Retail
Claire’s is expected to return to the UK high street from June, with about 50 stores set to reopen under Julien Jarjoura, operator of the brand’s stores in France, Austria, Portugal and Spain. The plan follows the closure of Claire’s final UK stores and more than 1,000 job losses, with Jarjoura aiming to relaunch the debt-free UK business through new leases, revamped stores, retained ear-piercing services and refreshed jewellery and accessories ranges (The Guardian, 01 May 2026).
Lidl GB is targeting hundreds of UK locations for future stores, seeking freehold, leasehold or long-leasehold sites in prominent, high-footfall areas with good access. The move follows Lidl’s plan to open more than 50 stores over the next 12 months, backed by £600m of investment, alongside progress on a new Leeds distribution centre due to become operational next year (Retail Insight Network, 28 April 2026).
Card Factory reported FY26 revenue growth of 7.4% to £582.7m, supported by new store openings and the acquisition of Funky Pigeon, but profits fell as weaker high street footfall, cautious consumer spending and inflationary pressures affected Christmas trading. Adjusted pre-tax profit declined 15.2% to £56m, while reported pre-tax profit fell 31.5% to £43.9m. Like-for-like store sales were broadly flat, with higher basket values offset by fewer transactions. The group continued expanding its estate, opening 27 net new stores to reach 1,117 UK and Ireland sites, while free cash flow improved and supported a higher dividend and planned £15m share buyback. Trading at the start of FY27 was in line with the prior year, though the company warned that geopolitical instability could affect freight, fuel and input costs (Retail Gazette, 28 April 2026).
Logistics
Shein has partnered with THG Fulfil to improve fulfilment services for UK sellers on Shein Marketplace, giving merchants direct integration into THG Fulfil’s logistics network. The service will support end-to-end fulfilment, returns, late-night cut-offs for next-day delivery and broader support for brands looking to scale. The move forms part of Shein’s wider push to localise services for UK sellers, with more than 2,500 UK sellers now active on its marketplace and able to access Shein’s large European customer base while retaining control over their brand identity, content and product range (Retail Gazette, 29 April 2026).
CEVA Logistics has renewed its long-term contract with Ocado Retail, continuing to operate as a national consolidation centre for the online supermarket. Under the renewed agreement, CEVA will manage bulk storage of ambient products and distribution to Ocado’s seven UK customer fulfilment centres, supported by operational upgrades at its Kettering facility including warehouse redesign, WMS improvements and enhanced replenishment processes to increase capacity, efficiency and product availability (Logistics Business, 27 April 2026).
UPS reported a weaker Q1 2026, with revenue down 1.6% year on year to $21.2bn and operating profit falling 23.9% to $1.27bn. The decline reflected lower U.S. Domestic Package volumes, reduced Amazon-related activity, weaker Mail Innovations volumes and wider transformation activity, although UPS said it remains on track for its $3bn cost-saving target and expects revenue and operating profit growth to resume in Q2 (Logistics Management, 28 April 2026).
Office
Fora has agreed to sell its German business, marking an exit from continental Europe as it refocuses on the UK flexible workspace market. The German portfolio includes five sites across Berlin, Frankfurt and Hamburg, with competition authority filings indicating that IWG is acquiring the assets. The move follows Fora’s wider shift towards London and the UK, where it is expanding through new openings in Shoreditch and King’s Cross, while also adopting more asset-light models such as landlord profit-share agreements. Fora operates more than 60 premium, hospitality-led workplaces across London and the UK, supporting around 33,000 users (Coworking Europe, 27 April 2026).
Europa and Mitsubishi Estate London completed the sale of 32–36 Sveavägen, a 7,000 sqm prime office building in central Stockholm, following a comprehensive repositioning strategy. The asset, originally built in 1926 and modernised to high sustainability and digital standards (BREEAM “Excellent”, WiredScore “Platinum”), is 88% let to IOFFICE under a 10-year lease agreed in 2023 for its flagship location. The refurbishment, delivered alongside NCAP, combined heritage preservation with modern flexible workspace, benefiting from a prime CBD location near Hötorget Metro Station. The transaction reflects continued investor and occupier demand for high-quality, well-located office assets in major European cities, with Europa highlighting the deal as the successful execution of its business plan and value creation strategy (Europa Capital, 27 April 2026).
