Wholesale group Supreme bets revenues on vaping amid lockdown growth July 20, 2021 Wholesale provider Supreme, the company behind 88Vape, has seen its revenue for the smoking alternative alone lift 36 per cent as lockdown smokers tried to kick the habit. The company’s total preliminary revenue was up 33 per cent at £122.3m in the year to 31 March, up from £92.3m in the year prior. Gross profits [...]
Nightclubs could turn into super spreading events, warns chief scientific adviser July 19, 2021 The Government’s chief scientific adviser has warned that nightclubs could be “potential super spreading events” despite the Government allowing the venues to reopen earlier today. Sir Patrick Vallance said the nightclub environment will allow Covid-19 to spread easier as the Prime Minister laid out plans for venues to require double-vaccination for people to enter from [...]
NHS Test and Trace: Covid app’s sensitivity will not be tweaked as hundreds of thousands of people self-isolate July 19, 2021 The NHS Covid-19 app will not have its sensitivity tweaked, Downing Street has confirmed, despite industries warning of staff shortages as England lifts almost all coronavirus restrictions. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak are among the hundreds of thousands of people currently self-isolating due to being alerted by NHS Test and Trace that [...]
Watch: London clubbers cheer end of Covid restrictions July 19, 2021 London clubbers on Monday flocked to one of the first rule-free live music events since the pandemic began last year, dancing through the night and rejoicing in human interaction as England lifted most Covid restrictions at midnight. Watch the full report: this video contains flashing images.
Revolution Beauty shares run rouge in London junior market debut July 19, 2021 Revolution Beauty, which debuted a £300m placing on London’s junior market today, has seen its shares plummet over four per cent. With its ordinary shares listed at 160p per piece, the company’s valuation is around $495m. The British beauty group began trading at 08:00 under the ticker REVB after an oversubscribed fundraiser last week. Revolution, [...]
Table service to remain in ‘most’ pubs post-Freedom Day, Shepherd Neame boss says July 19, 2021 Table service is to remain in most Shepherd Neame pubs, with only “some sites” having bar service reintroduced after England eases most restrictions today. Pub group boss Jonathan Neame welcomed the easing of restrictions and larger groups of people regardless of households to his pub estate in a statement. “While restrictions have been lifted, and [...]
Pingdemic: UK supermarkets brace themselves for chaotic Freedom Day July 19, 2021 Supermarkets warned they will shorten opening hours or close their shops amid a rising number of their workers having to self-isolate. There are fears of goods shortages in supermarkets and cuts in production at factories because of the number of workers being pinged by the NHS Test and Trace app. Last week, over 500,000 alerts [...]
Pubs shut and supermarkets closed: Pingdemic rips through recovery July 19, 2021 Supermarkets and pubs shut their doors today as the so-called “pingdemic” results in staff shortages across the country. Iceland boss Richard Walker said some of their 1,000 UK stores had been forced to close by the NHS app ‘pinging’ staff with orders to self-isolate. And the CEO of pub chain Greene King, Nick Mackenzie, has [...]
Morrisons push ahead with plans to open automated grocery store as ‘pingdemic’ continues to hit supermarkets July 19, 2021 Morrisons are said to be close to unveiling an unmanned pilot store to the public “within months”, as they look to follow Amazon’s lead in modernising the approach to grocery shopping. The store will rely on shoppers to scan their smartphones upon entry before having digital cameras follow their every step in store to check [...]
Scotch Malt Whisky Society owners enjoy sales growth despite Brexit export issues July 19, 2021 The Artisanal Spirits Company, the owner of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, has enjoyed a 28 per cent lift to online sales in the UK despite minor membership growth. Despite last year’s lockdown spurring on drinking habits, the spirits company pulled in £1.7m in the six months to 30 June, in comparison to £1.3m during [...]