It’s been reported that Burberry plans to voluntarily return around £6bn in business rates relief that it received from the Treasury last year.
The luxury retail brand has already repaid the £300m Bank of England loan it took out under the Covid Corporate Financing Facility.
Burberry is the first ‘non-essential’ retailer to hand back the tax break, which was available to all retail and hospitality business forced to close due to lockdown restrictions.
Although many of its global stores have been shut, digital has continued to be a key driver of growth for Burberry. It’s also benefited from strong sales in Mainland China and Korea.
In the company’s third quarter trading update, released last month, CEO Marco Gobbetti said: “While the short-term outlook remains uncertain due to Covid-19, we are well placed to accelerate when the pandemic eases.”
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