Boohoo in talks to buy Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis
Manchester's thriving online retailer Boohoo is aiming to continue its high street takeover by acquiring the remains of the Arcadia brand - including Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis.
Manchester’s thriving online retailer Boohoo is aiming to continue its high street takeover by acquiring remains of Arcadia – including Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis.
Boohoo made big headlines earlier this week after finalising a £55 million deal to acquire Debenhams – buying the brand name, intellectual property and customer lists of the department store chain (with 124 physical stores set to close down permanently).
On Friday (January 29), Boohoo confirmed it was in ‘exclusive discussions’ to purchase the leftover parts of the Arcadia empire owned by Sir Phillip Green.
Boohoo stated on Friday: “The group confirms that it is in exclusive discussions with the administrators of Arcadia over the acquisition of the Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton (excluding HIIT) brands.
“These discussions may or may not result in agreement of a transaction.
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“A further announcement will be made when appropriate.”
Arcadia – which owned 440 stores across the UK – officially entered administration in November.
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Boohoo was touted as a potential buyer shortly after Green’s multinational declared that it could not longer “ride out the pandemic”.
Fellow online retailer ASOS is already in discussions to take other parts of Arcadia – including the TopShop brand.
The trend of digital retailers swooping in to take brand names but leaving the physical stores has led to growing concern about the future of the British high street. But some economists have suggested that there is still a place for brick and mortar sites in national shopping.
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Richard Hyman, Professor at London School of Economics, told PA: “When [the high street] is allowed to wake up properly, I think you will see a huge amount of the population go out shopping because it is something people miss.”
Ex-Manchester United footballer and Salford City FC owner Gary Neville has also launched a campaign alongside Greater Manchester leaders to drive footfall back to the city centre called ‘United City‘.
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Legendary buffet restaurant could close as plans for ANOTHER Deansgate hotel are revealed
Daisy Jackson
Plans have been revealed for another hotel on Deansgate – and if it goes ahead, it could mean Manchester’s legendary buffet restaurant may close.
Maybrook House stands on a prominent corner in the city centre, where Deansgate crosses with Blackfriars Street.
It’s functioned as offices for years, but now there are proposals to change the building into a ‘vibrant, high-quality new hotel’.
If it goes ahead, the new hotel would provide 240 rooms as well as a new bar and lounge spaces.
Plans for the new Deansgate hotel include a two-storey extension on top of the building, which would bring it to an eight-storey building (still well below the height of neighbouring structures, like the 20-storey Treehouse Hotel).
The team working on the new hotel have said that its design will ‘respect the character of the surrounding area while improving the appearance and experience of the building’.
Other plans include repainting the existing brickwork, refurbishing the concrete panels, and installing more efficient windows.
As for the cafes and restaurants already occupying Maybrook House, most will be able to stay – the plans say that the ground-floor occupiers can remain in place throughout the construction period.
But if it all goes ahead, Cosmo, the world buffet that has been here for almost a decade (and was previously Red Hot World Buffet) would need to vacate the premises.
Maybrook House said: “We recognise that Cosmo is a valued and well-established venue in the city, and are engaging with them directly.”
A hotel operator for the building hasn’t been announced yet, but they said that they are ‘currently in advanced discussions with a prestigious hotel operator’.
Two Greater Manchester towns among 16 UK locations set to get new Aldi stores this year
Emily Sergeant
Aldi is set to open 16 new stores over the coming months as part of its continued expansion across the UK, it has been confirmed.
For thousands of residents in two Greater Manchester towns, they could be about to get themselves a new local supermarket, as Aldi – which currently has 1,080 stores nationwide – has revealed the locations where its new stores will be opening up before the end of the year, and our region is well represented.
Aldi says it has a long-term ambition to operate 1,500 stores across the UK, helping more communities access its award-winning quality products at ‘unbeatable’ prices.
And these 16 new stores are set to work towards that ambition.
Watford and Hoxton in London, Balsall Common and Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands, Malton in North Yorkshire, and even the Isle of Wight are just some of the locations across the country where new Aldi stores will be opening up, alongside the two Greater Manchester stores.
Two Greater Manchester towns are set to get new Aldi stores this year / Credit: Aldi UK
Here in Greater Manchester, it’s been confirmed that Hattersley and Wigan are the two areas chosen by Aldi for new stores.
The announcement of the 16 new store locations follows the opening of Aldi’s new Salford Quays store last month, and also forms part of the budget retailer’s planned £370 million investment into new stores during 2026.
It also comes after Aldi increased pay rates for store colleagues earlier this year following a £42 million investment in pay during 2026.
Full list of new Aldi stores opening in 2026
Hattersley, Greater Manchester
Newport, Isle of Wight
Bishops Cleeve, Cheltenham
Newport, South Wales
Orpington, London
Hoxton, London
Ashford, Kent
Watford, London
Rayleigh, Essex
Balsall Common, West Midlands
Marble Arch, London
Malton, North Yorkshire
Port Talbot, Wales
Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands
Wigan, Greater Manchester
Sudbury, Suffolk
“At Aldi, we’re committed to making high-quality, affordable food accessible to everyone, which is why we continue to invest in expanding our store network across the UK,” commented Jonathan Neale, who is the Managing Director of National Real Estate at Aldi UK.
“Our £370 million investment in new stores this year will help us bring Aldi’s unbeatable value to even more communities, supporting local economies through our industry-leading pay for colleagues.”
The Manc -
29th January 2021 
