Staff crisis in hospitality: Act now or risk being the next France June 15, 2021 The hospitality sector is in the midst of a staff crisis. We always knew that staffing would be a challenge with full reopening post-Covid, that not everybody would return to work after furlough. Many of our French and Italian staff went back home during lockdown and had decided not to return to the UK or [...]
Footfall shrinks despite summer sun thanks to post-Bank Holiday blues June 14, 2021 Despite the UK being blessed with summer sun, footfall across all UK retail destinations last week was 18.4 per cent below 2019 levels. Meanwhile, Greater London has been hit by a 19 per cent drop in football, in comparison to highstreets the year before the pandemic, according to retail traffic counter Springboard. But in comparison [...]
Queen’s Birthday Honours: the full 2021 list June 12, 2021 Below the full list of names for this year ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) The Rt. Hon. Frederick Richard Penn Curzon, The Earl Howe. For political and parliamentary service. (Amersham, Buckinghamshire) ORDER OF THE BATH Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) [...]
Fossil fuel fashion: half of clothing made from non-recycled plastic, think tank says June 11, 2021 Half of fast-fashion items sold by online brands like Boohoo and Missguided, are made solely from non-recycled plastics, a think-tank has said today. Think tank Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) urged the government to impose a new tax on such clothing made from non-recycled plastic like polyester. Income from the suggested clothing [...]
Citymapper helps us navigate our cities but now they need to find a way to profit June 11, 2021 There is immense value in being able to navigate around major cities on the go, avoiding the stress of checking multiple forms of transportation on varying platforms, especially as we start exploring again post-lockdown. Citymapper, an app almost ubiquitous in cities like London, is built with a simple and functional interface to make it the [...]
Empty stores on Oxford Street rise by a fifth in six months June 10, 2021 The number of empty stores on Oxford Street has risen by nearly a fifth since the start of 2021, as pandemic-led lockdowns took a toll on the high street. Some 17 per cent of stores on London’s most famous street have closed since January, according to research by Property Week. Among the most famous and [...]
Speed shopping: Food delivery space in frenzy as well-funded newcomers eye Deliveroo’s market share June 9, 2021 Getir has become the latest in a raft of fast-growing grocery delivery operators to raise bumper cash injections to fuel ambitious growth plans. The Turkey-based company, which said it can deliver to customers in as little as 10 minutes and launched in the UK in January, secured almost £400m in investment last week, taking its [...]
itim Group plans to float in London as Justin King joins board June 8, 2021 Itim Group plc has announced its intention to float on London’s AIM market, capitalising on structural shifts in the retail sector as coronavirus restrictions ease. The retail software as a service (SaaS) company is seeking to raise between £10 million and £12 million in an IPO. WH Ireland will act as sole broker and the [...]
Warm weather and half-term tempts shoppers back to the high street June 7, 2021 The number of shoppers in retail destinations rose by 11.6 per cent last week, with a combination of warm weather, a bank holiday and half-term tempting punters back to the high street. The number of shoppers on the high street rose by 17.4 per cent last week, according to the latest data from Springboard, while [...]
Sir Martin Sorrell’s ad agency terminates office leases to go fully hybrid June 7, 2021 London-based S4 Capital, the advertising agency run by Sir Martin Sorrell, has terminated several office leases as staff are being encouraged to adopt fully flexible hybrid working practices. The advertising guru, who resigned from his previous firm WPP in 2018, said creativity is not being lost by the arrangements. “We always knew that our people, [...]