River Island's rescue restructuring plan has been approved by a High Court judge, preventing the fashion retailer from falling into administration. The plan received judicial approval on Friday after a majority of creditors backed it earlier this week. Chief executive Ben Lewis said the decision would allow the company to align its store estate with customer needs and support its transformation strategy.
Meanwhile, Jaguar Land Rover reported a 49% drop in underlying pre-tax profit to £351 million in the quarter ending June, citing US trade tariffs and a slowdown in sales. Revenue fell 9% to £6.6 billion, partly due to a temporary halt in US exports and the phasing out of older Jaguar models. The company said the new UK-US trade deal would reduce the financial impact of tariffs in future quarters.
JLR, owned by Tata Motors, announced last month it would cut up to 500 management jobs in the UK, affecting 1.5% of its UK workforce. Chief executive Adrian Mardell described the results as coming amid challenging global economic conditions, but expressed gratitude for the swift UK-US trade deal.
In other news, Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill warned that persistent inflation could slow the pace of future interest rate cuts. Pill was one of four MPC members who voted against the recent rate cut to 4%, the lowest level in over two years. Inflation rose to 3.6% in June, above the Bank's 2% target, and the Bank has warned it could reach 4% in September due to rising food prices.
