Just Eat Takeaway urged to sell Grubhub by activist investor October 25, 2021 Just Eat Takeaway (JET) has been urged to sell or spin-off its US arm Grubhub by an activist investor by the end of the year. Investor Cat Rock Capital has said the food delivery firm’s management “failed to fix the deep and damaging undervaluation of its equity by taking tangible action to unlock the value [...]
Las Iguanas owner plots 50 new restaurant openings October 25, 2021 The operator behind Las Iguanas, Bella Italia and Café Rouge is to open 50 new restaurants as part of an investment topping £50m. As well as new venues, the Big Table Group said it planned to refurbish 70 sites over the next three years. Its growth plans will create 1,250 new jobs. Some £35m will [...]
Savile Row’s Gieves & Hawkes faces being wound-up October 25, 2021 Savile Row tailor Gieves & Hawkes is facing the threat of closure due to its parent company’s financial problems. Without a new backer, the 250-year old firm and its sister firm Kent & Curwen could be wound up, according to The Times. The tailor’s Chinese owner Trinity Limited is controlled by the Shandong Ruyi Technology [...]
Number of retail M&A deals soars as buyers eye economic recovery October 25, 2021 The number of M&A deals targeting UK retailers has swelled 28 per cent to 37 in the past year, new analysis has found. City law firm RPC found that the number of deals rose from 29 in the previous year while the Morrisons and Asda deals saw deal value skyrocket. Value has soared more than [...]
Rogue landlords: Calls mount for national registration scheme October 24, 2021 The government is facing calls for a national registration scheme to aid councils in tackling rogue landlords in England. A white paper is expected to be published in the coming months that will look at the idea, according to the Guardian. Councils that require rental homes to be registered under local licensing schemes are more [...]
Lending platform calls on Treasury to privatise land registry October 24, 2021 Lending platform Brydg has urged the Chancellor to consider the privatisation of the HM Land Registry. The registry’s digitisation plans are “lagging”, according to the firm, which wrote to Rishi Sunak ahead of the Budget on October 27. Brydg called for a funding boost for the service as well as for ministers to consider privatising [...]
Pizza Express and IHG back calls for VAT freeze October 24, 2021 More than 200 hospitality bosses have called on the Chancellor to freeze VAT for the sector at 12.5 per cent. CEOs of big names including Stonegate, Pizza Express and IHG Hotels, have urged Rishi Sunak to announce a permanent reduced rate on the Budget on October 27. They said businesses need more support to fully [...]
Tesco website and app hit by hackers October 24, 2021 Tesco’s website and app are down for a second day after being hit by hackers. Thousands of shoppers have been unable to book deliveries or amend existing orders due to the outage. The grocer said it did not believe customer data would be impacted and work was being taken to ensure private information was protected. [...]
Landlords: Government fund falls short for renters struggling with Covid debts October 24, 2021 Fresh government funding to help vulnerable renters struggling with Covid debts has been described as falling short. A £65m support package for those battling Covid rent debts was revealed this weekend by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. English councils will be able to help low-income households at risk of eviction or homelessness [...]
Missguided seeks rescue plan as supply chain chaos strains finances October 24, 2021 Missguided’s multimillionaire owner is scrambling to save the fast fashion brand from supply chain pressures. The online retailer has been hit by a perfect storm of price rises and delivery disruption. Missguided founder Nitin Passi is thought to be in talks with City crisis experts from AlixPartners to look at dramatic restructuring options, according to [...]
