Third City of London skyscraper development gets planning green light February 24, 2021 Another skyscraper development has been given the go-ahead in the City of London, making it the third tall building scheme to get the green light this year. The City Corporation today granted developers British Land and GIC planning permission to build the 38-storey office block at 2 Finsbury Avenue. This year, 33-storey and 55-storey skyscraper [...]
TGI Fridays expects casual dining competition to drop 30 per cent after widespread closures February 24, 2021 The owner of TGI Fridays’ UK restaurants said it expects the casual dining chain to perform strongly when lockdown restrictions are lifted as competition has dropped by up to 30 per cent due to widespread sector closures. Electra Private Equity said the business is “well positioned to emerge strongly from lockdown” into a market with [...]
UK housing transactions slump in January as lockdown implemented February 23, 2021 UK housing transactions slumped last month due to the impact of national lockdown restrictions, according to the latest figures. HM Revenue and Customs data showed the provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions in January was 121,640, a drop of 2.4 per cent compared to the previous month. The month-on-month drop is a typical [...]
Retail, wholesale and motor trade employment falls at sharpest rate in 35 years February 23, 2021 Employment levels across the retail, wholesale and motor trades fell at a record pace in the year to February as the coronavirus pandemic continued to wreak havoc on the economy. The latest research showed that job losses in the distributive sector spiked last month, with employment levels falling at the steepest rate since records began [...]
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group to take £100m hit on lockdown restrictions February 23, 2021 Frasers Group, the retail empire owned by Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley, announced this morning that it expects to take a £100m hit due to lockdown restrictions. The retailer, which also owns House of Fraser and Jack Wills, said the length of the current lockdown, potential changes to consumer behaviour and the risk of future [...]
Student housing firm Scape signs £500m joint venture with pension investor APG to fund expansion February 22, 2021 Student accommodation developer Scape has secured a £500m joint venture with pension investor APG to fund its expansion into mainstream housing. The joint venture is seeded with around 1,000 student rooms in London and the south east, a £250m mixed use residential and student development in Canada Water and the first Scape mainstream project in [...]
Pubs, restaurants and salons beg for more financial help if reopening delayed by months February 22, 2021 Retail, leisure and hospitality businesses have warned the government that current coronavirus financial aid will not be enough to support the industries if they are to remain closed for several more months. The demands were published after it was reported over the weekend that pubs, restaurants, hairdressers and beauticians and non-essential retailers could be waiting [...]
Toby Carvery owner Mitchells & Butlers launches £351m ‘critical’ cash raise after liquidity deteriorates February 22, 2021 Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), the owner of Toby Cavery and All Bar One, this morning launched a “critical” bid to raise £351m after the pub group’s liquidity “deteriorated significantly” during the pandemic. M&B said the open offer, which has been underwritten by majority shareholder Odyzean, will enable the company to reduce its unsecured debt and [...]
Wall Street joins FTSE in the red following gloomy jobs data February 18, 2021 Wall Street faced a sea of red this morning as shares slid across the board after an unexpected rise in weekly jobless claims highlighted the fragile labour market recovery. A report from the US Labor Department showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits were 861,000 last week, compared with 848,000 in the prior week. The [...]
Asda web sales soared 76 per cent ahead of billionaire Issa brothers takeover February 18, 2021 Asda web sales soared 76 per cent in ahead of billionaire Issa brothers takeover
