Drift to office slows as workers put off by Covid concerns October 26, 2021 A return to the office has appeared to have stalled as London’s office hubs marked a drop in footfall last week. Retail experts Springboard found that footfall declined by 4.2 per cent in areas in central London dominated by offices in the week beginning October 17. The ‘Back to the Office’ benchmark metric suggests that [...]
Covid passports could cost venues up to £2bn in lost turnover October 26, 2021 Vaccine passports could drive Covid infections if people are more inclined to visit poorly ventilated pubs instead of larger venues, according to a leaked government impact assessment. Concerns about the policy – recently adopted in Scotland- are set out in a report written by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport [DCMS] and seen [...]
Ocado turns to robots for delivery of groceries to Londoners amid shortage of workers October 26, 2021 Built by UK online supermarket pioneer Ocado, the washing-machine sized bots have caught the eye of international retailers battling a shortage of workers and rising wage demands. Watch the full report.
BrewDog announces plans for flagship site at former Eurostar terminal October 25, 2021 BrewDog has outlined plans to open a 26,500 sq ft flagship site on the former Eurostar terminal at Waterloo, in what it called one of biggest projects yet. The Scottish craft brewer said on Monday it will launch a two-floor venue next summer. The site will be kitted out with a pub, pop-up food truck, [...]
Just Eat Takeaway urged to sell Grubhub by activist investor October 25, 2021 Just Eat Takeaway (JET) has been urged to sell or spin-off its US arm Grubhub by an activist investor by the end of the year. Investor Cat Rock Capital has said the food delivery firm’s management “failed to fix the deep and damaging undervaluation of its equity by taking tangible action to unlock the value [...]
Las Iguanas owner plots 50 new restaurant openings October 25, 2021 The operator behind Las Iguanas, Bella Italia and Café Rouge is to open 50 new restaurants as part of an investment topping £50m. As well as new venues, the Big Table Group said it planned to refurbish 70 sites over the next three years. Its growth plans will create 1,250 new jobs. Some £35m will [...]
Savile Row’s Gieves & Hawkes faces being wound-up October 25, 2021 Savile Row tailor Gieves & Hawkes is facing the threat of closure due to its parent company’s financial problems. Without a new backer, the 250-year old firm and its sister firm Kent & Curwen could be wound up, according to The Times. The tailor’s Chinese owner Trinity Limited is controlled by the Shandong Ruyi Technology [...]
Number of retail M&A deals soars as buyers eye economic recovery October 25, 2021 The number of M&A deals targeting UK retailers has swelled 28 per cent to 37 in the past year, new analysis has found. City law firm RPC found that the number of deals rose from 29 in the previous year while the Morrisons and Asda deals saw deal value skyrocket. Value has soared more than [...]
Pizza Express and IHG back calls for VAT freeze October 24, 2021 More than 200 hospitality bosses have called on the Chancellor to freeze VAT for the sector at 12.5 per cent. CEOs of big names including Stonegate, Pizza Express and IHG Hotels, have urged Rishi Sunak to announce a permanent reduced rate on the Budget on October 27. They said businesses need more support to fully [...]
Missguided seeks rescue plan as supply chain chaos strains finances October 24, 2021 Missguided’s multimillionaire owner is scrambling to save the fast fashion brand from supply chain pressures. The online retailer has been hit by a perfect storm of price rises and delivery disruption. Missguided founder Nitin Passi is thought to be in talks with City crisis experts from AlixPartners to look at dramatic restructuring options, according to [...]