Hovis receives takeover offer from Italian firm Newlat Food October 5, 2020 Italian firm Newlat Food has made an offer to buy the maker of Hovis bread from its current owners Premier Foods and US investment firm Gores Group. Newlat, which is the owner of Buitoni pasta, said this morning that the 134-year-old brand has a “great tradition and recognisability in the United Kingdom”. The acquisition would [...]
Major Boohoo shareholders fail to denounce CEO over Leicester factory conditions October 5, 2020 Boohoo’s major shareholders today failed to denounce the fast fashion firm’s bosses following a report into poor working practices at Leicester clothing factories. Leicester West MP Liz Kendall called on investment firms Jupiter, Baillie Gifford and Invesco to remove chief executive John Lyttle and executive chairman Mahmud Kamani following an independent review into working conditions. [...]
Wet weather and 10pm curfew dampens high street footfall recovery October 5, 2020 Retail footfall dropped for the second week in a row as the pub and restaurant curfew and wet weather brought further gloom for the embattled UK high street. Footfall across all retail destinations declined 3.5 per cent last week compared the previous week, dragged down by a 7.1 per cent slump in high street shopper [...]
O2 Arena to resume live events in December with Squeeze gig October 5, 2020 The O2 Arena has announced plans to resume live events for the first time in eight months in December with a gig headlined by 70s rock group Squeeze. The Cool for Cats rockers will play to socially distanced fans on Saturday 5 December in the first concert at the east London venue since it was [...]
High rents force three in four hospitality businesses to consider restructure or insolvency October 5, 2020 73% of London-based hospitality and leisure operators are considering a restructure or insolvency as a result of the economic impact of the ongoing pandemic. Advisory firm Cedar Dean, which surveyed 230 hospitality and leisure businesses with around 2,000 venues across the UK, found that rental obligations are currently the most pressing issue. 86% of London-based [...]
Mulberry swings to full year loss as coronavirus shuts down high street October 5, 2020 Fashion house Mulberry fell to a £14.2m loss in the last financial year, the firm announced today, as the coronavirus pandemic derailed the firm in its final month of trading. The firm said that it had been on course to report a profit for the second half of the year before the virus shut down [...]
Sazka mounts challenge against Camelot to take UK National Lottery licence October 4, 2020 European firm Sazka has mounted a challenge to take the licence to run the UK’s National Lottery from current operator Camelot for the first time since the prize draw’s launch in 1994. Sazka has entered the Gambling Commission’s competition to select an operator to run the National Lottery when Camelot’s licence expires in 2023. The [...]
Betfred owner denies rival bid for William Hill October 4, 2020 Betfred co-founder Fred Done has pushed back against reports that he will make a rival bid for William Hill, which has already given the green light to a £2.9bn deal with Las Vegas casino owner Caesars Entertainment. Done, who is William Hill’s second-biggest investor, was weighing up “all options” this weekend, the Sunday Telegraph reported. [...]
Cineworld to close all UK theatres over Covid-19 film release delays October 4, 2020 Cineworld is reportedly drawing up plans to shutter its entire collection of cinemas across the UK and Ireland
Airbnb aims to raise roughly $3bn in IPO October 3, 2020 Home rental company Airbnb is aiming to raise around $3bn in its upcoming initial public offering (IPO), people familiar with the matter said on Friday, taking advantage of the unexpectedly sharp recovery in its business after the Covid-19 pandemic roiled the travel industry. Airbnb will be one of the largest and most anticipated US stock [...]