Secondary fundraising by retailers nears £2bn as firms eye M&A opportunities May 10, 2021 Listed retail companies have raised nearly £2bn in the past year as they sought to strengthen their balance sheets amid the pandemic. Now, they are starting to eye M&A opportunities. In recent years, listed firms in the UK have relied less on the public markets with private equity firms often considered a more attractive option. [...]
New Look landlords lose legal battle against retailer’s restructuring plan May 10, 2021 New Look landlords have today lost their legal battle against the high street retailer’s restructuring plan. The High Court ruled against the group of landlords that had challenged New Look’s company voluntary arrangement. The retailer launched its second CVA within two years last September after its sales suffered during the coronavirus pandemic. New Look’s proposal [...]
Travelodge’s interim chief executive Craig Bonnar secures permanent role May 10, 2021 Travelodge has appointed Craig Bonnar as its new chief executive, six months after former boss Peter Gowers stepped down. Bonnar took the reins as interim boss at the start of the year having previously served as Travelodge’s chief operating officer since January 2017. Gowers resigned last November following the conclusion of a dispute with its [...]
Hotel Chocolat to return furlough money after Easter and Mother’s Day sales beat pre-Covid levels May 10, 2021 Hotel Chocolat has pledged to return furlough money to the government after sales soared despite the closure of the British chocolatier’s stores during lockdown. The firm said this morning that revenue for the eight weeks ended 25 April- which included Mother’s Day and Easter – was 19 per cent higher than the comparable period in [...]
Greggs predicts profit to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels as restrictions lift May 10, 2021 Bakery chain Greggs this morning said profit for the year is expected to beat expectations and return to pre-pandemic levels, as long as no further Covid restrictions are implemented. The firm said sales had recovered well in recent weeks as the “stay at home” order was eased, buoyed by a lack of competition from cafes [...]
Service sector confidence surges as vaccine rollout continues May 10, 2021 Service sector confidence soared to its highest level in more than a year last month as the UK’s continued vaccine rollout and the easing of lockdown restrictions boosted optimism. Confidence among businesses in the service sector hit a 14-month high in April after rising 1.36 points to 99.86, according to BDO’s latest services optimism index. [...]
Wendy’s plots UK launch in 12,000-job burger boost May 9, 2021 American fast food chain Wendy’s is plotting a return to the UK in a move that will create more than 12,000 jobs. The burger chain is opening its first store in Reading next month and is eyeing as many as 400 sites. The company, which will compete with Burger King and McDonalds, pulled out of [...]
Gousto taps City bigwig Garrett-Cox as chair ahead of stock market float May 7, 2021 Recipe box firm Gousto has tapped one of Britain’s most prominent businesswomen as its next chair as it gears up for a potential stock market float. The meal kit company, which was founded in 2012, has agreed the appointment of Katherine Garrett-Cox to lead the company through a listing. The appointment is expected to be [...]
Asda trials delivering food orders while customers are out in bid to sustain online shopping momentum May 7, 2021 Asda is trialling delivering unattended food orders, allowing drivers to drop off customers’ shopping when no one is home. The trial allows shopping to be delivered within a four-hour window when the customer is out by dropping it into boxes fixed outside the shopper’s home. It comes as supermarkets aim to sustain the momentum in [...]
City restaurants lead remarkable recovery, says D&D boss May 7, 2021 After four long, miserable wintry months of confinement I guess we should have expected it. But the pandemic has turned us all into pessimists. After a year of lockdowns, reopenings, Covid restrictions and more lockdowns, I doubt that there were many hospitality industry CEOs predicting the joyful scenes of packed restaurant and pub terraces of [...]