Wednesday newspaper round-up: Retailers, Carnival, housing market

Britain’s retailers have warned of the mounting risk of shop closures and job losses across the country after consumer spending plunged to record lows in April since comparable records began as the coronavirus lockdown took hold. Reflecting the impact of lockdown measures across the country, the British Retail Consortium said sales fell 19.1% last month compared with April last year, in the steepest drop since the trade body for high street and online shops started recording sales in January 1995. - Guardian

Cruise company Carnival, which operates the P&O and Cunard lines, is understood to be planning to cut about 450 jobs at its UK arm, equal to more than one in four of its workforce. The world’s largest cruise company employs about 1,600 people at its UK headquarters in Southampton. None of its ships have sailed since March. Workers who keep their jobs will be asked to accept a 20% pay cut until November. – Guardian

The housing market has been given the green light to reopen after the Government announced it would lift the ban on property viewings and valuations taking place. From Wednesday, people will be allowed to travel to visit estate agents, letting agents or show homes, keeping in line with social distancing guidelines. House buyers will also be permitted to view residential properties they wish to buy or rent. – Telegraph

One in three companies that have temporarily shut during the lockdown fear that they may never reopen, according to a survey of thousands of small businesses by Britain’s largest employers’ group. In findings that underscore the challenge that faces the government as it weans businesses off emergency support packages, one in three small employers said that they were considering or had made redundancies. – The Times

Sainsbury’s has handed almost £2 million in bonus shares to its senior executive team less than a fortnight after deferring its final dividend. Mike Coupe, departing chief executive, and Simon Roberts, his successor, are among nine senior staff who recently received nearly 950,000 shares in the grocery chain. – The Times