Giraffe Concepts snaps up 1950s-style restaurant chain Ed’s Easy Diner in pre-packaged deal that will result in 379 redundancies October 12, 2016 Giraffe Concepts has snapped up Ed's Easy Diner in a pre-packaged sell-off of the 1950s-style restaurant chain. The purchase includes 33 of the company's 59 restaurants and will result in the immediate closure of 26 restaurants and 379 redundancies. The deal, for an undisclosed sum, also includes the Ed's Easy Diner brand and the group's head [...]
This is how far London house prices fell in the third quarter October 12, 2016 London's house prices have underperformed in the third quarter as the capital recovered from the shock of the Brexit vote and the uncertainty afterwards. House prices fell 2.5 per cent in the third quarter, following on from a 0.5 per cent fall in the second quarter, according to data from Halifax and IHS Markit. London's decline compared [...]
Megabrew: Anheuser-Busch InBev shares rise on Euronext Brussels days after swallowing up SABMiller October 12, 2016 Shares in the world's largest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) have risen 1.6 per cent on the Euronext Brussels exchange two days after it swallowed up British drinks giant SABMiller in a £79bn takeover. AB InBev's stock was trading at €115.05 on the Euronext Brussels stock exchange, which is the primary listing for the newly-merged company. Read [...]
The government needs a robot strategy October 12, 2016 The government needs a robot strategy to unpick the impact that artificial intelligence (AI) will have on society, including the loss of jobs, a group of leading MPs have warned. The UK's reputation as a world leader in the field of robotics and AI technology should position the UK as a leader in examining the social and [...]
With consumers glued to their smartphones, mobile ad budgets are soaring October 12, 2016 Reading this on your smartphone? Company advertising departments will be pleasantly unsurprised. Consumers’ obsession with their smartphones meant that firms increased their mobile advertising budgets by 56 per cent year-on-year to £1.7bn in the first half of 2016. This means that 36p in every £1 spent on internet advertising now goes on phones, up from 4p [...]
London travel disruption: Delays into London Liverpool Street between St Pancras and Blackfriars October 12, 2016 Londoners are facing delays on a number of forms of transport this morning, as the Southern rail strikes continue. Trains between London St Pancras and Blackfriars are delayed due to a broken down train. Trains between London St Pancras International and London Blackfriars may be delayed by up to 15 minutes because of a broken [...]
Apple is ramping up iPhone production after Samsung recall October 12, 2016 Apple and Samsung’s simmering rivalry was taken up a notch amid the South Korean firm’s Galaxy Note 7 meltdown, which is expected to cost billions and threatens to leave its reputation in tatters. Around $18bn ((£14.8bn) was wiped from Samsung’s value as shares plummeted more than eight per cent, its biggest intraday loss since the [...]
“Outstanding performance” in own beer brands boost sales at pub group, lodge operator and brewer Marston’s October 12, 2016 Pub group Marston's was toasting its brewing arm this morning after its own-brand beer volumes registered double-digit growth over the year. The figures The Resolution and Hobgoblin brewer's own beer brands grew 13 per cent in the year ended 1 October, in line with management expectations. Like-for-like sales in Marston's destination and premium pubs were up 2.3 [...]
Housebuilders’ share prices struggle towards the pre-referendum summit after positive outlook from Telford Homes and Countryside October 12, 2016 Telford Homes' share price jumped 4.7 per cent in early morning trading after the company issued a confident trading update, pulling other housebuilders towards their pre-referendum prices. Countryside Properties' shares were also on the up – increasing 3.5 per cent at time of writing – when the housebuilder said any impact from the June referendum had been mitigated. [...]
Private equity-backed accountancy firm challenger expands with new investment October 12, 2016 A newly-formed private equity-backed accountancy group has announced a new investment. CogitalGroup, which was founded this summer by private equity firm HgCapital and former Deloitte UK chief executive John Connolly, this morning announced a deal with Baldwins. The accountancy firm has 27 offices across the UK, employing 650 people. Connolly will join the board of the company, [...]