UK restaurants and pubs hope for festive spending surge December 9, 2019 Restaurant and pub operators are hoping for a surge in festive spending after a slump in dining-out dented restaurant and pub food sales in the run-up to Christmas, according to research analysing sales at some of the UK’s best-known chains. Restaurant groups suffered a 0.1 per cent slump in food sales in November as wet [...]
Wet weather dampens November retail footfall figures December 9, 2019 Wet weather and the anticipation of Black Friday deals dampened retail footfall figures last month, according to the latest research. Footfall declined 3.4 per cent in November, compared to a drop of 3.2 per cent in the same month last year, as shoppers held out for Black Friday bargains. Read more: Retail footfall down 10 [...]
London luxury hotel market booms as weak sterling attracts tourists December 9, 2019 The London luxury hotel market has boomed in the last year as the fall of sterling against the dollar has attracted a surge in international tourists, new research showed. In total, 50 new luxury and premium hotels have opened in the UK in the last year, growing the number to 3,380. Meanwhile the number of [...]
Ex-Addison Lee chief races to secure rescue deal December 8, 2019 The former chief executive of minicab operator Addison Lee is scrambling to secure a rescue deal for the firm. Liam Griffin, who stepped down as chief executive in 2015 but remained on the board as vice-chairman, has approached investment funds to back his £125m takeover of the firm, Sky News reported. Read more: Cerberus mulls [...]
Pho owners consider sale of restaurant chain December 8, 2019 The private equity owner of Vietnamese-style fast food chain Pho is considering offloading the business. Gresham House, which bought the fund and investment manager in charge of Pho from Livingbridge last year, is reportedly mulling a sale of the London-based casual dining chain. Read more: Food delivery apps serve up extra £400m in restaurant revenue [...]
Tesco mulls sale of Thailand and Malaysia operations December 8, 2019 Tesco is mulling the sale of its business in Thailand and Malaysia, the supermarket giant confirmed today. The grocer said it had launched a review of the strategic options for the two Asian divisions, where it operates under the Tesco Lotus brand, “including an evaluation of a possible sale”. Read more: Tesco chief resigns after [...]
Ted Baker hires headhunters to replace chairman December 8, 2019 Embattled retailer Ted Baker has appointed headhunters to find a replacement for chairman David Bernstein, as it seeks to reshuffle its senior management team following a challenging year for the upmarket brand. The retailer has hired consulting firm Korn Ferry to appoint a successor for Bernstein, who became chairman in 2013 and took on executive [...]
Permanent job appointments fall due to political uncertainty December 6, 2019 The number of permanent job appointments dropped again last month as growth in the demand for staff fell to a ten year low due to political uncertainty heightened by the upcoming General Election. November’s drop in permanent appointments stretched the length of the decline to nine months, the longest period of contraction since the financial [...]
High street sales plunge week before Black Friday December 6, 2019 High street sales plunged the week before Black Friday as shoppers held out for bargains, according to the latest data. Like-for-like sales fell 17.14 per cent before Black Friday, in one of the worst weekly drops seen since the Beast from the East decimated sales in March 2018. Read more: Inside Amazon’s Black Friday operations [...]
Help to Buy: Most popular London locations for first-time buyers revealed December 6, 2019 South London dominated the most popular locations for Help to Buy home purchases, new research has found after the government ISA scheme came to an end. Lewisham, Deptford and Croydon were all popular with buyers seeking to get on the property ladder, as first-time home owners were priced out of previously popular locations such as [...]
