Gambling regulator chief says growth has plateaued for booming sector October 18, 2022 Growth in the betting sector has plateaued in recent years as a result of cost of living concerns and safety measures, says top gambling regulator. Speaking at an awards ceremony today in Melbourne, Gambling Commission chief Andrew Rhodes said that the sector is still feeling a pandemic hangover — despite popular belief that betting giants [...]
Fast food fears: Warning of Christmas shortages if 600 supply workers strike October 18, 2022 There could be major food shortages this Christmas at many of Brits’ favourite eat-outs due to strike action. Almost 600 workers for Bestfood, which delivers fresh produce to some of the country’s most-loved chains, are threatening industrial action. The workers are members of the GMB Union, and “bust a gut” to keep outlets such as [...]
Heathrow creates new exec position to mend fences with airlines October 18, 2022 Heathrow has created a new executive position to mend fences with its airline customers following this summer’s travel chaos. The west London hub today appointed director of operations Kathryn Leahy as director of Team Heathrow. “The new position is designed to ensure we build on the close-knit co-operation required between the 400 companies that operate [...]
Khan: Crossrail’s Bond Street station can revitalise “tired” parts of Oxford Street October 18, 2022 London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said the opening of Bond Street’s Elizabeth Line station next week will help revitalise a “tired” part of Oxford Street – and keep big-ticket retailers in the West End. The station is the last of the Crossrail stations to open, having been delayed due to the complexity of the build. [...]
Matalan secures deadline extension for £350m debt payment October 17, 2022 Matalan has announced that its debt payments have been kicked back several months, buying the high street retailer more time to find cash. The discount clothes retailer said that a January deadline to refinance £350m of debt has been pushed back to July. Matalan described the update as “an important milestone” in its recapitalisation plan [...]
Heathrow: Airline chiefs call for John Holland-Kaye’s resignation October 16, 2022 Airline chiefs have called for John Holland-Kaye’s resignation as Heathrow’s chief executive after the west London hub said last week it could introduce measures to manage capacity during the peak Christmas period. “That’s inexcusable. Anybody who says anything like that is the wrong guy for the job,” Emirates’ boss Sir Tim Clark told the Sunday [...]
Young punters protect Boxpark sales from consumer slowdown October 13, 2022 Young Londoners receiving inflation-related salary boosts has helped to protect Boxpark from a slowdown in discretionary spending, its CEO has said. The shipping container hospitality concept has seen sales increase by double digits compared to the previous year, with London sites in East Croydon, Shoreditch and Wembley “trading really well,” Simon Champion told CityA.M. The [...]
Ryanair chief forecasts price increase after ‘surprisingly strong’ bookings October 13, 2022 Ryanair is predicting an increase in prices following “surprisingly strong” bookings, according to chief executive Michael O’Leary. O’Leary said that – despite recent forecasts of 3-4 per cent growth – air fares “will rise by a mid to high single digit figure for the full year” unless alarming reports on Covid and Ukraine come out. [...]
Mirror publisher Reach faced ad ‘blackout’ following Queen’s death despite sales uplift October 11, 2022 Daily Mirror and Daily Express publisher Reach said it faced a temporary advertising “blackout” following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, despite an uplift of newspapers sold. In a trading update, the company posted a 8.1 per cent digital revenue decline in September as a result of the “industry wide reduction” in advertising spend following [...]
Heathrow back at number 1 as airport regains status as Europe’s busiest hub October 11, 2022 Heathrow has said it regained its status as Europe’s busiest hub airport over the summer. Some 5.8m passengers travelled through Heathrow in September. A year ago, Heathrow warned it had gone from being Europe’s busiest airport in 2019 to number 10 on the list, behind rivals in cities such as Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt. It [...]