Bistrot Pierre: Jobs lost and restaurants closed as chain rescued March 7, 2025 Almost 160 jobs have been lost and a number of restaurants are to close after Bistrot Pierre was sold out of administration to a private equity firm. A vehicle owned by Cherry Equity Partners has snapped up part of the Nottingham-headquartered chain in a deal which has saved 394 roles and ten sites. However, eight [...]
Boots to be taken over by US private equity firm in $10bn deal March 7, 2025 Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), the owner of Boots, has agreed to a $10bn (£7.8bn) takeover by a US private equity firm. Sycamore Partners is expected to complete the takeover by the end of the year. The US-listed WBA said of the deal: “[Sycamore’s] experience in retail and consumer services would ensure WBA was better positioned [...]
Week in Business: Who will Rachel Reeves blame for higher taxes in Spring Statement? March 6, 2025 City AM Editor Christian May looks at the biggest business stories in his weekly video, today focusing on the UK economy and upcoming Spring Statement.
Eat, drink, sleep, repeat: The best gastropubs in London March 6, 2025 The past week has been one of celebrations. Gordon Ramsay opened his 22 Bishopsgate venue, where I enjoyed caviar and Chablis Grand Cru Vaudesir as Nick Grimshaw played tunes and GQ’s Worst Dressed Man of 2018, Joe Wicks, danced with Angela Hartnett and other ‘A-listers’. I enjoyed an amazing St David’s Day dinner at Quaglino’s [...]
Boxpark launches new concept alongside a new CEO March 5, 2025 Matt Snell grew up above a pub and has done “every single job there is to do in hospitality”. For the last seven years, he’s been running Italian chain Gusto, directing it through a set of unquestionably tough years for the hospitality sector. Now, he’s running London’s Boxpark – and spearheading the roll-out of its [...]
The capital of Cambodia is underrated – but it’s as good as Bangkok March 4, 2025 It’s the last day of Khmer New Year as I disembark my vessel, step off the Mekong River and into the sweaty clutches of Phnom Penh. Cambodia’s capital is a playful cityscape of concrete and glass, reflecting the vast economic boom the country has experienced over the last decade, not to mention its strong ties [...]
NHS delays drive demand for private healthcare to record March 4, 2025 Private healthcare market has broken yet another record, with private hospital admissions hitting their highest Q3 on record
Lower retail prices drive shops into deflation March 4, 2025 Prices in UK shops continued to fall in February, as discounting in retail offset high grocery prices. Shop prices fell by 0.7 per cent year on year in February against a decline of 0.7 per cent in January, driven by a 2.1 per cent drop in retail prices. “Discounting is still widespread in fashion as [...]
Starmer to present Ukraine plan to parliament after frantic diplomatic weekend March 3, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer is set to make a statement in the Commons this afternoon to present a plan forged with President Macron over the weekend for a European “coalition of the willing” to guard a peace process in Ukraine. The prime minister will take questions from MPs from 15:30, with an opposition response from Conservative [...]
‘The West must not divide’, Italy’s Meloni tells Starmer March 2, 2025 Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned Sir Keir Starmer the West must “avoid the risk” of dividing during a visit to Downing Street on Sunday. Starmer welcomed Meloni for a bilateral meeting ahead of a summit of political leaders in London focused on Ukraine and wider European security. Speaking in Downing Street, Meloni said that [...]