Bottoms up: Diageo sells off Seagram’s and other booze brands for $550m to US rival Sazerac November 12, 2018 British brewer Diageo is set to shift 19 brands out of its drinks cabinet for a total of $550m (£428.1m) in order to focus on classier tipples, it said today. The company behind drinks such as Guinness and Smirnoff will sell the brands to US rival Sazerac, parting with brands Seagram’s VO, Seagram’s 83, Seagram’s Five Star, Myers’s Rum, [...]
The Restaurant Group prepares to raise £315m for Wagamama deal despite criticism November 12, 2018 The Restaurant Group (TRG) pushed ahead with a rights issue to raise £315m to finance its acquisition of Wagamama today, despite concerns from analysts and investors. The rights issue to raise cash for the takeover will be underwritten by JP Morgan Securities, TRG said this morning, in a deal valuing the chain at £559m. “This a transformative deal [...]
How London’s high streets can weather the brewing retail storm November 12, 2018 London rightly bears the distinction of being one of the world’s most attractive places to live and work. But with that label comes risks as well as opportunities – and often, trends that we see across the country play out far more dramatically when it comes to our capital. Take our latest research into the [...]
UK distilleries on the rise as craft spirit craze continues November 12, 2018 The number of distillery businesses in the UK soared 30 per cent in a single year as demand for craft spirits grows, according to figures published today. Distilleries rose in number from 131 in 2016 to 170 in 2017, reflecting an increased appetite for unusual flavours and local spirits produced by boutique distilleries. Accountancy firm [...]
Weapon of choice: How nutrition brand Grenade has exploded into the market November 12, 2018 Grenade is the kind of brand that just appears out of nowhere – you blink and suddenly the products are a staple stock in shops around the country. For those who have somehow missed the craze, Grenade is a food company specialising in healthy snacks – and now you’ve heard the name, you’ll probably start [...]
Zizzi’s Salisbury Novichok attack restaurant doubles customers on re-opening November 12, 2018 The restaurant which was caught in the middle of the Salisbury Novichok poisoning has doubled its customers since re-opening last week. The Salisbury branch of Zizzi was closed after traces of the Novichok nerve agent used to poison Sergei and Yulia Skripal were reported to have been discovered at the Italian restaurant. “The last two [...]
Shake up at Dirty Martini as owners appoint advisers for possible sale November 11, 2018 The group that runs the Dirty Martini chain of cocktail bars confirmed today it had appointed advisers to examine a sale. CG Restaurants said it had “received a number of unsolicited approaches, which are being considered in the context of delivering best value to our shareholders.” It also said: “This may or not result in [...]
Analysts express doubt over The Restaurant Group’s takeover of Wagamama’s November 11, 2018 Analysts have expressed doubt over Frankie and Benny’s owner The Restaurant Group’s (TRG) £600m acquisition of Asian fusion chain Wagamama’s. TRG is the preferred bidder in the sales process which was sparked in June by Goldman Sachs on behalf of private equity backers Duke Street and Hutton Collins, it was announced last month. However analysts [...]
All Saints profits hit by retail storm November 11, 2018 Fashion brand All Saints has seen its profits plummet as online shopping continues to take its toll on high-street fashion retailers. The company’s underlying profits fell by more than half to £10.6m because of property losses and a drop in in-store sales. Sales rose eight per cent to £327m in the year to February. But [...]
Alibaba’s record-breaking Singles Day sales hit $10bn in first hour November 11, 2018 Online retail giant Alibaba today smashed records for the largest shopping day on the planet, making sales of over $1bn (£770.5m) in just 85 seconds. The sales came during Singles Day, the world’s largest online retail festival. Alibaba’s total sales hit $10bn after one hour and had reached over $24bn after 16 hours. The festival's sales eclipse the estimated [...]