Tesco joins forces with Gorillas delivery app October 28, 2021 Tesco has announced it is launching a pilot with speedy delivery company, Gorillas. Supermarket customers will be able to order Tesco products to their doorsteps via the Gorillas app, from Thursday (October 28). Gorillas will set up micro-fulfilment sites at five large Tesco stores, to pick, pack and deliver to customers. The app’s first Tesco [...]
Second home buyers dodge bullet of stamp duty rise for now October 28, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak may have taken a last minute decision not to increase the stamp duty surcharge paid by landlords and second home buyers. The government had planned to hike the three percentage point surcharge on additional property purchases to four percentage points, first reported by the Daily Telegraph. In the economic and fiscal outlook, [...]
Budget 2021: Retail chiefs disappointed after no decision on online sales tax October 27, 2021 Retail bosses have said the Chancellor’s silence on an online sales tax in the Budget comes as “another blow” to the beleaguered high street. While Rishi Sunak did not mention the mooted sales tax at the dispatch box, the autumn budget and spending review stated ministers will “continue to explore the arguments for and against” [...]
Budget 2021: Alcohol duty to be overhauled as spirit duty hike cancelled October 27, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has set out a five-step plan to overhaul alcohol duty, speaking at the Budget. The current system is “outdated, complex and full of historical anomalies”. The number of main duty rates will be cut from 15 to six with an aim to “end the era of cheap, high-strength drinks.” Drinks are to [...]
Budget 2021: Hospitality and retail to get 50 per cent discount on business rates October 27, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a one-year 50 per cent business rates discount for retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. Any eligible business in these sectors can claim a discount of up to 50 per cent up to a maximum of £110,000 – a business tax cut worth almost £1.7bn. Under reforms, system property valuations would [...]
Budget 2021: Levy for property developers to fund removal of unsafe cladding October 27, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has reiterated plans for a levy for property developers to help create a fund to remove unsafe cladding. Speaking at the Budget, Sunak said property developers with profits over £25m will face a levy at a rate of 4 per cent. This will be used to help create a £5bn fund to [...]
Heineken sales lower than expected after Vietnam lockdown October 27, 2021 Brewing behemoth Heineken posted a steeper than expected decline in third-quarter beer sales after coronavirus restrictions in Vietnam. Lockdown measures slashed volumes in Vietnam, one of its top three markets, by more than half. The brewer said it sold 5.1 per cent less beer on a like-for-like basis than a year earlier, with Asia-Pacific sales [...]
JD Wetherspoon launches 99p pints despite sector warning of cost pressures October 27, 2021 Pub giant JD Wetherspoon has put 99p pints back on the menu as the pub sector battles rising costs. The operator said it would slash the prices on a range of drinks throughout November in a bid to lure post-lockdown drinkers back. Across its 671 pubs in England, JD Wetherspoon (JDW) will sell three alcoholic [...]
Face masks made mandatory for all staff in Commons – apart from MPs October 27, 2021 Face masks have been made mandatory for everyone working in the House of Commons, with the exception of MPs. New guidance published by the Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, has outlined that all staff on the parliamentary estate, including MPs’ researchers, press and security staff, must wear a face covering. The move would “ensure that those [...]
Watchdog approves £222m takeover of Hawthorn pubs by Admiral Taverns October 27, 2021 Admiral Tavern’s £222m acquisition of almost 700 pubs has been given the green light by the competition watchdog. However, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said Admiral Taverns and Hawthorn Leisure must tackle competition concerns in several local areas. The community pub operator said it understood the merger gives rise to a realistic prospect of [...]
