports and train stations. There is normally strong business at transport hubs, which has been damaged by a drop in people travelling. Couple that with the drop in business for printers and stationers – the mainstay of the WH Smith brand and it comes as no surprise that this usually sound business is having to cut costs.”

WHSmith expects to report a headline loss before tax for the financial year ending 31 August 2020 of between £70m and £75m.

Drapers report on latest retail closure

Grace Whelan of Drapers has reported on retailer M&Co who are expected to agree a pre-pack administration deal that will see its assets sold back to McGeoch family.

She wrote: “The deal is expected to result in the permanent closure of 50 of M&Co’s stores and the loss of several hundred jobs, Sky News reports. It currently operates from 262 stores in the UK and employs around 2,700 staff. M&Co appointed Deloitte in June to consider options including a partial or full sale via a pre-pack administration. A number of turnaround funds and private equity firms were approached. In its most recent results, the retailer reported a 40% drop in operating profits to £3.6m for the year to 28 February 2020. Net debt reduced from £19.2m to £8.7m in the year.”

Trade shows pulled leaves 30,000 jobs at risk

The Events Industry Alliance (EIA), the trade show organisers’ lobby organisation, said they have fears over the cancelling of trade exhibitions across the country with around 30,000 jobs could disappear along with £8bn in the UK economy.

The EIA believe that 60% of the supply chain companies are also not expected to reopen in October as furlough comes to an end, according to their research.

Ian Carrotte of ICSM Credit said that with the scratching of some of the biggest trade shows the economy had taken a massive hit. The Print Show, Advanced Manufacturing, IFEX, BBC Good Food Show and the CV Show were amongst scores of exhibitions at the NEC and elsewhere that had been cancelled.

The industry lobby group Meet Expo said the industry needed a date from the Government when they could restart opening shows as a minimum of three months is needed as a lead time. They said: “The exhibitions industry plays a critical role for the UK economy, generating £11bn in economic activity and supporting 114,000 jobs. The industry also creates a trading platform for 178,000 businesses, of which approximately 140,000 are Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME’s), which have seen a significant impact on their sales by the cessation of exhibitions activity.”

Chris Skeith of the EIA said: “The exhibitions sector is a vital enabler of economic activity in almost every sector of the UK economy and failure to provide a go-live date impacts the ability of almost 180,000 businesses to recover. These businesses, including 140,000 SMEs, rely on tradeshows to meet customers and make sales, to launch new products and enter new markets, and the continued closure of events will have a negative impact on employment far beyond the events sector.”

A list of the shows from Meet Expo:

About ICSM Credit

ICSM Credit has more than four decades of experience as a credit intelligence group whose members gain inside information about firms in trouble allowing them to avoid bad debts and rogue traders. To join costs less than a tank of fuel – while at the moment there’s a special free temporary membership offer during the Covid-19 crisis which gives access to free legal letters. ICSM also has an effective debt collecting service which has a global reach – ask for details from Paul.

For details about ICSM Credit call 0844 854 1850 or visit the website www.icsmcredit.com or email Ian at Ian.carrotte@icsmcredit.com on how to subscribe and to join the UK’s credit intelligence network to avoid bad debts and late payers. Follow ICSM Credit on FaceBook, Twitter and YouTube and Ian Carrotte on LinkedIn.

To keep up to date subscribe to the FREE ICSM Credit Newsletter to hear all the latest insolvency news and to see who has gone out of business click on the orange panel on the top left of the home page of the website www.icsmcredit.com or send an email to Ian.carrotte@icsmcredit.com

For details for the work of the journalist Harry Mottram visit www.harrymottram.co.uk