30-min weekly shop: Uber Eats and Co-op team up for rapid delivery service August 23, 2022 Co-op and Uber Eats are partnering up for a speedy service as the grocery sector’s battle for convicent delivery hots up. On the Uber Eats app, shoppers can order more than 6,000 products from around 1,000 Co-op food stores. Groceries are to be delivered in as little as 30 minutes, the firms said on Tuesday [...]
WH Smith chair Henry Staunton lined up as new Post Office head August 22, 2022 The UK government is lining up outgoing WH Smith chairman Henry Staunton to head the Post Office, as it seeks to navigate the fallout of the miscarriage of justice that saw hundreds of the state-owned company’s workers wrongfully convicted of serious crimes. Former ITV finance director Staunton has been chosen as the preferred candidate to [...]
Barrio Familia snaps up ‘world’s largest tequila bar’ in Covent Garden August 22, 2022 Barrio Familia has bought the world’s largest tequila bar, the former Tropicana Beach Club in Covent Garden. It is the first new opening for the bar chain since it was snapped up by Nightcap in November 2021. The flagship bar will open in November and will be the fifth venue for the group, alongside bars [...]
Cineworld seeks ‘potential’ restructuring to deal with £4bn debt burden August 22, 2022 Cineworld has said it is looking to gain liquidity and potentially restructure its balance sheet through a “comprehensive deleveraging transaction” as it carried billions in debt. The company, which owns US-based cinema chain Regal, said it had voluntarily sought a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the US in pursuit of a potential restructuring. “Cineworld and [...]
Matalan founder Hargreaves guns for outright ownership of retailer August 21, 2022 Fashion retailer Matalan is facing a battle between its lenders and its founder over its ownership as a deadline for refinancing looms. According to a report in Sky News, the retailer’s chairman John Hargreaves has proposed pumping tens of millions of pounds into the clothing firm. Hargreaves is reportedly hoping to retain outright control of [...]
M&S doubles down on plans to demolish Art Deco Oxford St store August 21, 2022 M&S is doubling down on its plans to demolish its flagship Marble Arch store, as its CEO describes a trip to Oxford St as “dismaying.” The supermarket is embroiled in a battle with heritage campaigners over plans to raze its Art Deco store in the West End. M&S says the store has “asbestos throughout,” and [...]
Amazon slows down expansion of Fresh checkout-free stores August 21, 2022 Amazon has reportedly slowed down its rollout of checkout-free supermarket stores, as economic turmoil looms. The tech firm has rejected discussions for dozens of new Amazon Fresh stores, according to a report in The Times. It has also opted to not look for more locations, the newspaper’s report states. However, a small number of openings [...]
Sunday Sitdown: ‘There is a demand to return to the office’, says boss of City favourite T.M. Lewin August 21, 2022 British menswear brand T.M. Lewin – for decades a favourite among City workers – is back. Two months after the heritage brand struck a last-minute rescue deal with shirtmaker Limited, the company has managed a re-launch after the pandemic nearly killed off the Square mile favourite. Established over 120 years ago, T.M. Lewin is steeped in [...]
Cineworld share price plunges over 50 per cent amid bankruptcy reports August 19, 2022 Cineworld’s share price has plunged more than 53 per cent today amid reports it is filing for bankruptcy. Investors bailed out of the stock, leaving it with a share price of 4.5p a piece. However, shareholders have been stepping back for more than a year. The cinema chain had been hit particularly hard by successive [...]
Watch the trailer for Sky dramatisation of Boris Johnson’s first days in office battling Covid, Brexit and controversy August 19, 2022 As Boris Johnson enters his final few weeks in Number 10, the trailer for a new Sky drama detailing his first months in office has been released. BAFTA and Academy Award-winner Kenneth Branagh portrays the flamboyant prime minister in the tumultuous early stages of his term, as he battles the first Coronavirus wave, Brexit and [...]