Retail
Poundland owner Gordon Brothers has launched a formal sale process, appointing Alvarez & Marsal to approach potential buyers just over a year after acquiring the discount chain for £1. A sale could be completed before the festive trading period, with Modella Capital among the potential bidders (Retail Gazette, 2 September 2026).
Dr Martens has appointed Isadora Versiani from Marc Jacobs as global product design director and Nadia Svensson from Adidas as global merchandising and product director. The newly created roles will begin in November and support the footwear brand’s consumer-first growth strategy (Retail Gazette, 2 September 2026).
Primark opened its 500th store at the La Cartiera shopping centre in Naples following an €8m investment. The retailer now operates across 19 countries, with further openings planned in Portugal, Romania and the US (Retail Gazette, 2 September 2026).
Ikea is investing €1.2bn in price reductions across Europe, including cuts on hundreds of UK products. More than 1,500 products in Germany will fall by an average of 20%, while Italian prices have been reduced by 22% (Retail Gazette, 2 September 2026).
Asda reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of £5.1bn, although like-for-like sales excluding fuel fell 2.3% and food sales declined 1.9%. However, like-for-like sales increased 0.2% during the first seven weeks of the current quarter, marking the retailer’s first growth in two years and indicating early progress in its three-to-five-year turnaround programme (Business Live, 28 August 2026).
Kingfisher completed the £50m second tranche of its £300m share-buyback programme, taking total repurchases to £125m. The shares will be cancelled, with details of the third tranche to be announced later (Alliance News, 3 September 2026).
Logistics
DP World plans to develop a temperature-controlled logistics hub at the Port of Antwerp, with an initial investment of €48m and total long-term investment of approximately €100m. The 55,000 sq m facility will serve the food, healthcare, pharmaceutical, chemical and technology sectors, with construction scheduled from Q2 2027 to Q2 2028 (Logistics Manager, 4 September 2026).
DHL Group completed its corporate reorganisation on 1 September, renaming the listed parent company DHL AG while retaining Deutsche Post AG as a subsidiary responsible for German mail and parcel operations. The change aligns the legal structure with the group’s five operating divisions but does not affect customer services, contracts or processes (Parcel and Postal Technology International, 2 September 2026).
Dachser Food Logistics has opened a temperature-controlled terminal in Kecskemét, Hungary, capable of handling 40–50 tonnes of food daily. The M5-connected facility will expand cross-border capacity and improve distribution across southern Hungary (ESM Magazine, 2 September 2026).
ID Logistics reported strong first-half 2026 growth, with revenue rising 18.3% to €2.09bn, recurring operating profit increasing 23.3% to €81.1m and net income up 17% to €26.2m. Cash flow after capital expenditure grew 69.9% to €264.8m, while the net debt-to-EBITDA ratio improved from 0.9 to 0.6. The group launched 17 new projects and expanded into Australia, its twentieth market (IndexBox, 31 August 2026).
Flexport has launched its first fulfilment operations outside the US, including a new UK presence in Manchester. Two partner-operated Manchester facilities equipped with AutoStore automation will allow customers to import inventory in bulk, store products domestically and fulfil orders locally through Flexport’s existing freight, customs and technology platform, with continental European fulfilment expansion planned for 2027 (FreightWaves, 2 September 2026).
Office
Burlington is relocating its corporate headquarters to Philadelphia in a move expected to bring around 2,000 employees to the city. The US retailer has agreed to acquire the 441,000 sq ft 3151 Market Street building at Schuylkill Yards for $240 million, shifting its headquarters from Burlington Township as part of a wider investment programme in the new location (Bisnow, 3 September 2026).
Firesprite is vacating its 50,000 sq ft Liverpool headquarters less than four years after committing to the building. The Sony-owned games developer is seeking to sublet the entirety of Duke & Parr following a review of its workspace requirements, with employees requiring a Liverpool base expected to move into Sony’s existing Old Hall Street offices (Place North West, 3 September 2026).
Boyes Turner is relocating to a new 19,611 sq ft headquarters at One Forbury Square in Reading. The law firm will move into the new office in October, providing a more modern and efficient workplace designed to support its growth and changing working practices (Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce, 3 September 2026).
Via Transportation has signed for 55,066 sq ft at 2 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The transport technology company will occupy the entire 25th and 26th floors of the 1.2 million sq ft office building (REBusinessOnline, 3 September 2026).
Cytix is relocating its Manchester office to 4,500 sq ft at 101 Princess Street. The cybersecurity specialist will move from Eagle House on Cross Street into the fitted and furnished fifth floor this autumn, providing space for 48 desks alongside meeting and breakout facilities (Place North West, 1 September 2026).
Aslan Labs Group is close to taking the entire 6,200 sq ft ground floor at The Hythe in Birkenhead. The research and strategy firm selected the building after being unable to find suitable accommodation in Liverpool city centre, although the final agreement with Wirral Council has yet to be signed (Place North West, 2 September 2026).
Dormakaba has committed to remain at its global headquarters in Rümlang, Switzerland, under a long-term sale-and-leaseback agreement. The access solutions group is selling the headquarters property for more than CHF80 million but will lease the site back for an initial 12 years, with extension options of up to a further 10 years, maintaining operational continuity while releasing capital for investment (Dormakaba, 1 September 2026).
Other
Shell completed its acquisition of Arc Resources in a deal valued at approximately $16.5bn, including $2.5bn of assumed net debt and leases. The acquisition adds around 370,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and is expected to support 4% annual production growth through 2030 and increase free cash flow per share from 2027 (Alliance News, 3 September 2026).
Unilever has expanded its UAE partnership with Union Coop by deploying an electric truck on key distribution routes. The initiative is expected to save 8,900 litres of fuel and reduce emissions by 23.9 tonnes of CO₂ annually (Biz Today, 3 September 2026).
BMW North America has signed a long-term lease for a cross-dock facility at Greystar’s Mid85 logistics park in Wellford, South Carolina, approximately 10 miles from its manufacturing plant in Greer (The Post and Courier, 3 September 2026).
Volkswagen’s supervisory board approved a further 50,000 job cuts, taking planned reductions to 100,000 by 2030, as part of the largest restructuring in the group’s history. Volkswagen will also halve its model range and assess alternative uses for four German plants amid falling sales, overcapacity, US tariffs and growing Chinese competition (BBC, 4 September 2026).
