Holiday Inn owner IHG sees signs of recovery in July as consumers book staycations August 11, 2020 Holiday Inn owner Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) said it had seen an uptick in bookings in July as holiday makers opt for staycations during the coronavirus pandemic. The figures IHG, which also owns the Crowne Plaza, Regent and Hualuxe hotel brands, saw revenue more than halve to $488m in the first six months of 2020. [...]
Domino’s reinstates dividend as pizza chain hails ‘resilient’ lockdown sales August 11, 2020 Pizza chain Domino’s reinstated its dividend payment as it hailed “resilient” trading during the UK coronavirus lockdown. The figures UK like-for-like sales were up 4.8 per cent and Ireland like-for-like sales increased 3.6 per cent during the first half of the year. However underlying earnings before interest and taxes fell to £51.4m pounds for the [...]
UK retail sales grow following lockdown easing August 11, 2020 UK retail sales grew in July as the easing of lockdown restrictions released pent-up demand, but high street stores continued to struggle. On a total basis, sales increased 3.2 per cent last month, compared to a jump of 0.5 per cent in July 2019, which was the second consecutive month of growth since the coronavirus [...]
In love with Amazon? It’s just a marriage of convenience August 11, 2020 And just becauseI call you upDon’t get me wrong, don’t think you’ve got it madeI’m not in love, no no, it’s because…. I’m sure you recognise those lyrics from the 1975 hit “I’m Not In Love” by 10cc — which was precisely 20 years before Amazon was launched onto an unsuspecting world. If only we’d [...]
Top City restaurateur explores outdoor seating in post-lockdown Square Mile August 10, 2020 A top London restaurateur is preparing to launch an outdoor seating area at his venue Bank in a bid to encourage consumers to visit the Square Mile restaurant following the UK’s coronavirus lockdown. The outdoor seating plans at 1 Lombard Street, which restaurant boss Soren Jessen is preparing to submit to the City of London [...]
London restaurants urge Sadiq Khan to drop congestion charge August 10, 2020 London’s restaurants and bars have called on Sadiq Khan to drop the congestion charge and encourage public transport use to boost visitor numbers following months of coronavirus lockdown. In a letter signed by top chefs and restaurateurs, including St John’s co-founder Trevor Gulliver, Angela Hartnett and D&D London’s David Loewi, the industry has urged Khan [...]
McDonald’s sues former chief Easterbrook over alleged sexual conduct with staff August 10, 2020 McDonald’s has filed a lawsuit against its former chief executive Steve Easterbrook, after accusing him of having several sexual relationships with colleagues. The fast food chain is suing Easterbrook to to recover his exit package, worth tens of millions of dollars, after an internal investigation found that he had sexual relationships with multiple employees. Easterbrook [...]
Unilever may abandon HQ unification over €11bn Dutch tax bill August 10, 2020 Unilever has said it may scrap plans to unify its London and Dutch headquarters, if parliament in the Netherlands passes a law which would demand an €11bn exit tax over the deal. The legislation, which was proposed by the opposition Green Left political party, is currently being assessed by the Netherlands’ Council of State as [...]
Government urged to pay £5bn of retailers’ rents after lockdown August 10, 2020 Retail, hospitality and leisure firms have urged the government to pay up to £5bn to cover a proportion of rents for struggling businesses to avoid further high street job losses. Trade bodies, including the British Property Federation (BPF), British Retail Consortium (BRC) and UK Hospitality, have called on the government to launch a Property Bounceback [...]
Superdry secures new lending facility as coronavirus hits revenue August 10, 2020 Superdry has secured a new financing arrangement with its lenders as the designer clothing brand seeks to shore up its financial position amid ongoing disruption from the coronavirus pandemic. In a trading update, the firm said it had agreed a new £70m asset backed lending facility with HSBC and BNPP, extending the term until January [...]