Brains pubs saved as Marston’s sign deal to operate Welsh outlets December 23, 2020 Pub group Marston’s will operate 156 Brains pubs in Wales, saving the Cardiff-based brand amid Covid-19 difficulties. A statement this morning from Brains’ chairman John Rhys said the decision had not been taken “lightly” but that the deal would secure 1300 jobs. Read more: November redundancies fall to lowest level since lockdown 1 The 141 [...]
Property developer British Land agrees £401m sale of West End offices December 23, 2020 British Land has agreed the £401m sale of a 75 per cent stake in three buildings in the West End to Allianz Real Estate. The portfolio includes three buildings; 10 Portman Square, Marble Arch House and York House, all of which are in Marylebone. As a result of the sale British Land will form a [...]
Corona Impact Series: A North London stationery brand forced to go digital December 22, 2020 In this series, Morning Wire looks at the financial and economic impact of the ongoing pandemic on a range of small and medium-sized businesses across London. Today: how a small paper goods chain was forced to accelerate its digital transformation. “At the start of the first lockdown we had to close our five brick-and-mortar stores pretty much overnight,” sighs [...]
Making it in the City as a woman in 2020: a rising private equity star explains December 22, 2020 Morning Wire‘s Michiel Willems sat down with Sunaina Sinha Haldea, founder and CEO of Cebile Capital, a London-based placement agent and secondaries advisor in private equity and infrastructure. The Harvard graduate is also an angel investor and serves as chair of the board of Barrecore, one of Europe’s largest luxury fitness boutiques, while she is [...]
Applegreen goes private as founders and Blackstone tie up £653m deal December 22, 2020 Irish petrol station and roadside convenience operator Applegreen has agreed to a bid from a consortium led by investment company Blackstone. The deal values the firm at 718.1m euro, a premium of around 48 per cent on the firm’s share price on the day of the bid. The buyout will see the firm go private. [...]
Sofa so good at DFS with sales up 19 per cent in six months December 22, 2020 Gross sales at DFS Furniture increased 19 per cent against the comparable 24-week period ending 15 December 2019, despite disruption caused by Covid-19. The furniture business’s online channel in particular grew in the 24 weeks to 13 December, with gross sales up 76 per cent on the same period last year. DFS believes it has [...]
Wanted: A minister for hospitality December 22, 2020 The hospitality industry — which provided work to more than 3.2m people before the pandemic struck — has been hit harder than virtually any other sector by Covid-19. But while the latest ONS figures show that a staggering 78 per cent of businesses in the accommodation and food services industry have been impacted, there is [...]
D&D owner: Tax supermarkets to bail out bars and restaurants December 21, 2020 In his second Morning Wire column, D&D London CEO and cofounder Des Gunewardena reflects on the “horror show” of the last week, asks the government to consider a Covid-tax to help struggling restaurants, and offers his empty venues up as Covid vaccination stations. We have had some bad weeks during this pandemic, but last week [...]
Coronavirus helps Deliveroo take home profits in 2020 December 21, 2020 Deliveroo has recorded profits for six months in 2020, with coronavirus helping the business turn the tide on last year’s losses. The last 12 months have marked a year of growth for the food delivery app, following a couple of years of investment that saw losses at the business run into the hundreds of millions. [...]
Retailers feel Tier 4 pain as footfall drops 40 per cent December 21, 2020 Retail footfall plunged by 40 per cent in the areas of England put under Tier 4 restrictions such as London, laying bare the impact of the restrictions on shop-owners during the crucial Christmas period. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday announced London and parts of the south and south east of England would go into [...]