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Bloom & Wild has secured £75 million Series D funding in a round led by US investor General Catalyst with participation from Index Ventures, Novatar, Latitude Ventures, D4 Ventures and existing investors Burda Principal Investments. The funding will be used to help Bloom & Wild expand in Europe.Aron Gelbard, co-founder and...

Westfield Stratford City shopping centre will be the home of a new Covid-19 vaccination centre from this week. Set up and run by East London NHS Foundation Trust, the centre will be open from 8am to 8pm seven days a week and will offer vaccinations on an appointment basis to people...

Online beauty retailer Feelunique saw its sales increase by 39% to £28 million in the 12 weeks to 3 January after its number of active customers grew by 41% to 1.3 million. Sarah Miles, chief executive of Feelunique, said the retailer is on track to exceed £100 million in sales and...

John Lewis has made an early repayment of a £300 million HM Treasury and Bank of England Covid Corporate Financing Facility. John Lewis Partnership said in a statement: “Despite the head winds of the last year when John Lewis stores were closed for several months, and future trading volatility, the partnership...

ASOS has confirmed that it is in exclusive discussions with the administrators of Arcadia over the acquisition of the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands.  Arcadia Group entered administration late last year after the closure of non-essential stores during the second UK Covid-19 lockdown impacted trade. The group’s retail portfolio...

Boohoo has acquired the Debenhams brand and website for £55 million from the department store’s joint administrators. In a statement, the online fashion retailer said the acquisition would provide it with a “fantastic opportunity” to grow its market and increase its wallet share, particularly as Debenhams has a high brand awareness...

AO World recorded its strongest ever peak trading period in the run-up to Christmas.  In the three months to 31 December, UK revenue climbed by 67.2% to £457.3 million while revenue in Germany increased by 77.4% to €73.6 million. In a trading statement, AO said the significant demand for its products...

Hotel Chocolat has posted a 19% increase in total group revenue in the 13 weeks to 27 December. In a trading update, the retailer said strong online growth in the UK more than compensated for the impact of temporary store closures due to Covid-19 restrictions. Meanwhile, sales in the US rose...

Seasalt has said its overall sales increased by 17% year-on-year in the five weeks to 2 January after online sales surged by 95%. International sales were also strong with an uplift of 20%. In contrast, store sales were down 44% in the period due to Covid-19 restrictions. Despite the disruption caused by...

Waitrose has launched two new food collections under its holistic living range which brings together a number of different health focused products. In a statement, Waitrose said the Waitrose Gut Health collection of products is the UK’s first own label range to have a certified gut health claim. Items include a...