The Good Pub Guide names the pub of the year 2021 – so who won? December 10, 2020 It has not been a good year to be a publican, with the burden of coronavirus restrictions largely placed upon the shoulders of bars and restaurants. So if ever the sector ever needed cheering up, it’s now. The Good Pub Guide 2021 has stepped in with its yearly honours list to celebrate the finest drinking [...]
Supermarkets supplying N. Ireland to get three month grace period after transition period December 9, 2020 Supermarkets selling into Northern Ireland will have a grace period to adapt their supply systems to the post-Brexit trading reality, Michael Gove said today. When the Brexit transition period ends at the end of the year, Northern Ireland will remain aligned to the EU’s single market and goods arriving in Northern Ireland will be subject [...]
Asda to close stores on Boxing Day so staff can see family December 9, 2020 Asda will not open its stores on Boxing Day, instead choosing to give thousands of employees the chance to stay home with loved ones. The supermarket said the decision was made in recognition of employees’ efforts as key workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. All 631 of Asda’s stores will close for two days over the [...]
What it’s like to launch a restaurant in a pandemic December 9, 2020 New Indian restaurant Pali Hill’s Avinash Shashidhara tells us what it was like opening a restaurant just as the government announced a national lockdown – not once but twice. I left the River café in 2018 after 10 amazing years and I felt like I was leaving home all over again. I wanted my own [...]
City of London launches gift card to boost spending at Square Mile businesses December 9, 2020 A new gift card for the City of London has been launched to make up for lost spending time during the pandemic.
Tesco to complete £8bn sale of Thai and Malaysian units this month December 9, 2020 Tesco is set to complete the sale of its Thailand and Malaysia businesses later this month after all conditions for the deal were satisfied. The UK supermarket giant announced in March that it was going to sell the two Asian businesses to Thai conglomerate CP Group. The deal is worth £8bn. Tesco is seeking to [...]
Give our events industry the tools to save itself from Covid December 9, 2020 More than 1.5 million people are employed in the UK’s events industry and we all have one thing in common: we are problem solvers. That is what we do, day in, day out. We are logistics experts, known the world over for our technical and creative talents. We are ready to get back to work, [...]
Stephan Shakespeare: Could Mike Ashley bring in customers to save Debenhams? December 9, 2020 Customers of Mike Ashley’s Fraser’s Group are typically more likely to consider buying from struggling department store Debenhams, YouGov research has revealed. It has been a tough year for retail but Debenhams has been hit particularly hard, with several of its stores closing their doors in May. Now, liquidators have been brought in to start [...]
Sunday’s shopping surge beats Black Friday to largest shopping day of the year December 8, 2020 In what will be seen as a big boost for retailers, this past weekend has beaten Black Friday to the current crown of busiest shopping day of the year so far. This follows data released by Barlcayard Payments, which processes nearly £1 in every £3 spent in the UK, revealing that this weekend was the [...]
CMA launches probe into billionaire brothers’ takeover of Asda December 8, 2020 The UK’s competition regulator has launched its stage one probe into the billionaire Issa brothers’ takeover of supermarket Asda. Back in October the brothers, along with private equity group TDR Capital, agreed to buy the grocer from US giant Walmart for £6.8bn. At the time, Walmart said that it expected the deal to be subject [...]