Bellway shares dip on low July house sales August 11, 2020 Shares in Bellway fell this afternoon as the housebuilder revealed that sales were down in July despite the easing of lockdown restrictions Private customer reservations were 140 per week last month, down from 162 a week in July 2019. The developer’s share price fell 4.17 per cent as it said it completed the sale of [...]
Holiday Inn owner IHG sees signs of recovery in July as consumers book staycations August 11, 2020 Holiday Inn owner Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) said it had seen an uptick in bookings in July as holiday makers opt for staycations during the coronavirus pandemic. The figures IHG, which also owns the Crowne Plaza, Regent and Hualuxe hotel brands, saw revenue more than halve to $488m in the first six months of 2020. [...]
Derwent London hikes dividend as landlord expects resilient office demand August 11, 2020 Property firm Derwent London this morning said it expects demand for office space to be resilient despite the coronavirus pandemic, saying there is “no substitute” for face-to-face collaboration. The landlord hiked its dividend for the first half of the year as it said it is confident about the future of the role of the office, [...]
Domino’s reinstates dividend as pizza chain hails ‘resilient’ lockdown sales August 11, 2020 Pizza chain Domino’s reinstated its dividend payment as it hailed “resilient” trading during the UK coronavirus lockdown. The figures UK like-for-like sales were up 4.8 per cent and Ireland like-for-like sales increased 3.6 per cent during the first half of the year. However underlying earnings before interest and taxes fell to £51.4m pounds for the [...]
UK retail sales grow following lockdown easing August 11, 2020 UK retail sales grew in July as the easing of lockdown restrictions released pent-up demand, but high street stores continued to struggle. On a total basis, sales increased 3.2 per cent last month, compared to a jump of 0.5 per cent in July 2019, which was the second consecutive month of growth since the coronavirus [...]
Top City restaurateur explores outdoor seating in post-lockdown Square Mile August 10, 2020 A top London restaurateur is preparing to launch an outdoor seating area at his venue Bank in a bid to encourage consumers to visit the Square Mile restaurant following the UK’s coronavirus lockdown. The outdoor seating plans at 1 Lombard Street, which restaurant boss Soren Jessen is preparing to submit to the City of London [...]
London restaurants urge Sadiq Khan to drop congestion charge August 10, 2020 London’s restaurants and bars have called on Sadiq Khan to drop the congestion charge and encourage public transport use to boost visitor numbers following months of coronavirus lockdown. In a letter signed by top chefs and restaurateurs, including St John’s co-founder Trevor Gulliver, Angela Hartnett and D&D London’s David Loewi, the industry has urged Khan [...]
Government urged to pay £5bn of retailers’ rents after lockdown August 10, 2020 Retail, hospitality and leisure firms have urged the government to pay up to £5bn to cover a proportion of rents for struggling businesses to avoid further high street job losses. Trade bodies, including the British Property Federation (BPF), British Retail Consortium (BRC) and UK Hospitality, have called on the government to launch a Property Bounceback [...]
Government says reopening schools is a ‘national priority’ August 10, 2020 Getting children back to school in September after months away is a “national priority”, the government has said. Schools were closed in March for all pupils except the children of key workers when the government announced a UK coronavirus lockdown. Classrooms were reopened in June for a small number of children. However the government has [...]
Slow retail recovery expected as consumers reluctant to spend August 7, 2020 Hopes of a rapid high street recovery have been thrown into doubt as consumers remain hesitant to splash out on new clothes and electronics. According to research by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), 24 per cent of consumers said they will spend less than usual over the next month, compared to 11 per cent who [...]
