Whitbread: Premier Inn owner thanks London travel boom for hike in hotel sales June 22, 2023 Tourists flocking to London for the King’s coronation helped bolster Premier Inn owner Whitbread’s trading in the first leg of the year, as the hotel group revealed an 18 per cent hike in sales. As Brits embraced travel and leisure after the pandemic, the chain of affordable hotels said sales across its 800 strong portfolio [...]
Ten reasons to be part of something Glorious this Summer June 22, 2023 | Sponsored The Qatar Goodwood Festival, which takes place from Tuesday 1 to Saturday 5 August, is one of the undisputed highlights of the British sporting calendar and social. The world-famous five-day festival, affectionately known as ‘Glorious Goodwood’, presents spellbinding sport to the backdrop of the rolling Sussex Downs. To whet the appetite for an exquisite week where [...]
Local authorities putting the brakes on electric car charger rollout, industry warns June 22, 2023 Local authority bureaucracy is causing delays of up to a year in rolling out electric car charge points, industry figures have warned. “We’re getting caught up in red tape… which is stopping us deploying thousands more charges today,” Ian Johnston, head of the newly formed trade association ChargeUK, told City A.M. To build and operate [...]
Tour operator Skiworld wipes out in Austria amid post-Brexit dip in UK chalet hosts June 22, 2023 Skiworld – the UK’s largest independent ski tour operator – has pulled out of much of its operation in Austria as a result of post-Brexit red tape, City A.M. has learnt. The London-based firm – which runs chalets across the Alps – told City A.M. that a dip in the number of UK staff it [...]
Volkswagen plans audit of Xinjiang plant after human rights complaint June 21, 2023 Volkswagen is planning an external audit of its factory in Xinjiang after a group filed a human rights compliant with regulators in relation to its operations in the Chinese state. Oliver Blume, Volkswagen’s chief executive, said on Wednesday that the German car manufacturer would commission the audit “as soon as possible,” according to a report [...]
Shares in UK housebuilders slump as inflation woes increase prospect of rate hikes June 21, 2023 Shares in some of the UK’s biggest housebuilders closed down today after Berkeley Group warned that its sales could fall by up to 20 per cent as rising mortgage rates rock the housing market. Berkeley’s share price fell around 3 per cent this morning following its announcement, but recovered slightly closing down 1.56 per cent. [...]
Softbank boss says it’s time to ‘shift to offence mode’ in AI push June 21, 2023 Softbank is planning to scale up its investment activity according to boss Masayoshi Son, who said the firm is going on the offensive. At the Japanese company’s annual general meeting today, billionaire Son said it was time to “shift to offence mode” as the group prepares to capitalise on rapidly developing AI technologies. Recently, chief [...]
UK inflation smashes forecasts again raising chances of larger Bank of England interest rate hike June 21, 2023 UK inflation is still outpacing experts’ predictions and is running at a level that could lure the Bank of England into an outsized interest rate hike tomorrow, heaping more pain on families and businesses. Official figures out this morning from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the rate of price hikes held steady at [...]
Private equity firm Elliott joins £500m takeover race for Reiss June 21, 2023 US private equity firm Elliott Advisors has reportedly joined the race to takeover upmarket fashion brand Reiss from its current stakeholders Next and Warburg Pincus. Elliott has expressed interest in buying the fashion brand for upwards of £500m, Sky News has reported. Up to three parties are also keen to buy the brand, which is [...]
Revolution or all-out war? Firm brands ‘hostile’ Boohoo coup ‘self-serving and opportunistic’ June 21, 2023 All eyes turn to the AGM of troubled fashion giant Revolution Beauty as it hit back at “hostile” shareholder Boohoo ,labelling its attempted coup as “opportunistic” and “self-serving”. Boohoo, which holds a 26.6 per cent stake in the Revolution, revealed it would vote against chief executive Bob Holt, chairman Derek Zissman and chief financial officer [...]