Arcadia's £350m pensions gap

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Topshop turmoil

Arcadia went under yesterday, leaving the future of Topshop, Miss Selfridge, Burton, and others, in doubt. The collapsed retail giant has left a £350m hole in its pension fund, meaning it can’t cover all its future payments to the estimated 10,000 Arcadia employees with a defined benefit pension. Pension protections will make up the difference for most people affected.

Debenhams going down

In yet more high street strife, Debenhams is also set to close after rescue talks broke down. All 124 of its shops will have to stop trading, meaning 12,000 employees are likely to lose their jobs. JD Sports had been a potential buyer for the 242-year old department stores, but it pulled out.

No lockdown for property

November was a bumper month for the housing market. Prices shot up by an annual rate of 6.5% according to Nationwide’s house price index. That’s the fastest growth the market’s seen since 2015. Mortgage approvals also soared to their highest level since 2007.

Great scotch egg debate

Does a scotch egg count as a substantial meal? It matters: pubs under tier 2 coronavirus restrictions will be allowed to reopen tomorrow, but only if they’re serving their drinks up alongside “substantial meals”. One government minister has said a scotch egg probably does count - but he was later overruled by his spokesperson who said it doesn’t.

Deck the halls

The Christmas tree business is booming as people decorate early for the festive season. Wholesales to businesses are already 24% higher than this time last year as people flock to independent sellers as well as supermarkets and garden centres. UK farms are expecting to sell 10 million trees in total - up from their usual 8 million.