End of 100-year family ownership: £325m offer from WeBuyAnyCar owner accepted by Marshall board December 6, 2021 The board of Marshall Motor has said it will accept a £325 million takeover offer from the private-equity backed company behind WeBuyAnyCar. Marshall said that it thought the terms offered by Constellation Automotive were “fair and reasonable”. “Following careful consideration of both the financial terms of the offer and Constellation’s stated intentions regarding the conduct [...]
Forced Covid quarantine in hotel breaches human rights, argues returning London couple as they launch legal challenge December 6, 2021 Coronavirus hotel quarantine is a “fundamental breach of human rights”, according to a London couple returning from South Africa. Today, Owen Hancock, 35, and Emily Mennie, 30, were due to enter hotel quarantine on their return from a break in South Africa. They say they were left stranded when the country was added to the [...]
Halfords boss urges government to do more to address skills gap as shortage of mechanics starts to bite December 6, 2021 A shortage of specialist mechanics is interfering with Halfords’ agenda to rapidly grow the number of electric cars on Britain’s roads to such an extent that the boss of the company has called on government to do more. Graham Stapleton, chief executive of the retailer and motoring services business, said he is “very concerned” that [...]
Travel industry in shock: Pre-departure tests for all UK arrivals from Tuesday December 4, 2021 Everyone arriving in England from abroad will be required to take a Covid-19 pre-departure test from 4am on Tuesday, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said this evening. The pre-departure tests will have to be taken a maximum of 48 hours before departure and will apply to all travellers arriving in the UK, regardless of their departure [...]
2,200 branches: Owner of Boots plotting £10bn sale of 172-year old pharmacy chain December 4, 2021 The parent company of Boots is reportedly considering putting the pharmacy chain on the market next year, according to news reports this morning. US retail giant Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) is lining up advisers from Goldman Sachs to explore a potential sale of the pharmacy, Sky News wrote. Morning Wire understands that a potential valuation [...]
London publisher the Folio Society bought by employees for £10m December 2, 2021 London publisher the Folio Society has announced that its 40 employees have bought the company for £10m, in what its bosses called a “progressive, industry-leading” move. The publisher – which has released recent titles including Frank Herbert’s Dune; Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and Alice Walker’s The Color Purple – will now be totally owned [...]
British icon Selfridges becomes Thai: Weston family agrees £4bn sale December 2, 2021 Selfridges’ owner the Weston family has agreed to sell the iconic high-end department store chain to Thai private conglomerate Central Group for £4bn. The Canadian billionaires have reached an agreement with Central Group in the last few days, hoping to close the deal by the end of the month, the Times reported. Founded by American [...]
Black Friday sales failed to boost retail footfall last month December 2, 2021 Black Friday sales failed to entice more shoppers out to UK retail destinations, according to the latest data. Footfall worsened slightly during November to 14.5 per cent below 2019 compared with being down 13.4 per cent on pre-pandemic levels in October, according to Springboard data. The month as a whole was impacted by a relatively [...]
Halfords inks £62m deal for automotive servicing business National December 1, 2021 Cycling and motoring services giant Halfords has acquired National, the tyre and automotive servicing business in a £62m deal. National operates under the brands National Tyres and Autocare, Viking Wholesale Tyres and Tyre Shopper. The deal will mean Halfords is the largest vehicle service, maintenance and repair business in the UK and help the company [...]
Pubs and bars anxiously wait to see if Omicron headlines have impacted customer confidence December 1, 2021 Hospitality firms are anxiously awaiting to see if Omicron variant headlines have hit consumer confidence. The bosses of both Loungers’ and Marston’s told CityA.M. that it was too soon to tell if bar goers had been deterred from making trips to venues after news of a new Covid variant. Loungers’ CEO Nick Collins said he [...]