Caffè Nero slurps up 82 per cent post-restrictions sales spike May 31, 2021 Caffè Nero has enjoyed a sales spike in recent weeks, as restrictions were gradually eased, while it has also repaid all of its Covid financial support. Weekly sales surged 82 per cent as outdoor seating was allowed and then restricted indoor eating was permitted in the last 13 weeks. After paying back a £12.2m Liquidity [...]
UK economy set to grow 7.2 per cent this year, OECD forecasts May 31, 2021 The UK’s economy is set to grow at its fastest rate since the second world war this year and in 2022, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has forecast. After the Covid-19 ravaged economies, the UK suffered a 9.8 per cent contraction in 2020 – its worst in nearly 300 years. The organisation [...]
Electric Boris bikes to join London’s fleet by 2022 May 31, 2021 Boris bikes in the capital will be getting an electric boost in time for summer 2022, as London transport gears up its clean initiatives. In a three-year sponsorship deal, 500 e-bikes are set to be added to the 14,000 bikes-for-hire fleet across the city. ‘Cycling has been a lifeline for many Londoners over the past [...]
Hospitality: A quarter of Britain’s pubs and restaurants still to reopen after lockdown May 31, 2021 One in four of Britain’s restaurants, pubs, bars and other licensed premises have yet to reopen despite the return of inside service. Around 25,000 venues across Britain are still shut, according to new hospitality data from CGA and AlixPartners, shared with City A.M. this morning. The data shows similar trading numbers in England (76.6 per cent) and Scotland [...]
UK may be edging into a third wave, according to scientist advisor May 31, 2021 The UK may be in the early stages of a third wave of Covid-19 infections, according to a scientist advising the government. Professor Ravi Gupta has said that although new cases were “relatively low”, the Indian variant had caused “exponential growth” in infections. The University of Cambridge professor added that lifting Covid restrictions in England [...]
Business and professional services boosts UK economic output in May May 30, 2021 The City of London’s dominant business and professional services industry put rockets under the UK’s private sector business activity in the three months to May, according to the latest CBI monthly gorwth survey. Business and professional services activity grew at a survey record pace, gorwing at a rate of 50 per cent, up from a [...]
TfL funding package expires as talks continue on short-term rescue deal May 29, 2021 The emergency funding support programme agreed between Transport for London and the Department for Transport has come to an end, with discussions continuing on an extension. TfL were forced to go cap-in-hand to central government after passenger numbers collapsed at the start of Covid-19. A funding deal was struck in November 2020 to finish in [...]
Around 500 farmers with UK visas are trapped in Belarus after the flight ban May 28, 2021 Around 500 farmers from Belarus, who were recruited under a government visa scheme, have been left trapped in Belarus after the UK banned flights from the country this week. Trying to help the UK with its summer harvest, farmworkers have been trying to find indirect flights from neighbouring countries to get to the UK, after [...]
Franco Manco owner Fulham Shore sees post-restrictions revenues soar 103 per cent May 28, 2021 The company behind Franco Manca saw its group revenues soar 103 per cent in its first full week of dining with minimal restrictions, it said in a statement today. While loyalty scheme user numbers have doubled since the beginning of the first lockdown, to over 220,000 – the Fulham Shore group, which also owns The [...]
Small ‘dirty cash’ fortune of £5.1m found in Fulham flat – stashed under beds May 28, 2021 A small fortune of £5.1m in “dirty cash” was found in a Fulham flat – stashed under beds, in cupboards and strewn on the floor, police have said today. Three money launderers are facing prison following the Met police’s largest single cash seizure last summer. Police said it was left across the flat because the gang [...]