‘Prohibitive building costs’ stunting UK growth projects – Deloitte February 4, 2025 “Prohibitive costs” involved in construction projects in major UK cities led to a sharp decline in the number of new developments breaking ground in 2024, according to a new report from Deloitte. Deloitte’s latest Regional Crane Surveys, which covers the central areas of Belfast, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, has revealed the number of new starts [...]
OYO: Billionaire’s hotel empire to make £50m UK investment February 3, 2025 OYO, the hotel chain founded by Indian billionaire Ritesh Agarwai, has revealed plans to invest £50m in the UK over the next three years and support 1,000 jobs. The news comes after the group, which first entered the UK market in 2018, announced its ambition towards the end of 2024 to open 40 new hotels [...]
Luxury London hotel sale boosts profit at family empire January 23, 2025 The sale of a luxury hotel in London significantly boosted the profit of a family empire which has set its sights on further expansion across the UK. Apex Hotels, which was founded by Norman Springford, has posted a pre-tax profit of £28.4m for the year to 30 April, 2024, after selling Apex London Wall Hotel [...]
Best London hotels: eat in the room that inspired the Titanic January 4, 2025 Fitz’s Russell Square at the Kimpton Fitzroy London hotel was designed by architect Charles Fitzroy Doll as a prelude to the Titanic Out of the 21 five-star hotels in London (I know, there are far less than you’d think) it’s often the same ones that get the attention. Claridge’s, The Ritz, The Dorchester and The Savoy rightly win [...]
Gary Neville’s hotel makes huge loss after Tom Kerridge closure January 2, 2025 A hotel owned by Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs slumped further into the red after the closure of Tom Kerridge’s restaurant, it has been revealed. The Stock Exchange Hotel in Manchester city centre has also posted falling sales despite the publicity it received after Madonna booked the entire hotel out while she was performing in [...]
Corinthia hotel London’s exec chef: London diners are moving away from glitzy restaurants December 30, 2024 André Garrett is the Executive chef at the Corinthia London hotel on Whitehall, home to Tom Kerridge’s London restaurant and a popular hangout for international royalty and American screen talent. In our review, we called the property “one of the grandest central London hotels.” Garrett speaks to us about the food and drink trends he [...]
Loss widens at Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard November 28, 2024 The five-star Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard is eyeing an improvement in its financial performance in 2024 despite its pre-tax loss widening during its latest year. The hotel has reported a pre-tax loss of £7.3m for 2023, according to newly-filed accounts with Companies House. The figure compares to the £6m pre-tax loss it posted in [...]
Travelodge turns to robot vacuums amid budget hotel chain facing £21m costs hike November 28, 2024 Travelodge has revealed it is facing a £21m hike in costs in 2025 following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget. The budget hotel group has warned it will see the increase because of the combined impact of another minimum wage hike in April as well as a higher rate of employer national insurance set to push up [...]
Recalibrating time at the Iconic Jamaica Inn November 25, 2024 On my way to Jamaica, I had two hours to kill at Miami Airport. I parked myself at one of the Cuban cafes for a cubano, a perfect sandwich of roast pork, ham and pickles welded together by a semi-fluid puck of Swiss cheese. Then in that very American, somewhat disorientating way, especially after a [...]
Employer National Insurance hike a ‘significant burden’ and will impact working people, warns Thwaites November 12, 2024 The hike in employer National Insurance contribution (NICs), which was revealed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her Budget, will place a “significant burden” on historic brewer, pub and hotel owner, Daniel Thwaites, the company has said. The Lancashire-headquartered group added that the increase, together with the rise in the National Living Wage, “make it less [...]