Junk food ads to be banned before the watershed in obesity crackdown June 24, 2021 Junk food adverts will not be allowed to be shown on TV before 9pm, as part of a campaign to tackle obesity. Foods including sausage rolls, fish fingers and pasties will be caught in the crackdown, the Sun reported. Ministers will unveil the plans today, according to reports, leaving businesses facing a medley of restrictions [...]
Travelodge appoints first female chief operating officer June 23, 2021 Budget hotel chain Travelodge has made Claire Good its new chief operating officer, making her the first woman to hold the role. Good has been serving as interim COO of Travelodge on an since January 2021. Her appointment makes her the fourth female on the group’s current operating board. Having joined Travelodge in 2016 as [...]
City centre hotels hammered by Covid restrictions on travel June 23, 2021 Hotels located in city centres are “really struggling” as Brits pick resorts over cities and travel restrictions curb tourism. Most hotels in British resorts like Cornwall are full, but city centre hotels are only between 30 and 40 per cent booked, according to data from hotel technology provider Avvio. London has seen a 32 per [...]
‘Are you crazy?’: London restaurateur on opening two eateries during the pandemic June 23, 2021 When the pandemic hit, London-based restauranteur Sanjay Anand, owner of catering and restaurant business Madhu’s, found himself feeling restless, with more time on his hands than he had had in decades. Pre-pandemic Madhu’s, which specialises in luxury Indian food, was predominantly a catering business, and when Covid restrictions were put in place last March around [...]
Festivals face ‘survival threat’ without insurance scheme, MPs warn June 23, 2021 Music festivals face a serious threat to their survival unless the government underwrites an insurance scheme covering the risk of cancellation, MPs have warned. In a report published today the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) warned that festivals were making “difficult decisions” about whether to risk their survival by going ahead this summer. The MPs added [...]
Labour says government should intervene in private equity takeover of Morrisons June 23, 2021 Labour has called on the government to confirm it will intervene in any private equity takeover of Morrisons to secure binding commitments about the buyer’s business plan, on jobs and on pensions. Morrisons revealed this weekend it had rejected a £5.5bn takeover bid from private equity firm Clayton, Dubiliter & Rice (CD&R), saying it believed [...]
Joules beats market expectations as recently acquired garden retailer provides boost June 23, 2021 Profit and revenue at Joules for the last financial year beat expectations, with its recently acquired garden and outdoor product store performing particularly well. In a pre-close trading update this morning, the fashion retailer said revenue had increased four per cent to £199m, up around £8m from the previous year. Profit before tax for the [...]
Fishy business: US lab fails to find tuna DNA in Subway tuna sandwiches June 22, 2021 A US lab could not find tuna DNA in 60 inches of Subway sandwiches supposedly serving the fish. The lab performed PCR tests, commissioned by the New York Times, to find if samples of the sandwich filling contained one of five common tuna species. “No amplifiable tuna DNA was present in the sample and so [...]
Some 300 million extra square feet of warehouse space needed in Europe to support e-commerce boom June 22, 2021 Nearly 300 million square feet’s worth of warehouse space in Europe will need to be found to cope with the e-commerce boom expected in the coming years. E-commerce sales across Europe are expected to increase by $298bn from 2020 to 2025, requiring thousands more industrial warehouses and distribution spaces to meet the growing demand, according [...]
E-commerce grocery sales plateau boosts Aldi’s market share to peak levels June 22, 2021 The growth of e-commerce sales in the grocery market has plateaued, giving the likes of Aldi an opportunity to grow its market share after not making use of online sales in the past year. The percentage of e-commerce sales in the grocery market remained flat at 13.4 per cent in the four weeks to 13 [...]