BUSINESS LIVE: Dunelm restarts dividend; Persimmon puts aside £75m

BUSINESS LIVE: Dunelm restarts dividend; Persimmon puts aside £75m for cladding issues; 600,000 firms at risk of collapse

Dunelm Group has reinstated its dividend after its first-half profits jumped by about a third to £112.4million thanks to strong online demand offseting the impact of store closures during repeated coronavirus-induced restrictions.  

Housebuilder Persimmon has put aside £75million towards cladding safety problems. Its announcement comes on the same day the Government is expected to announce more funding to help tackle the cladding crisis in buildings. 

Nearly 600,000 UK firms are at risk of collapsing due to a cash crisis if the Government does not extend support measures, putting up to nine million jobs under threat, research by the Institute for Public Policy Research has warned. 

 Dunelm Group has reinstated its dividend after its first-half profits jumped by about a third