300 McColl’s convenience stores to be converted into Morrisons Daily’s March 1, 2021 300 McColl’s convenience stores are set to be converted into Morissons Daily’s over the next three years, as the companies’ said this morning they have extended their wholesale supply partnership. The upcoming rollout follows over 30 conversions in recent months, with all stores continuing to be owned and operated by McColl’s. Offering the Morrisons [...]
Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group burns through £5.5m a month during lockdown March 1, 2021 Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group has said it expects to burn through £5.5m a month until lockdown restrictions are lifted. The group announced details of the cash burn rate at Christmas but today said it expected to stay at this level until the end of restrictions, which are due to be lifted no earlier than [...]
Ladbrokes owner Entain hikes Enlabs offer after shareholder resistance March 1, 2021 Ladbrokes owner Entain has today hiked its offer for Swedish rival Enlabs to around £310m, the firm announced this morning. The FTSE 100 firm said that it was raising its bid from 40 Swedish krona per share to 53 Swedish krona per share, giving the firm a valuation of 3.7bn krona (£311m). The decision to [...]
Online share of grocery sales hits record level during third lockdown March 1, 2021 The third national lockdown pushed the share of online grocery sales to a record high in January, double the level the previous month. The pandemic has accelerated the shift to online shopping with Britain’s big four supermarkets expanding their capacity during the crisis. The online share of grocery sales hit 16 per cent in January, [...]
Budget 2021: Sunak eyes tax on online deliveries and freelance workers February 28, 2021 Rishi Sunak is reportedly preparing to announce new taxes on online deliveries and freelance workers in Wednesday’s Budget to help pay off the UK’s Covid spending. The tax would likely target online firms like Amazon and Asos who have seen profits soar over the past year, after people spent much of 2020 in lockdown. It [...]
Hospitality redundancies: How many restaurant and pub jobs have been lost during the pandemic? February 27, 2021 How many restaurant and pub jobs have been lost during the pandemic?
Toast This Morning with a glass of Phillip Schofield’s own wine February 26, 2021 People say watching This Morning with Phillip Schofield is like having a nice cup of tea with an old friend. Well, you can go one better than that now, after the beloved presenter launched his own wine brand. The talk show host is a knowledgeable wine enthusiast who began collecting wine after he was introduced [...]
Hospitality sector ‘facing cash crunch’ without further support February 26, 2021 One in five businesses in the UK hospitality sector could run out of cash in the next week unless more emergency support is confirmed, the industry has warned. In a letter to the government, more than 200 hospitality firms warned they faced a “truly perilous” situation with months of continued restrictions ahead. Prime Minister Boris [...]
Sainsbury’s workers welcome third pandemic bonus and pay rises February 26, 2021 Sainsbury’s is set to award its staff with a third bonus and pay rises for keeping shops stocked throughout the pandemic, the supermarket chain said this morning. The group has also announced a pay rise, which forms part of a 24 per cent increase in wages for store staff over the last five years. Following [...]
Puppy love: Pets at Home hikes profit forecast as Brits splash out on furry friends February 26, 2021 Pets at Home has scrubbed up its profit expectations for the full year after continued demand for its animal offerings helped boost trading. The reptile and rabbit retailer said it now expected pre-tax profit for 2020 to hit £85m — ahead of its previous guidance of £77m. This includes a £28.9m repayment of business rates [...]