United Utilities pockets £88m for stake in Estonian water company February 3, 2021 United Utilities has agreed to a £88m cash deal to sell its 35.3 per cent stake in the largest water utility company in Estonia, Tallin Water. The utilities company will sell the stake to a consortium led by the Estonian city of Tallinn, which is an existing partner of United Utilities, alongside company Utilitas. Company [...]
Asda’s petrol station business sold to EG Group for £750m as part of takeover deal February 3, 2021 The Issa brothers and TDR Capital have announced that they will sell Asda’s petrol station business to EG Group, which they also own, for £750m after they complete their deal to buy the supermarket giant. The consortium announced this morning that the Asda deal is expected to complete later this month, subject to regulatory approval. [...]
Covid restrictions drive online food shopping to record high as customers eat in to help out February 2, 2021 Online grocery shopping hit a record 14 per cent share of the UK grocery market in January, as customers bought more food to enjoy from home. The growth was boosted by a 229 per cent year-on-year rise in online spending by retired households. Supermarkets saw sales growth accelerate to 12.2 per cent in the last [...]
Government should rethink rates holiday as economy kicks back into life February 1, 2021 John Webber is Head of Business Rates at Colliers International News that John Lewis is under pressure to hand back millions of pounds in business rates relief received in this year’s retail rates holiday shows that the Government must re-think the way it uses the rates system to hand out support to businesses.. Last year [...]
Best of travel: A food odyssey across the South China Sea January 16, 2021 Throughout January we’re remembering better times and sunnier climes by reposting some of our favourite travel stories from the last decade. In this instalment, our Life&Style editor Steve Dinneen eats a path across the South China Sea. ••• Hong Kong’s most celebrated restaurants are the kind of Michelin-rated palaces to gastronomy that you can find [...]
Sazka taps former Sainsbury’s boss Justin King for National Lottery bid January 14, 2021 European lottery group Sazka has tapped former Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King to advise on its bid for the UK National Lottery licence. King, a veteran retail executive who also serves as vice chairman of private equity firm Terra Firma, is the first appointment to a new advisory board working on Sazka’s tender. He will [...]
Covid: UK trials new drug that could cut risk of severe illness by 80 per cent January 13, 2021 The UK has launched large-scale trials of a new drug that could cut the risk of Covid patients developing severe illness by as much as 80 per cent. Thirty-four-year-old Alexandra Constantin became the first patient to receive the drug, produced by London-listed biotech firm Synairgen, after receiving the dose at Hull Royal Infirmary yesterday afternoon. [...]
City Moves: Who is switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? January 13, 2021 Snakes and Ladders provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. After a rocky year for business, City firms are continuing to adapt to the challenges of three national lockdowns and post-Brexit bureaucracy to keep things moving across the Square Mile. This week, Lloyd’s [...]
Morrisons to be first UK supermarket to pay staff at least £10 an hour January 13, 2021 Morrisons will pay its supermarket staff at least £10 an hour, becoming the first major UK supermarket to reach that milestone. The new deal will start in April and represents a significant pay increase for nearly 96,000 colleagues, the majority of which will see a nine per cent rise. Staff had pushed for an increase [...]
Asda to offer in-store Covid-19 vaccinations January 13, 2021 Asda will become the first UK supermarket to offer in-store Covid-19 vaccinations after striking a deal with public health officials. The vaccination centre at the grocer’s Birmingham store will operate 8am to 8pm, seven days a week, and will have the capacity to administer 250 jabs per day. The site is the first Asda pharmacy [...]