Jamie’s Italian to slim down with restaurant closures January 6, 2017 Jamie's Italian is slimming down. The celebrity chef's restaurant group is shutting six of its outlets, which are likely to be sold in the first quarter of this year. The Brexit vote has been weighing on the business, and Jamie's has decided to close the restaurants which aren't getting enough people through the door. Campaign group [...]
Winter sun 2017 destinations: the best places to travel to right now January 6, 2017 The festive season is officially over, and the great British freeze has well and truly kicked in. What else is there to do other than jet away to your winter sun destination? Here’s our top five: Cancun, Mexico Overlooking the Caribbean sea, in this city – known for its golden beaches, endless sunbathing opportunities and vibrant nightlife – [...]
Female brewers in US are protesting Trump with a new beer January 6, 2017 A new protest against Donald Trump has emerged in the US, but this one's a bit boozier than the rest. In Denver, Colorado, multiple female-led breweries have come together to make a special protest beer just in time for the divisive US President-elect's inauguration on 20 January. Read more: Theresa May to visit Donald Trump in the US [...]
Gear4music’s quarterly sales are up 55 per cent from the previous year January 6, 2017 Britain's largest online retailer of musical instruments said full-year profit will be ahead of expectations as sales took a huge leap in the last quarter. Gear4music reported a total sales increase of 55 per cent on the same period in the previous year, rising to £24.4m, from £15.7m in the four months to the end of December. Shares [...]
Christmas spending splurge fails to push high street sales into positive territory January 6, 2017 High street shops ended a disappointing year with a dismal performance during the festive season, failing to land positive sales despite bumper spending in the week before Christmas. Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, meaning shoppers had an extra day to spend, but like-for-like sales growth on the high street still came in at [...]
Silverstone owners threaten to drop British Grand Prix January 5, 2017 Silverstone's management is threatening to drop the British Grand Prix because of spiralling costs of running it. John Grant, chairman of the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC), owners of the racing track, has written to members warning of the "potentially ruinous risk" of hosting the loss-making event. In a letter, seen by ITV, Grant said he wanted to "preserve [...]
Insolvencies are on the rise for the travel industry as the weak pound and terrorism fears hit businesses January 5, 2017 The travel industry is braced for thousands of insolvencies as the sector comes under increasing pressure from terrorism fears and rising costs. According to data from insolvency firm Begbies Traynor, 2,679 businesses in the travel industry currently have "red flags" over them which indicates that they are experiencing significant levels of distress. This is a [...]
Calls for better governance at Sports Direct heighten, after Mike Ashley defies the will of the company’s other shareholders January 5, 2017 Sports Direct has today sparked more ire over the state of its corporate governance, including calls for a rethink on how listed firms are overseen The comments come after a second vote in less than half a year on whether to keep Keith Hellawell as chairman was waved through at the company's general meeting, as chief [...]
Central London bulked up on budget gyms last year with 46 per cent of new openings in the low-cost sector January 5, 2017 Londoners may want to get healthy (especially after the Christmas and New Year excess fest), but they also don't want to break the bank while they do it. Almost half (46 per cent) of the new gyms that opened in Central London last year were budget gyms, classed as having membership plans costing less than [...]
ITV chief exec Adam Crozier appointed as non-exec of Costa and Premier Inn owner January 5, 2017 The owner of Costa coffee has swooped during the January transfer window to sign the former head of the Football Association as a non-executive director. Current ITV chief exec Adam Crozier will join the board of Whitbread from 1 April and will be part of the remuneration committee of the group that also owns Premier Inn hotels. [...]