Tesco UK chief Matt Davies to become N Brown’s chairman February 18, 2018 Tesco's UK chief Matt Davies is leaving the retailer to become the chairman of N Brown. N Brown, which owns JD Williams, Simply Be and Jacamo, has been seeking a replacement for its current chairman Andy Higginson for a number of months. Davies will take the reins from Higginson after Tesco's £3.7bn takeover of Booker [...]
Cineworld climbs after new shares issued as part of Regal deal February 5, 2018 Cineworld shares are up this morning after the company issued over 1bn new shares to the market. The issue comes after the group's shareholders backed its bid to buy Regal Entertainment Group, which will create the world's second biggest cinema group. The share price was adjusted from 518.5p on Friday's close to an opening price [...]
Ping pong king Adam Breeden plots stock exchange float in next five years February 5, 2018 Bounce founder Adam Breeden has said he wants to put his company on the London or New York Stock Exchange in the next five years. Breeden, who also co-founded darts bar Flight Club and is bringing a minigolf concept calledPuttshack to London this year, said that the rate at which the business was growing made [...]
Is your local M&S closing? Full list of the store closures announced today January 31, 2018 Marks and Spencer announced this morning that it is shutting down a raft of its stores. Here is a full list of the stores set to close by the end of April: Stores closing by April Birkenhead Bournemouth Durham Fforestfach Putney Redditch M&S said staff from these stores will be moved to other outlets nearby. [...]
Bounce founder signs lease for 1 Poultry as flagship for Puttshack crazy golf concept January 31, 2018 The founder of Bounce ping-pong bars and co-founder of Flight Club darts bars has tapped the City of London for his latest social entertainment venture. Entrepreneur Adam Breeden, who also founded All Star Lanes bowling, is to open a crazy golf bar in the basement of the iconic 1 Poultry building. Puttshack is a new [...]
Time In? Time Out’s plans for a London foodie market aren’t quite defeated yet January 24, 2018 Time Out toasted the success of its food market venture in Lisbon today, and said more openings were on the horizon including a possible site in London. The media and entertainment business is understood to be appealing the decision by Tower Hamlets council to block a market development in Shoreditch. This could put a London [...]
Pinched-for-cash Poundworld in talks with TPG for more money after poor festive trading January 18, 2018 Discount retailer Poundworld is in talks with its majority owner, US private equity giant TPG Capital, for a new cash injection after a troubling festive period. Poundworld is asking for another £30m to £40m of investment, according to Sky News, after disappointing sales and one-off costs saw its debt pile up last year. Sources close [...]
Number of UK coffee shops to increase by almost 50 per cent by 2022 January 16, 2018 The number of coffee shops in the UK will rise by almost 50 per cent in the next five years, according to a new report. Research by Allegra World Coffee Portal predicts that the total number of UK coffee shops will reach 31,400 by 2022, up from 24,061 in 2017. Last year the coffee market [...]
Carluccio’s appoints Goals Soccer Centres boss Mark Jones as CEO January 9, 2018 Deli and restaurant chain Carluccio's has announced that Mark Jones of Goals Soccer Centres is to become its new chief executive. Having announced his intention to leave Goals in October, Jones will take over at the chain of Italian eateries "in due course". He commented: "I am excited to be joining Carluccio's at this important [...]
Boots’ UK stores drag on Walgreen Boots Alliance’s international sales January 4, 2018 Boots' UK stores acted as a drag on the international sales of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the first quarter, the pharmaceutical giant said today. Internationally, the retail pharmacy arm of Walgreens Boots Alliance brought in sales of $3.1bn (£2.3bn), an increase of 4.1 per cent year-on-year. On a constant currency basis, sales fell 0.8 per [...]