Hospitality sector welcomes ‘blaze of sunshine’ from chancellor’s VAT cut July 8, 2020 The hospitality sector has greeted chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcements of a VAT cut for the hospitality sector and a new Eat Out to Help Out scheme as a “blaze of sunshine” after months of closure during the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking in the Commons today to announce his “mini budget”, Sunak vowed to cut the VAT [...]
Sunak slashes VAT on hospitality and tourism to five per cent July 8, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has slashed VAT on hospitality and tourism from 20 per cent to 5 per cent for six months, as the government seeks to revive the UK economy after months of lockdown. In an unprecedented announcement in the Commons today, Sunak vowed to cut the VAT rate from next Wednesday until 12 January [...]
Sir Bradley Wiggins and Raymond Blanc link up for cycling and gastronomy weekend July 6, 2020 If cycling leaves you in need of a good meal, then your dream holiday may well have just arrived. Sir Bradley Wiggins and Raymond Blanc OBE are the stars of the show for LeBlanq:01 – the first weekend of its kind, which organisers promise will be “an epic weekend of eating, drinking and riding” on [...]
Uber confirms acquisition of Postmates in $2.65bn food delivery tie-up July 6, 2020 Uber has bought up rival delivery app Postmates in a $2.65bn deal, the companies announced today, ending speculation of a tie-up between the pair. The all-stock deal represents only a slight increase on Postmate’s last private valuation of $2.4bn in September. Postmates will be kept as a separate app to Uber Eats, but some parts [...]
Pret A Manger to close 30 stores after lockdown, putting 1,000 jobs at risk July 6, 2020 At least 1,000 jobs are understood to be at risk at Pret A Manger as it prepares to close 30 of its shops following a brutal lockdown. Pret has said it has suffered “significant operating losses” during the UK-wide shutdown of non-essential shops since late March. And while it has reopened 339 of its 410 [...]
For the sake of our economy and our culture, we need to save London’s theatres July 3, 2020 Tomorrow, large parts of London’s economy will start to reopen. Pubs and restaurants will fling wide their doors, hotels will begin to welcome guests, and museums and art galleries will once more be open for business. But not all of London will be switching back into gear. Live performances are still banned, placing immense pressure [...]
Super Saturday: Pubs to open as London braces for boozing Brits July 3, 2020 Pubs and restaurants up and down the country are preparing to open tomorrow – dubbed Super Saturday – for the first time since lockdown began, as Brits readjust to life under social distancing. Bars and eateries will be allowed to open their doors for the first time using measures such as table service and visitor [...]
Uber makes offer for US food delivery service Postmates June 30, 2020 Uber is said to have made a takeover offer for rival food delivery app Postmates, despite the latter having recently filed to go public. The deal values Postmates at $2.6bn, the New York Times first reported. Talks are still ongoing, and an agreement could yet fall apart. The tie-up could provide a leg-up to Uber’s [...]
Explanation of DeFi staking and the importance of Ethereum 2.0 June 30, 2020 The financial world is changing at a pace never before seen in history. These new instruments are being developed and made available to anyone willing to explore the space and to serve a wide variety of needs. Investment in Decentralised Finance (or DeFi) has spiked to 1.5bn USD in assets locked. These assets are in [...]
Coronavirus has reshaped urban mobility but the biggest challenge remains Climate Change June 30, 2020 The argument for small, environment-friendly personal transport has been growing stronger for some time. This was true even before the Coronavirus pandemic required us to socially distance, and the government urged us all to “consider all other forms of transport before using public transport”; thus marking a reversal of the long-standing encouragement to use trains [...]