London: Shot in the arm for West End as Uniqlo UK boss says Covent Garden is the place to be April 27, 2023 Fashion chain Uniqlo said it was committed to London after opening its second store in six months. Alessandro Dudech, chief operating officer at Uniqlo UK said the company regarded it as honour to be opening a store in Covent Garden. He said it was an area of London with “cultural and retail heritage”. He added: [...]
Law firms help drive record demand for London office space February 23, 2023 Law firms, accounting firms and consultancies acquired a record 2.5m sq ft of central London office space in 2022, following a boom in the professional services sector’s revenues. London’s top services firms took up 50 per cent more office space last year than in 2021, as the sector capitalised on an “unprecedented” surge in demand, [...]
The end for Just Stop Oil? Green pioneer Dale Vince to stop funding eco group October 6, 2023 Green energy industrialist Dale Vince has said he will stop funding eco-activists Just Stop Oil, saying he believes further protests would be “counterproductive” and “pointless” given the Government’s stance on drilling in the North Sea. The Ecotricity founder, who has donated to both the Labour Party and Just Stop Oil, said he will instead focus [...]
It’s all about quality: Fixing the Square Mile’s shopping district March 27, 2023 As Oxford Street struggles to fill vacant spaces on its high street, many in the retail sector are also questioning what the future holds for the Square Mile’s shopping scene. At One New Change, the City’s prime shopping centre, which was launched in 2010 to rival London’s West End, there are about 10 vacant lots, [...]
Greene King revenues top £2bn as pub chain hopes inflation fears will be drowned out by a boozy Coronation May 2, 2023 Greene King said revenues continued to soar however the chief executive of the group warned that inflation and the cost of living crisis would prove a “tough backdrop” for the hospitality sector. The pub operator, which has over 2,000 sites across the UK, reported a revenue hike of 62.2 per cent for the 52 weeks [...]
Fora chief: Wework trouble ‘doesn’t reflect the strength’ of London’s flexible market February 5, 2024 Enrico Sanna, the chief executive of Fora, said the troubled situation Wework is facing “doesn't reflect the strength of the market”.
Coronation: £1m windfall for ceramics giant Halcyon Days as Brits buy King Charles plates and tea cups May 3, 2023 The chief executive of one of the UK’s biggest makers of luxury ceramics has said that Brits should not “underestimate” the value of the Royal Family, as it prepares to rack in a million pounds in sales from Coronation themed tea cups and plates. Pamela Harper, head of the Halcyon Days, a pre-eminent supplier of [...]
Coronation: Sixty-two million pints to be poured at UK pubs, but City might miss out May 2, 2023 Pubs across the UK are bracing for an influx of visitors to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III this week, with some trade groups suggesting the sector could see a multi-million pound boost from increased sales. UK pubs will see a £120 million boost as people flock to pubs during the bank holiday weekend, [...]
New Bond St second priciest shopping street in Europe as West End hopes for Christmas rebound November 23, 2022 New Bond St has been dubbed as the second most expensive shopping street in Europe, missing out the top spot to Milan’s Via Montenapoleone. The new rankings from real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield show a robust landscape for retail real estate, despite a torrid few years due to Covid. New Bond St boasts [...]
American candy stores or retail hub? What might be next for Oxford Street March 19, 2023 It has been three years since the UK was plunged into its first-ever full scale lockdown – forcing the majority of stores in London’s West End to temporarily cease trading and arguably altering the state of physical retail forever. The pandemic forced once seemingly indestructible retailers such as Debenhams, Topshop, and Gap off Oxford Street, [...]