Droves of shoppers return to Central London high streets May 17, 2021 Footfall in Central London grew by 4.2 per cent last week, according to data from Springboard, suggesting shoppers have started to feel sufficiently confident to make trips to the capital. But despite the week’s jump in footfall, London has a long way to go before it reaches pre-pandemic levels of busy. Footfall in London is [...]
Sadiq Khan calls for Londoners to ‘support British businesses’ as restrictions eased May 17, 2021 Sadiq Khan has called on Londoners to “support British businesses” and to come back into central London as Covid restrictions are eased further in England today. Khan said people outside the capital should not despair about the limited opportunities to currently travel overseas and that “everything you need is in London”. Tens of thousands of [...]
Stump up the dough: Warburtons to spend millions on new bagel and crumpet factories May 17, 2021 Warburtons is spending £56m on new plants and depots after shoppers swapped slice bread for crumpets and bagels during the lockdown. The company will spend £28m on developing three new distribution depots and creating 150 new jobs, the Telegraph first reported. The baker will also plough £26m into building two new bakery plants; one factory [...]
Weekend Read: Foreign investors flee Myanmar as regime strengthens grip May 16, 2021 Businesses have continued to bow out of Myanmar after the bloody coup has killed more than 750 people and seen over 5,000 arrested for protesting the military’s forced reign. Companies began to flee Myanmar in March, like Japanese beverage group Kirin which had a $1.7bn stake in Myanmar Economic Holdings Public Company Limited, a company [...]
End of lockdown: London’s first female chef with three Michelin stars sells three months of bookings in 20 minutes May 15, 2021 As the first female British chef to win three Michelin stars, Clare Smyth sold out three months of bookings in 20 minutes when her Core restaurant said it would reopen from lockdown, underscoring her faith that London is ready to rebound. Watch the full report.
It’s all over: Debenhams’ 243-year history ends today as final 28 stores close for good May 15, 2021 Today, Debenhams is to shut its doors for the final time in its 243-year history. The historic department store chain will close its remaining 28 stores across the UK for good tomorrow after the company collapsed amid the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. It closed 21 other sites across the UK for the final time [...]
Travel green list: The destinations with the most five star hotel availability May 14, 2021 Boris Johnson announced last week which nations had made the coveted holiday green list, meaning holidaymakers would not be required to quarantine on their return to the UK should they head there this summer. With many of us keen to get away after more than a year, hotel booking platform Hoo analysed which green list [...]
What top London chefs really think about Instagram May 14, 2021 Heston Blumenthal is famously exacting about the dining experience. He tries to create “sensory memories”, controlling not only the way his dishes look and taste, but what his diners are listening to while they eat. His The Sound of the Sea, a signature dish at The Fat Duck, came with an iPod Nano playing, well, [...]
Pubs will ‘struggle to break even’ until all Covid restrictions are lifted May 14, 2021 Pubs across England are preparing to open their doors from Monday as indoor trading resumes, but the industry body has warned that ongoing social distancing restrictions will force 2,000 to remain closed. The British Beer and Pub Association said today that 45,000 venues will reopen next week, serving around 3m pints, as punters flock back [...]
Amazon to create 10,000 UK jobs this year May 14, 2021 Amazon today announced that it would create 10,000 new jobs in the UK in 2021 as the online giant expands its workforce in the country. It said that it would also invest £10m over three years to train up 5,000 of its staff using its “Career Choice” programme. The firm has partnered with the British [...]