Mark Wahlberg-backed fitness group F45 plots $1.5bn IPO July 7, 2021 F45, the fitness chain backed by Hollywood hardman Mark Wahlberg, is seeking a valuation of more than $1.5bn (£1bn) in a US stock market float. The company, which was founded in Australia but is based in Texas, is plotting an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange after cashing in on the growing [...]
Ikea shelves plan for a new Sussex store due to ‘changing shopping habits’ July 7, 2021 Ikea UK has said it’s scrapping planned development of a new store at the New Monks Farm site in Lancing, Sussex. The Swedish furniture giant had selected the site in 2016 and was granted planning permission in 2020 as part of a £170m regeneration plan. However, the flat-pack furniture seller has pulled the plug, owing [...]
I’ll take two: London UK’s leading no-show hotspot for restaurant bookings July 7, 2021 London has been revealed to be the flakiest city in the UK for ghosting bookings, according to restaurant booking platform TheFork. Under the current restrictions in the hospitality sector, a pandemic-provoked ‘spread booking’ phenomenon has been reported by an increasing number of bars and restaurants. Some customers have been booking a table at more than [...]
Amazon accounts for a quarter of all UK online spending July 7, 2021 Amazon commands a sizeable chunk of all UK online spending, with more than a quarter of online purchases made via the ecommerce giant. A total 27 per cent of all UK online spending is via Amazon, according to data from ecommerce consultancy Wunderman Thompson Commerce. Last year, eMarketer forecasted that UK consumers will spend £141.33bn [...]
Ocado deploys lorry drivers to help with national shortage as more names ask government for help July 7, 2021 Ocado has had to deploy some of its own lorry drivers to help its suppliers get stock to its warehouses amid a national shortage of lorry drivers. CEO Tim Steiner told trade magazine The Grocer that Ocado itself was handling the ongoing driver shortage well, but that some of its suppliers were struggling. “We are [...]
Kwarteng to request meeting with Morrisons boss over buyout July 7, 2021 Business minister Kwasi Kwarteng will request a meeting with the boss of Morrisons to seek reassurances over jobs, pensions and the supermarket’s operations ahead of a potential buyout. Ministers will meet with executives at Morrisons ahead of a potential takeover by a consortium of funds headed by New York private equity house Fortress. The meeting [...]
Wetherspoons slams government for ‘behaving like Monty Python’s Dennis Moore’ over VAT rates July 7, 2021 Wetherspoons has hit out at the government for what is believes are unfair VAT rates on hospitality businesses, which could make the sector less competitive post-Covid. The pub chain has accused the government of “unfairness” and of ‘robbing the poor to help the rich’ by levying a higher VAT rate on food bought in pub [...]
Foxtons’ chair steps down in wake of ‘impaired’ trading performance July 7, 2021 Chairman Ian Barlow has announced his intention to step down from Foxtons’ board later this year, after the estate agent’s share price plummeted during the Covid pandemic. Barlow will step down no later than 31 December 2021 after nearly nine years on the board. Foxtons has had a tough year fending off criticism from [...]
Philip Green’s wife Tina paid £50m by Topshop administrators July 7, 2021 Tina Green, the wife of former retail tycoon Philip Green, received £50m in May from Topshop’s administration. The £50m was lent to Topshop as part of an emergency restructuring in 2019 and secured against a warehouse in Northamptonshire. In the wake of the collapse of parent company Arcadia, the space was sold for £83m, the [...]
Euro 2020: Over 9m pints expected to be sold in lead up to England’s semi-final July 7, 2021 Football fans are predicted to buy 6.8m pints during England’s Euro 2020 semi-final against Denmark tonight, with 9.7m expected to be sold throughout the day overall. The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said it expects today’s game to draw more crowds into pubs than England’s previous quarter-final match against Ukraine. Pint half empty While [...]