Category: 3. Business

RICHMOND, VA — Governor Glenn Youngkin today announced that Solstice Advanced Materials Inc. plans to invest over $220 million in multiple projects to expand operations at the company’s existing ballistic fiber manufacturing facility in Chesterfield County. Upon completion, the expansion will create 100 new jobs in the Commonwealth. The plant, located on Woods Edge Road in South Chesterfield, produces a variety of fibers used in ballistic body and vehicle armor. These lightweight materials are 15 times stronger than steel by weight. 

“Solstice Advanced Materials’ expansion in Chesterfield underscores Virginia’s leadership in the advanced manufacturing and materials industry,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “Their ballistic fibers help protect those who protect us, and this growth reflects the strength of the Commonwealth’s talent. Partnerships like this will ensure Virginia remains the best place to build and innovate.” 

“Solstice’s commitment to Chesterfield is a win for the Commonwealth and for our advanced manufacturing ecosystem,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Juan Pablo Segura. “Virginia’s reliable infrastructure, pro-business climate, and world‑class workforce give innovators the confidence to scale critical technologies right here at home.” 

“Solstice Advanced Materials has a long history of investment and innovation in Virginia, and these investments reflect the confidence we have in the Commonwealth as a partner,” said Solstice Advanced Materials President and CEO David Sewell. “Our ballistic fiber technologies play an essential role in protecting service members and first responders across the country. We deeply appreciate Governor Youngkin’s strong support for an increased investment in the talented Virginia workforce that enables us to meet growing customer demand for that offering.”  

Solstice Advanced Materials is a leading global specialty materials company that advances science for smarter outcomes. Solstice offers high-performance solutions that enable critical industries and applications, including refrigerants, semiconductor manufacturing, data center cooling, nuclear power, protective fibers, healthcare packaging, and more. Solstice is recognized for developing next-generation materials through some of the industry’s most renowned brands such as Solstice®, Genetron®, Aclar®, Spectra®, Fluka™ and Hydranal™. Partnering with over 3,000 customers across more than 120 countries and territories and supported by a robust portfolio of over 5,700 patents, Solstice employs approximately 4,000 people worldwide. 

“We are thrilled to share in this exciting announcement from our long-term partners at Solstice Advanced Materials,” said Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors Chair Mark S. Miller, Ph.D. “This significant reinvestment in our community will further strengthen our local workforce and our significant advanced manufacturing base. We look forward to their continued success as they expand their footprint in our community.” 

“This investment from Solstice Advanced Materials brings new, high-quality jobs and long-term opportunities for our local workforce,” said Lieutenant Governor-elect and State Senator Ghazala Hashmi. “This new economic development opportunity is helping cement Chesterfield County as a hub for advanced manufacturing and innovation. Investments like this ensure the region remains competitive, attracts top talent, and drives the kind of development that keeps central Virginia growing.” 

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Chesterfield County to secure the project for Virginia. Governor Youngkin approved a performance-based grant of $2,000,000 from the Virginia Investment Performance Grant, an incentive that encourages continued capital investment by existing Virginia companies. The Governor also approved a $1,500,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Chesterfield County with the project.  

VEDP will support Solstice’s job creation through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, which provides consultative services and funding to companies creating new jobs in order to support employee recruitment and training activities. As a business incentive supporting economic development, VJIP reduces the human resource costs of new and expanding companies. VJIP is state funded, demonstrating Virginia’s commitment to enhancing job opportunities for citizens.

Chris Wheaton is the latest Senior Director hire for Pegasus Group as its growth strategy continues with an expanded Economics offering

13 December 2025 – Leading multidisciplinary development consultancy, Pegasus Group, has today announced the appointment of Chris Wheaton as a Senior Director in its Economics team, leading on its growth in Development Viability services, as part of its expanding Economics offering.

Chris’ appointment signals a move by Pegasus to expand its economics and development consultancy services with the introduction of viability, development appraisal and financial analysis expertise. In the midst of a ‘perfect storm’ of economic and legislative challenges for property developers and investors, Chris’ experience in Development Viability will expand Pegasus’ capacity to support clients navigating these issues and finding deliverable solutions.

He joins Pegasus’ London office from specialist development consultancy Quod, bringing 25 years’ of experience in Development Viability, supporting landowners, developers, housebuilders and public bodies in advancing their development projects. He has advised on some of the country’s largest and most complex developments, including ‘garden towns’ of up to 20,000 homes, town centre redevelopments, and high-density urban regeneration.

His appointment follows a series of senior hires at Pegasus throughout 2025 as the group continues with its ambitious growth strategy. In his new role, Chris will build Pegasus’ Development Viability practice over the course of 2026, while providing crucial viability services to clients nationwide.

Commenting on his appointment, Chris Wheaton said: “It’s great to be joining Pegasus at a time of exciting growth. I look forward to working closely with the wider Economics and Development Consultancy teams, combining my Development Viability expertise with Pegasus’ existing strengths, further building the team’s personnel, and adding to what is already a market-leading suite of planning and development services.”

Also commenting, Richard Cook, Head of Economics at Pegasus Group said: “In the current climate of economic uncertainty, Development Viability is an especially important factor across our client base. Chris’ experience is a perfect complement to our existing economic and development expertise and our Economics team will continue to go from strength to strength in 2026 with his arrival.”

Momentum from Strong Execution, Brand Leadership, and Strategic Investments Positions Company for Sustained Growth and Value Creation

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Jan. 13, 2026 /CNW/ – Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (“Maple Leaf Foods” or the “Company”) (TSX: MFI) today announced its 2026 financial guidance, reflecting sustained operational momentum, disciplined capital management, and strategic focus as a purpose-driven, protein-centric and brand-led consumer packaged goods leader.

Strategic and Operational Guidance Highlights

The Company expects the following for fiscal 2026:

• Revenue Growth: Mid-single digit (“MSD”) increase in revenue from 2025, driven by the execution of proven growth strategies, including leveraging leadership in Sustainable Meats, investing in our portfolio of consumer-leading brands, accelerating the pace of impactful innovation, expanding reach in the U.S. market, and deeper integration into customer strategies along with strong and growing consumer demand for protein
• Adjusted EBITDA¹: Approximately $520 – $540 million, driven by revenue growth and margin improvement from operational discipline as well as the benefits of the Company’s Fuel for Growth initiative 
• Investment-Grade Balance sheet: Maintain an investment grade balance sheet with Net Debt/Adjusted EBITDA¹ below 3.0x supported by strong free cash flow and prudent capital allocation
• Disciplined Capital Investment: Approximately $160 – $180 million in spend, focused on maintenance and productivity enhancement investments, driving efficiency and enabling future growth, through technology and automation
• Dividend Growth: An approximately 10% increase in the quarterly dividend, from $0.19 to $0.21 per share, underscoring Maple Leaf Foods’ commitment to delivering shareholder returns

“Our 2026 outlook captures the momentum and operational strength we’ve built through the consistent execution of our strategic blueprint and the resilience of our leading brands,” said Curtis Frank, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Following a year of transformational financial performance, we are increasing our annual dividend by 10%, marking our eleventh consecutive annual increase. This reflects our confidence in our ability to grow the business, expand margins, and generate strong free cash flow as we continue to create meaningful value for shareholders. Looking ahead, our disciplined approach to operational execution and capital allocation positions us to deliver sustained organic growth, reinvest in our business and pursue strategic opportunities as we advance our vision to be the most sustainable protein company on earth.”

Commitment to Shareholder Returns

Following the special dividend in 2025, the Board has approved an approximately 10% increase in the quarterly dividend for 2026 from $0.19 per share to $0.21 per share, or $0.84 per share annually, underscoring Maple Leaf Foods’ balanced approach to capital allocation and long-standing commitment to shareholder returns. The first quarter dividend of $0.21 per common share will be payable on March 31, 2026, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 9, 2026. Unless indicated otherwise by the Company at or before the time the dividend is paid, the dividend will be considered an eligible dividend for the purposes of the “Enhanced Dividend Tax Credit System”.

The Company’s Dividend Reinvestment Plan (“DRIP”) permits eligible shareholders to direct their cash dividends to be reinvested in additional common shares of the Company. For those who wish to reinvest their dividends under the DRIP, Maple Leaf Foods intends to issue common shares from treasury at a price equal to 100% of the weighted average closing price of the shares for the five trading days preceding the dividend payment date. Full details of the DRIP, including how to enroll in the program, are available at https://www.mapleleaffoods.com/.

Maple Leaf Foods has a long-standing track record of returning capital to shareholders, including 11 consecutive years of annual dividend increases and an active NCIB program. Since 2022, the Company has returned approximately $600 million to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks and is committed to maintaining leverage well within its investment-grade target range. The Company will continue to evaluate all capital return opportunities, including share buybacks and dividends, as part of its disciplined approach.

Ongoing Guidance and Investor Day

Maple Leaf Foods is committed to providing annual guidance to the market, reflecting the Company’s focus on transparency, accountability, and stakeholder engagement. The 2026 outlook is supported by sustained progress on key initiatives, continued margin expansion, and a sharpened strategic focus following the Canada Packers spin-off. Additional details on long-term strategy, operational initiatives, and capital allocation priorities will be shared at the upcoming Investor Day on March 10, 2026. A live webcast and presentation materials will be available on the Company’s website.

The Company will release its fourth quarter 2025 financial results on March 5, 2026.

Forward Looking Information

This release contains certain information that is forward-looking and is subject to important risks and uncertainties (such statements are usually accompanied by words such as “anticipate”, “expect”, “believe”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “estimate”, “intend” or other similar words). Specific forward-looking information in this document includes, but is not limited to, statements regarding the Company’s fiscal 2026 guidance, including the Company’s expectations for revenue growth from 2025, the Company’s expected adjusted EBITDA guidance of approximately $520 –$540 million, target net debt to Adjusted EBITDA below 3.0x, expected capital investments of approximately $160 – $180 million, and the Company’s expected increase in the quarterly dividend for 2026.

Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current strategies, estimates and assumptions regarding, among other things adaptations in operations, supply chain and consumer behaviour; economic patterns, foreign exchange rates, tariffs and other trade dynamics and their impact on input pricing; the competitive environment and associated market conditions including behaviour of competitors and customers; the relationship between pricing, inflation, volume and sales of the Company’s products; and geopolitical conditions and the ability of the Company to access markets and source ingredients. The financial outlook presented in this press release is intended to provide management’s expectations for the Company as of the date of this release but investors are cautioned that actual results may vary materially from this outlook and that the information in the outlook may not be appropriate for other purposes.

As actual results could vary significantly from the forward-looking information, readers should not put undue reliance on forward-looking information. For additional information on the assumptions made, and the risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from the anticipated results, refer to the Company’s Management Discussion and Analysis for the quarter ended September 30, 2025 and the year ended December 31, 2024, as well as the Management Information Circular dated May 1, 2025, all of which are filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The Company does not intend to, and disclaims any obligation to, update any forward-looking statements (including any financial outlooks), whether written or oral, or whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. 

Non-IFRS Measures

Adjusted EBITDA is a non-IFRS measure and does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. Consequently, it may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other publicly traded companies and should not be construed as an alternative to other financial measures determined in accordance with IFRS. For a definition of Adjusted EBITDA please see the section entitled “Non-IFRS Financial Measures” which has been incorporated by reference from Maple Leaf Foods’ Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the quarter ended September 30, 2025 which is available and filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca under Maple Leaf Foods’ profile.

About Maple Leaf Foods

Maple Leaf Foods (TSX: MFI) is a leading, protein-focused consumer packaged goods company headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario. It proudly produces responsibly-made, delicious food under powerhouse brands that include Maple Leaf^®, Maple Leaf Prime^®, Maple Leaf Natural Selections^®, Schneiders^®, Mina^®, Greenfield Natural Meat Co.^®, LightLife^® and Field Roast^®. Committed to Raising the Good in Food and bringing customers protein with purpose, Maple Leaf Foods delivers shared value for all its stakeholders by leading the way in safety and sustainability, building loved brands, operating with excellence, developing extraordinary talent, and broadening its impact through innovation and geographic reach.

 

SOURCE Maple Leaf Foods Inc.

For further information, please contact: Maple Leaf Foods Inc., Investor Contact: investor.relations@mapleleaf.com; Media Contact: media.hotline@mapleleaf.com

(opens in a new window)Proveye, the Irish agri- and climate-tech company headquartered at NovaUCD in Dublin, today announced a commercial partnership with DLF, as part of (opens in a new window)DLF’s “Connecting to Grow” strategy and its goal to “enrich land, life and people”.

This collaboration will strengthen DLF’s long-standing approach of working closely with farmers to develop practical forage solutions.

DLF is deploying Proveye’s satellite-based grassland monitoring and measurement platform, ProvGrass, across its research and partner farm network, to ensure future grass and seed solutions are shaped by real-world performance and farmer needs.

Grassland research is at the core of DLF’s innovation strategy, underpinning the development of high-performance forage varieties that drive productivity, resilience and sustainability across all farm systems. Through this partnership, DLF will integrate satellite-derived grass measurement and growth analytics into its grass evaluation and on-farm innovation programmes, enhancing  the way grass performance is measured, analysed and optimised at scale.

ProvGrass delivers near real-time per-paddock information on grass cover, growth rates, and seasonal yield potential using advanced remote sensing and AI models. These insights enable DLF to more precisely link grass genetics, sward composition and management practices to measurable outcomes on commercial farms, accelerating the development and adoption of next-generation forage varieties.

“Using data to better understand grass performance is essential to how DLF supports farmers,” said Lee Wilson, General Manager, DLF Ireland.

“By combining our world-leading seed genetics with Proveye’s remote sensing technology, we gain new insight on how grass performs under real farm conditions. This allows us to innovate faster, support farmers better, and deliver varieties that are truly future-ready.”

He added, “For all farmer systems, the collaboration yields clearer, more objective insights into how different grass varieties, mixtures, soils, climates and management systems impact grass performance. This supports better grazing decisions, improved silage outcomes and more efficient use of home-grown feed, key drivers of profitability and sustainability in grass-based livestock production.”

Paul Kennedy, CCO, Proveye, said, “DLF has led global grass and seed innovation for decades. Integrating ProvGrass into their grassland research and farmer networks ensures our technology is applied where it creates the most value, turning grass performance into measurable, actionable intelligence that supports both genetic innovation and on-farm “results.”

The partnership also strengthens DLF’s ability to respond to climate variability by enabling earlier detection of growth changes and stress at the paddock level, helping farmers and advisors adapt management strategies in-season.

By uniting world-leading forage genetics with satellite-powered grass intelligence, DLF and Proveye are setting a new standard for grassland innovation, supporting more productive, resilient and sustainable livestock systems.”

ENDS

13 January 2026

For further information,  contact Micéal Whelan, Communications and Media Relations Manager, UCD Research and Innovation, NovaUCD, e: (opens in a new window)miceal.whelan@ucd.ie, or Paul Kennedy, COO, Proveye, e: (opens in a new window)info@proveye.ie or Lee Wilson, General Manager, DLF Ireland, e: (opens in a new window)info@dlf.ie.

Editors Notes 

DLF Ireland is a joint venture between the Arvum Group and DLF who are global leaders in forage and turf seed, with headquartered in Roskilde, Denmark. DLF provides quality products to more than 100 countries worldwide and employs more than 2,000 people across 22 countries. (opens in a new window)www.dlf.com

Proveye is an agri and climate-tech company headquartered in Ireland. By combining AI-driven remote sensing with space, aerial, and field data, Proveye develops solutions that help farmers increase profitability while restoring ecosystems, reducing emissions, and supporting climate and biodiversity targets in the world’s grassland habitats. (opens in a new window)https://www.proveye.io/

This successful start-up represents a major step forward for Arkema, as the new unit triples the Group’s global production capacity of Rilsan^® Clear transparent polyamide. This investment of around US$20 million, announced in July 2025, is part of the major growth projects in which Arkema has recently invested to support its strategic roadmap on Specialty Materials.

Designed for operational excellence and reliability, this new unit will enable Arkema to meet the growing demand for sustainable high-performance transparent materials across key markets such as eyewear, AR/VR and smart consumer electronics, industrial filtration, healthcare devices and home appliances.

Homes England, alongside HSBC and NatWest, will provide Allison Homes, a fast-growing regional homebuilder, with a £165 million finance facility to support its continued expansion across the East of England, the Midlands and Southwest. 

The refinancing package marks a significant milestone in the company’s growth strategy, enabling it to accelerate land acquisition and development and increase the supply of affordable, high-quality homes across its regions. 

Simon Century, Chief Investment Officer at Homes England, said: 

Small and medium housebuilders play a vital role in building a diverse and resilient housing sector. Funding from Homes England will enable Allison Homes to expand its regional delivery, supporting the construction of more high quality, affordable homes. 

This financing deal is a prime example of how the Agency works collaboratively with both public and private partners to achieve our mission of building thriving communities that people can be proud to call home.

Ian Trinder, Chief Financial Officer of Allison Homes, said: 

This is a very exciting moment for our business as it shows real confidence from strong funding partners in our long-term growth plans. Regional homebuilders, like Allison Homes, play a crucial role in delivering the housing needed to meet local and national demand, while also investing in infrastructure, creating jobs and supporting the local economy. 

Importantly, this financial package means we can continue our ambitious growth trajectory, whilst focusing on what matters most – building high-quality homes, creating places people are proud to live in, and being the homebuilder that people can trust. 

Over the past year, we’ve taken decisive steps to strengthen the business for the long term – investing heavily in land, regional growth, operational infrastructure, systems and our people. We’ve also grown unit sales from 626 to 808 and revenue from £154 million to £202 million, with a significant focus on recurring partnership revenue alongside open market sales. 

Delivering this during a challenging economic period has been no small task, and we’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved to date. The country continues to face a significant housing shortfall, and our sector has an important responsibility to help address it.” 

HSBC and NatWest have worked with Allison Homes for a number of years, and Homes England is joining alongside the existing lenders to provide further growth capital for the business as it enters a new period of growth, supported by a strong pipeline of consented sites. 

Financing will be provided by the Home Building Fund, which is designed to support SME housebuilders to overcome funding barriers in order to build homes more quickly.  

The loan will be utilised to bring forward a strong land pipeline and support the growth of two newer regions in the South West and East Midlands. The objective of this is to take delivery from around 700 homes a year, predominantly from the East Division, to around 2000 homes over the term of the loan. 

Allison Homes has an extensive development pipeline, underpinned by a land acquisition strategy balanced between partnerships and open market homes, following the expansion of its partnerships division. The homebuilder has also recently opened offices in Bristol and the East Midlands and acquired its largest site yet – a 510 home development in a prime Bristol location. 

Mark Pope, Director at NatWest Real Estate Finance, said:  

We are delighted to continue to be able to support Allison Homes with this facility to help them achieve their future growth plans, delivering much needed additional housing. NatWest has a long history of supporting the residential market across all tenures, and this transaction is another example of how we provide execution excellence, delivering optimal funding solutions alongside our lending partners.

Joe Bailey, Relationship Director, HSBC Real Estate Finance, said:  

HSBC UK is pleased to continue supporting Allison Homes at a pivotal stage in its growth journey. This new financing package reflects our confidence in the strength of the business, its management team and its commitment to delivering high-quality homes across the regions it serves.

Completion of the facility took place on 18 December 2025. 

ENDS 

Notes to editors   

• Homes England is the government’s housing and regeneration Agency, and we’re here to drive the creation of more affordable, quality homes and thriving places so that everyone has a place to live and grow.  We make this happen by working in partnership with thousands of organisations of all sizes, using our powers, expertise, land, capital and influence to bring investment to communities and get more quality homes built.  View our explainer animation: Homes England 2025 Animation.
• Financial support for the housebuilding sector will be strengthened further with the launch of the new National Housing Bank, a subsidiary of Homes England, in April 2026. See our investment road map here.
• For more information on Homes England’s financial support for the SME housebuilding sector, visit The Home Building Fund — lending and investments to support housebuilding – GOV.UK

Discover how artificial intelligence is reshaping drug discovery, clinical trials, and regulatory processes – and what leaders must do to scale its impact.

The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry faces persistent challenges in research and development (R&D): high drug development costs, elevated clinical failure rates, and declining returns on investment. These hurdles have made it increasingly difficult to bring successful new drugs to market.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing that. The technology is emerging as a powerful catalyst for breakthroughs in biopharma R&D – streamlining discovery, optimizing trial design, and enabling predictive insights – and it’s now poised to bring biopharma R&D more agile, data-driven, and outcome-oriented processes.

The latest report from the Capgemini Research Institute, Smart bet, only option, or both?: Biopharma R&D turns to AI, explores how advances in biology, physics, and computational power are converging to enable this transformation now. Biopharma organizations are recognizing this potential; our global survey of 500 senior executives across eight countries reveals:

• 82% believe AI will fundamentally transform biopharma R&D
• 63% agree that companies failing to scale AI will fall behind in innovation and market relevance
• 63% anticipate that most new molecular entities (NMEs) will originate from AI-driven platforms within the next decade.

The research also shows that organizations are already realizing benefits related to:

• Drug discovery: 74% see significant potential in generative AI. Target identification is the most widely adopted use case, with 43% implementing it and reporting an average 28% time savings.
• Clinical trials: Over 60% affirm that Gen AI can substantially improve trial efficiency and outcomes.
• Regulatory submissions: 73% agree Gen AI can fundamentally transform regulatory workflows. Among adopters, productivity gains average 19% time savings.

Yet despite this progress, challenges remain. Having established foundational data capabilities, many organizations still lack data readiness and operational maturity to scale AI effectively. To unlock AI’s full potential, biopharma leaders must address these gaps by:

• Securing senior leadership buy-in
• Defining clear goals and risk profiles
• Balancing in-house capabilities with strategic partnerships
• Building a data- and digital-savvy workforce
• Advocating for industry-wide data standards.

Smart bet, only option, or both?: Biopharma R&D turns to AI is intended for C-suite executives and senior leaders in global pharmaceutical and biotechnology organizations, offering clear recommendations to help them understand the benefits that AI can bring to the drug discovery and development process.

To discover how large and mid-sized biopharma organizations can implement AI and scale their AI use cases, download the full report today.

An online fashion retailer accused of “unconscionable conduct” is under investigation for allegedly profiting off the Bondi terror attack.

NSW Fair Trading issued a public warning about “ghost store” Isla & James, which said it was holding a closure sale due to the mass shooting on December 14 and made “false claims” about being based in Bondi Beach.

The site claimed one of the co-founders, James, was “shot” in the massacre and there was no “moving on” after the shooting.

NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Natasha Mann said the agency now believed it was a “ghost store operating from overseas”.

“We think they’re using the Bondi Beach terror attack to really try and exploit the grief of our community to try and profiteer,” she said.

Samia Goudie was one of the customers who was duped by Isla & James last month, after coming across an emotionally-charged advertisement on Facebook.

They emphasised the business, once their “dream”, was closing down that night and the prices had been slashed so they could “start out [their] new lives”. The site also featured an an AI-generated image of the pair.

“Looking back, if it hadn’t had that emotional hook, I probably wouldn’t have looked at it,” she said.

Ms Goudie said she did “periphery checks” but the site looked “sophisticated”, with a map pinned to Bondi and a correlating Instagram page.

She spent $250 in her order, saying she did not “have the ability really to spend a lot of money” but wanted to support a good cause.

Ms Goudie even emailed the store to express her sympathy and when they replied to say they were not closing down at all, the first red flag went off.

The order has not been sent out, and she later found out the items were likely from an e-commerce platform.

“It wasn’t even like for myself, like, I’ve fallen for this. That was much later, you know, how stupid am I? … I felt like an idiot.

“It’s just a reminder to people … to double-check what they’re donating to.”

Concern others ‘may take similar approach’

The website appears to have been registered on December 23 from an IP address in Arizona, in the United States.

NSW Fair Trading said there was no contact number or trading address in the state, “nor any other evidence that the store is associated with a trader at Bondi Beach”.

Other warning signs for ghost stores can include no Australian address, no phone number or “.au” domain, or if the ABN cannot be verified.

Ms Mann is now warning the public about dealing with Isla & James, who she said may have engaged in a range of contraventions of Australian consumer law, including “misleading or deceptive conduct” and “unconscionable conduct in connection with the sale and supply of goods”.

She said ghost stores could claim to be closing down due to a tragedy to pressure people into buying goods, but were often selling low-quality goods or sometimes, nothing at all.

“These ghost stores often are using really emotional stories to try and get consumers to rush into a purchase,” she said.

“The difficulty is that the operations are based overseas to avoid returns and refunds, which means that consumers are left in the lurch.”

Its website has now been taken down in a “welcome outcome”, but NSW Fair Trading has warned the retailer may crop up again under a different URL or “other traders may take a similar approach”. 

“Our investigation will focus on making sure that this one remains shut down and actively monitoring to make sure that others do not arise also,” Ms Mann said.

“The main message to consumers is just really be vigilant when you’re engaging with online traders.”

President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Daniel Aghion, said at a time Jewish businesses were facing “victimisation and attacks” as well as closures, it was “callous that somebody somewhere in the world [was] trying to make money off the misery of others”. 

“I feel for the shoppers that genuinely tried to support Bondi traders and victims of Bondi, but ended up being deceived.”

NSW Fair Trading has urged anyone who was not satisfied with their interaction with Isla & James to lodge a complaint with them or Service NSW.

It said any suspicious stores, fundraisers or offers linked to the Bondi attack should also be reported to Scamwatch.