National Grid warns of price spikes but says British lights won’t go off this winter October 7, 2021 The National Grid has warned of increased risks of power shortages and “significant price spikes” this winter. The country would face its highest risk of power shortages in five years, the Grid said in a forecast. However, the company said it was confident that there would be “enough capacity available to keep Britain’s lights on.” [...]
Dairy farmers cry over spilt milk as tens of thousands of litres destroyed amid driver shortages October 7, 2021 Dairy farmers have had to pour tens of thousands of litres of milk down the drain thanks to the HGV driver shortage. One farmer told Sky News he had had no option but to pour 40,000 litres of milk away over the past couple of months after there were no drivers available for collection. The [...]
Office provider Workspace welcomes office return as occupancy rates rise October 7, 2021 Office-space provider Workspace has said it experienced a strong pick-up in activity last month as the UK gained momentum for the office return. Customer demand improved in the second quarter with an an average of 935 enquiries and 138 lettings per month Like-for-like rent roll was up 2.1 per cent in the first six months [...]
Revolution Bars raises a glass to better than expected post-lockdown sales October 7, 2021 Revolution Bars has said its sites in England have traded 21 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels since being able to operate free of Covid restrictions. The Revolucion de Cuba owner published a trading update looking at the period from July 19 – known as Freedom Day when all existing Covid rules for businesses were [...]
Covid pandemic accounts for around 15 per cent drop in retail footfall October 7, 2021 Retail footfall continued to strengthen in September, with analysts estimating that the Covid pandemic had caused around a 15 per cent drop in footfall. In September, footfall was down 17.4 per cent on 2019 levels, compared to being down 18.6 per cent in August, according to fresh data from Springboard. Footfall declined from 2019 by [...]
City workers returning to offices hits post-pandemic high October 6, 2021 The number of City workers working in offices hit a new post-pandemic high last week. Remit Consulting’s Return Report confirmed that Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were the busiest days of the week, with workers opting to work from home on Mondays and Fridays. Based on automatic turnstiles data, from building managers from over 150 major [...]
No comment from Tesco on takeover talk as it promises customers a good Christmas October 6, 2021 Tesco has denied its share buyback programme has anything to do with private equity takeover rumours. Following US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice winning Morrisons at auction with a bid of £7bn, Tesco and Sainsbury’s have been singled out as next in line for a takeover. Tesco said it would purchase £500m of [...]
Office occupancy jumps up around the world October 6, 2021 As the Prime Minister urges Brits to get back to the office, global data has revealed that 42 per cent of offices had reopened as of September This marks a jump from 30 per cent in August, according to occupancy data from workplace technology company Freespace. Just 16 per cent of offices are a third [...]
Next boss: Not constructive to say UK is addicted to cheap overseas labour October 6, 2021 Next boss Lord Wolfson has hit back at the Prime Minister’s claims that businesses like his want the government to “fix every problem” by lifting immigration controls. Lord Wolfson, who supported Brexit, told CityAM last month he would urge the government to ease immigration in line with demand, to help fill roles in retail and [...]
Ocado invests £10m into self-driving tech startup Wayve October 6, 2021 Self-driving tech startup Wayve’s total funding raised has hit $60m following an investment from grocer Ocado. Ocado is investing £10m ($13.6m) in a partnership with Wayve that will develop autonomous grocery deliveries. An autonomous delivery trial will involve a number of Ocado delivery vans on busy London routes – with a human driver to oversee [...]
