Retail

The retail sector in the UK continues to be shaped by big forces – driven by the rise of e-commerce and changing consumer spending. Added to this are the wider challenges of economic conditions, supply chain disruptions, and a move to sustainable business practices. This has led to some real challenges for retailers, as well as those who supply and fund them. The position of landlords and property owners, and the public sector’s response to the changing face of town and city centres, remains unsettled. 

Whatever the underlying economic conditions, winners and losers will appear. The pace of change can mean that some businesses will move between these two states, and this will have an impact on their wider stakeholder groups. Some successful retailers have reassessed real estate footprints, digitalised logistics and consumer service operations. Others have reinvented themselves as online only, while some have reinforced the need to have a physical presence in places where customers want them (as opposed to where they have always been). As ever, the outcome for any retail business is about getting the fundamentals right – the right products at the right price and a funding structure appropriate to the scale and ambition of the business. 

At BTG Advisory, we work with retail businesses, their supply chains and funders across the business and economic cycle. We can assist businesses with a diagnostic assessment that identifies viable cost reductions to address inefficiencies, achieve cash savings and optimise the use of working capital to improve overall operational performance and cash flow generation. Businesses may also benefit from an independent assessment of their balance sheet to support viable working capital requirements with growth and investment ambitions.