UK’s largest pub owner Enterprise Inns set to launch pubs around London April 25, 2016 The UK’s largest pub owner Enterprise Inns is set to launch pubs around London as part of a new venture called Frontier Pubs. Enterprise Inns has entered into a "managed expert agreement" with Food & Fuel, the London-based operator of gastro pubs and cafe bars. It did not say how many pubs it plans to open as [...]
The gin-aissance: Number of distilleries in England jumped by a third in 2015, according to UHY Hacker Young April 25, 2016 The increasing demand for boutique spirits pushed the number of new distilleries in England up by a third last year. Dubbed the "gin-aissance", the spirits boom led to 28 new distilleries opening in England 2015, up from 21 in 2014, according to research from accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young. Across the UK, 56 artisan distilleries [...]
A third of Londoners think cash will disappear within the next 10 years April 25, 2016 One-third of Londoners think that cash could disappear altogether within the next 10 years, according to a poll released today. Across the country as a whole, a big majority – 73 per cent – of people do not expect to be using cash themselves five years from now. The One Poll/Starcom research says that people [...]
Hinkley Point decision delayed until September, France economy minister Emmanuel Macron says April 24, 2016 EDF has delayed its final investment decision on the building of a new £18bn power plant at Hinkley Point until September, four months after it was due to give its verdict on the project. France's economy minister Emmanuel Macron told French newspaper Journal du Dimanche that three conditions had to be in place before the part state-owned energy [...]
Turkey releases Polly Peck fraudster Asil Nadir after extradition from UK April 24, 2016 Turkish Cypriot businessman Asil Nadir has been released in Turkey just one night after he was returned there to complete his sentence. Nadir, who was jailed in the UK in 2012 for stealing millions from his own business empire, was convicted of 10 counts of theft £28.6m between 1987 and 1990 from textiles company Polly Peck International [...]
Heathrow faces £16bn “gaping hole” to upgrade road and rail links to the airport if third runway gets approval April 24, 2016 Heathrow Airport would face a black hole in excess of £16bn to pay for enhancements to road and rail links to the airport should the third runway be given the green light, Transport for London (TfL) has warned. The total cost for the upgrades would stand at £18.4bn, TfL said, far more than the £2.2bn Heathrow estimated. [...]
Buyout firm Carlyle in talks with former Barclay’s CEO Bob Diamond for Africa arm bid April 24, 2016 Carlyle, the US buyout group, is in early stage talks with one of Bob Diamond’s investment vehicles over a bid for Barclays Africa. Diamond, who resigned as Barclays’ chief executive amid the Libor scandal, will use his New York-based investment vehicle, Atlas Merchant Capital, to jointly fundraise with Carlyle. Barclays announced last month it would [...]
What next for high street giant BHS as administration speculation mounts? April 24, 2016 The future of retailer BHS hangs in the balance today as speculation mounts that it is facing the prospect of full administration or a pre-pack deal. A stalwart of the British high street for decades, BHS was owned by Sir Philip Green for 15 years before he sold it to Retail Acquisitions last year for [...]
WANdisco hopes for government contracts as turnaround takes hold April 24, 2016 Software developer WANdisco hopes to pick up a raft of government contracts this year as its strategic turnaround takes hold. While no government contracts have been secured yet, WANdisco is planning to pounce on Whitehall plans to move data from physical servers to cloud based storage. The company has recently bagged contracts with two of [...]
Chinese consumers are changing their habits rapidly as luxury has suffered a slow death and online takes off April 24, 2016 Beijing is awash with restaurants, but locals Cherry and Andy Ho haven’t bothered going out to eat for months. The proliferation of Groupon-style coupons and deals means it’s easier to have food delivered. It’s half the cost, with no delivery charge – great for consumers, but not so good for some traditional businesses. Indeed, this was among [...]